Nonprofit Lobbying Rights

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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Lobby Reform in the States

May 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

While some states have passed strict lobby reform measures, some are still treading water. From the Hill: Worried that “state legislatures get tarred with the same brush” being used to paint Congress as corrupt, Minnesota state Sen. Linda Higgins, a Democrat, co-wrote an ethics bill that would have prevented ex-members from lobbying former colleagues for two years and have imposed new financial disclosure requirements for lawmakers.

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Where Were These Voices? By Butch Otter

May 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Great post in The Hill's blog by Rep. C.L. "Butch" Otter:

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Jefferson Raid Subject of Hearing, Legislation

May 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

As ethics legislation continues to wait for its House-Senate conference, the House Judiciary Committee convened a hearing May 30 to discuss the raid on Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) office. Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) says subsequent legislation is required.

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FFRF Sues VA for Violation of Establishment Clause

May 30, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Interesting case filed by Freedom From Religion Foundation: On April 18, the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed suit against officials of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), claiming that the VA's hospital chaplaincy program violates the Establishment Clause. FFRF has brought two previous lawsuits against government programs that link religion and healthcare. This case, should it be determined in FFRF's favor, could impact the historic use of chaplancy in various other aspects of healthcare. For more, see Professor Ira Lupu's analysis of the case.

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How to Avoid an Audit: It Is All About Context

May 25, 2006 by Guest Blogger

On May 24, Jack Reilly, the Internal Revenue Service's technical advisor to the director of exempt organizations,told a group of tax-exempt law practitioners that there will be no new guidance before the November elections on what constitutes "political activity" for tax-exempt organizations.

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Who on the Hill Leaked the NSA Spying Info?

May 25, 2006 by Guest Blogger

From the Hill: The FBI is seeking interviews with top House Members from both parties to determine whether they leaked details of the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program to The New York Times, further fanning the flames of an already tense relationship between Capitol Hill and the Bush administration.

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Interesting Article on DOJ Pursuit of Corruption

May 25, 2006 by Guest Blogger

From the AP: The head of the FBI's criminal division was reluctant to say much about those searches. "We go where the evidence leads us," said James W. "Chip" Burrus Jr. But Burrus acknowledged in an interview Monday that corruption investigators "have had a run of good luck lately."

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Fannie, Freddie Report May Spur Senate Bill

May 24, 2006 by Guest Blogger

From the The Hill: Lobbyists still digesting the 340-page report from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) were optimistic that the agency’s harsh criticism of Fannie would give a shot in the arm to stalled negotiations on legislation creating a new regulator for government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs. Fannie will pay $400 million in fines to OFHEO and the Securities and Exchange Commission, more than double the amount that its fellow GSE, Freddie Mac, paid in 2003.

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Public Citizen Report on Lobbyist Contributions

May 24, 2006 by Guest Blogger

According to Public Citizen, the report details the amounts given to members of Congress since 1998 by the 50 biggest lobbyist money-givers. Twenty-seven percent of lobbyists have contributed an amount to lawmakers large enough to be recognized by the Federal Election Commission ($200 or more), and a select 6.1 percent of lobbyists have contributed at least $10,000 - totaling 83.4 percent of all lobbyist contributions. Many of the top recipients of congressional campaign money are on appropriations committees that dole out federal money. To read the report.

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Interesting Article on the Need for Lobbyist Disclosure at the State Level

May 24, 2006 by Guest Blogger

From the News Observer: Lobbying by any sensible definition occurs when someone is paid by a special interest to advocate public policy. It is an activity that certainly has its place. But the public should and does have a stake when hired public-relations guns roam Jones Street in a bid to shape laws and policies. That starts with knowing which lobbyist is on whose payroll, and continues with disclosure of favors rendered.

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