From the New York Times:

House Democrats Set to Move on New Fund-Raising Rules

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

Published: May 15, 2007

WASHINGTON, May 14 — House Democratic leaders, against stiff resistance in their caucus, have decided to advance a measure to require federal lobbyists to disclose the campaign contributions they collect and bundle for federal political candidates, officials involved in their deliberations said.

The Democratic leaders plan to outline the proposal at a closed caucus meeting on Tuesday. The proposal, a version of which has already passed the Senate, could have a major effect on the business of politics in Washington, creating a new category of public disclosure that goes to the heart of how lobbyists ingratiate themselves with lawmakers.

Because campaign finance laws cap individual contributions, candidates depend heavily on people who act as surrogate fund-raisers by collecting and bundling checks from friends, clients and associates. For incumbent lawmakers, lobbyists are often eager to play such a role. Current campaign laws require only the disclosure of individual contributions, including those in bundles, not the role played by the bundler.

Many lawmakers privately oppose adding new disclosure requirements because it could impose a new burden on potential fund-raisers. But voting against anything labeled ethics and lobbying reform can be politically awkward.

The Democratic leaders’ decision to push forward is a major step toward the proposal’s passage because they have committed to bring the bundling disclosure measure up for a vote on the floor, probably as an amendment to a lobbying reform bill. Representative Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat who is in charge of the House Democratic campaign effort for 2008, is drafting the amendment.

The Democratic leaders appear to have yielded to members’ private resistance against another lobbying-rule provision that would have impaired the ability of lawmakers to earn big salaries on K Street after leaving office. Speaking anonymously because the proposals are confidential until presented to the caucus, officials involved in developing them said the Democratic leaders had not decided to match a Senate bill that bars lawmakers from engaging in any “lobbying activity” for two years after leaving office.

Current “revolving door” rules bar former members from directly lobbying for one year. Lobbying firms are usually glad to hire a former member to act as an adviser or strategist for one year, but imposing a two-year wait could lower the fees such firms would pay.

Representative Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois Democrat who is chairman of the House Democratic Conference, declined to comment on the details of the proposal. But he said that the rule changes showed Democrats following through on an issue that helped them last fall. “They basically said, ‘oh, this is an individual issue, it is not an issue for the institution,’ and it became a problem for their party,” Mr. Emanuel said.

Fred Wertheimer, a long-time advocate of tighter ethics rules, said the bundling disclosure proposal was the central part of the bill.

“You can’t avoid bundling disclosure and claim that you are addressing the lobbying scandals that occurred in the last Congress,” Mr. Wertheimer said.