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Apr 18, 2008 -- Legal Center Weekly Report: April 18, 2008 District Court Dismisses NAM Lawsuit & Denies Injunction Pending Appeal
Late on the afternoon of Friday, April 11, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a decision dismissing the National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM) lawsuit challenging key lobbying disclosure provisions of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA). In a well-reasoned and thorough 57-page opinion, Judge Kollar-Kotelly rejected NAM's claims that the challenged provisions violate the organization's First Amendment rights and that the provisions are unconstitutionally vague. Instead, the Court concluded that the HLOGA provisions are narrowly-tailored to serve the compelling government interests in preventing corruption and providing Congress and the electorate with information regarding who is being hired to influence Congress, who is putting up the money, and how much.
Legal Center Executive Director J. Gerald Hebert hailed the decision in a statement praising the court for recognizing, "clear precedent that the disclosure provision serves the compelling governmental interest in providing full disclosure of lobbying activity and in protecting the integrity of the legislative process."
Today, April 18, Judge Kollar-Kotelly denied NAM's request that she issue a stay of her decision last week and an injunction barring the federal government from implementing or enforcing the challenged HLOGA provisions pending NAM's appeal of Judge Kollar-Kotelly's decision last Friday. Consequently, absent the unlikely intervention by the D.C. Circuit Court over the weekend, NAM must comply with HLOGA disclosure requirements on Monday, April 21.
Legal Center and Reform Groups Call on Rep. Albert Wynn to Step Down
On April 10, the Legal Center and a coalition of reform organization sent a letter to Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD), urging him to step down from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in light of announcing his intention to resign from the House of Representatives in a few months in order to take a position at the lobbying law firm of Dickstein Shapiro LLP. Later that day, Rep. Wynn announced his intention to resign from the committee.
The six reform groups include the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG.
In a separate letter and statement the Legal Center urged Rep. Wynn to resign from Congress altogether because of the myriad potential conflicts of interest between his current office and the clients of his new employer.
"For him to stay in Congress under such circumstances does a disservice to his constituents," said Legal Center Policy Director Meredith McGehee. "Rep. Wynn's announcement that he would remain in Congress after accepting work as a lobbyist undermines the integrity of the United States Congress."
On April 14, the Legal Center was joined by several organizations in petitioning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reconsider certain aspects of its Report and Order for standardized and enhanced disclosure requirements for broadcasters. Overall the groups praised the FCC's work on the matter but specifically asked that: 1) the Commission require broadcasters to post their political files online within thirty days after an election; 2) clarify that it will create an online database of the new disclosure form to make it easier for advocates and academics to search for information on licensees' service to their communities and; 3) require broadcasters to retain their entire public file online until final action is taken on license renewal applications.
The organizations petitioning the FCC along with the Legal Center include Common Cause, the Benton Foundation, and the New America Foundation.
On April 18, Tara Malloy, Legal Center Associate Legal Counsel, participated in panel at a conference at American University's Washington College of Law. The conference, "Does Red Lion Still Roar?" addressed public interest media regulation forty years after Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC. Ms. Malloy's panel, "New Frontiers: Public Interest Regulation in a Converging 21st Century Media Marketplace," also included representatives the Free State Foundation and Public Knowledge and professors from Seton Hall Law School and Washington College of Law.
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Week in the News
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