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Posts Tagged ‘DISCLOSE Act’
Thursday, May 19th, 2011 by Vbhotla
There has been sharp concern voiced over provisions a new executive order which proposes all government contractors should disclose their political contributions. If enacted, the order would require officers and directors and subsidiaries and affiliates of a company bidding for government contracts to submit a report detailing any contributions made directly to candidates or third party independent expenditure groups using the funds for electioneering activities.
These new provisions have been likened to “pay-to-play” laws on the state level, though the Executive Order, unlike state laws, would not limit the number of contributions. Included would be a two year look-back, with donations for two years prior to the bid also subject to disclosure, which would be required if $5,000 or more was spent on political activities.
Critics say that the order would foster partisanship in contracting practices, damper First Amendment rights to participate in the political process, and add a tremendous burden on contractors.
It is important to note that the Executive Order would not require disclosure of contributions made by the spouses or children of the directors or officers whose own contributions would trigger reporting, nor would it include senior executives or other staff to report giving
Tags: DISCLOSE Act, Executive Order, LDA, lobbying disclosure
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on ALERT: Executive Order Could Increase Disclosure Requirements
Monday, January 3rd, 2011 by Vbhotla
Last year saw Executive Orders and court rulings and legislative movements and the passing of some of the profession’s most dearly-loved members. Here is a look back at the top headlines of 2010:
- Trials, convictions and releases – Kevin Ring was convicted on five counts of corruption November 15 and awaits sentencing, after a 2009 trial resulted in a hung jury. Paul Magliocchetti pleaded guilty in September to making illegal campaign contributions. The justice department is seeking a 57 month imprisonment for what prosecutors are calling “one of the largest criminal schemes in U.S. history to violate federal campaign finance laws.” Jack Abramoff, initially sentenced to six years for fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe public officials, was released from federal prison in June, and his term at a work-release-like program at a Baltimore pizzeria ended in early December.
- Court rulings – In January, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission corporate funding of independent campaign ads could not be limited under the First Amendment. Many consider the March Speechnow ruling to be a follow-up to Citizens United; the spring case allowed for unlimited giving to “independent expenditures committees.” Both cases, however, upheld disclosure requirements while lifting spending restrictions.
- Legislative Bullying – Congress sought to “fix” the Citizens United ruling with the DISCLOSE Act, which would require organizations that back federal election campaigns to disclose the names of large donors, as well as list said donors in any campaign ads the organizations run, and ban foreign governments, government contractors, and TARP recipients from donating to campaigns. The act passed in the House in June, but failed in the lame duck session in the Senate. In addition, a proposed ban on earmarks failed in the Senate November 30.
- Executive Orders – In June, President Obama issued an order banning lobbyists from advisory boards of federal departments and agencies. It also banned all gifts from lobbyists to executive branch appointees, appointees-turned-lobbyists from lobbying the branch for the duration of his administration, and tightened revolving door policies.
- Deaths – Patti Jo Baber, executive director of the American League of Lobbyists, passed in December. She was described as the “backbone” of the organization and a prominent member of the lobbying community.
Tags: American League of Lobbyists, Citizens United, DISCLOSE Act, earmarks ban, Executive Order on lobbying, Jack Abramoff, Kevin Ring, Paul Magliocchetti, Revolving Door, Speechnow.org v FEC
Posted in Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on Top Headlines of 2010
Monday, October 25th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The Federal Election Commission does not intend to publish a rulemaking on the Citizens United decision until after the November mid-terms, despite having had almost ten months to do so. Democrats have urged the FEC to utilize their rulemaking power to blunt what they see as overwhelming corporate money in federal elections.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) led the charge of 15 senators requesting greater regulation of foreign campaign contributions, penning a letter to the FEC saying “while Congress will need to act, the Commission must immediately do its part to protect our elections from foreign influence,” and calling for strengthened policies and less ambiguous interpretations of the ruling.
After the failure of this summer’s DISCLOSE Act in the Senate, campaign finance reformers are not seeing action on the controversial judicial decision in the immediate future. Craig Holman, Public Citizen’s campaign finance lobbyist, told Politico, “This is a low point for the campaign finance reform movement — I’ve never seen it lower.”
Indeed, the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act has suffered tremendous blows at the hands of the Supreme Court and FEC regulation. The agency has said it will alter its enforcement to be in compliance with the ruling, but has failed to implement any actual policies to do so thus far. Lobbyists who manage PACs or contribute to federal campaigns should be aware of the massive amount of maneuvering going on behind the scenes with campaign finance reform and potential implementation.
