Information about Lobbying

Lobbying is a concerted effort designed to achieve some result, typically from government authorities and elected officials. It can consist of the outreach of legislative members, public actions (e.g. mass demonstrations), or combinations of both public and private actions (e.g. encouraging constituents to contact their legislative representatives). As a professional occupation it is also known as "government affairs" or "public affairs". Practitioners may work in specialist organizations or as part of government relations or as public relations consultancies.

Etymology

The supposed origins of the term "lobbyist" vary. One story states that the term originated at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, where it was used by Ulysses S. Grant to describe the political wheelers and dealers frequenting the hotel's lobby in order to access Grant who was often found there, enjoying a cigar and brandy.

The term "lobbying" more likely originates from the British Parliament, where the term was in use in the 1840s.^[1] Members of the British Public can go to the Parliament's Central Lobby and request to meet with their representative Member of Parliament.^[2]

Research done by Deanna Gelak, a former president of the American League of Lobbyists, for a forthcoming book on lobbying to be published by TheCapitol.Net in 2008, shows that the term "lobbying" appeared in print as early as 1820:

	Other letters from Washington affirm, that members of the Senate, when the compromise question was to be taken in the House, were not only "lobbying about the Representatives' Chamber," but were active in endeavoring to intimidate certain weak representatives by insulting threats to dissolve the Union.
	— April 1, 1820, New Hampshire Sentinel (America's Historical Newspapers)

Lobbying by country

United States

Main article: Lobbying in the United States

Many jurisdictions, in response to concerns of corruption, require the formal registration of lobbyists who come in contact with government representatives. Since 1995, under the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (2 U.S.C.  1601 et seq.), most persons who are paid to make direct "lobbying contacts" with members of Congress and officials of the federal executive branch are required to register and file reports twice a year.

However, there are ongoing conflicts between organizations that wish to impose greater restrictions on citizens' attempts to influence or "lobby" policymakers, and groups that argue that such restrictions infringe on the "right to petition" government officials, which is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

For example, in January 2007, the U.S. Senate considered S. 1, an omnibus "ethics reform" bill. This bill contained a provision (Section 220) to establish federal regulation, for the first time, of certain efforts to encourage "grassroots lobbying." The bill said that "'grassroots lobbying' means the voluntary efforts of members of the general public to communicate their own views on an issue to Federal officials or to encourage other members of the general public to do the same." This provision was opposed by a broad array of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Right to Life Committee, and the National Rifle Association, who argued that attempts by constituents to influence their representatives are at the heart of representational democracy, and that neither such contacts nor efforts to motivate such contacts should be considered "lobbying." On January 18, 2007, the U.S. Senate voted 55-43 to strike Section 220 from the bill. However, other proposed regulations on "grassroots lobbying" remain under consideration in the 110th Congress.

Another controversial bill, the "Executive Branch Reform Act, H.R. 984, would require over 8,000 Executive Branch officials to report into a public database nearly any "significant contact" from any "private party." Although promoted as a regulation on "lobbyists," the bill defines "private party" as any person or entity" except "Federal, State, or local government official or a person representing such an official." Thus, under the proposal, anyone who contacts a covered government official is in effect deemed to be a lobbyist, unless the communicator is another government official or government staff person. The bill defines "significant contact" to be any "oral or written communication (including electronic communication) . . . in which the private party seeks to influence official action by any officer or employee of the executive branch of the United States." The bill is supported by some organizations as an expansion of "government in the sunshine," but other groups oppose it as an infringing on the right to petition by making it impossible for citizens to communicate their views on controversial issues without having their names and viewpoints entered into a government database.^[3] The U.S. Department of Justice has raised constitutional and other objections to the bill.^[4]

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected congressional efforts to regulate grassroots communications as a form of “lobbying," on constitutional grounds. In 1953, in a suit involving a congressional resolution authorizing a committee to investigate “all lobbying activities intended to influence, encourage, promote, or retard legislation,” the Supreme Court narrowly construed “lobbying activities” to mean only “direct” lobbying (which the Court described as “representations made directly to the Congress, its members, or its committees”), and rejected a broader interpretation of “lobbying” out of First Amendment concerns. [United States v. Rumely, 345 U.S. 41 (1953).] The Supreme Court thereby affirmed the earlier decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which said:

	In support of the power of Congress it is argued that lobbying is within the regulatory power of Congress, that influence upon public opinion is indirect lobbying, since therefore attempts to influence public opinion are subject to regulation by the Congress. Lobbying, properly defined, is subject to control by Congress, . . . But the term cannot be expanded by mere definition so as to include forbidden subjects. Neither semantics nor syllogisms can break down the barrier which protects the freedom of people to attempt to influence other people by books and other public writings. . . . It is said that lobbying itself is an evil and a danger. We agree that lobbying by personal contact may be an evil and a potential danger to the best in legislative processes. It is said that indirect lobbying by the pressure of public opinion on the Congress is an evil and a danger. That is not an evil; it is a good, the healthy essence of the democratic process. . . .
	— [Rumely v. United States, 197 F.2d 166, 173-174, 177 (D.C. Cir. 1952).]

European Union

History

Lobbying in Brussels was only born in the late 1970s. Up to that time, “diplomatic lobbying” at the highest levels remained the rule. There were few lobbyists involved in the system and except for some business associations, representative offices were rarely used. The event that sparked the explosion of lobbying was the first direct election of the European Parliament in 1979. Up until then the Parliament consisted complex, and companies increasingly felt the need of an expert local presence to find out what was going on in Brussels. The foundation of lobbying was therefore the need to provide information. From that developed the need to influence the process actively and effectively . The next important step in lobbying development was the Single European Act of 1986 which both created the qualified majority vote for taking decisions in the Council and enhanced the role of the Parliament, again making EU legislation more complex and lobbying more important and attractive for stakeholders. In short, the stronger the EU developed from a Member States organization to an own political player in the world, the more policy areas it covered, the more important it became as a lobbying target. With the EU enlargement in 2004 this development has taken a further step, bringing in not only a lot more players and stakeholders but also a wide range of different political cultures and traditions.

