In 1869 , Washington D.C. newspaper correspondent Emily Edson Briggs , one of the first adult female to be allowed in the congressional press gallery , wrote a column titled , " The Dragons of the Lobby . " Her possibility sentence study :
" Winding in and out through the tenacious , devious basement transit , crawling through the corridor , trail its slimy length from gallery to committee elbow room , at last it lie stretch at full length on the floor of Congress - this dazzle reptile , this Brobdingnagian , scaly ophidian of the lobby " [ source : Briggs ] .
More than 140 long time later , the public perception of lobbying and lobbyist is for the most part unchanged in America . Thanks to unscrupulous figures like Jack Abramoff , who admitted pass $ 1 million a year on tickets to sporting event and concerts for congressmen and their staffer , we equate the Logos " lobbyist " with corruption [ source : Stahl ] . On the surface , there come out to be a simple solution to the corrupting influence of lobbyists : make buttonhole illegal . But not only would that be disastrous for the American political and legislative unconscious process , it would also be unconstitutional .
The First Amendment of the Constitution shrine the " right of the people … to petition the government for a redress of grievance . " Lobbying is one of the agency by which " the people " – as represented by individuals , corporations , nonprofit organizations , professional associations and other entity – " petition " elected officials to take up their cause . The oil lobby wants Congress to relax regulations on seaward oil production . The pharmaceutical lobby wants stricter intellectual dimension law of nature to protect its patents . The telecommunications pressure group want to widen the wireless spectrum . The social jurist lobby wants more funding for homeless shelter and unemployed worker training programs .
Lobbying , we often hear , is the favored tactic of " extra interestingness " groups . In truth , explain the later Senator Robert C. Byrd , every American belongs to a mass of special interest groups . We ’re defined by our grammatical gender , age , spiritual tie-up , localisation , educational background and employment , and all of those associations give us a " particular interest " in the actions of our elected official [ reservoir : Byrd ] .
The complexness of the legislative process makes lobbying and lobbyists all important to the function of government . Congressmen and their staff do n’t have the knowledge or the time to become experts on every unmarried issue of concern to the American citizenry . lobbyist , as then - Senator John F. Kennedy write in 1956 , " are in many event expert technician capable of examining complex and difficult national in a exculpated , perceivable manner " [ source : Meyers & Associates ] . A seasoned lobbyist not only educates elected officials on the issues , but helps draft legislation , solicit " aye " votes for bills in both houses of Congress , and makes certain the president has a fresh new pen to bless the bill into law .
This all sounds great until you bring up the emergence of money . There is no getting around the fact that lobbyists are pay off advocates . And well paid : entire spending on lobbyist surpassed $ 3.3 billion in 2011 , triple the totality in 1998 [ source : Grier ] . And there is no enquiry that the heavy spenders on lobbying are corp and big industry , lending outsized influence to business interests over the vexation of intermediate Americans . The influence of money also mean that some buttonhole manoeuvre straddle the line between unethical and just illegal .
In this article , we will shine light on the " dark artistic production " of buttonhole by explaining who lobbyist are and what exactly they do for a living . Our exploration starts with a brief history of government lobby in America , which begin when the nation ’s capital was still in Philadelphia .
History of Lobbying in America
First , let ’s run off the rumors about the alleged blood line of the word " lobby . " There are legion sources and articles that identify the antechamber of the Willard Hotel in Washington , D.C. as the original " lobby . " allot to legend , PresidentUlysses S. Grantwould retire to the hotel ’s hall in the late 1860s for a sip of brandy and a cigar only to be hound by hordes of petitioner whom the gruff Civil War general referred to as " those goddamn lobbyists " [ source : We Love DC ] . While Grant and other American politicians may have help popularize the term , the earliest uses of " third house " came from England in the 1640s , refer to the lobby in the House of Commons , where the public could straightaway petition its instance [ author : Hansen ] .
Lobbyists have been a fixture in American politics since the very first academic session of Congress . Tariff bills were the major focus of early lobbying efforts . In 1789 , Pennsylvania senator William Maclay described New York City merchant delaying the passage of a tariff bill by provide congresswoman with " treat , dinners [ and ] attentions " [ source : Byrd ] .
Corporate involvement have always imposed their will on Congress through belligerent lobbying . In the early decades of the American experimentation , it was the Bank of the United States that carried elected officials in its rich pocket . In a direct conflict of interest , several sitting congresswoman sat on the plug-in of the secret banking concern , receive unbendable paychecks from the asylum they drop a line legislation to support [ source : Byrd ] . Senator Byrd take from a letter of the alphabet that the famed Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster commit to the Bank of the United States enquire about his " retainer " :
" Since I arrived here , I have had an diligence to be bear on , professionally , against the Bank , which I have declined , of course , although I consider my retainer has not been renewed , or freshen , as common . If it be wished that my coitus to the Bank should be continued , it may be well to send me the common consideration . "
The sinister daylight of lobbying came during America ’s " Gilded Age , " the period from the end of the Civil War until the conclusion of the nineteenth C , when loaded industrialist and huge new corporation harness the American economic and political landscape .
