Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006

LOBBYING ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006 -- (House of Representatives - May 03, 2006)

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Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Chairman, I want to take a moment and thank my friends on the other side of the aisle, particularly Mr. Miller and Mr. Berman, for working with us; and, of course, my friends on this side of the aisle, Mr. Lungren, whose leadership has been so critical on this, Mr. Flake, and, of course, Mr. Hastings, chairman of the Ethics Committee.

This really is a moment where we have come together and thought about what is best for the institution instead of trying to score political points against one another. I think we have taken a dramatic step.

I agree very much with my friend, Mr. Miller. This offers the opportunity for real scrutiny and a real look at the entire travel issue; and I look forward to working with Mr. Berman and Chairman HASTINGS on the Ethics Committee, to come back with a scheme that both sides can have confidence in and the American people can have confidence in.

In conclusion, I thank the chairman, Mr. Dreier, and certainly the Speaker. This would not have happened without their help and without their active cooperation so we could resolve what was a knotty issue. They, too, deserve a great deal of credit for working in a bipartisan manner and allowing this to come about.

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