January 23, 2007
On January 18, the U.S. Senate passed a lobbying reform package by an overwhelming majority. After a short stalemate over Republican amendments, the Senate agreed to a number of amendments by voice vote and passed S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, by a vote of 96-2.
Although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell worked together to bring the bill to the floor, efforts at coordination broke down over procedural issues over whether Senator Judd Gregg’s amendment to include a line-item veto in the package could be subject to a vote. After two days of negotiations, Reid agreed to allow the Gregg amendment when the Senate considers a minimum wage bill (S. 2) this week.
Prior to passage of the bill, the Senate voted on an amendment offered by Senator Robert Bennett to strike Section 220 of the bill, a requirement for lobbying firms and organizations to disclose the amount of money spent on grassroots lobbying efforts on the Lobby Disclosure Act (LDA). The amendment passed, 55-43, meaning the grassroots lobbying disclosure provision was removed from the bill.
The Senate bill contains provisions that could affect nonprofits:
A ban on gifts to Senators or Senate staff from lobbyists and organizations that pay lobbyists. A similar provision was included in the House passed bill.
A prohibition on organizations that employ or pay lobbyists from arranging or paying for Senate member or staff travel. However, important exceptions have been created to help 501(c) organizations continue to educate members of Congress and their staff, such as permitting one day trips to attend a forum or conference and any travel paid by universities. A similar provision was passed by the House, although the Senate passed bill allows 501(c)(3) organizations to obtain pre-approval by the Ethics committee to sponsor Senate member and staff travel.
A lower threshold for registering and reporting as a federal lobbyist. The LDA currently requires organizations that employ lobbyists to register if they spend $24,500 semi-annually on lobbying activities and employ at least one person who spends at least 20% of his or her time on lobbying activities. S. 1 changes the dollar threshold to $10,000 per quarter, instead of $24,500 semiannually.
Disclosure of funds contributed to events to honor a legislative or executive branch official or to pay the costs of a meeting, retreat, or similar event for such officials.
Disclosure (by the lobbyist) of organizations that contribute $10,000 or more to a coalition or association that registers under the LDA and plans, supervises or controls in a substantial way the management of the coalition’s lobbying activities. Such disclosure, however, would be exempt for organizations for which the affiliation or funding of the coalition is "publicly available knowledge", for example, if a coalition posted their source of funding on its website; and
Disclosure of contributions made by any lobbyist to federal candidates and Political Action Committees.
The Senate bill now moves to the House of Representatives, where statutory changes are not expected to be proposed until spring. Within the last few weeks, House of Representatives voted to change House Rules—internal rules governing how it operates and to which Representatives must comply—regarding gifts, travel and earmarks. It is expected the House will take up a larger bill encompassing changes to the LDA in the spring, and it is likely proponents of the grassroots lobbying disclosure provision will work to ensure its inclusion in the House bill.
While requiring nonprofit organizations to disclose their grassroots lobbying expenditures is not the antidote to the Abramoff scandals, Alliance for Justice worked closely with Senate staff to dramatically lessen the impact on nonprofit organizations when it became apparent that the bill was going to include grassroots lobbying disclosure. Our efforts were designed to ensure that any grassroots provision considered by the Senate would not bring new organizations under the reporting regime of the Lobby Disclosure Act (LDA).
Alliance for Justice will continue to follow lobbying reform legislation as it moves through the House and we will continue to update you as the House considers this legislation.
© 2005 Alliance for Justice
Página web: www.afj.org
On January 18, the U.S. Senate passed a lobbying reform package by an overwhelming majority. After a short stalemate over Republican amendments, the Senate agreed to a number of amendments by voice vote and passed S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, by a vote of 96-2.
Although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell worked together to bring the bill to the floor, efforts at coordination broke down over procedural issues over whether Senator Judd Gregg’s amendment to include a line-item veto in the package could be subject to a vote. After two days of negotiations, Reid agreed to allow the Gregg amendment when the Senate considers a minimum wage bill (S. 2) this week.
Prior to passage of the bill, the Senate voted on an amendment offered by Senator Robert Bennett to strike Section 220 of the bill, a requirement for lobbying firms and organizations to disclose the amount of money spent on grassroots lobbying efforts on the Lobby Disclosure Act (LDA). The amendment passed, 55-43, meaning the grassroots lobbying disclosure provision was removed from the bill.
The Senate bill contains provisions that could affect nonprofits:
A ban on gifts to Senators or Senate staff from lobbyists and organizations that pay lobbyists. A similar provision was included in the House passed bill.
A prohibition on organizations that employ or pay lobbyists from arranging or paying for Senate member or staff travel. However, important exceptions have been created to help 501(c) organizations continue to educate members of Congress and their staff, such as permitting one day trips to attend a forum or conference and any travel paid by universities. A similar provision was passed by the House, although the Senate passed bill allows 501(c)(3) organizations to obtain pre-approval by the Ethics committee to sponsor Senate member and staff travel.
A lower threshold for registering and reporting as a federal lobbyist. The LDA currently requires organizations that employ lobbyists to register if they spend $24,500 semi-annually on lobbying activities and employ at least one person who spends at least 20% of his or her time on lobbying activities. S. 1 changes the dollar threshold to $10,000 per quarter, instead of $24,500 semiannually.
Disclosure of funds contributed to events to honor a legislative or executive branch official or to pay the costs of a meeting, retreat, or similar event for such officials.
Disclosure (by the lobbyist) of organizations that contribute $10,000 or more to a coalition or association that registers under the LDA and plans, supervises or controls in a substantial way the management of the coalition’s lobbying activities. Such disclosure, however, would be exempt for organizations for which the affiliation or funding of the coalition is "publicly available knowledge", for example, if a coalition posted their source of funding on its website; and
Disclosure of contributions made by any lobbyist to federal candidates and Political Action Committees.
The Senate bill now moves to the House of Representatives, where statutory changes are not expected to be proposed until spring. Within the last few weeks, House of Representatives voted to change House Rules—internal rules governing how it operates and to which Representatives must comply—regarding gifts, travel and earmarks. It is expected the House will take up a larger bill encompassing changes to the LDA in the spring, and it is likely proponents of the grassroots lobbying disclosure provision will work to ensure its inclusion in the House bill.
While requiring nonprofit organizations to disclose their grassroots lobbying expenditures is not the antidote to the Abramoff scandals, Alliance for Justice worked closely with Senate staff to dramatically lessen the impact on nonprofit organizations when it became apparent that the bill was going to include grassroots lobbying disclosure. Our efforts were designed to ensure that any grassroots provision considered by the Senate would not bring new organizations under the reporting regime of the Lobby Disclosure Act (LDA).
Alliance for Justice will continue to follow lobbying reform legislation as it moves through the House and we will continue to update you as the House considers this legislation.
© 2005 Alliance for Justice
Página web: www.afj.org
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