Tags: Campaign Finance, Campaign finance reform, Citizens United, DISCLOSE Act, FEC
Posted in Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on Campaign finance reformers see a tough road ahead
Monday, September 27th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The DISCLOSE Act came up for a cloture vote again in the Senate on Thursday, September 23. The Democrats’ campaign finance reform bill has been on life support since it failed a prior cloture vote in July. The newest vote, which failed on party lines, 59-39, was seen as a last-ditch attempt to get a top priority through the Congress.
The Democrats, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), had promised to bring the bill to a vote after the August recess, when they said that Republicans’ suspicions about the timing of the bill being intended to benefit Democratic incumbents in November’s mid-terms would be mitigated. However, Democrats were unable to sway moderate Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Scott Brown (Massachusetts) into supporting the legislation.
President Obama’s office released a statement saying the President was “deeply disappointed” by the bill’s failure to pass. The President has been pushing for the “fix” to the Citizens United decision since the House passed their version of DISCLOSE in June.
CQ Politics reports that it may be a possibility that the legislation will keep coming back – “but it is unclear whether Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will try to take the issue up again during a lame-duck session.
The CQ Politics article is here: “Senate GOP Again Blocks DISCLOSE”. Read more about the DISCLOSE Act here, and at Eric Brown’s site (for news round-ups).
Tags: DISCLOSE Act, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Senate legislation
Posted in Campaign Finance, Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on DISCLOSE Act fails… again
Friday, September 24th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The Hill reports on Kenya’s lobbying expenditures. According to the article, “Lobbyists for the Kenyan government have focused on strengthening security ties, as well as increasing trade, between the two countries. They have also worked to secure a direct flight route between Atlanta and Nairobi.” The article further reports that the African nation has retained Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates (CLS) for PR services and the Moffett Group to provide lobbying services.
Round-up of some articles on the DISCLOSE vote, from Eric Brown.
Need a quick look at the House ethics process? Ethics lawyer Stan Brand takes you through some of the steps. (Video).
Open Secrets notes this study on the “revolving door” from the London School of Economics, which found that ex-staffers turned lobbyists benefit financially from being in influential offices.
Eliza Newlin Carney of National Journal writes on Rep. John Boehner and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lobbyist / special interest ties will matter to voters. “Will Boehner’s Bucks Rankle Voters?”
Quote of the week:
“The recession has actually created a map where all roads now lead to Washington.” – Kevin O’Neill, Patton Boggs, Washington Post, 9/20/2010
“It is true that my fights against powerful special interests have not made me popular with the Washington crowd… I take the fact that I’m considered the lobbyists’ number one enemy as a compliment, because my job is to fight for the people of Wisconsin, not the special interests in Washington.” – Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), Politico, 9/20/2010
“Democrats don’t like to go to K Street as much as Republicans do… Republicans ‘don’t care. They will work for oil, energy, gas, PhRMA, insurance, cigarette companies, gambling. It’d take something pretty damn bad for them not to do it.’” – “K Street recruiter,” Roll Call, 9/20/2010
Tags: DISCLOSE Act, House ethics, john boehner, Kenya lobbyists, Nancy Pelosi, Revolving Door
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, September 17th, 2010 by Vbhotla
After last week’s surprise upset in Alaska (Joe Miller over Lisa Murkowski in the GOP Senate primary), Roll Callreports that lobbyists were quick to shift their financial and fundraising support from Murkowski to Miller. Article here.
The New York Times‘ report on John Boehner’s lobbyist ties is examined a little more fully in our post, here. Boehner also responded via the Washington Examiner.
Pepsi and Coke both have new lobbyists in DC… maybe this will spark the huge Pepsi v. Coke epic battle we’ve all been waiting for. (Although I won’t lie, as a Michigander, I prefer Faygo).
John Doolittle, who earlier this year complained that the (cleared) ethics investigations against him were making supporting work difficult, has found a job lobbying for Colfax City, California.
Lots of ethical dilemmas and strong words being traded back and forth regarding House ethics.. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), one of the Ethics Committee members, faces his own ethics and disclosure issues. Various public interest groups try to get Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner to publicly agree to support the OCE in the next Congress.
Ross Garber comments on Public Corruption charges post Skilling (discussion of Kevin Ring case included). See our posts about Kevin Ring and Skilling.
