House Passes Lobbying Reform Package

Bill Curtails Civic Engagement and Fails to Address Corruption

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday narrowly passed, by a vote of 217-213, H.R. 4975, the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.  (See how your Representative voted here.)

Alliance for Justice opposed H.R. 4975 because it not only fails to address actual corruption in the legislative process, but also because the bill was used to attack independent civic nonprofits known as 527s.  See Alliance for Justice's press release condemning the House vote here.

You may recall that last April the House passed H.R. 513, the so-called 527 Reform Act, which would effectively eliminate independent 527s and ultimately chill voter participation, stunt voter registration, and reduce voter turnout.  In passing its lobbying reform package, the House also voted to attached this 527 bill to the package to force its consideration in conference with the Senate.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed its lobbying reform package, S. 2349, in March.  While the Senate package was a step in the right direction, the House package would result in little change in the status quo of lobbying while curtailing civic participation in elections. 

The Senate and House will now meet in conference to work out the differences between their lobbying reform packages.  The timeline for appointing conferees and holding the conference is yet to be determined.  Alliance for Justice will continue to update you as Congress moves forward with this legislation. 

Additional Resources:

Why 501(c) Nonprofits Are Concerned About So-Called 527 "Reform" Legislation

Fact Sheet on 527 Reform

Alliance for Justice on Passage of H.R. 513

Alliance for Justice on Passage of H.R. 4975

Alliance for Justice on Passage of S. 2349