Recently released documents related to the nomination of John Roberts for chief justice of the Supreme Court reveal concerns he had over a 1983 proposal that would have prohibited recipients of federal grants or contracts from using their own money for lobbying and other forms of advocacy. The nonprofit community congratulated itself for beating back this "defund the left" proposal. The documents, however, suggest that what was heralded as a victory for nonprofits may have had more to do with the potential negative impact of the proposal on defense contactors such as TRW and Boeing. On January 24, 1983, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a proposal to modify Circular A-122, which presents cost principles for nonprofit federal grantees. The proposed modification would have barred all advocacy by nonprofit organizations that receive federal funds, including advocacy paid for with non-federal funds. This proposal was advocated by the Heritage Foundation's Mandate for Leadership, a blueprint for Reagan administration policy that called for defunding the left by limiting the advocacy voice of nonprofit grantees. OMB began work on this issue early in Reagan's first term. In April, 1982, OMB's Financial Management Branch privately circulated proposed language to a group of federal officials assembled by OMB. The unpublished proposal tracked the federal tax code; for example, confining "lobbying" to legislative activities. The proposal was one sentence long: "The cost of influencing the introduction, amendment, enactment, defeat, or repeal of any act, bill or resolution by a legislative body is unallowable." The proposal would have applied to state and local governments, and institutions of higher education. A slightly less extreme version of the proposal was eventually published on January 24, 1983 much to the dismay of the nonprofit community. The proposal would have prohibited federal reimbursement for all costs of "political advocacy," which was sweepingly defined as "attempting to influence a government decision" of any type -- legislative, administrative, or judicial -- at any level of government. It would have applied to any staff, equipment, or facility involved in the slightest amount of political advocacy, even if the advocacy costs were paid with non-federal funds. Upon release of the OMB proposal, the White House indicated that contractor rules operated by the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and NASA would ultimately change to be compatible with the Circular A-122 changes. A 1949 law already restricted federal contractors and grantees from charging the government for costs they incur (either directly or indirectly) to influence legislative action on any matter pending before Congress or a state legislature. Roberts, then White House associate counsel, wrote a February 3, 1983 memo to White House Counsel Fred Fielding, describing the Circular A-122 proposal. Roberts notes that he has been advised that "the logic of the proposed rules would affect traditional lobbying activities of government contractors." Roberts then gets to the heart of the matter: "The proposals paint with a much broader brush than is necessary to address the activities of government grantees that have been perceived as most objectionable. It is possible to 'defund the left' without alienating TRW and Boeing, but the proposals, if enacted, could do both." Roberts also questions the "relevance" of the legal citations used in the OMB proposal. Meanwhile a firestorm of protest was building over the OMB proposal. Lyn Nofziger, a political advisor to Reagan, wrote a February 17, 1983, memo to Fielding, along with Attorney General Ed Meese, White House Chief of Staff Jim Baker, and Assistant to the President for Political Affairs Ed Rollins, warning of the far-reaching effects of the proposed revision. Nofziger detailed concerns over the vagueness and burdensome nature of the proposals. "What this is going to do is force companies to keep detailed records on the political activities of their employees. If this is Constitutional, and I doubt very much that it is, instead of getting government off people's backs as we promised to do for lo these many years, you are adding an intolerable burden onto the backs of many, many people." In a handwritten postscript, Nofziger notes that "the opposition is growing not only among the lobbyists but also among the Republicans on the Hill." Nofziger notes rumors that House Minority Leader "Bob Michel is upset" and that "Jack Brooks [the Democratic chair of an oversight committee] is thinking about hearings." Roberts penned a letter to Nofziger addressing these concerns for Fielding. The letter indicates that OMB will publish a revised proposal. The revised OMB proposal, released on November 3, 1983, hardly represented an improvement for nonprofits. The result was that the National A-122 Coalition, led by Independent Sector, OMB Watch, and the Alliance for Justice, who joined forces with defense and other government contractors to call for a fix to the proposal. With the strength of the contracting community and support within the White House for companies like TRW and Boeing, a more reasonable rule was published April 27, 1984. OMB's final rule addresses "lobbying," not "political advocacy." The final rule also employed standard cost allocation principles, so that non-federal funds could be used to pay for lobbying activities. Lobbying is defined as attempts to influence legislation at the state or federal level, attempts to influence the outcomes of elections, or contributing to a political party. Roberts' work on the Circular A-122 rule revision demonstrates troubling values. For Roberts and others in the White House at the time, only the concerns raised by corporate interests prevented their efforts to silence the nonprofit community in an effort to "defund the left." That the defeat of OMB's reckless proposal to modify Circular A-122 was brought about by the power and influence of the contracting community, and not recognition of the issue-advocacy rights of the nonprofit sector, should be of concern to all Americans.