Following up on our report earlier this week that lobby shops are looking to up their GOP quotient ahead of the midterms, Roll Call reports on the Democratic job prospects on K St.
We anxiously await word on the fate of DISCLOSE.
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia) was recorded leaving a voicemail on an unnamed lobbyist’s phone, asking for campaign contributions, and doing it in a manner that implied a reminder of Holmes Norton’s power status in the lobbyist’s “sector.” More on this story in our Monday post on lobbyist campaign contributions.
From the Canadian Society of Association Executives, a post on “Enhancing Grassroots Advocacy Through Social Media.” Worth a read.
The LA Times has an article on Kevin Spacey’s role as Jack Abramoff in the upcoming “Casino Jack.”
Reports abound that Paul Magliocchetti is changing his “not guilty” plea in his 11-count indictment.
Three Obama administration employees never deregistered as lobbyists before taking their new jobs, according to OpenSecrets blog.
Quote(s) of the week:
“There may be a new gang in town after November,” said Hellmann, a former aide to then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). “The climate will be better for the business community on taxes.” (Roll Call, 9/13/2010)
“A lot of people want to have coffee now.” – Gordon Taylor, Ogilvy Government Relations, about staffers seeking advice on how to navigate the job market (Roll Call, 9/14/2010)
“Once he’s done with his house arrest, he may decide to speak out about the lobbying industry… He’d be credible if he takes responsibility for what he did, which he has, and exposes the hypocrisy he was a part of.” Kevin Spacey on Jack Abramoff (LA Times, 9/14/2010)
Tags: Casino Jack, Coca-Cola, DISCLOSE Act, Grassroots advocacy, Joe Miller, john boehner, John Doolittle, Kevin Spacey, Lisa Murkowski, Paul Magliocchetti, PepsiCo, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rep. Michael McCaul, Revolving Door, Skilling
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Monday, August 23rd, 2010 by Vbhotla
Will Washington once again see action on a signature piece of Democratic legislation? According to National Journal’s Hotline On Call, Senate Democrats are planning to reopen the campaign finance issue after the August recess – in the hope that the delay will mitigate some moderate Republicans’ objections to the hurried legislation.
Although the process from conception of the legislation to passage in the House took more than 4 months, Sen. Harry Reid chose to bring up the issue for a cloture vote on July 27 in the Senate. It ultimately failed, with Sen. Reid voting no ultimately to preserve his right of cloture. Moderate Republican Senators Scott Brown (Mass.), Olympia Snowe (Maine), and Susan Collins (Maine) are the swing votes on this issue – all have expressed reservations about what they view as the majority’s unseemly haste – seemingly in order to influence the November elections.
Since passing the bill in September or October would mean that it would not impact this year’s pivotal elections, Democrats hope that the moderate Senators, who may have supported campaign finance reform in a different format, will be able to overcome their skepticism. Express Advocacy’s William McGinley reports that Sens. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Leahy (D-Vermont) sent a campaign email specifically mentioning the DISCLOSE Act.
Story from Hotline on Call is here: “DISCLOSE Act will get second look.”
Tags: Chuck Schumer, DISCLOSE Act, Harry Reid
Posted in Campaign Finance, Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on Is DISCLOSE On Its Way Back?
Monday, August 9th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The Democrats’ signature campaign finance bill failed in the Senate on a cloture vote on July 27. After a contentious road to final passage in the House on July 24, the act needed a supermajority of 60 affirmative votes to invoke cloture, leading to passage, but was only able to gain 57 votes.
The vote broke down on party lines, with no Republicans crossing the aisle, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) absent, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), voting no in order to preserve the majority’s right of cloture. The Act provoked strong reactions – supporters hyped the bill’s ability to “overturn” the Supreme Court’s Citizens United campaign finance decision, while opponents decried the legislation’s stifling of First Amendment political speech rights.
To pass the contentious legislation in the House earlier this summer, Democrats created an exemption that allowed a few large advocacy nonprofits to bypass the bill’s disclosure requirements. In order to qualify, the groups had to have at least 500,000 members, among other things; qualifying groups included the National Rifle Association (for which the “carve out” was patched together), AARP and Sierra Club.
Sierra spokesman David Willett said that despite falling under the exemption, the organization is against the bill. “We opposed the idea of a two-tier system. The irony is, the bigger groups like NRA and Sierra Club have the resources to … handle the additional disclosure requirements” found in the bill, he said. “We just feel the rule should apply to everybody, so we remained opposed. [The exemption] is not in line with the spirit and goals of the bill.”
