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Many voters in last year's congressional elections had the "culture of corruption" on their minds in the voting booth. Unfortunately, the new Congress has not yet moved vigorously to clean out the swamp, and some Representatives are still stubbornly resisting even modest reforms.

Advocates of lobby reform are currently trying to slow down the "revolving door" by increasing from one year to two the waiting period between leaving Congressional service and becoming a lobbyist. Other proposed reforms would require public disclosure when a lobbyist's "bundling" fundraising activities exceed $5,000 for a single congressional candidate.

Unfortunately, even these modest reforms (which are a step in the right direction, but do not fundamentally solve the 'pay-to-play' problem in Washington) have met with stiff opposition from some members on both sides of the aisle in the House of Representatives. Speaker Pelosi is reported to be in favor of stronger reform, but cannot currently muster the votes she needs to pass a good bill.

The Senate already approved its version of lobbying reform earlier this year, and their bill included both of the provisions mentioned above (as well as several others). The House needs to realize that we, the people, do in fact care about this issue, and want to see them pass tough lobbying reform this session.