Ethics: Lobbying and Ethics Reform: Fact Sheets and Side-by-side ComparisonsSix Benchmarks for Lobbying Reform The Campaign Legal Center joined with Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Campaign, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG to release guidelines for lobbying reform. To view the six benchmarks for reform, click here.
2008 Congressional Lobbying and Ethics Rules 2 Pager Since the passage of the Honest Government and Open Leadership Act (HLOGA) was enacted last year, various elements of the law have taken effect while others have not or are still being interpreted. The staff of the Campaign Legal Center has compiled a brief summary of the rules and their current status as of January 2008. To view the two pager on the new lobbying and ethics rules, please click here.
Looking Forward: Lobbying & Ethics Reform in the 110th Congress? November 1994: Republicans retake the House for the first time in 40 years in the wake of numerous Democratic congressional scandals.
November 2006: Twelve years later, Democrats take back the House in the wake of numerous Republican congressional scandals.
Will the Democrats live up to their promises?
To view quotes made by Democrats on lobbying and ethics refrom, click here.
Lobbying Reform Bills Side by Side Comparison Chart as of June 20, 2007 The Campaign Legal Center has compiled a side-by-side comparison of the current lobbying reform bills. The comparison chart was sent to all Members of Congress. The cover letter and comparison chart are below.
June 20, 2007
Dear Representative:
Attached is a side-by-side comparison of lobbying reform measures passed by the House and Senate this Congress. The document compares current law with S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act, passed by the Senate on January 19, 2007; and H.R. 2316, the Honest Government and Open Leadership Act, passed by the House on May 24, 2007.
The chart covers provisions in the bills relating to lobbying reform, travel and gifts rules, the revolving door, disclosure and earmarks. Additionally, both pieces of legislation address "bundling" disclosure—the highest priority for meaningful lobbying reform. The House bill requires lobbyists to disclose contributions collected, "bundled," for Members, while the Senate bill calls for lobbyists to disclose fundraising events held for members in addition to "bundling" disclosure. Both "bundling" and fundraising event disclosure are central to effective lobbying reform and will enhance the public's knowledge of efforts being made to influence their elected officials. It is imperative that the language in the conference report be at least as strong as the bills that have already been passed by Congress.
The Campaign Legal Center urges the House and Senate conferees to support meaningful provisions addressing lobbyist disclosure of fundraising events that are held and the amounts "bundled" for Members.
Please call me if you have further questions or if I can be helpful in any way. The Legal Center looks forward to working with members of the House and Senate as you move forward on this issue and seeing that these important reforms are signed into law.
Sincerely,
Meredith McGehee
Policy Director
To view the updated side-by-side, click here.
Comparison Chart As of February 13, 2007 The Campaign Legal Center has compiled a side-by-side comparison of the current lobbying reform bills. To view the side by side comparison, click here.
Memorandum on Astroturf Lobbying The Campaign Legal Center sent a memorandum to all Senators analyzing the constitutionality of the astroturf lobbying provisions in S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007. These provisions would require lobbying firms to disclose paid efforts to stimulate "grassroots" lobbying. This disclosure requirement does not apply to organizations communicating with their own members. As this memo makes clear, the astroturf lobbying language in this bill easily passes constitutional muster.
The astroturf lobbying provision in S. 1 will increase transparency and provide a more accurate record of paid lobbying efforts made to influence specific legislative actions in Congress. The Campaign Legal Center strongly urges you to oppose any efforts to weaken or strip these provisions from S. 1.
To read the full letter, click here.
Lobbying and Ethics "Reform" in the 109th Congress Both the House and Senate have received significant criticism over their failure to effectively address the lobbying and ethics scandals in the 109th Congress. The Campaign Legal Center has compiled statements made by the House and Senate Leadership as the scandals broke and throughout the legislative process. These quotes highlight the discrepancy between the lawmakers' early statements and the legislative actions they took. To view statements made by the House and Senate leadership as the scandals broke and throughout the legislative process, click here. To view a timeline of the lobbying and ethics scandals in the 109th Congress, click here.
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