New disclosure reports lack clarity
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- Driving America’s Future pops up as a client of Patton Boggs, with former Clinton Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater listed as its man on Capitol Hill. But again, its financial muscle remains a mystery on the form. The Associated Press">AP Photo
The much-touted new lobbying disclosure reports are now available. But beware: They do little to make it easier to track the nation’s influence class.
In fact, they seem to simply create a new level of complication.
Confusing shortcuts are already being mapped and loopholes mined. In addition, advocacy groups aren’t complying in the same way, or with the same diligence. The National Association of Manufacturers report will have to be amended soon, since the association spent much of the spring engaged in a lawsuit trying to avoid any new requirements.
“Happy hunting” was the delightful sign-off from Jan Baran, a campaign finance and lobbying legal expert, in an e-mail explaining the fuzzy provisions of the new disclosure law.
To be sure, some of the most aggressive reforms won’t kick in until this summer’s mid-year reports, and other new rules will take effect even later. For instance, the public accounting of fundraising by lobbyists for candidates can’t be enforced until the appointee-challenged Federal Election Commission is operational again and can develop a reporting procedure.
But this first round of reports, which does include some of the more modest new disclosure requirements, represents an inauspicious beginning to what was supposed to be a new age of enlightenment about K Street and Congress.
Among the information that is supposed to be available to the public now is a listing of the financial backers of the shadowy coalitions with apple-pie-sounding names that crop up around major policy debates, running advertising campaigns and making the rounds of Congress.
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According to the new law, members of these coalitions that donate $5,000 to fund lobbying efforts and/or those that participate in plotting Capitol Hill strategy are supposed to be named in the quarterly reports.
But a review of the environment sector offered scant clarity about who backed the fine-named coalitions active during Congress’ debate last year over new gas mileage standards and those that will be active in this summer’s showdown over new regulations to reduce greenhouse gases.
Among them: Driving America’s Future, Americans for American Energy, Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, Farmers for Clean Air and Water, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, Consumer Alliance for Energy Security, Americans for Prosperity and The Greening Earth Society.
After running all the names through the House and Senate disclosure databases last week, only two popped up, and neither of them list the paying members of their coalition.
Americans for American Energy, which is based in Colorado, shows a list of lobbyists but nothing about its financial patrons. Driving America’s Future pops up as a client of Patton Boggs, with former Clinton Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater listed as its man on Capitol Hill. But again, its financial muscle remains a mystery on the form.
The dearth of information on the government disclosure forms about the other business-backed coalitions comes in stark contrast to the data about them culled from media reports, websites, press releases and Internal Revenue Service documents and posted by SourceWatch, a website that tracks advocacy groups.
The Greening Earth Society, based in Alexandria, Va., is funded by the Western Fuels Association and advocates that greenhouse gases have a positive effect on the economy because they help plants grow, according to SourceWatch.
The Farmers for Clean Air and Water are financed by agricultural companies with the aim of exempting large farming operations from Superfund rules, according to SourceWatch.
Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, formed in 2000, is largely financed by mining companies, coal transporters and electricity producers, according to SourceWatch. The National Journal reported this year that the group’s advertising and grass-roots organizing jumped from $8 million last year to $30 million this year.
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Readers' Comments (12)
*head explodes*
The influence of "K" street is not realized by the "typical American'.---------------------------------------------------------
Article published Apr 11, 2008 (Washington Times)
"McCain advisers tied to foreign lobbying .........by Jerry Seper
John McCain's top advisers and fundraisers are among several Republican and Democratic presidential campaign officials whose lobbying firms have been paid more than $15 million by foreign governments since 2005.
The firms of McCain senior adviser Charlie Black, who until recently was the chairman of Washington-based BKSH & Associates, and campaign co-chairman Thomas G. Loeffler, who heads the Loeffler Group in San Antonio, received millions of dollars lobbying the White House, Congress and others as agents of nearly a dozen foreign clients in recent years. "At no time have I discussed my clients with John McCain, and there have been many occasions where he has voted against my clients' interests, but that doesn't change my belief that John McCain is the best candidate to lead our nation," said Mr. Loeffler, a former Texas congressman, whose firm has received millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia. The arrangements are legal, and hundreds of lobbyists are registered to work for foreign clients.
But experts say conflict-of-interest questions can arise if lobbying and campaign activities overlap. "I'm not sure it's a good idea that one person plays all these roles," said Toni-Michelle C. Travis, a political analyst and professor of government at George Mason University. "The entanglements become greater and greater, and that can lead to conflict-of-interest questions at some point. "People are slipping across the lines to play multiple roles."
