Lobbying Reform: Overview

Introduction

Lobbying, the process in which special-interest groups seek to influence official policy, is an important part of politics in the United States. Thousands of professional lobbyists are employed by groups representing industry, unions, education, moral and ethical groups, and grassroots organizations. The number of lobbyists has increased along with the size of the federal government and the number of special-interest groups.

Lobbyists evaluate proposed legislation and communicate the needs and preferences of constituents and special interests to legislators. They also help legislators understand the technical and specific policies in legislative proposals. The increasing complexity of legislation has given rise to professional lobbying companies, in which groups of lobbyists can cooperate in researching legislative proposals.

Despite its prominence, lobbying is widely controversial and often viewed more negatively by the general public than by politicians. Instances of bribery and corruption are a recurring theme in American politics and have played a significant role in the development of legislation. Since the 1940s, the government has passed several lobbying-reform measures aimed at fighting corruption. Some critics argue that while laws have attempted to control lobbyists, they will not be successful until the activities of legislators are made sufficiently open to public scrutiny. Others criticize lobbying reform for creating laws that place unnecessary restrictions on grassroots and nonprofit lobbyists while having little effect on financially dominant groups.

Understanding the Discussion

Lobbyist: A person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special-interest group.

Special-interest group: A body of people or organizations that seeks to receive preferential treatment, especially through legislation.

History

Lobbyists and interest groups have existed in most major societies. In the Roman Republic, lobbyists represented the interests of industrial trades and artisans. Lobbyist groups were also present in early imperial governments in China and Japan. In most governments, lobbyists served as an intermediate level of representation between the populace and the government.

Likewise, the corruption of lobbyists and legislators was a common concern in early democratic governments. The Roman Republic had laws that prohibited bribery of public officials and outlined specific punishments for legislators who accepted bribes. Today, corruption among lobbyists and legislators remains a major concern in most democratic governments.

In the United States, the right to employ lobbyists is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, as part of the right to petition the government. In the 1700s, the United States government was small, and professional lobbyists were few; senators and representatives often served as lobbyists for the major industries in their states.

Before the rise of professional lobbyists, citizens relied on petitions to bring important issues before Congress. Unsatisfied with the efficiency of this method, some groups began to employ individuals to visit Washington, DC, and communicate their wishes to Congress. Congressional records reflect the activity of professional lobbyists during the 1790s and also mention concerns that some lobbyists were trading financial compensation and other favors for congressional votes.

In the early 1800s, tariffs and export taxes were the most common issues for lobbyists. The majority of professional lobbyists were employed by the shipping, merchant, and agriculture industries. The public perception was that lobbyists were a tool of financially powerful organizations, which led to increased suspicion of corruption.

In the 1850s, several high-profile instances of lobbyist bribery were reported by news media. Among other activities, lobbyists were accused of providing legislators with expensive gifts, prostitutes, and campaign contributions. During this period, it was legal for lobbyists to purchase gifts or services for legislators, though it was still considered unethical for legislators to allow such activities to influence their decisions.

As legislative proposals became more complex, lobbyists were required to become experts in highly technical information while simultaneously possessing knowledge of legislative language and procedure. To adjust to increasing demands, some lobbyists formed companies or partnerships. By 1900, several dozen professional lobbying companies were operating in the United States.

The first lobbying-reform law was passed in 1946 and required all lobbyists to register with the federal government. This did not significantly decrease accusations of corruption, and loopholes in the legislation allowed many individuals to avoid registering as official lobbyists.

In the 1960s, the House of Representatives and the Senate both adopted codes of ethics and conduct that explicitly addressed corruption and bribery. Before this time, legislators who were accused of corruption were subject to punishment under article 1, section 5 of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to punish its members. The adoption of specific ethical codes was intended to remove any uncertainty regarding the proper relationship between legislators and lobbyists.

In 1995, Congress passed the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), which established the criteria used to define lobbyists and required that all persons who meet these criteria register with the clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate. In addition, the LDA established rules and restrictions on the types and financial value of gifts and services provided by lobbyists. Critics argued that the LDA was too lenient, as it compelled only those who spent more than 20 percent of their time lobbying to register as lobbyists.

Lobbying Reform Today

In January 2006, lobbyist Jack Abramoff was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and tax evasion. The high-profile case called the behavior of prominent legislators into question and led to increasing concern about corruption. Some analysts believe that the Abramoff case was one of the primary motivations for subsequent changes to lobbying-reform policies. Among these changes was the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) of 2007, which amended the LDA to ban lobbyists and any organization that employs them from giving personal gifts or providing travel to legislators. It also required lobbyists to file quarterly reports detailing their activities and political contributions and mandated that information about lobbyists’ clients and their contributions be made available to the public, among other provisions.

Some politicians argue that the rules governing congressional conduct should be sufficient to prevent corruption without further lobbying reform. Before the HLOGA was passed, congressional ethics dictated that legislators could not accept gifts worth more than $45 from lobbyists. Some believe that this and similar restrictions should be sufficient to prevent corruption. Other critics are concerned that lobbying reform will negatively impact special-interest groups that lack large amounts of capital, while lobbyists representing financially powerful groups will be unaffected. Some reform legislation contains restrictions that make it difficult for nonprofit or public-service groups to employ lobbyists while maintaining their nonprofit status. Financially dominant groups, however, would be able to hire part-time lobbyists and thereby avoid the registration restrictions.

Prior to his election in 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama had promised that if he became president, he would not allow any former lobbyists appointed to his administration to participate in any matters related to their previous employers for a period of two years. Upon taking office in January 2009, he signed an executive order to that effect, causing some to speculate that this would limit the number of qualified candidates for various government positions. Subsequently, Obama did in fact appoint several lobbyists to influential positions related to their previous work, including William J. Lynn III, a former lobbyist for defense contractor Raytheon who was made deputy secretary of defense. A similar ban on lobbyists serving on federal advisory panels, instituted in November 2009, was rescinded in August 2014 after six lobbyists filed a lawsuit claiming that the ban violated their First Amendment rights.

Many proponents of lobbying reform have also raised particular concerns around foreign lobbying. In the late 2010s and early 2020s, the administrations of President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden both faced much scrutiny over real or alleged connections to government or corporate lobbyists from other countries. However, some critics suggested that such concerns were often closely tied to partisan political attacks, limiting the prospect of any wider reform efforts.

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