HR 2412 - The Special Interest Lobbying and Ethics Accountability Act of 2005 (SILEA)
Authored by Reps. Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL)

This bill amends the Lobby Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), which requires organizations that engage in a certain amount of lobbying activity to register and file disclosure reports. It focuses on four main areas of reform: enhancing lobby disclosure, slowing the revolving door between Congress and lobbying firms, curbing excesses in privately funded travel, and strengthening enforcement and oversight of ethics and lobbying disclosure. There is no general exemption for nonprofit organizations, except for churches and their integrated auxiliaries.

Increased Disclosure
To enhance lobby disclosure, the bill would require lobbyists to file financial disclosures quarterly rather than semi-annually. Charities that use the IRS lobbying expenditure test could still file the Form 990 in lieu of the LDA forms. Other nonprofits would have to comply with the legislation's requirements.

The bill also requires electronic filing of lobbying disclosure reports. Currently, the usefulness of LDA reports is limited by their lack of timeliness. The semi-annual reports are often filed when lobbying on a bill has been completed, limiting access to information on the amounts spent on specific legislative battles.

Reports to Include Grassroots Lobbying
Legislation will mandate that lobbyists that meet the LDA threshold must disclose amounts spent on grassroots lobbying. However, grassroots lobbying expenses, in any amount, would not count toward the disclosure threshold. Consequently, an organization that only conducts grassroots lobbying would not be required to disclose under LDA. Additionally, organizations that use the IRS lobby expenditure test would not have to file additional forms, as grassroots lobbying expenditures are already disclosed on the Form 990.

Communications by charities to their own "members, employees and shareholders" would be exempt from the reporting requirements. However, neither the LDA nor SILEA defines who constitutes a "member". Form 990 filers could ostensibly continue to use the Internal Revenue Service definition of member. Under IRS regulation 56.4911-5, a member is defined as someone that contributes more than a nominal amount of time or money to the organization. Other nonprofits could possibly use their organization's definition of membership, if the organization has so defined it.

Opponents of grassroots lobbying disclosure are concerned that the requirement would chill nonprofit's freedom of speech due to the increased financial burdens that come with increased reporting requirements. An increase in cost may preclude small nonprofits from engaging in lobbying activities. Proponents of grassroots disclosure argue increased disclosure will deter some lobbyists and clients from improper activities and expose sham nonprofits that operate as fronts for private corporate interests.

Coalition Membership Disclosure
SILEA also contains a provision to provide transparency of anonymous lobbying coalitions by requiring members of lobbying coalitions to report their involvement. This requirement is identical to a provision in HR 1302, the Stealth Lobbying Disclosure Act, introduced by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) earlier this year. The provision contains a total exception for 501(c)(3) organizations. Other 501(c) organizations, such as social welfare organizations, unions and trade associations, are also exempt if they have "substantial exempt activities other than lobbying with respect to a specific issue for which it engaged the person filing the registration statement". The term "substantial" is undefined. It is unclear whether it refers to an entire subject area, such as children, or sub-topics such as child health or child nutrition.

Congressional Travel
The recent scandals involving Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) was the main reason for requiring nonprofits, when sponsoring travel costs for a member of Congress or their staff, to submit written certification verifying that the trip was not planned or financed by a registered federal lobbyist. The legislation bans lobbyists from arranging travel for members or staff.

Increased Oversight
The legislation would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate and report to Congress twice annually on the enforcement of lobbying regulations. The House and Senate Clerk's Office has oversight of lobbying registering requirements, but has little enforcement power. The GAO is charged with ensuring those offices have the resources for effective oversight and enforcement.

S 1398 - Lobbying and Ethics Reform Act of 2005
Author: Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)

The bill is substantially similar to SILEA (see above).

Both bills face opposition both in the House and the Senate. Last checked SILEA bill had 72 Democratic cosponsors, and no Republicans. Feingold's has already been determind as a no go, the Senate does not feel like taking up legislation to overhaul lobbying regulation this year, and his bill currently has no cosponsors.

I think those two bills are a good start. But lets face, the GOP are enjoying their power. But lets some Democrat where the ones getting caught with their hand in the money jar, I bet you anything they would not only putting their faces on the front page, but they would come up with every type of reform bill they can think of.
Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today. - Gandhi
by XicanoPwr on Thu Sep 08, 2005 at 02:56:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]