Mark Penn, former top strategist to Democratic candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, recently resigned after consulting on a Colombian trade agreement that Mrs. Clinton opposed. Mr. Penn is chief executive of Washington-based Burson-Marsteller, which has lobbied for the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Colombian Embassy and the Mexico Tourism Board. In addition, the Glover Park Group where top Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson previously worked, received more than $170,000 last year from the Colombian trade bureau and $250,000 from Dubai Aerospace Enterprises Ltd. Clinton bundler John Merrigan is registered to lobby foreign governments at DLA Piper, which during a six-month span last year reported more than $2.8 million in fees from foreign entities.(Hillary Clinton)
In addition, former New Jersey Sen. Robert Torricelli, another Clinton bundler, signed off on a $15,000 per-month lobbying deal last year with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan's office in the U.S. The lobbying efforts by New Jersey-based Rosemont Associates, where Mr. Torricelli is managing partner, included e-mails and a meeting with Mrs. Clinton's Senate staff in November, at a time when Mr. Torricelli was raising money for the Clinton presidential campaign, records show. Telephone and e-mail messages left with Mr. Torricelli and the Clinton campaign were not returned yesterday.(Hillary Clinton).........................................
In 2005, the House passed a resolution 398-15 calling for a thorough review of the deal and lawmakers from both parties said the prospect of a Chinese state-owned energy company in charge of a U.S. oil producer posed a national security threat. Mr. Black said he wasn't working on any campaigns at the time, but he added that he has a personal rule against giving advice to Mr. McCain on any issues in which he has been a lobbyist: "If an issue comes up, I don't participate in the discussion." Saying he resigned from BKSH to spend more time on the McCain campaign, Mr. Black said Mr. McCain is not influenced by lobbyists, including those who have worked or raised money for his campaign.
Mr. Loeffler's firm has received more than $10 million since 2006 from the Saudi Embassy and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Just two months ago, the firm also signed an agreement with the South Korean Embassy to consult on "legislation affecting Korea's foreign military sales status and related matters."(John McCain)
Since 2005, the firm reported more than $11 million in fees from foreign lobbying clients................Lorenzo Morris, chairman of the political science department at Howard University, . "K Street takes up a lot of Washington," Mr. Morris said. ..........................
c Kirk Blalock, ...................Mr. Blalock's firm has received at least $700,000 since 2005 lobbying for clients, including Peru, Vietnam and the Korean International Trade Association. The firm also signed a deal to lobby Congress and the White House for "enhancement of the Bahrain free trade agreement," records show.( Free Trade Deals..Nations pay a lot to get them from the USA...so WHO are they good for? do we Pay billions to get them? More Pimping out of USA jobs and factories? What think You?)
c Rob Allyn, head of the Dallas-based Allyn & Co., a public relations, advertising and political media firm, who was paid $720,000 by the Mexican government in 2006 to polish its image and call for a guest worker program for millions of Mexican nationals illegally in the United States. (John McCain) (look! look! look! THIS MATTERS. THIS IS HOW IT IS DONE. THIS IS HOW YOU AND YOUR INTERESTS ARE SOLD OUT TO FOREIGN NATIONS.)
The lobbying efforts came at a time Congress and the White House were debating comprehensive immigration-reform legislation, which was defeated in June. Then-President Vicente Fox was an outspoken critic of the proposed legislation. (John McCain)
Mr. Black and Mr. Loeffler also are listed by Mr. McCain's campaign Web site as bundlers, expected to collect thousands of dollars in donations from several sources to bypass federal election laws limiting individual contributors to a $2,300 maximum donation. (John McCain)
And NO. They do not have a constitutional Right to Petition Congress.
The Founding fathers gave INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS....SINGLE CITIZENS.....the right to peition Congress with their political grevanices. They Never intended for EXXON to have the same access to Congressman Graft as Widow Jones does when calling about the No Bid No Working Armored Vest her only child wears in Afhganistan.
In the 1980's...when ROBBER BARONS...read the Wall St. of their Day...rode as high as they do today....A bizarre interpreation of the !4th Amendment. And stop.
The Fourteenth Amendment gave citizenship to the children of free black slaves in 1865. And it has a sentence in there .."under the jurisdiction thereof". Most sensible non poltical types think Birthright citizenship is ILLEGAL..because foreign nationals are not under the jurisdiction thereof...(Hence the push to give them 'legal rights' ..lawyers are not stupid..they want this nullifed..Diplomats who have children in the USA..they are NOT citizens..because they are NOT under the jurisdiction there of.)...I digress.
A corrupt (others think so too) S.C. ruled that Corporations are under the jurisdiction thereof in the USA....therefore Patton and Boggs can squat in your Congressman's office ...have staffers working there...write their bills.....all because of a bill written for