When the bill was first introduced, the NRA stated its opposition and announced its intention fight vigorously for its First Amendment rights. Shortly after the organization’s stance on the bill became known, House Democrats crafted the initial exemption. When the exemption became public, the outcry caused Democrats to revise the original language to include other qualifiers, widening slightly the applicable-organization pool.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NM) vowed to continue the push on the DISCLOSE Act; however, with lawmakers leaving DC for August recess, new action is delayed until at least September.
Tags: Campaign Finance, DISCLOSE Act, NRA
Posted in Campaign Finance, Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on Failure to DISCLOSE
Friday, July 30th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The Congressional Cigar Association got some (probably) unwanted attention from the Huffington Post last week.
Former Bush White House Spokesman Dana Perino has joined a lobbying firm. Perino is listed on the lobbying disclosure form for Hamilton Place Strategies. She’s listed on the form for Mina Corporation, which, according to their form, is interested in “Congressional Investigation” and “Department of Defense Contracts.” Although, also according to their form, the firm is making less than $5,000 on the contract.
Roll Call reports on ex-lobbyist Kevin Ring, and the impact of his trial on the future of Honest Services suits. (Roll Call subscription required).
Ethics (or lack thereof) update: Rep. Charles Rangel has been charged with 13 counts of violations against the House ethics rules. Read about it at Roll Call, or read the statement from the Ethics Committee here. (PDF)
DISCLOSE fails in the Senate. Will Harry Reid bring it up again after the August recess? Stay tuned. Meanwhile, you can get your fix of stories on the final cloture vote here at Rick Hasen’s Election Law Blog.
Politico reports on Sen. Richard Shelby’s earmark policy, and staffer connection to those earmarks.
The American League of Lobbyists and the Sunlight Foundation are teaming up to lobby on getting the 20% threshold lowered. OMB Watch blog notes the development, and it’s referenced in this Politico story, “Lobbyists call bluff on ‘Daschle exemption.'”
Quote(s) of the Week:
A little legal humor for you: “While the statute does not speak of business before a particular committee (as opposed to the House generally), it bears noting that the one committee that touches everyone is the Ways and Means Committee. There being no committee on death, the only other certain thing in life is covered within the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee.” – Ethics Committee on the accusations regarding Charlie Rangel, 7/29/2010
Tom Daschle, you’re ruining it for everyone: “You don’t know what they’re doing, and they have an incredible amount of power and access that no average American would ever have and that no average American can find out about either. It’s a double whammy.” – Dave Levinthal, Center for Responsive Politics, on lobbyists who aren’t registered, Politico, 7/26/2010
And this is why the public does not trust lobbyists: “One corporate lobbyist who worked as a regulator, asked whether he believed he had an inside edge in lobbying his ex-colleagues, said: ‘The answer is yes, it does. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to justify getting out of bed in the morning and charging the outrageous fees that we charge our clients, which they willingly pay.’ … The lobbyist, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about alienating government officials, added that “you have to work at an agency to understand the culture and the pressure points, and it helps to know the senior staff.” – New York Times, 7/27/2010
Tags: American League of Lobbyists, Congressional Cigar Association, corporate lobbying, CRP, Dana Perino, Dave Levinthal, DISCLOSE Act, Earmarks, Hamilton Place Strategies, honest services, Kevin Ring, Sen. Richard Shelby, Tom Daschle
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Monday, July 26th, 2010 by Vbhotla
When DISCLOSE went to the Senate after passage in the House on June 24, it included some controversial elements – and faced a tough road in the Senate.
But this week, it may have a chance at final passage. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) push for the bill now includes a brand-new version of the bill. Introduced on July 22 (after the first attempt at passage had been shelved) Sen. Schumer’s new bill, at 116 pages, seems to include much of the original language, and seeks to amend the FECA.
The original legislation, H.R.5175 and S.3295, was under fire by moderates and more conservative Senators alike, with complaints ranging from accusations of attempts by Democrats to change the political landscape from the top down, to complaints of special treatment of the National Rifle Association or various unions.
The bill aims to shortcut the committee process and bring the bill to a vote on Tuesday. Read the new version of the bill here (PDF).The text has not yet been received in the Government Printing Office, and is therefore not available on Thomas. However, a PDF of the bill is available here at Express Advocacy.
