IWS Documented News DAILY POSTINGS

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

 

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

Lobbying the Executive Branch: CurrentPractices and Options for Change
Jacob R. Straus, Analyst on the Congress
December 1, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/R40947/2009-12-01/download/1013/
[full-text, 18 pages]

 

Summary

Under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995, as amended, individuals are required to

register with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate if they

lobby either legislative or executive branch officials. In January 2009, Secretary of the Treasury

Timothy Geithner placed further restrictions on the ability of lobbyists to contact executive

branch officials responsible for dispersing Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA, P.L.

110-243) funds. Subsequently, President Barack Obama and Peter Orszag, Director of the Office

of Management and Budget (OMB), issued a series of memoranda between March and July 2009

that govern communication between federally registered lobbyists and executive branch

employees administering American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) funds.

Most recently, in October 2009, the White House directed executive agencies to prohibit, when

possible, the appointment of federally registered lobbyists to federal advisory bodies and

committees.

 

The Recovery and Reinvestment Act lobbying restrictions focus on both written and oral

communications between lobbyists and executive branch officials. Pursuant to the President’s

memoranda, restrictions have been placed on certain kinds of oral and written interactions

between federally registered lobbyists and executive branch officials responsible for Recovery

Act fund disbursement. The President’s memoranda require each agency to post summaries of

oral and written contacts with lobbyists on dedicated agency websites. EESA regulations are

virtually identical.

 

This report outlines the development of registration requirements for lobbyists engaging

executive branch officials since 1995. It also summarizes steps taken by the Obama

Administration to limit and monitor lobbying of the executive branch; discusses the development

and implementation of restrictions placed on lobbying for Recovery Act and EESA funds;

examines the Obama Administration’s decision to stop appointing lobbyists to federal advisory

bodies and committees; considers third-party criticism of current executive branch lobbying

policies; and provides options for possible modifications in current lobbying laws and practices.

For further analysis on lobbying registration and disclosure, see CRS Report RL34377, Honest

Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007: The Role of the Clerk of the House and the

Secretary of the Senate, by Jacob R. Straus; CRS Report RL34725, “Political” Activities of

Private Recipients of Federal Grants or Contracts, by Jack Maskell; and CRS Report R40245,

Lobbying Registration and Disclosure: Before and After the Enactment of the Honest Leadership

and Open Government Act of 2007, by Jacob R. Straus.

 

Contents

Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1

Statutory Coverage for Executive Branch Officials......................................................................1

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 ..........................................................................................2

Lobbying Disclosure Technical Amendments Act of 1998 .....................................................2

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007..........................................................3

Obama Administration Lobbying Policies ...................................................................................3

Executive Branch Ethics Pledge ............................................................................................3

Restrictions on Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) Funds Lobbying..................4

Restrictions on Recovery Act Funds Lobbying ......................................................................5

Presidential Memorandum...............................................................................................5

Interim Recovery Act Guidance for Lobbyist Communications .......................................6

Revised Recovery Act Guidance for Lobbyist Communications ......................................8

Restrictions on Lobbyists Serving on Federal Advisory Committees....................................10

Third-Party Critiques of Executive Branch Lobbying Policies ................................................... 11

Recovery Act Lobbying Policies ......................................................................................... 11

Federal Advisory Committee Membership...........................................................................12

Options for Change ...................................................................................................................13

Amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act ...................................................................................13

Create a Central Executive Branch Disclosure Database......................................................13

Take No Immediate Action..................................................................................................13

Tables

Table A-1. Cabinet-Level Departments Recovery Act Websites .................................................15

Appendixes

Appendix. Cabinet-Level Executive Departments Recovery Act Websites .................................15

Contacts

Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................15

________________________________________________________________________

This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************