Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Representative David Dreier once tried to torpedo an effort to limit corporate political donations. He voted to allow charities to fly lawmakers to their events and to let Republicans keep their leadership posts even if indicted.

Now, the California lawmaker has been tapped by Republicans in the House of Representatives as the leader of a move to strengthen lobbying and ethics laws amid the scandal involving Jack Abramoff. Dreier's record, and those of other Republican leaders, illustrates why the party may struggle to convince voters it's serious about overhauling the money-in-politics system.

Congressional Republicans are standing against their own history of embracing lobbyists and relaxing ethics rules since they took control of Congress in 1995, some lawmakers and analysts say.

``We don't have a good track record,'' said Representative Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican and co-author of the 2002 law banning unlimited corporate, union and individual donations to the political parties that Dreier tried to stop.

The Republicans' connections with lobbyists have helped the party maintain control of Congress. The Republicans' share of donations from Washington's K Street lobbying corridor more than doubled to 52 percent in 2004 from 1994, with the Democratic share dropping to 48 percent from 75 percent.

`Very Worried'

``They had a real machine going,'' said James Thurber, director of the Washington-based American University Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies. ``They cannot milk K Street'' if they go too far in tightening restrictions, Thurber said. ``That's why they're very worried.''

The House on Feb. 1 is scheduled to vote on its first new legislation curtailing the activity of lobbyists: a measure to ban lawmakers-turned-lobbyists from going on to the House floor or using the House gym, said Jo Maney, a spokeswoman for Dreier, 53. That day, Dreier is scheduled to propose a comprehensive package of new lobbying and ethics rules, Maney said.

Among the measures likely to be considered are proposals banning privately funded travel; doubling to two years the time a former lawmaker or congressional staff member must wait before lobbying former colleagues; and requiring more frequent and detailed disclosure of lobbying activity.

Spurring these proposals was Abramoff's guilty plea on Jan. 3 to criminal charges stemming from his bilking of Indian-tribe clients. Abramoff, who offered gifts, donations and other ``things of value'' to public officials, was among many lobbyists who forged close ties to Republican lawmakers in the last decade.

`K Street Project'

Lobbyists were regularly invited to meetings at the Capitol, where they were sometimes allowed to help write legislation, and enlisted to back the party's agenda. The party also pressured lobbying firms to hire Republicans and donate to the party's candidates, in what is known as the ``K Street Project,'' headed by former Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.

Dreier was chosen to head the campaign to address ethics issues because of his ties to the congressional leadership. The 13-term representative is chairman of the Rules Committee, which decides what amendments can be offered to legislation being considered by the House.

Rick Santorum, 47, who is leading the effort in the Senate, is the third-ranking Republican, serving as conference chairman.

Dreier defended the Republicans' commitment to ethics rules at a Jan. 17 press conference. ``The Republican Party has been and continues to be the party of reform,'' he said.

Term Limits

House Republicans adopted a package of rules in January 1995, when they first took control, that included term limits on chairmen and leaders and the appointment of an outside auditor to review House spending. Later that year, Congress voted to ban most gifts to lawmakers and enacted new reporting requirements for lobbyists.

``It will always be a priority of the Republicans to make sure that this House is as ethical as it can be,'' Dreier spokeswoman Maney said.

Santorum also touted his record in Jan. 25 testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He cited his efforts to impose term limits and eliminate subsidies for the Senate barber shop and restaurant. ``I have a track record of reform,'' the Pennsylvania lawmaker said.

Larry Noble, the former top lawyer at the Federal Election Commission, said the record doesn't bear that out. ``They have a history that really calls into question the seriousness of this commitment to ethics reform,'' said Noble, who now directs the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, which studies campaign finance. ``It makes it harder for them to sell what they're doing.''

Motion Rejected

Dreier's Rules Committee in 2001 proposed bringing to the floor Shays's legislation banning unlimited corporate contributions to the parties under rules that would have made it harder to pass. Dreier's proposal was rejected by a vote on the House floor, the first time such a proposal from the Rules Committee had been turned down under House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois. Dreier later voted against the final measure.

In the Senate, Santorum opposed the same legislation, sponsored by Senators John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Russell Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, and supported efforts to block a final vote.

Shays, 60, said the Democratic record is blemished, too. After Congress banned large donations to political parties in 2002, Democrats were far quicker to set up so-called ``527 groups,'' independent organizations that have no restrictions on contributions, he said. Democratic 527 groups took in $261 million for the 2004 elections, compared with $154 million for Republican groups, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a Washington- based group that tracks campaign donations.

Food for Lawmakers

Dreier and his fellow House Republicans in 2003 voted to make it easier for lobbyists to provide food for lawmakers and congressional staff members. They also backed a measure to allow charities to pay a lawmaker's expenses to attend their events.

In 2004, they changed Republican conference rules to allow indicted leaders to keep their positions. The rule was changed to protect DeLay, who was being investigated in Texas, and was rescinded after a public outcry. DeLay, 58, was indicted last September and forced to step down from his majority leader post.

Hastert replaced Representative Joel Hefley of Colorado, the Republican chairman of the House ethics committee, after the panel rebuked DeLay three times in 2004. And House Republicans considered removing limits on donations that date back to the 1974 campaign-finance law passed after the Watergate scandal.

The House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over election law, passed the legislation last year, although it never reached the floor for a vote.

``It's much harder for them to claim the mantle of reform,'' said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, a Washington- based advocacy group that supports new lobbying rules. ``They're the anti-reformers.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 30, 2006 00:19 EST