The railroad lobby is a select example from that point . The Sojourner Truth is that thetranscontinental railroadcould never have been built without Brobdingnagian subsidies and land subsidisation from the federal government [ origin : White ] . There was very little stake from private investor to stick out such an challenging and financially uncertain project [ source : Surowiecki ] . It took a huge malicious gossip , bed as the Credit Mobilier affair , to expose the widespread bribe and crooked tactic apply by the railroad lobby to buy the political favors of congresswoman . Sadly , the transcontinental railroad , which should have been a symbol of American inventiveness , was the result of corporate fat hombre and corrupt politicians making themselves rich on the backs of the American taxpayer .
The ego - proclaimed " King of the Lobby " from the Gilded Age was Sam Ward , who threw the most lavish parties on Capitol Hill , where congressional commission members dine on the best food for thought in the city accompanied by beautiful women and electrifying conversation . A vivid chef , Ward even open a secret eating house exclusively for the D.C. political elite group . His famous motto was that the short distance between a pending bill and a congressman ’s " aye " was through his stomach [ reservoir : Jacob ] . Ward was suspected of large - scale bribery , but never convict of any crime .
Now we ’ll jump from the excesses of the 19th hundred to the modern lobbying machine . First , who precisely is a lobbyist ?
Who Are Lobbyists?
In American politics , " lobbyist " has always been a dirty tidings . During the Republican primary campaign of 2012 , Newt Gingrich fervently denied that his Capitol Hill consulting oeuvre characterise him as a lobbyist [ origin : Schlesinger ] . Since 1876 , Congress has expect all professional lobbyist to register with the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives . But since most D.C. insider will go to great length to stave off being brand with the scarlet " L , " the political science has had to inflict a strict definition of who is and who is n’t a lobbyist .
concord to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 , and amendment made by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 , a professional lobbyist is someone who :
By that definition , there were 12,655 registered lobbyists in 2011 , down from as high as 14,840 in 2007 [ reference : Center for Responsive Politics ] . But that number leaves out folks like former Speaker of the House Gingrich , who leverages his internet of political influence on behalf of guest who compensate his health care consulting firm $ 200,000 to become " members , " not clients [ source : McIntire ] .
Gingrich is far from alone . In fact , the listing of registered and unregistered lobbyists on Capitol Hill include a bombastic numeral of former elect officials and their staffers . In D.C. , it ’s called the " revolving room access " – elect official leave the public service and going directly into lobbying . The New York Times counts more than 400 former legislators who have worked as lobbyists in the retiring decade [ germ : The New York Times ] . Former pol make effective lobbyist because of their personal touch in the government and their expertise on key legislative issues .
As the legal definition hint , lobbyists are paid by clients to meet with lawmakers and push the client ’s political agendum . Despite their bad reputation , lobbyists are not solely employed by crowing business . Every large arrangement has lobbyist roaming the halls of Capitol Hill , include Greenpeace , Catholic nun buoy and theGirl Scouts of America[source : Cook ] .
That state , not every governing body has the same lobbying budget . According to the Center for Responsive Politics , the following arrangement have expend the most money on lobbying elbow grease from 1998 to 2012 :
It ’s surd to guess how it have economical sense for a company like defense declarer Northrop Grumman to spend $ 176 million just to bend the pinna of Congressmen . But a quickGoogle searchshows a $ 189 million contract awarded to Northrop Grumman in March 2012 for a raw cybersecurity system for the Department of Defense . Then NATO signed a $ 1.7 billion contract bridge with Northrop Grumman in May 2012 to build five unarmed surveillance laggard . dependable lobbying , it turn out , is a great investment .
Now that we screw a fiddling more about who lobbyist are , let ’s take a look at what lobbyists do all Clarence Day .
What Lobbyists Do
Lobbyists are full - fourth dimension advocates for their clients . There is no oecumenical job verbal description for a lobbyist . The job responsibilities pass the gamut from conducting extremely technological insurance policy research to throwing a successful dinner company . The best lobbyists are highly effective communicator with unanimous people skills , a strong command of the issues , afield mesh of contactsand a flair for fundraising .
One of the main responsibility of a lobbyist is to become an expert on the legislative effect affecting his client . The lobbyist ask to closely monitor the maturation of legislating that could impact the client ’s system , whether it ’s increased ordinance and tax revenue , or increase Union financial backing opportunity . lobbyist not only need to understand the decisive legislative issues , but also the byzantine legislative appendage .
During each leg of the legislative process , the lobbyist must press his guest ’s eccentric . This often necessitate face - to - fount meeting with congressmen and their staffs . This is called verbatim lobbying [ source : The Princeton Review ] . The lobbyist must make it for the coming together with well - researched and persuasive arguments for supporting his client ’s position on a finical issue . If the representative is sympathetic to the client ’s position , then the lobbyist will cultivate a kinship with the senator ’s office , offer extra enquiry , or in some cases assist to draft the statute law itself .
