Means-Tested Exemption from Lobbying Ban?
by Dana Chasin, 6/26/2007
True or False: Whether the laws of the United States governing the cooling-off period (currently one year) restrictions for former Congressional staffers to lobby their erstwhile offices apply depends upon the salary of these staffers.
Answer: True (per Public Law 101-194).
Now -- and no cheating -- staffers are exempt from these revolving door restrictions if they:
- A. Were at no point one of the top-two paid staffers in a Congressional office
- B. Received a total of $200,000 or more during their tenure as Congressional staffers
- C. Received less than 75 percent of the salary earned by the member of Congress they served
- D. Received no compensation at all during their service