According to Politico, “Schumer has left intact a contentious provision exempting the National Rifle Association and several other large organizations from the reporting requirements of the legislation. But he has removed other language that had been backed by the AFL-CIO and other unions excusing the labor organizations from having to report money transfers between affiliates.”
Read the story at Politico.
Tags: Chuck Schumer, DISCLOSE Act, HR 5173, S 3295
Posted in Campaign Finance, Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on DISCLOSE Gets a Second Life
Friday, July 23rd, 2010 by Vbhotla
DISCLOSE: The Sequel. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has introduced a new version of the DISCLOSE Act in the Senate that reportedly tones down some of the more objectionable portions to make it more acceptable to the waffling moderates. Politico has the story, here. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) pegged next Tuesday for a vote.
Rangel’s woes get a little bit deeper. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) has been plagued by continuous stories regarding potential ethics violations for the past two years. Thursday, the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics Committee) voted to instigate a panel to examine the issues further. Eric Brown does a nice round-up of preliminary stories from various sources. The Ethics Committee’s public report on the matter is here.
In Campaign Finance news, the FEC approved several soft money expenditures. Commonsense Ten and Club for Growth were both approved for unlimited “soft money” expenditures in 2010. Roll Call (subscription) has more on the issue.
Salazar disapproves of the Revolving Door. The Washington Post had reported that oil and gas lobbyists were overwhelmingly swinging through the House/Senate/Executive branch revolving door. In a meeting with lawmakers tasked with oversight, Salazar expressed his disapproval of the practice of special interest groups.
Quote of the Week:
“There’s chatter out there that they’re saying there is not going to be disclosure … Anybody that comes away from here saying that [FEC allowing soft money expenditures] is going to undercut disclosure is just not reading what is going on.” – Republican FEC Commissioner Donald McGahn, Roll Call, 7/23/2010
Tags: Campaign Finance, Charlie Rangel, DISCLOSE Act, Donald McGahn, Ken Salazar
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, July 16th, 2010 by Vbhotla
SEC’s new rule on Pay to Play becomes effective September 30. (60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.)
Wiley Rein’s Election Law News July 2010 (including detailed looks at the DISCLOSE Act, SEC’s Pay-to-Play restrictions, Honest Services Fraud Statute, and more).
But the real question is: will DISCLOSE pass the Senate? Proponents of the measure suffered a setback when moderate Republican Scott Brown (Mass.) announced his opposition to the House bill, and the Maine ladies (moderate Republican Sens. Susan Collins & Olympia Snowe) are still waffling.
U.S. PIRG opposed the House measure (due to the NRA exemption),but has now (grudgingly) backed final passage in the Senate. Lisa Gilbert says that “we have concluded that the greater danger is posed by an election in which voters are effectively forced to wear blindfolds as the special interests behind campaign spending are hidden from us.”
Roll Call reports on a slightly strange rash of filings by Josue Larose, apparently a one-man lobbying firm with 87 new clients. Former ALL president Paul Miller, Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies, “said the situation sounds unbelievable … ‘If you sign up 87 new clients — I don’t care if you are Patton Boggs or just one lobbyist — you are going to need a huge team.'” (Roll Call subscription required)
As listed in Lobbyists.info, Larose has one client as a sole proprietor, and as the lobbyist for American Federal Lobbying Firm, has several PACs clients. His organization’s website makes the claim that: “The American Federal Lobbying Firm is the most powerful lobbying firm of the world and has more clients than any other lobbying firm in the United States of America.”
Office of Congressional Ethics is getting investigatory again (which is their job), but this time, Capitol Hill denizens say, it’s a little different – they’re looking at donation/official actions correlations. The New York Times quotes Kenneth Gross (who is “fielding some of the document requests from ethics investigators”), “This is really a redefinition of the law … To pick eight members and say they voted on legislation and political contributions came in around this time is really going places that no regulatory authority has ever gone.”
Quote of the Week:
“Do I think these [de-registered lobbyists] went back to Arkansas and became farmers? No, they just weren’t doing it 20 percent anymore … I think the 20 percent rule needs to be clearly defined and also what the role of a lobbyist is.” – Dave Wenhold, president, American League of Lobbyists, Washington Post, 7/12/2010
Tags: Dave Wenhold, DISCLOSE Act, Josue Larose, Kenneth Gross, Lisa Gilbert, OCE, Paul Miller, SEC, US PIRG, Wiley Rein
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, July 9th, 2010 by Vbhotla
UFO Lobbyist seeks to bring extra-terrestrial issues to the forefront of Congress’s legislative schedule.
