3155+Lobbying

Lobbying
NB: the material offered at the following websites should be very useful for the Midterm assignment. See a useful FAQ info sheet prepared by the Center for Public Integrity at: [|http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/report.aspx?aid=775#] A list of the top companies and organizations lobbying is there also: http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/top.aspx?act=topcompanies And the top lobbying firms: http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/top.aspx?act=topfirms

Another useful source, especially on campaign finance, is: Open Secrets.org from the Center for Responsive Politics http://www.opensecrets.org/

Among the techniques for wielding influence, in addition to writing to and/or visiting Congressional offices:
 * Campaign finance donations (limited to $5000 per candidate per election)
 * Leading or providing services to Political Action Committees which raise campaign finance donations for members, or which give donations to other candidates on behalf of some member
 * Hosting fundraisers for members and candidates
 * Helping campaign planning and strategies as political consultants
 * Serving party fundraising efforts
 * Hiring former Congressional staffers and former Congressional members and their families
 * Organizing fact-finding trips and conferences
 * Sharing board directorships and other business contractual relationships

K Street project
See “Selling Washington” by Elizabeth Drew, New York Review of Books, June 23 2005
 * The current Congressional leadership (the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 1994) has actively built connections with the Washington corporate lobbying community, centered on ‘K Street’ in NW DC
 * In past associations and lobbying firms kept contacts with the majority party but this was done on a largely non-ideological, non-partisan basis
 * De Lay (in the House) and Santorum (in the Senate) made clear that associations and firms should hire Republicans and fire Democrats
 * De Lay told the Washington Post “We’re just following the old adage of punish your enemies and reward your friends. We don’t like to deal with people who are trying to kill the revolution. We know who they are.” (1/12/06, page A01)
 * For example, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee apparently pressured the Investment Company Institute to hire a Republican to lead its lobbying operation—and six separate sources told the Washington Post that investigations of mutual fund companies might ease if the group complied with the request
 * A $1.5B tax benefit for the film industry was removed from a pending bill after the Motion Picture Association of America failed to give its top spot to a Republican
 * Grover Norquist of the conservative group Americans for Tax Reform led the movement off the Hill: “We don’t want nonideological people on K Street, we want conservative activist Republicans on K Street”
 * Norquist remarked elsewhere that they wanted as many Democrats representing corporate interests as there are Democrats in the labor movement: zero
 * There is a website for the Project: http://www.kstreetproject.com/
 * The reciprocity of the arrangement is not merely ideological and policy-related (as when business helps to write and support legislative proposals), but also involves financial contributions to campaigns and favors (including travel) for Congress members and staff
 * The Administration has also seen trade associations and business organizations as proper allies—even allies to be cajoled and coerced—in supporting the President’s policies
 * For example, the Business Roundtable was brought into the White House and told to support the Social Security privatization effort by Karl Rove and others
 * The Project has been a source of concern because of the political risks: Conservative columnist David Brooks said that “The biggest threat to the Republican majority is the relationship on K Street with corporate lobbyists and the corruption that is entailed in that.”

Recent scandals

 * Currently under indictment: Jack Abramoff, who, with his associate Michael Scanlon (formerly of ex-Majority Leader Tom De Lay’s office) rec’d up to $66M over 3 years from 6 Indian tribes for lobbying services on casino gambling issues