In the wake of the Abramoff scandal in Washington and in light of the massive impact that this had on the lobbying scene in the U.S.A., the rules for lobbying in the EU — which until now only consist of a non-binding code of conduct — may also be tightened^[5].

Current practice

The fragmented nature of EU institutional structure provides multiple channels through which organized interests may seek to influence policy-making. Lobbying takes place at the European level itself and within the existing national states. The most important institutional targets are the Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament.^[6] The Commission has a monopoly on the initiative in Community decision-making. Since it has the power to draft initiatives, it makes it ideally suited as an arena for interest representation. There are three main channels of indirect lobbying of the Council. First, interest groups routinely lobby the national delegations in Brussels,; the second indirect means of lobbying the Council is for interest groups to lobby members of the many Council-working groups. The third means of influencing the Council is directly via national governments. As a consequence of the co-decision procedures, the European Parliament attracts attention from lobbyists who target the rapporteur and the chairman of the committee. The rapporteurs are MEPs appointed by Committees to prepare the parliament’s response to the Commission’s proposal and to those measures taken by the Parliament itself.

There are currently around 15,000 lobbyists in Brussels (consultants, lawyers, associations, corporations, NGOs etc.) seeking to influence the EU’s legislative process. Some 2,600 special interest groups have a permanent office in Brussels. Their distribution is roughly as follows: European trade federations (32%), consultants (20%), companies (13%), NGOs (11%), national associations (10%), regional representations (6%), international organizations (5%) and think tanks (1%), (Lehmann, 2003, pp iii).

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom lobbying traditionally referred to the attempt to influence an MP's vote by either their fellow parliamentary colleagues, by one of their constituents or by any outside organisation. More recently the term has narrowed in its usage to mainly refer to the operation of "lobbyists" hired to represent the views of an organisation. ^[7] This industry has been steadily growing in recent years and is now estimated to be worth £1.9 billion and employ 14000 people. A recent report by the Hansard Society has shown some MPs are approached over 100 times a week..

The Association of Professional Political Consultants (APPC) is a self regulatory body for UK public affairs companies. Its code of conduct promotes 'transparency' and forbids certain practices, such as making payments to MPs.

"Sale" of peerages

Main article: Cash for Peerages

In addition to "open" lobbying, the United Kingdom, political parties have been accused of trying to raise campaign funds by offering peerages and other honors. Since peers sit in the House of Lords, part of the UK legislature, they are in a position to initiate or amend Bills on their way to becoming Acts of Parliament - a very influential position. The rules of Parliament do, however, require participants in debates to 'declare their interest'. The 'sale' of peerages is a criminal offence. To circumvent this law, it is alleged that some contributions thus solicited, are given, not as outright gifts but as loans.^[8]

Lobbyists are present in all levels of government.

Eastern Europe

Only countries where lobbying is regulated in parliament bills are: Georgia (1998), Lithuania (2001) and Poland (2005). All require registration of professional lobbyists. So far, there is no complex lobbying regulation in other European countries. There were many attempts, but with no satisfactory results.

References

• Geiger,: EU Lobbying handbook, A guide to modern participation in Brussels, 244 pages, ISBN 3-9811316-0-6, Helios Media GmbH, 2006 (http://www.helios-media.com/de/information/buecher/lobbying_handbuch.php)
• Geiger, Andreas: From a lobbyist's point of view, European Agenda 1/2006)
• The Bulletin, 16 March 2006, p. 14, Lobbying Europe: facts and fiction
• The European Lawyer, December 2005/January 2006, p. 9, The lobbyists have landed
• Financial Times, 3 October 2005, p. 8, Brussels braces for a U.S. lobbying invasion
• Public Affairs News, November 2004, p. 34, Judgement Call
• The European Lawyer, December 2004/January 2005, p. 26, Lifting the lid on lobbying
• Geiger, Andreas: Lobbyists — the Devil’s Advocates?, European Competition Law Review, Volume 24, issue 11/2003, p. 559
• Wiszowaty, Marcin: Legal Regulation of Lobbying in New Members States of the European Union, Arbeitspapiere und Materialien - Forschungsstelle Osteuropa an der Universitat Bremen, No. 74: Heiko Pleines (ed.): Participation of Civil Society in New Modes of Governance. The Case of the New Member States. Part 2: Questions of Accountability. February 2006
• Lobbying (Web). BBC News: Politics. BBC (22 December, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
• Police loans inquiry is widenened (Web). BBC News: Politics. BBC (30 March, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.

See also

Main article: List of basic public affairs topics

• Energy lobby
• Interest group
• Pharmaceutical lobby

External links

Lobbying in the United States:

• LobbyWatch - a project of the Center for Public Integrity with reports on lobbyists and lobbying efforts as well as a searchable database
• Sourcewatch - collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy (formerly Disinfopedia)
• U.S. Senate Office of Public Records - a searchable database of registered lobbyists
• OpenSecrets.org
• NoLobby.com
• Free Speech National Right to Life page containing documents opposing excessive regulation of "lobbying" as infringement on "right to petition" guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Lobbying in Europe

• Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU)
• Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)
• Spinwatch
• Lobbying in the European Union: current rules and practices (2003), in PDF format