WASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- Dissenters in the U.S. Senate vote regarding a bill to reform lobby rules in Congress said the measure doesn't go far enough.
The Senate voted 90-8 Wednesday to pass a measure that promotes disclosure by members of contacts with lobbyists and legislators and their aides accepting meals and gifts from lobbyists.
Five Republicans and three Democrats, however, voted against the bill, sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.
"It's extremely weak," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told The Washington Post. McCain had put together an extensive reform plan in January that was welcomed at the time but many of its key sections have fallen by the wayside.
"The good news is that there will be more indictments and we will be revisiting this issue," McCain told the newspaper.
Lobby reform was spurred by the investigation into lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was sentenced Wednesday to nearly six years in prison. The overall investigation is continuing, leading to McCain's joke.
