AUGUSTA – Congress begins hearings today on the first of several proposals to reform the nation’s lobbying laws and require greater disclosure of lobbying expenditures. All four members of Maine’s congressional delegation support reform but argue that the proposed changes need to be far more comprehensive.

“The hearings are just a start,” said Sen. Susan Collins, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which will hold the first hearing on lobbying legislation today. “The cause of lobbying reform is so important to the restoring of public confidence in the action of government officials that it simply cannot wait.”

The Republican senator from Maine said bills introduced by lawmakers of both political parties in both branches are a “start” for the reform process, but that there are many provisions she would like added to any reform package.

“There are a lot of good ideas out there,” Collins said. “I don’t think that former members of Congress should have access to the floor of the House and Senate to lobby their former colleagues. It gives them access the average citizen does not have, and it gives access the average lobbyist does not have.”

Democratic Rep. Tom Allen agrees that the lobbying laws need to be improved, but he says Congress needs to go beyond lobbying to regain public confidence in government. He said there needs to be comprehensive campaign finance reform as well.

“In the long run, it is not clear to me how we can have the whole system awash in money and not have bad things happen as a matter of public policy,” he said. “The interests of the wealthy get attended to and the interests of the middle class do not.”

But the 1st District congressman is not ready to propose any specific changes in the campaign finance laws because he is still “thinking about” approaches to reforming the laws.

“I will say that the public attention has been focused on lobby abuses,” he said, “but this is really not about lobbying, it is about power.”

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe has signed on as co-sponsor of the Lobbying Transparency and Disclosure Act written by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The measure would increase public disclosure of lobbying activities, including requiring lobbyists to report their efforts to create “grass-roots” lobbying campaigns. It also would limit gifts to lawmakers and their staff that have a value of more than $20.

Like the other three members of Maine’s congressional delegation, Snowe believes the legislation should be only a start for comprehensive reform of lobbying laws.

“We must not stop here. I pledge to work with Senator McCain and others in the Senate to rein in abuses that have undermined the public trust,” Snowe said.

Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud said he will support strong lobbying laws, but added there needs to be a fundamental change in the way some members of Congress look at lobbying and influence peddling.

“Ultimately, what we need is for members of Congress to act in a moral and ethical way,” he said. “We can pass laws left and right, but unless they act in a moral and ethical way we will still have problems.”

The 2nd District lawmaker said the public needs to let current members, and those who run for office in the future, know it is watching and expects a higher standard of conduct among lawmakers.

“We need to change the way Congress operates,” Michaud said. “We need to give the American people the confidence they need in how we operate.”

Michaud said he would like to ban the practice of leadership forcing votes on legislation that members have not had a chance to read, let alone analyze for impact. He said Congress could learn a lot from the rules Maine and other states have adopted requiring transparency in the legislative process.

Collins agreed and said the reform package should consider curbing the “earmark” process whereby lawmakers in a conference committee add a specific spending provision that has not been approved by either the House or Senate.

“I think it should be prohibited,” she said.

There are many reform ideas pending in both branches. For example, one proposal would require that lawmakers pay the fair market value for charter flights provided to them. Another would require detailed reports of the activities lawmakers engage in while on official travel.

House hearings have not been scheduled, but are expected to be held in the next few months. All four of Maine’s delegation members said they would push for passage of reform legislation this year.