Senate reluctant to give up corporate jets

WASHINGTON — Senators are ready to relinquish lobbyist-paid steak dinners and skybox seats at sports arenas. But giving up the use of corporate jets at bargain prices might be one reform too many for them.

Although a ban on using corporate jets flew through the House last week, it faces strong political headwinds in the Senate, which began debate Monday on its own ethics reforms.

The legislation, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pledged would be the toughest since the Watergate era, is the first order of business in the Senate, which came under Democratic control in part because of congressional scandals.

With the addition of newly elected Democratic senators who campaigned on ethics, reformers hope to win approval of a much tougher measure than the one that stalled last year.

"This past election, I think, sent a strong message that the American people want change," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said at a Capitol Hill news conference.

The legislation expected to pass the Senate would prohibit senators from accepting gifts or travel from lobbyists. It would double, from one to two years, the prohibition on former lawmakers lobbying one-time colleagues. It would force senators to be more open about the special projects they often slip into spending bills without public notice and often at the behest of lobbyists, a practice called earmarking.

It might even establish a new and independent Office of Public Integrity to enforce Senate ethics rules.

Less certain is whether it would require senators to pay the charter rate when they fly on corporate jets, rather than the equivalent first-class commercial fare. More certain is that it would not ban the use of private jets.

The use of corporate jets remains high on the list of most cherished perks, one that senators are loath to give up, even though ethics watchdogs say it gives lobbyists extraordinary access to senators.

Between 2001 and 2005, Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., spent $165,724, paying the commercial rate to fly on corporate jets, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks campaign spending. Next on the list of current senators was Reid, who spent $69,551.

"Why do you think there's resistance?" Obama said Monday. "Because corporate jets are nice. ... They're convenient. They're waiting for you. You don't have to take your shoes off."

The idea of requiring senators to reimburse corporations at the much more expensive charter rate has been endorsed not only by Obama but also Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

"I have no doubt that the average American would love to fly around the country on very comfortable corporate-owned aircraft and only be charged the cost of a first-class ticket," McCain said in a statement. "It is a pretty good deal we have got going here. We need to face the fact that the time has come to end this congressional perk."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who as the new Senate Rules Committee chairwoman will play a central role in the debate on ethics legislation, favors "full disclosure" of senators' use of corporate jets, including the names of lobbyists on the flights. "To prohibit their use or make the cost prohibitive would make it very difficult for many members to get to, and around, their states on a timely basis," she said.

As the Senate considers ethics legislation, the House this week will take up legislation to bolster homeland security, raise the minimum wage, expand stem-cell research and explore lower drug prices.