Friday, January 12, 2007

Amendment to Remove Grassroots Lobbying Disclosure

Senator Bennett (R-Utah), the ranking Republican on the Senate Rules Committee, introduced an amendment yesterday to remove the grassroots lobbying disclosure provision from S.1. Bennett is worried about the constitutionality of the provision, which is perplexing considering it would not restrict direct or grassroots lobbying by an organization. Numerous amendments to the Senate lobbying bill have been offered, and formal debate on grassroots lobbying has yet to occur. Senator Bennett also opposes the creation of an independent congressional office that would enforce lobbying and ethics rules. From BNA Money and Politics (subscription required):

Supporters of the new disclosure requirement, including the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, pushed back against efforts to strike the provision. A letter from U.S. PIRG's Gary Kalman to all senators Jan. 11 said Bennett's amendment would prevent the public from knowing who is sponsoring ads and phone calls about policy matters and directly addressing abuses uncovered in last year's scandals involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff.