Bright spotlights have illuminated the world of lobbying lately due to the scandals and calls for reform surrounding the industry. Below are some terms associated with this industry, which you can either scan or click a letter to find a specific term:

 # | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

#

527 Group: Named after the tax code in which they fall under, these groups raise money specifically for issue advocacy. Some of these groups (such as the Service Employees International Union) are also involved in lobbying.

B

Bundling: Practice of one lobbyist gathering campaign contributions from a group of colleagues and presenting the resulting “bundle” to lawmakers. With the new lobbying reform bill having passed in both the House and Senate, lobbyists will be required to disclose the amount of money that they collect for candidates.

C

Coalition: Alliance of groups united for a cause. Some coalitions are independent; others who lobby Congress are affiliated with lobbying firms. (Example: Coalition for Affordable and Reliable Health Care, which is based out of the office of the firm Barbour and Griffith)

Constituent Event: An exception to the gift rule. Congressional members or staff may attend this type of event for free as long as there are more than 5 constituents also attending and any meal provided to a congressional guest is less than $50. Lobbyists are not permitted to attend these events.

D

De minimis: “Negligible or inconsequential” involvement in planning trips, according to the House and Senate gift rules. Lobbyists are prohibited from significantly planning trips for members of Congress unless it is “de minimis.” Consequently, if a lobbyist were to be on a trip with a member of Congress, a lobbyists’ involvement would also need to be de minimis. The Senate Ethics Committee has interpreted the gift rule to mean that a lobbyist could attend a widely attended event which is part of a member’s trip as the trip sponsor would not know all of the attendees of an event.

E

Earmarks: Known to some as “pork barrel,” Congressmen use this tool to direct spending to individual projects. Lobbyists work on behalf of their organization or their clients to insert funds for their interests into appropriations bills. This practice has become controversial, and one of the components of the lobbying reform bill is the requirement of Congressmen to link their names to a submitted earmark or amendment 48 hours before the bill that it has been placed in comes to a vote.

An example of a famous earmark: “the bridge to nowhere,” a pet project of Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) that would have linked a bridge from the mainland of Alaska to an island of 50 people.

F

First Amendment: The right to petition is the essential premise behind lobbying, as it requires the federal government to allow citizens to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA): This law requires any lobbyist who represents a foreign government, elected official or political party as a foreign agent to file his financial information and published materials with the Department of Justice. This only applies to foreign public officials; lobbyists representing foreign private companies register under the LDA.

G

Gift: While a gift is an item presented to someone without expecting something in return, this becomes controversial when they are given to members of Congress. Gifts can mean anything from a free meal to quicker service for air conditioning repair and even free movie showings. The Rules of the Senate define a gift as “any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary value” which includes “services, training, transportation, lodging, and meals.” Lobbyists, and organizations who retain them, are banned from giving gifts to congrssional members and staff unless they fall under one of the exceptions to the gift rule, some of which include:

·        Items of little intrinsic value (i.e. T-shirt)

·        Honorary degrees

·        Gifts based on personal friendship

Organizations which do not employ lobbyists are subject to a individual gift limit of $49.99 and an annual limit of $99.99, but a non-lobbyist at an organization may not be used to try to circumvent the gift rule.

“Grassroots lobbyist”: This person is a “citizen lobbyist.” Organizations such as the Sierra Club encourage their members to contact their Congressmen on an issue, write letters to the editor, and sign petitions. These lobbyists do not need to register under the LDA if they only engage in grassroots activities.

H

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA): Passed in 2007, this law expanded the disclosure requirements for lobbyists and for Members of Congress. Starting in January 2008, lobbyists will have to file quarterly reports of lobbying activities and state that they have not violated House or Senate rules. They must also detail in semi-annual reports any contributions to political campaigns or to events to recognize a Member if the total spent during the filing period exceeds $200. On the other hand, Members of Congress must disclose any sponsorship of earmarks. Other aspects of HLOGA relate to lobbyists’ spending on gifts and travel for Members, and an expansion in the “cooling off” period for former Senators looking for private sector positions.

K

K Street Project: After the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, Tom DeLay, at the time House Majority Whip, helped ensure that industries and businesses were hiring Republicans for their government relations positions. “K Street” in downtown Washington is home to many lobbyists.

