January, 28 2011, 03:25pm EDT
When Political Money is Too Hard to Track, Follow the Lobbyists
For the second consecutive year, President Obama's State of the Union
remarks included support for posting congressional lobbying information
online. While this theme was familiar and commendable, the speech
failed to address a key point he made in Iast year's State of the Union
address about creating reforms in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. After Citizens United,
campaign finance and lobbying disclosure have become even more closely
linked.
WASHINGTON
For the second consecutive year, President Obama's State of the Union
remarks included support for posting congressional lobbying information
online. While this theme was familiar and commendable, the speech
failed to address a key point he made in Iast year's State of the Union
address about creating reforms in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. After Citizens United,
campaign finance and lobbying disclosure have become even more closely
linked. By omitting any reference to addressing this issue in his
speech, we are left wondering: Is the administration back-peddling on
what was once a priority?
The lack of election spending disclosure rules for corporate
spending owing to the Supreme Court's decision has allowed special
interests to influence public policy through the very real threat of
unlimited--and often anonymous--spending on campaign ads. In effect,
lobbyists can--without ever saying a word--threaten that their clients
will spend millions on ads if senators or representatives do not do what
the lobbyist wants. Just in this past election year, outside groups
spent nearly $455 million; $126 million of it coming from secret donors.
Imagine the power of this when combined with the tens of millions of
dollars these same corporations spend on lobbying. The solution is
meaningful lobbying disclosure reform, so journalists and citizens alike
can "follow the action," even if they can no longer follow all of the
money.
Online reporting of lobbying information is critically important in
today's Washington. We need better lobbying disclosure laws--including
closing loopholes that allow many to lobby but not register because they
spend less than 20 percent of their time on it. (One of the most famous
examples of this kind of "senior advisor" is former Senator Tom
Daschle.) We need real-time, online disclosure for lobbyists' activity,
so we know what's happening while it's happening among other reforms.
(See https://www.scribd.com/doc/44763730/Goals-for-LDA-Amendments for more details.)
Currently, newly registered lobbyists have to file within 45 days of
taking on a new client or issue, and regular lobbying disclosure forms
are only filed quarterly. Three months doesn't equal the best disclosure
policy. Moreover, lobbyists are only required to disclose a minimal
amount of detail about with whom they meet and what topic was
discussed--there's no requirement to disclose the staff or members with
whom they are meeting. Instead of disclosing they met with someone from
the Senate, we should know more specific information, like which senator
or staff met with the lobbyist and what issues they discussed. All of
these activities and contacts should be posted to the web every day--and
without any lag time.
Recently, the non-partisan Sunlight Foundation drafted the "Real-Time
Online Lobbying Transparency Act" to create a new system of disclosure
of all lobbying activities, and posted it online for crowdsourced public
review at https://publicmarkup.org/bill/real-time-online-lobbying-transparency-act/.
This draft legislation would shine a light on potential corruption and
undue pressure. Additionally, the changes this bill proposes would
enrich a policy dialogue by providing the public a clear understanding
of the issues that have the attention of lawmakers and the interests
that are lobbying in support or opposition to them.
The president and Congress should be encouraged to move beyond
rhetorical transparency promises about lobbying and work together to
ensure a law is passed this year to modernize the Lobbying Disclosure
Act so the information publicly reported is more comprehensive, detailed
and timely.
The combination of money and influence distorts our public policy;
transparency helps curb this power. As Justice Brandeis famously
remarked, 'Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.
The Sunlight Foundation was co-founded in 2006 by Washington, DC businessman and lawyer Michael Klein and longtime Washington public interest advocate Ellen Miller with the non-partisan mission of using the revolutionary power of the Internet to make information about Congress and the federal government more meaningfully accessible to citizens.
