When Rep Tom Reynolds (R-NY) the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

When Rep Tom Reynolds (R-NY) the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, landed at Palwaukee Airport in Wheeling last Friday for a day of politics in the northern suburb he was flying in a corporate plane provided through an upstate New York company.

Reynolds -- or more likely the NRCC -- will barely pay a fraction of the preciousness of operating the aircraft, with the ride subsidized by the agency of the Pyramid Companies, a Syracuse, NY shopping mall developer

It's a accurately legal arrangement and one we now know Congres does not want to change, despite the latter lobbying scandals.

in subordination to current rules, a company providing corporate aircraft for political use simply has to be reimbursed for the equivalent of first- class airfare for the trip. Between 2001 and 2005 a string of Illinois-based companies provided planes for lawmakers -- Archer Daniels Midland, Abbott Laboratories, Boeing, Caterpillar and Motorola, to name a small in number According to federal records aggregated by means of Political MoneyLine.com, during the period between 2001 and 2005 Abbott flew mainly Republicans and ADM gave adequate supply of rides to Democrats.

yet the point is not with equal reason much which party gets more rides upon this floating corporate political air force. It's that any lawmaker earns the break at all.

These subsidized flights forward corporate aircraft have been in the crosshairs of advocates of lobbying and ethics reform, who pondering - - incorrectly it change the direction ofed out, at least so far -- that Congres had a real appetite for change.

The Senate passed a lobbying and ethics bill in succession Wednesday that falls far short of addressing the worst excesse of Congres The watered down legislation was approved upon a 90-8 vote on the day that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- whose schemes triggered the scandals -- was sentenc to 70 month in prison.

Freshman Sen Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who in January was appointed the Democratic lead onward ethics reform, made a plea from the Senate floor upon Tuesday for his colleagues to support an amendment to discontinue the subsidized flights. Obama did not reach [i]or[/i] attain any place [i]or[/i] point to the issue with clean hands. "I have used corporate jet in the past," Obama said Tuesday from the Senate floor.

In his first year in office, Obama took 23 subsidized flights. The same week he was named to the ethics piece of work Obama's office announced that in the coming the senator's political war chest would pay the entire costliness of using corporate planes.

"This isn't about our convenience," Obama said Tuesday from the Senate floor. "It is about our reputation as public servants who are here to work for the often met with voter, not the highest bidder. We all know that corporations are not allowing us to use their jet without of the kindness of their hearts. It is still another way that lobbyists attempt to curry influence with lawmakers."

Obama's Senate colleagues decided to do a certain number of right things.

Sponsors Sen Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen Joe Lieberman (D- Conn) passed a measure that will ban lobbyists' gifts to lawmakers and staffers and require that privately foundationed trips get pre- cleared from the Ethics Committee.

in the greatest degree important, there will be more information disclosed about for what reason lobbyists inject money into the political rule and it will have to be filed onward searchable data bases.

I can't imagine that with the Senate lead, the House will flow through with anything tougher.

When I talked to the NRCC forward Wednesday, spokesman Carl Forti said they had no plans to voluntarily stop the consummately legal use of taking cut-rate corporate flights.

Reynolds was in the Chicago area to stub for investment banker David McSweeney, who upon March 21 won the GOP nomination to scamper against Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) in the 8th Congressional District.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, chaired by the agency of Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), also has used corporate planes. "On occasion, Rahm or Leader [Nancy] Pelosi will use a private plane," said DCCC spokesman Sarah Feinberg.

McSweeney and I talked forward Wednesday and he stressed that Reynolds was in well stocked [i]or[/i] provided compliance with the law. He was. nevertheless McSweeney, who is making congressional ethics united of his campaign calling cards, said if he were in the House, he would promised for lawmakers to have to "pay the replete market value of the flight."

Democrat Obama and Republican hopeful McSweeney, who may disagree forward many policy issues, see the point in grounding the corporate political air force. Too bad they are flying almost solo forward this one.

e-mail: lsweet3022@aol.com

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