OPPOSE THE BENNETT AMENDMENT TO STRIKE THE GRASSROOTS LOBBYING DISCLOSURE PROVISION IN THE LEGISLATIVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT. March 24, 2006 Dear Senator: We, the undersigned national organizations, write in support of grassroots lobbying disclosure and urge you to oppose S. AMDT. 2994 (the "Bennett Amendment") to S. 2349, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act. We also ask you vote to reject any other attempts to strike the grassroots lobbying disclosure provisions (sec. 220) contained in the underlying bill. The disclosure of grassroots lobbying expenditures is necessary to help pave the way toward a more level playing field for groups engaged in federal advocacy. Under current tax law, public charities and other nonprofit organizations are required to file reports on their grassroots lobbying with the Internal Revenue Service. Private sector groups and their lobbyists are not. Grassroots lobbying disclosure, such as the disclosure mandated in S. 2349, would help to provide more consistent rules for all that engage in lobbying. We believe this is a much-needed change. Specifically, S. 2349 would require enhanced disclosure of direct lobbying and — for the first time ever — disclosure of paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying. Organizations compelled to report under the direct lobbying threshold would also be required to disclose their grassroots lobbying expenditures if such expenditures exceeded $25,000 in a three-month period. Notably, the legislation does not restrict direct or grassroots lobbying in any way, and nonprofits would still be able to lobby within the amounts permissible under current law. We believe such a balanced approach to grassroots lobbying disclosure will help shed light on the "sham" grassroots operations; all the while preserving the important role nonprofits can play in educating and mobilizing their members to better inform public policy decisions. We hope you will oppose the Bennett Amendment and any other attempts to remove grassroots lobbying disclosure from the Senate's lobby reform legislation. Please help level the playing field in Washington and make sure this important provision remains intact. Thank you. Sincerely, National Organizations AIDS Action Alliance for Children and Families Arc of the United States Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest Coalition for American Leadership Abroad Common Cause Friends Committee on Legislation Legal Momentum National Catholic Social Justice Lobby National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy National Low Income Housing Coalition National Organization of Women OMB Watch Public Interest Research Group Public Citizen Sierra Club Tax Justice Network-USA United Cerebral Palsy State and Local Organizations AIDS Action Baltimore Maine Center for Economic Policy Michigan League for Human Services Nonprofit Network Northern Kentucky Housing and Homeless Coalition Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition Salt Lake Community Action Program Southern Mutual Help Association, Inc. Southern Research and Development Corporation Statewide Poverty Action Network Twin Cities InfoLine Women's Center of Fayetteville