Lobbying in the United States

Lobbying in the United States targets the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures. They may also represent their clients' or organizations' interests in dealings with federal, state, or local executive branch agencies or the courts. Lobby groups and their members sometimes also write legislation and whip bills. The ability of individuals, groups, and corporations to lobby the government is protected by the right to petition^[1] in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

1 History
2 Proposed reform
3 Top sectors by spending
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

This tradition began during the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant, who served as president between 1869 and 1877. Not allowed to smoke in the White House by his wife, Grant enjoyed his cigars in the lobby of the nearby Willard Hotel. Having been spotted there often, politicians and others wanting political favors began to frequent him during this time of repose, while he was in high spirits.

In July 2005, Public Citizen published a report entitled "The Journey from Congress to K Street": the report analyzed hundreds of lobbyist registration documents filed in compliance with the "Lobbying Disclosure Act" and the "Foreign Agents Registration Act", among other sources. It found that since 1998, 43 percent of the 198 members of Congress who left government to join private life have registered to lobby. The Washington Post described these results as reflecting the "sea change that has occurred in lawmakers' attitudes toward lobbying in recent years." The paper noted that

Congressional historians say that lawmakers rarely became lobbyists as recently as two decades ago. They considered the profession to be tainted and unworthy of once-elected officials such as themselves. And lobbying firms and trade groups were leery of hiring former members of Congress because they were reputed to be lazy as lobbyists, unwilling to ask former colleagues for favors.

But starting in the late 1980s, high salaries for lobbyists, an increasing demand for lobbyists, greater turnover in Congress, and a change in the control of the House all contributed to a change in attitude about the appropriateness of former elected officials becoming lobbyists.

Former lawmakers are eagerly hired as lobbyists because of their relationships with their former colleagues as well as other contacts. The Public Citizen report included a case study of one particularly successful lobbyist, Bob Livingston, who stepped down as Speaker-elect and resigned his seat in 1999 after a sex scandal. In the six years since his resignation, his lobbying group grew into the 12th largest non-law lobbying firm, earning nearly $40 million by the end of 2004. During roughly the same time period, Livingston, his wife, and his two political action committees (PACs) contributed over $500,000 to the PACs or campaign funds of various candidates.

[edit] Proposed reform

The increasing number of former lawmakers becoming lobbyists has led Senator Russ Feingold (D, WI) to propose paring back the many Capitol Hill privileges enjoyed by former senators and representatives. His plan would deprive lawmakers-turned-lobbyists of privileges such as unfettered access to otherwise "members only" areas such as the House and Senate floors and the House gym.

Most recently the scandal involving former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has inspired the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006, a bill debated on the Senate floor in March 2006. According to Time Magazine article in its April 10th issue, the Senate passed legislation the first week of April 2006 to reform U.S. lobbying practices. The Senate bill: 1) bars lobbyists themselves from buying gifts and meals for legislators, but it leaves a big loophole: firms and organizations represented by those lobbyists may still dole out freebies; 2) Privately funded trips would still be allowed if lawmakers get prior approval from a commissioned ethics committee; 3) It would also require lobbyists to file more frequent, more detailed reports on their activities, which would be posted in public domains.

Critics of the bills proposed from both the House and Senate like Fred Wertheimer, head of the nonpartisan Democracy 21 watchdog group, say the bills "leave lobbyists free to function in Congress exactly the way they have been functioning."

[edit] Top sectors by spending

According to OpenSecrets.org^[2] the top sectors and their total spending between 1998 and 2005 are:

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate, $2,116,701,718
Health, $1,925,092,427
Misc Business, $1,846,514,960
Communications/Electronics, $1,740,630,467
Energy & Natural Resources, $1,395,883,127
Transportation, $1,155,527,330
Ideological/Single-Issue, $728,397,857
Agribusiness, $713,779,422
Defense, $493,204,322
Labor, $230,091,831
Construction, $220,086,196
Lawyers & Lobbyists, $159,488,042
Other, $997,587,835

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ The Right to Petition. Illinois First Amendment Center.
^ Lobbying Spending Database. OpenSecrets.org.

[edit] External links

General

Nova Southeastern University: Lobbying Links
Public Private Dialogue A resource for practitioners wishing to promote policy reforms through dialogue (sponsored by World Bank, IFC, OCED, DFID, GTZ)