Legislation & Politics

Letter to Representatives opposing Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (H.R. 4975)

April 26, 2006

Dear Representative:

On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I am writing with respect to the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (H.R. 4975). We urge you to oppose this bill because it falls far short of the reforms needed. Moreover, we believe it is being used to advance the "527 Reform Act" (H.R. 513), an unrelated campaign finance measure that is an attack on fully disclosed, independent activities increasing voter participation.

Rather than make meaningful reforms to a system that allows insiders with special connections to advance narrow interests at the expense of the common good, H.R. 4975 makes only minor changes that would do little to change the way this Congress works. For example, the bill fails to permanently ban travel on corporate jets. While the bill prohibits representatives from forcing firms and trade associations to make job hiring decisions on the basis of political affiliation, the bill lacks an adequate enforcement mechanism. While the bill includes rules to address the abuse of earmarks in appropriations legislation, it fails to address earmark abuses in other conference reports.

We are also alarmed by reports that the rule for H.R. 4975 will include a mechanism for combining the bill with the "527 Reform Act." H.R. 513 undermines the independent political speech of ordinary Americans who band together in unions and advocacy organizations to speak out about elected officials and issues of national importance. In fact, H.R. 513 treats attempts to hold elected officials accountable for their records as politically corrupt activity. Events over the last few years have highlighted that insiders and corporate lobbyists exert disproportionate influence in policy making. A bill touted as ethics reform should not be used to advance unrelated campaign finance changes that attack the ability of ordinary Americans to challenge corporate dominance of policy-making.

For these reasons, we strongly urge you to oppose H.R. 4975.


Sincerely,

Charles M. Loveless
Director of Legislation

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