Something fishy is going on in Alaska, and no, it has nothing to do with the state's wild salmon supply.

Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the current longest-serving Republican Senator, has recently been under fire due to allegations regarding the reconstruction of his Alaskan home.  In 2000, the Senator doubled the size of his Girdwood home with the assistance of a contractor from the VECO Corporation, who was hired by the company's top executive. VECO, an oil-field and construction corporation located in Anchorage, has been a significant recipient of Steven's earmarks, no doubt due to its strong lobbying presence in oil-rich Alaska. Now comes the news that Senator Stevens paid only a minimal construction bill for the work done on his property, far off from the actual value of the job.

On Friday, May 24th the House of Representatives passed an ethics reform bill with a 382 to 37 vote. The bill was brought to the floor through the advocacy of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) and Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Martin T. Meehan (D-MA).  The proposal calls for the provision of bundling reform, which requires lobbyists to disclose all campaign contributions made to members of congress. It also establishes a firmer system of monitoring lobbyists' charity contributions on behalf lawmakers.

Of course, in order to ensure these provisions, Congress had to drop the provision of the "revolving door" reform, which require that former Representatives wait an additional year until they are eligible to work as lobbyists after serving in Congress. Clearly, it has proven to be rather difficult for these lawmakers to enforce these ethics reforms.