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By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Sen. John McCain and several other lawmakers said on Friday that they would push to tighten lobbying rules as an influence-peddling scandal centered around former lobbyist Jack Abramoff continued to spread.
Meanwhile, a Republican senator who has come under scrutiny for links to Abramoff said he would return $150,000 he has received from Abramoff-related sources over the past several years.
"The contributions given to my political committees by Jack Abramoff and his clients, while legal and fully disclosed, have served to undermine the public's confidence in its government," Montana Sen. Conrad Burns said in a statement.
The developments came one day after former Abramoff partner Adam Kidan pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy and promised to testify against Abramoff in a case involving the purchase of a Florida casino cruise line.
Another former partner, Michael Scanlon, has pleaded guilty in a separate case to conspiracy for his role in defrauding Indian tribes of millions of dollars.
McCain, whose committee uncovered evidence showing that Scanlon and Abramoff overbilled their Indian clients by at least $80 million, said aggressive lobbying practices could come back to haunt lawmakers.
"We must act now to ensure that the erosion we see today in the public's confidence in Congress does not become a collapse of confidence," McCain said in remarks on the Senate floor.
McCain's bill, and a similar one introduced in the House by Connecticut Rep. Christopher Shays, would require lobbyists to disclose campaign contributions and other activities on the Internet more frequently than they do now, McCain said.
Lobbyists would have to disclose every gift to lawmakers of more than $20, while lawmakers and their staffers would have to pay full value for charter flights, sports tickets and other outings.
Lawmakers, senior staffers and government officials would have to wait two years after leaving government service before they couldlobby their former colleagues.
Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russell Feingold, who has introduced a lobbying-reform bill of his own, said he was working to reconcile his measure with McCain's.
"We think we're going to be able to introduce a good piece of legislation," Feingold told Reuters.
McCain, Feingold and Shays led efforts in 2002 to tighten campaign-finance rules.
Congress is unlikely to act on new legislation this year but the issue could loom large in 2006 as the two Abramoff investigations shine a light on the close links between the lobbyist and many prominent lawmakers.
Justice Department indictments against Abramoff's partners detail trips taken by at least one lawmaker to exotic locales including the Marianas Islands and a golf course in Scotland, paid for by Abramoff clients.
That Republican lawmaker, Ohio Rep. Bob Ney, also criticized a rival of Abramoff's in the Congressional Record.
The activities of Burns and other lawmakers who took Abramoff contributions have also come under scrutiny.
North Dakota Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan earlier in the week returned $67,000 in contributions he had received from Abramoff clients, including several Indian tribes.
Burns urged other lawmakers to return their Abramoff contributions as well. A spokesman said the money had not influenced Burns' decision-making on tribal matters.
"He's had a long history of supporting the tribal community and the Native American population," spokesman Mark Baker said.
(c) Reuters 2005.