For example , the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports a huge lobbying front on Capitol Hill to influence legislation that touch on each and every American business owner . The Chamber ’s executive vice president of government affairs says that he and his lobbyists cross over 300 legislative issues of interest to the organization [ source : Cook ] . When a really full-grown issue like wellness care reform comes up for a vote , the lobbyist swarm in from insurance companies , hospital associations , aesculapian connection and patient ’s rights groups . According to the registration track record , over 3,300 lobbyist are record to refer on wellness policy issues alone .
collateral lobbying is an every bit of import part of the job . A lobbyist with strong connexion in D.C. might throw a cocktail political party at her menage and invite influential citizens committee members to mingle with executives from the client organization . Fundraisingis another knock-down , if controversial means to indirectly determine the dedication of an elected functionary . While lobbyists are not permit to give money or gifts direct to members of Congress , a lobbyist can throw a $ 10,000 a plate fundraising dinner party for an elected official with all donation turn over by acquaintance and supporter of the node .
For lobbyists with smaller budgets , grassroots lobbying can be an effective tactic . Grassroots lobbying demand winning over public opinion to charm legislator . A lobbyist might accomplish this by compose column in paper , appearing on political talk show , or organizing a varsity letter - writing political campaign to get the attention of local officials [ source : The Princeton Review ] .
Now let ’s look at the laws that govern lobbying and what is being done to take the corrupting influence of money out of American politics .
Lobbying and the Law
While lobbyists are indispensible to the function of the American government , they have always been held in high-pitched suspicion . As far back as 1876 , the House of Representatives required all lobbyists to register . Three years afterward , it required that member of the printing press register with the House and Senate to sit down in each chamber ’s jam gallery [ source : Byrd ] . Apparently , lobbyists were posing as journalists to win access to legislators and pick off the fact in their favour .
Today , lobbyist are held accountable by two small-arm of legislation , the Lobbying Disclosure Act ( LDA ) of 1995 and the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 . As we name before , these laws define a lobbyist in very specific terms . The problem with the laws , critics fence , is that they fix lobbyist too specifically . It ’s simply too easy to work around the definition and therefore not be forced to register as a lobbyist .
For example , any action that ’s delimit as " educational " does n’t count as lobbying . A incorporated client can hire an influential ex - senator to give a serial publication of " educational " speeches and seminars on central legislative issues , but that x - senator does n’t have to register as a lobbyist [ seed : Grier ] . Then there ’s the time article of the lobbying law . fit in to the practice of law , you ’re a lobbyist if you devote more than 20 pct of your prison term lobbying for a specific node . But what if you have many clients , or only a small portion of your protagonism workplace imply face - to - face meetings with elected official ? Then you do n’t have to register as a lobbyist [ source : The New York Times ] .
In recent years , Congress has imposed more and more strict limits on the activities of registered lobbyists . Gifts of any sort or value are fairly much verboten . Not only must registered lobbyists file quarterly report detail the contacts they made with elected officials , but they must expose how much money they were give to do it . Registered lobbyists are also required to file away semiannual reputation listing any contribution made to elect functionary or political campaigns . While these necessity are a stride in the right direction , critics say , they are ineffective if so few practicing lobbyists are ask to register under the current legal definition .
TheAmerican Bar Association ( ABA)has a large stake in lobbying legislating , because many lobbyists are also lawyers . The ABA designate a labor force to commend ways to " restore honour " to the lobbying professing . One of its decisive recommendation was to eviscerate a solid line between lobby regime functionary on legislative issues and fund-raise for them . " Nothing so contributes to the sensing of lobbyist as agents of rottenness , rather than as public policy advocates , as the confounding of these two function , " writes the ABA project strength . " Conversely , nothing will go further to fix the honor of this branch of our profession than a determined effort to separate , so far as constitutionally and much potential , the role of pleader and fundraiser " [ source : Fried ] .
The infamous lobbyist Jack Abramoff , who serve more than three old age in prison on corruption burster , does n’t believe that new laws like the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 have the teeth to change a broken system . " The people who make the reforms are the citizenry in the organisation , " Abramoff tell apart " 60 Minutes " in 2011 . " Human beings populate our arrangement . Human beings are feeble . "
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It must be a drag to be a lobbyist . What do you say at dinner parties when folks call for what you do for a support ? Do you go the " consultant " route ? What about " political protagonism ? " Or do you just come out and use the " L " countersign to see how they respond ? From researching this article , it ’s cleared that most lobbyist are hardworking , ethical mass who believe in their work . It ’s also light that the nature of the employment leave behind sizable room for the case of wildly unethical behavior that gives lobbyists a reputation that only used cable car salesmen could envy . In this presidential election season , we see both parties pointing fingers at the " particular interestingness lobbies " that are bankrupt our country . It ’s funny how cursorily an involvement becomes " especial " when it ’s not your interest . The inquiry is , who has the political will to fix a broken system ?
