Incoming House leadership proposes new lobbying restrictions

It will be interesting to see if the new ethics package being proposed by House Democrats will manage to get through unscathed.

The proposals, outlined in an article in The Hill, would address some of the most egregious problems facing the House:

The rules would ban lobbyists "or organizations that employ them from planning, organizing, requesting, arranging or participating in travel for members or staff," according to the document. The new rules do make an allowance for a one-day trip to attend a forum, participate in a panel or give a speech. Members would also be prohibited from using official or campaign funds to pay for non-commercial, corporate jets. But the provision does not apply to charter plane services, the document adds.