Washington DC Adult Entertainment: Speaker calls for gov’t transparency
Written on February 5, 2010 – 6:25 am | by larrylibido
According to Sloan, the Bush administration essentially ignored the Freedom of Information Act by adopting a policy of nondisclosure for government agencies. Although the Obama administration has since reverted back to a policy of disclosure, the effects have not yet trickled down to “lower-level government officials,” she said.
Politicians, including President Barack Obama, have frequently singled out lobbyists as the cause of political corruption, Sloan said.
“Lobbyists are everyone’s favorite boogeyman,” she said.
Lobbyists are only one of several players in governmental corruption, Sloan said, and restrictions placed on their actions often backfire and prove insufficient if passed.
“[Restrictions on lobbyists] only address part of the problem and have led to an increase in unofficial or unlicensed lobbying, further hindering transparency,” she said.
Despite ethics violations including bribery and tax code violations made by congressional leaders in the past, only former Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has faced serious condemnation, for soliciting sex in a Minneapolis airport in 2007, according to Sloan.