President Barack Obama’s effort to eliminate the corrupting influence of special interests should be applauded, but it needs some refinement.
On his first full day in office, Obama issued an executive order on ethics that places restrictions on lobbyists who transition to government service.
On March 20, the president issued a memo on the dispensation of Recovery Act money. Under this memo, lobbyist communications about specific Recovery Act spending must be made in writing; no in-person meetings are permitted.
Oral communications with lobbyists about general Recovery Act policies are permitted, but federal employees must document and post records of the communications to the Web within three business days.
At one level, this sounds good: clean up government and get special interests under control. The problem is that not all lobbying is corrupt, and not all corrupt activities are lobbying. The objective should be to eliminate the corrupting influence money plays in politics, but the well intentioned Obama policies don’t quite hit the nail on the head.
They cast the net too broadly, capturing too many types of lobbying activities that should be encouraged, not discouraged. At the same time, they miss too many things. Why should the lobbyist for a major defense contractor be prohibited from serving in government while the lobbyist’s boss, who may not be a “lobbyist,” is permitted to serve?
Why should a federally registered lobbyist be limited in forms of communication on the Recovery Act while a state registered lobbyist or a non-lobbyist would have no restrictions?
When it comes to lobbying in the public interest – that is, promoting policy changes that are not guided by profit motives – the Obama policies are having adverse unintended consequences. They are quashing, instead of encouraging, democratic participation.
They are making it more difficult for the Obama administration to attract the best and the brightest. And they are causing less disclosure – instead of more – as more and more people seek to deregister under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), the statute that defines who is a federal lobbyist.
The problem of casting the net too widely can be fixed with White House guidance on implementation of the executive order and with clearer messages from the president. Here are four steps the president can take to address the problem.
- The president should take aim at the corrupting influence of money. By honing his message and focusing on the influence of money in policymaking, the president can distinguish between public interest lobbying and other types of lobbying.
The president should provide guidance to agencies on what is meant by executive branch lobbying. This definition should focus heavily on communications aimed at winning contracts and other financial awards from the federal government.
Restricting speech must be avoided while disclosure should be emphasized. Regardless of whether a lobbyist or not, an individual should disclose attempts to influence executive branch officials when it comes to how money is spent. This avoids the unfair lobbying policy regarding the Recovery Act and helps the public better understand the influence of special interests.
- * The president should develop clear principles on waivers. Waivers to hire lobbyists are permitted under the executive order, but unfortunately, they are not being used. The LDA and its definition of “lobbyist” are now triggering restrictions on working in the Obama administration. This is especially troubling for those working for nonprofit organizations, many of whom registered under the LDA even if below the required thresholds for registering.
One approach to waiver criteria could be to provide a safe harbor for anyone working for a tax-exempt charity (organized under 501(c)(3) of the tax code), a social welfare group (a 501(c)(4) organization), or a union (a 501(c)(5) group), since they are not working to create profit.
Employees in other types of organizations, such as trade associations and for-profit companies, would need to qualify for a waiver based on other criteria such as specialized knowledge.
- All granted waivers, along with information about the individuals receiving the waivers, should be immediately disclosed. The government should create a comprehensive website that lists any waivers, as well as related lobbying and campaign contribution information pertaining to waived individuals, in easy-to-use, searchable formats.
The Obama executive order and other efforts to eliminate the corrupting influence of special interests are on target. However, the White House needs to be clear: the problem isn’t public interest lobbyists.
Gary D. Bass is the executive director of OMB Watch, a Washington-based nonprofit government watchdog organization.
