Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Lobby Reform in the House

Roll Call ($$) is reporting on some of the troubles the House is having in crafting a lobbying reform bill. There is some question on whether or not the legislation should include a requirement that lobbyists disclose the amount of donations that they "bundle" together and then give to candidates. A staffer was quoted in the article that they are hoping to have a draft within the next two weeks. Representatives Van Hollen and Meehan introduced this bundling proposal as a separate bill, H.R.633.

"To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require lobbyists to disclose the candidates, leadership PACs, and political party committees for whom they collect or arrange contributions, and for other purposes."

Such a measure was a part of the Senate ethics and lobbying bill. This technique of gathering donations began in response to the ban on soft money contributions, and as a way to make it easier to collect smaller checks. Under this measure, lobbyists would have to file reports every three months on their own political contributions, the amount raised by fundraising events, and the total amount of checks they collect and then give to campaigns. The article ends with a comment on the status of a grassroots lobbying disclosure piece in the House version.

And they are trying to narrow a provision, stripped from the Senate bill in the face of intense outside pressure, to require lobbyists to disclose what they are paid to stimulate grass-roots activity.