L

LD-1: A form used by lobbying firms to register clients and by organizations employing in-house lobbyists to register themselves. The Lobbying Disclosure Act requires this to be filed with the Secretary of the Senate within 45 days of either the hiring date of a lobbyist to make a lobbying contact or when a lobbyist makes a second lobbying contact.

LD-2: A form used by any organization that is registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act to either:

a) report the amount of income that a firm received from each of its separate clients

b) report the amount of expenditures that an organization employing its own lobbyists spent in relation to its lobbying activities

This form is required to be filed quarterly by the 20th of April (for the period of Jan. 1-March 31), July (for the period of April 1-June 30), October (for the period of July 1-Sept. 30), and January (for the period of Oct. 1-Dec. 31), unless that date falls on a Sunday or a holiday.

LD-203: A form individual lobbyists will need to file detailing their contributions equal to or more than $200 to political action committees, candidates, as well as any contributions to entities controlled or named after covered legislative branch officials, and events held in honor of a covered legislative branch official. Individual lobbyists will need to verify that they have read and understood the House and Senate Gift Rules and did not give a gift in violation of those rules. This form is required to be filed with the Secretary of the Senate on a semi-annual basis on July 30 and Jan. 30.

Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA): Passed in 1995 and amended by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) in 2007, this bill requires those who engage in lobbying activities to register and file quarterly reports with the Clerk of the House and the Senate Office of Public Records. Organizations which are strictly lobbying firms must file reports and registrations for each client that paid the firm more than $2,500 in a three-month timeframe, listing all employees of the firm who have done work on behalf of a client. Organizations which employ in-house lobbyists must file if the amount of money they spend on lobbying exceeds $10,000 within a three-month period.

Lobbyist: Person who advocates on behalf of himself or a client to pass a law or to make changes to a bill being considered in a federal or state legislative body, or to help shape policy in the executive branch and its regulatory departments. Lobbyists can come from either the private sector or from a legislative affairs department in a federal agency. There are two types of lobbyists: grassroots and professional.

The House and Senate include in its "Guide to the Lobbying Disclosure Act" a definition of a lobbyist as: “any individual (1) who is either employed or retained by a client for financial or other compensation; (2) whose services include more than one lobbying contact; and (3) whose 'lobbying activities' constitute 20 percent or more of his or her services during a three-month period.” If this is the case, then this person must register as a lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

P

Political Action Committee (PAC): Political fundraising organizations that may or may not be connected to an organization, although several lobbying firms and organizations with in-house lobbyists have affiliated PACs. While leadership PACs are affiliated with a certain politician (example: the Battle Born PAC, which is affiliated with Rep. John Ensign), many PACs are non-affiliated, meaning that they do not support a political candidate or party (example: CSX Good Government Fund).

“Professional lobbyist”: According to the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), this refers to a person who is compensated by an outside client or by his employer to lobby the government. This person typically engages in direct contact with elected officials.

Within this category there are two different types of lobbyists:

• In-House lobbyist: This person is employed by an organization to lobby on behalf of its own interests. Examples of organizations that would employee in-house lobbyists: AARP, National Rifle Association, U.S. Telecom Association.

• Outside lobbyist: This person is employed by a lobbying or consulting firm and is retained by an outside organization to lobby on its behalf. Examples of lobbying firms: Cassidy and Associates, Patton Boggs, The Livingston Group. 

R

Revolving door: Describes the transition of serving in Congress to working as a lobbyist. Critics see this as negative, because this allows congressional leaders to lobby their former colleagues. To prevent conflicts of interest, the House has enacted a one-year ban on former members from lobbying their peers. Former senators may not be involved in lobbying activities for two years as of Jan. 1, 2008. House and Senate staffers are banned for a year from lobbying their former employer; committee staffers are banned for a year from lobbying anyone who served on the committee on which they worked.

T

Think Tank: Private organization which does not actively engage in lobbying, but conducts research in order to create policies. Examples: Heritage Foundation, Center for Strategic and International Studies.

W

Widely Attended Event: One of the exceptions to the Gift Rules of the House and Senate. Organizations employing lobbyists may sponsor a widely attended event  which must contain a diverse audience of more than 25 people and must be related to a member's or staffer's official duties in order for a member or staffer to attend for free.