From the Detroit Free Press

Free food OK for lawmakers -- if it's on a toothpick
January 16, 2008
By ROB HOTAKAINEN
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- Hide the silverware.
That's what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce did for its holiday party last month, hoping to woo members of Congress and their staff members.
In a city where no issue is too small for a big debate, officials in Washington are grappling with what has become widely known as the toothpick rule. It allows lobbyists to provide free food to members of Congress at receptions, but only if the morsels fit on a toothpick.
Lobbyists also are being advised to get rid of dining tables. If you give politicians a fork and spoon and provide them with comfortable surroundings, the reasoning goes, they might be tempted to grab a chair and have a sit-down meal.
This stand-up routine is suddenly getting very serious: Lobbyists who violate the ethics law, which took effect Sept. 14, can receive a 5-year prison sentence and a $200,000 fine.
"This new law is the criminalization of lobbying," said Paul Honigberg, an attorney at Blank Rome LLP, a Washington law and government-relations firm.
The toothpick rule even found its way into the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton questioning its merits.
At a debate in New Hampshire, Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama cited his work on the 2007 ethics law as evidence that he can take on special-interest groups. He called it "the toughest ethics reform legislation since Watergate."
That drew quick criticism from Clinton, who also voted for the law: "If you say that you're going to prevent members of Congress from having lunch with lobbyists ... but they can still have lunch standing up, that's not change."
Confusion follows new rules
Honigberg said the toothpick rule has been on the books for years. What's new, he said, is that lobbyists must certify that they're complying with all provisions of the ethics law, including the toothpick rule, and violators now can be punished with criminal penalties.
"That certainly gets my attention," Honigberg said, predicting that lobbyist-sponsored Super Bowl parties will be scaled down.
Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, who also voted for the ethics law, said she understands the desire to prohibit members of Congress from accepting free meals. But she said the focus on whether they're standing up or sitting down or using a fork or toothpick to eat is distracting from a larger issue of how ethics laws aren't being properly enforced.
"It's kind of dumb," she said.
Honigberg said the law allows food of "nominal value" to be provided to members of Congress at receptions. At morning gatherings, lobbyists can provide coffee, juice, pastries or bagels, according to the committee's guidelines.
"Normal hors d'oeuvres are allowed, and things that are customarily eaten while standing up, as opposed to things that you would associate with a meal," Honigberg said, adding that he hasn't figured out all the details.
"We were joking around here one day, saying, well, what about pigs in a blanket, or what about caviar, which is really not of nominal value?"
For some, Santa's out, too
Things were very different at the recent Chamber of Commerce holiday bash.
"Basically, there was no silverware. We didn't have one of our feature items, which was duck. And we canceled Santa," said Eric Wohlschlegel, the chamber's executive director of communications.
"We wanted to make sure there wasn't even an impression of doing anything too elaborate," he said.
The chamber instead served snacks such as cheese, fruit, cookies and pastries.
In previous years, Santa posed for pictures with attendees, but chamber officials feared that might be viewed as something of value, which is prohibited under the gift ban.
Before, members of Congress could accept gifts worth less than $50. "Our goal is just to comply with the law and let Congress determine what is appropriate and what is not," Wohlschlegel said.