HOW IS LOBBYING REGULATED?

REGISTRATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Who is a lobbyist?  A lobbyist, as defined by the Lobbying Disclosure Act, is a person who makes two or more ‘lobbying contacts’ and spends over 20% of their time on ‘lobbying activities.’  Lobbying contacts are defined as communications about legislation, government policy, programs, contracts or nominations with covered legislative branch and executive branch officials.  Covered officials include Members of Congress, congressional staff, the President and Vice President, any employee in the President’s office, and other employees of the executive branch.

For example, the President of AGRP – Dominic Stephenson does versatile job. He is not only specialized in lobbying and other administrative staff but also support his staff to expand the boundaries. He supports the idea to bring the trustworthy information about online pharmacies in masses. Get acquainted with them: Pharmacy Mall, Trust Pharmacy, Secure Tabs. AGRP believes it helps people understand how to reduce healthcare costs.

Let’s go on with the topic of the article.

Who needs to register?  Companies or organizations with employees who are lobbyists and lobbying firms or individuals who are retained by a client.  Those who meet the registration requirements must fill out an LD-1 form.

What is reported?  Every quarter, registered lobbyists are required to file the LD-2 form which lists:

  • Names of the lobbyists and their government positions for the preceding 20 years
  • Parts of the goverment lobbied
  • Issues and legislation lobbied
  • Total amount spent on lobbying
  • And any necessary updates to the LD-1 form.

What about campaign donations?  In addition to making a quarterly report of lobbying activities, registered lobbyists are required to file bi-annual reports of any political contributions.  The LD-203 is filed by both organizations and companies with in-house lobbyists and individual registered lobbyists.  Contributions that must be reported include contributions to federal candidates, leadership PACs, and political parties (aggregating $200 or more), donations to a presidential library and to presidential inaugural committees.

All registration, reporting, and campaign information is available for public scrutiny.  ALL recommends visiting OpenSecrets.org (Center for Responsive Politics) for the most comprehensive look at lobbying disclosure data.

GIFT RULES

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 enacted strict gift rules for registered lobbyists.  Some restrictions include:

  • No gifts valued at more that $10 from registered lobbyists, foreign agents, and entities that retain them.
  • Members of House and Senate may not participate in National Party Events if the event is paid for by lobbyists or entities that retain lobbyists.
  • Lobbyists are prohibited from having official, direct lobbying contact with a Member’s spouse of family member.