How sweet it is: honey lobbyists ask the FDA for national purity standards as a method of trade protection. (Washington Post)
Publicly-financed elections come to the fore-front. The Washington Post reports on Common Cause and Public Campaign’s effect to pass the Fair Elections Now Act.
People seem to be endlessly fascinated by the fact that Facebook has a DC lobbying presence. Maybe it’s because they’re spending all day on Farmville? (The Hill, subscription required).
DISCLOSE Soldiers On. The Democrats are hopeful that they’ll get their pet campaign finance issue through the Senate within a reasonable time-frame. (Roll Call, subscription required).
Lobbyists take advantage of World Cup fever by lobbying for the world’s biggest sporting event to be held in the US in 2022. (The Hill, subscription required).
LD-2 filings are due in less than two weeks. Are you prepared? And it’s July, meaning a double-whammy of filing: LD-203 Forms are due on July 30.
Quote of the week:
“Lobby disclosure enforcement is notoriously lax.” – Meredith McGehee, Campaign Legal Center, Politico, July 4.
Tags: DISCLOSE Act, Facebook, Fair Elections Now Act, honey, LD-2, LD-203, lobbyists, world cup
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, June 25th, 2010 by Vbhotla
DISCLOSEd. HR 5175, this season’s signature campaign finance bill is (finally) passed. Nancy Pelosi and Chris Van Hollen are probably having a little celebration over on the Hill, while those opposed to the measure say “the fight isn’t over.” (Roll Call article here, subscription required).
According to the Indy Star, an online Indianapolis lobbyist database is greeted a bit skeptically – by the public, who think the reported numbers are much too low. Visit the disclosure site at indy.gov/lobbyist.
Roll Call reports on the future of cases based on the Honest Services Fraud statute, after the Supreme Court’s decisions in Skilling, Black and Weyhrauch. This could have big consequences for former Jack Abramoff associates charged under the statute, including Michael Scanlon and Todd Boulanger; Covington & Burling produced a “client alert” which takes a more detailed look at the Honest Services Fraud statue, click here for the PDF.
The Times profiles administration officials hitting up the Caribou Coffee for a little caffeine buzz… and (cue the sinister music) undisclosed meetings with corporate lobbyists!!
Dan Coats’ past as a lobbyist continues to produce headaches for his campaign manager. Now the Indiana Senate hopeful’s previous lobbying filings were discovered to have listed him as a lobbyist for certain clients – nothing wrong with that – but when contacted about the filings, Coats’ former lobbying firm employer then claimed that Coats did not actually lobby for those clients. Politico rightly points out that knowingly having false information on your LDA forms is, in fact, illegal.
ALL’s President Dave Wenhold went to visit Croatia’s lobbying community. Pics up on the ALL website.
Hold on to your hats. Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff (boy, there’s a lot of Abramoff news recently; perhaps he is readying for a big comeback) in the upcoming feature film “Bagman.” It looks pretty similar to the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, but with less emphasis on… well… facts.
Tags: Dan Coats, Dave Wenhold, DISCLOSE Act, honest services fraud, Indiana lobbying, Jack Abramoff, Kevin Spacey, Michael Scanlon, Todd Boulanger
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Monday, June 21st, 2010 by Vbhotla
The DISCLOSE Act has encountered some difficulties navigating through the world of lobbying. Democrats, who have been pushing the legislation as a fix to January’s Citizen’s United Supreme Court decision on campaign finance, have amended their bill several times in the past weeks – leading to grumbles about the manner of passing the bill, and one postponement of the floor vote.
The National Rifle Association has successfully defended their desire to see a disclosure exemption for large organizations with a specific budget, number of members, and number of chapters. The problem for several advocacy groups which previously supported the bill seems to be that the exemption really only covers one organization – the NRA. This leads to charges of buddying up with the very special interest groups whom the bill purports to police.
Most legislators have not expressed a problem with the way the bill stands now – with the controversial NRA exemption. But it could be a problem for Speaker Pelosi’s attempt to pass the bill before July 4; and on Thursday, the floor vote on the legislation was pushed back a week.
Some public interest groups have expressed disappointment with some provisions of the bill but recognize that the overall legislative package helps to accomplish their stated desire for more accountability and disclosure.
A Politico story with full background is here.
Tags: Citizens United, DISCLOSE Act, NRA
Posted in Campaign Finance, Government Relations Alert, Lobbying News | Comments Off on DISCLOSE Drama
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