LATEST NEWS
BREAKING: Biden to 'Stand Down'; Endorses Kamala Harris
' I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year'
Jul 21, 2024
Breaking News...more to come
UPDATE : In response to President Biden’s announcement that he is no longer seeking reelection, MoveOn Political Action Executive Director Rahna Epting released the following statement:
“President Joe Biden‘s legacy is defined by defeating Donald Trump, restoring our nation’s commitment to our democracy, and delivering one of the most impressive domestic policy agendas in modern history. Just like he did in 2020, President Biden is making a tremendous personal sacrifice to preserve our democracy, putting the interest of the American people first, and he has the gratitude of our nation and our millions of members.
“Vice President Harris is tested and respected, and her voice is critically important at this moment. MoveOn and our members have her back and believe that those who share our commitment to winning this election and protecting our futures will do everything in their power to lift her up and stop Trump in his tracks.
MoveOn is more driven than ever to unifying the anti-Trump coalition and defeating Donald Trump and extremist MAGA Republicans once again in 2024. We are all in on electing Kamala Harris and Democrats to the U.S. House and Senate and we look forward to engaging our members and surge voters across the country to rise up and make their voices heard this fall.”
President Joe Biden has made the decision to not run for president. Read his just released statement below.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Israeli Military Strikes Claim Lives of 64 Individuals in a Single Day
'When is enough? When will the war ever end?'
Jul 21, 2024
The local Health Ministry says at least 64 people were killed and 105 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours. Many victims are still under the rubble and on roads, with civil defense crews not able to reach them, it adds.
The Israeli military has launched numerous deadly strikes focused on the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, including the targeting of multiple UN-run schools housing displaced people.
Nuseirat residents described living in constant fear of being bombed and a deteriorating humanitarian situation.
“The situation is scary,” said Rahma Abu Hajjaj, a 39-year-old mother of five from Nuserirat. “There are no warnings, there are no alarms when homes are bombed, we are hiding all the time and we do not know why they are targeting these homes.”
"We hear the sounds of explosions in Nuseirat and we see the smoke rising from here in Deir Al-Balah, the last refuge you can say and we are being terrorized by the feeling tanks may roll here," Tamer Aburakan, a resident of Gaza City, told
Reuters.
"Where should we go next? The entire Gaza Strip is under fire, and we are being hunted like deer in a forest. When is enough? When will the war ever end?" he said via a chat app.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to travel to the US on Monday. Netanyahu is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon. The next day, he is due to address a joint session of US Congress.
Thousands of people are expected to protest against the visit of Netanyahu for whom the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking an arrest warrant for war crimes.
At least 38,983 Palestinians have been killed and 89,727 others injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday, including the 64 people killed in the last 24 hours.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Israel Bombs Yemen Saturday in Escalation with Houthis
The attack came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Tel Aviv
Jul 20, 2024
Houthi-run media say Israeli air strikes Saturday targeted oil storage facilities in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah and that there are an unspecified number of fatalities and injuries.
The attack came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed one person and struck just yards from a U.S. Embassy branch office.
Israel’s air strikes will not stop the Houthi's military operations in support of the Palestinian people, Houthi political bureau member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said in a post on X, warning they will instead increase until the war in Gaza ends. “The Zionist entity will pay the price for targeting civilian facilities, and we will meet escalation with escalation,” al-Bukhaiti wrote.
Military and political analyst Elijah Magnier told Al Jazeera, “Is this going to change the course of action of a non-state actor that is motivated to support the people of Gaza? Certainly not,” Magnier said. “They’ve been given a perfect reason to increase the attacks. We have not seen the end of it – far from it,” he said.
In another post on X, the Houthis’ spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, called the Israeli air strikes “a brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen that aims to deepen people’s suffering and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza.” Abdulsalam called the attack an Israeli “dream that will not come true. We affirm that this brutal aggression will only increase the determination of the Yemeni people and their valiant armed forces to be steadfast and to continue their support for Gaza. The Yemeni people are able to face all challenges for the sake of victory for oppressed Palestine and the people of Gaza, whose cause is the most just on earth.”
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular