Lobbying and Ethics

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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more news

Lobbying Campaigns and PAC Contributions

May 6, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

An article in the Washington Post shows an interesting connection; campaign spending and influence on policy. The National Association of Home Builders, one of the biggest corporate donors to politicians, stopped its campaign contributions "as a protest" until they considered that Congress was adequately regarding the weak housing market. "The decision showed how closely interest groups tie their donations to the actions they hope lawmakers will take on their behalf — a connection lobbyists do not want to flaunt for fear of legal and political repercussions."

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NAM Discloses Membership Involved in Lobbying

May 2, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Despite their continued appeal, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) revealed the names of 65 members on its website. Originally NAM filed a lobbying report that cited the pending case. NAM is opposed to a provision in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act that requires groups to disclose those that contributed at least $5,000 each during the first quarter of the year and actively participated "in the planning, supervision or control of such lobbying activities." NAM argues that the requirement violates their First Amendment rights.

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Court Upholds Stealth Lobbying Disclosure

The National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM) legal challenge to the stealth lobbying disclosure provisions in the 2007 lobbying and ethics reform law was rejected by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on April 11. After the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a stay pending appeal, NAM announced it would comply with the law while its appeal proceeds by disclosing members who contributed more than $5,000 toward lobbying in a quarter and have supervision, control, or active participation in NAM's federal lobbying efforts.

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Objection to Member Disclosure Law Continues

Apr 22, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Yesterday, April 21, was the first filing deadline for lobbying reports under provisions of the new Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA). And unfortunately for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), a federal district judge turned down their request for a delay of the April 11 decision upholding the member disclosure provision. In addition, NAM's "emergency appeal" with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was denied. NAM's last hope was the Supreme Court.

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Member Disclosure Law Upheld, NAM To Appeal

Apr 15, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM) challenge to a new member disclosure law was dismissed on April 11. NAM was challenging a provision in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) that requires coalitions and associations to reveal organization that contribute at least $5,000 per quarter and actively participates in the lobbying campaigns. The lawsuit attempted to block implementation of the new law, charging that the provision was too vague, and would interfere with their First Amendment right of free association.

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Campaign Legal Center Updates Summary of New Lobbying and Ethics Law

Apr 2, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Campaign Legal Center has updated its two page summary of the Honest Government and Open Leadership Act (HLOGA). The document is a great resource to have on hand with a clear outline of the different provisions of the law. Some of which have taken effect while others are still being interpreted and not yet implemented.

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Defense of Member Disclosure Law Based on Outdated Supreme Court Decision

Mar 20, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Attorneys for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) have filed a brief asserting that those who support the member disclosure law "have put too much emphasis on a half-century-old Supreme Court decision." NAM is challenging a provision of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA), Section 207, which requires coalitions and associations to reveal members involved in their lobbying.

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After Long Delays, House Creates Independent Ethics Panel

On March 11, the House voted to create an Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The six-member independent panel will have the power to begin formal investigations into allegations of ethics violations of House members and either dismiss the claims or refer them to the House Ethics Committee. OCE members will be appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House and the Minority Leader. The debate over the panel was intense, and Democratic leaders were forced to pull the proposal from the floor twice before the vote. The vote ends a process that took more than a year to resolve.

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House Approves Outside Ethics Panel

Mar 12, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

With a vote of 229 to 182, the House passed H.Res. 895 to create a new independent panel, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The new body will be able to initiate investigations of possible misconduct. Those who opposed creating the panel charged that it would encourage partisan complaints. After a proposal was pulled from the floor twice recently with clear bipartisan doubts, chairman of the ethics task force Representative Michael Capuano (D-MA) made changes to alleviate some concerns.

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A Year Has Gone By and Still No Vote on a Change to House Ethics Enforcement

Mar 7, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A measure to create a new Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), a panel of non-House members that would revise the House ethics process, has been delayed twice in a week. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has told House Democrats to expect a vote next week, but CQ ($$) suggests that such a plan "might be an overly optimistic goal." Many members oppose turning over House ethics investigations to outsiders. Possibly, if there is no vote on the outside ethics panel next week, it could be held until early April.

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