On July 14, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), introduced the "Lobbying and Ethics Reform Act of 2005" (S. 1398), a bill that amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) to require more extensive reporting for lobbying firms and nonprofits. The bill would increase grassroots and coalition lobbying disclosure requirements, curb privately funded travel by members of Congress, and strengthen enforcement and oversight of ethics and lobbying disclosure rules by the Senate Clerk's office. The bill is substantially similar to the Special Interest Lobbying and Ethics Accountability Act (H.R. 2412), introduced in the House on May 14 by Reps. Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL). Both bills would require registered lobbyists to disclose amounts spent on grassroots lobbying, although communications with members would not be considered grassroots lobbying. In addition both bills seek to provide transparency of anonymous lobbying coalitions by requiring members to report their involvement. There is a total exception for all 501(c)(3) organizations from the coalition provision. Other 501(c) organizations, such as social welfare organizations, unions and trade associations, are also exempt if they have "substantial exempt activities other than lobbying with respect to a specific issue for which it engaged the person filing the registration statement." The term "substantial" is undefined. An additional provision added by Feingold would increase the penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements, raised from $50,000 to $100,000. A summary of Meehan's bill can be found here. Neither bill would change the current provision that allows 501(c)(3)s using the expenditure test to measure their lobbying limit to continue filing Form 990 in lieu of LDA forms. Form 990 already includes information about grassroots lobbying costs, but has a narrower definition of direct lobbying than the LDA. For example, while the LDA includes reporting on influencing executive branch policies, the Form 990 does not. The legislation faces tough opposition, both in the House and the Senate. Meehan's bill currently has 72 Democratic cosponsors, but no Republican has signed on in the House. Feingold has already publicly predicted that the Senate will not take up legislation to overhaul lobbying regulation this year, and his bill currently has no cosponsors. Both the Meehan and Feingold bills respond to recent scandals involving Congressional travel paid for by a nonprofit serving as a conduit for a registered lobbyist. Lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon pocketed millions of dollars in donations to nonprofit groups they controlled or on whose board they sat, prompting hearings in the Senate. This and other recent reports of professional lobbyists using nonprofits to avoid ethics and disclosure rules have raised calls for greater transparency and oversight of the identity of donors and of financial transactions between groups. However, neither bill may move, as each adds new restrictions on the ability of Congressional members to become paid lobbyists after leaving public office, something many current members are unlikely to support.