WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) along with Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) introduced legislation to reduce the influence of lobbyists and provide greater transparency into who is influencing our political process. The Lobbying Disclosure Reform Act would limit the ability of former members of Congress to influence the legislative process from the shadows, modernize lobbying data to make it more accessible to Americans and provide multiple reforms to strengthen enforcement.
Rep. Phillips said, “I am on a mission to restore Americans’ faith in our government, which begins with reducing the corrupting influence of special interest money in our political system. Lobbyists spent nearly $3.5 billion to influence our elected leaders last year. As the Congress continues to grapple with the response to the COVID-19 crisis, spending trillions of taxpayer dollars in the process, our constituents deserve know which interests are in the room.”
Rep. Cline said, “At the core of this bipartisan bill is the public’s right to know. Americans are dissatisfied with the way things get done in Washington, and updating the LDA with these common-sense provisions is a strong step to modernizing our lobbying laws and placing more power in the hands of the people rather than the lobbyists.”
The Lobbying Disclosure Act, current law which mandates lobbyist transparency, has not been updated in over a decade. In that time, lobbyists, strategists, and consultants have found various ways to circumvent the law and evade disclosure – keeping Americans in the dark about the interests influencing Congress.
Most frustrating of all to Americans across the ideological spectrum has been the practice of former members of Congress leaving office and quickly peddling influence for special interests. But most of these members do not go into lobbying – they become “strategic consultants,” selling their experience and access in Congress, but not directly lobbying their former colleagues.
Current law does not take these “strategic lobbying services,” such as planning, polling, and public communication advice into account, leaving the American people with no idea on who is influencing our political process. The Lobbying Disclosure Reform Act would change that, requiring lobbyists to disclose the identities of the companies and individuals who provide such services.
In addition to meaningfully strengthening transparency around influence-peddling in Washington, the Lobbying Disclosure Reform Act would strengthen reporting thresholds, making them clearer to follow and easier to enforce. The bill would also digitize certain reporting to make it easier and more cost-effective for members of the public to access.