[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 22, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H5562-H5563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           A DOUBLE STANDARD

  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of talk recently 
in Washington about the influence of foreign money on Members of 
Congress and on the administration. The most recent media reports 
indicate that there may have been complicity between the government of 
the People's Republic of China and Mr. John Huang to influence our 
elections and certain Federal officials of our Government.
  Mr. Speaker, my colleagues may have missed a recent report in The 
Hill newspaper which reported that as much as $86 million was spent by 
foreign governments to lobby and conduct public relations with both 
private and public officials of our Government. It is ironic, Mr. 
Speaker, that it is perfectly legal for foreign governments to spend 
over $86 million to lobby the Congress and the White House, but no one 
ever questions the ethical aspects of the process.
  So while we are pointing fingers at China for alleged misconduct to 
lobby and influence our policymakers, there appears to be a standard 
that is confusing to me and I am sure to the American people. I call it 
a double standard.

                     [From The Hill, June 25, 1997]

                Foreign States Spent $86 M to Lobby U.S.

                        (By Robert Schlesinger)

       Foreign governments, led by Japan, reported spending in 
     excess of $86 million on activities including lobbying and 
     public relations in the United States during the first six 
     months of 1996, according to filings made to the Department 
     of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
       Overall, foreign interests, working through more than 330 
     separate registered entities, reported $430,867,734 in 
     activities reportable under the FARA in the first half of 
     last year, according to an analysis by The Hill of the 
     attorney general's report to Congress on FARA filings.
       Individuals or groups must register as foreign agents if 
     they perform certain activities, ranging from lobbying to 
     trade promotion, on behalf of a foreign entity, such as a 
     government or corporation.
       ``The U.S. is definitely uniquely open and user friendly to 
     official foreign lobbyists from all over the world,'' said 
     Alan Tonelson of the U.S. Business and Industrial Council 
     Educational Foundation (USBICEF). ``This situation is not 
     even close to being reciprocated anywhere.''
       The government of Japan, mostly through entities like the 
     Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), reported spending 
     at least $17,840,878--more than twice as much as any other 
     government.
       JETRO reported $14,117,208 during the first six months of 
     1996. Their activities are typically along the lines of 
     ``research in matters concerning foreign trade between Japan 
     and the U.S.,'' as a filing for JETRO states.
       Other countries spent their resources on lobbying or 
     ``monitoring and analysis'' of issues of interest to them. 
     Mexico, the sixth-largest spending government at $3,576,368, 
     paid Burson-Marsteller $563,000 for public relations on the 
     North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which will be up 
     for expansion in the near future. Mexico, which has been 
     wracked recently by charges of corruption and narcotics 
     problems, also spent a great deal of money on broader PR 
     efforts to burnish its suffering image.
       Burson, which made slightly over $1.2 million over all from 
     foreign entities, ranked only 11th in line in the 13 law/
     lobby/PR firms to gross more than $1 million from foreign 
     clients.
       Most of the other top-spending governments devoted at least 
     some of their expenditures to tourism-related activities. For 
     example, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands, the second and 
     third largest spending governments at roughly $8 million 
     each, spent virtually all of their money promoting tourism, 
     as did Ireland, the number four country.
       New York City-based advertising agency DDB Needham 
     Worldwide pulled in more than $18 million, most of it from 
     the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, which 
     paid them $13,965,723.68.

[[Page H5563]]

       New York ad firms O'Leary Clarke & Partners and FCB/Leber 
     Katz Partners Inc. were second and third respectively, making 
     slightly over $5 million each from the Cayman Islands 
     (O'Leary) and Jamaica and the British Virgin Islands (FCB).
       Washington law/lobbying firms also fared well. Patton 
     Boggs, home of super lobbyist and name-partner Hale ``Tommy'' 
     Boggs, pulled in more than $3.5 million from such clients as 
     Oman, Qatar, the Philippines and Pakistan. Other Patton Boggs 
     clients who did not pay them during the six month time period 
     include Hong Kong, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, France, 
     Germany and Taiwan.
       Other law/lobby/PR firms grossing over $1 million with 
     numerous active foreign clients were Fleishman-Hillard 
     (including clients from Canada, France, Angola, Turkey, 
     Northern Ireland and Japan), Cassidy & Associates (France, 
     Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan), the Bozell Sawyer 
     Miller Group (Canada, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Japan and 
     Indonesia), Arnold & Porter (Canada, Israel, Panama, Turkey 
     and Venezuela), Burson-Marsteller (Hong Kong, Great Britain, 
     Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey and Portugal), Washington 
     & Christian (Antigua & Barbuda, Gabon, Guinea and Nigeria) 
     and Hogan & Hartson (Canada, France, Panama, Russia, the 
     Bahamas, Haiti, Japan, Great Britain and Taiwan).
       Registerable activities include engaging in lobbying, 
     ``political activities,'' or public relations in the United 
     States. A foreign agent must also register if he or she 
     ``solicits, collects, disburses or dispenses contributions, 
     loans, money or other things of value . . .'' This includes 
     the promotion of trade and tourism.
       Furthermore, ostensibly domestic entities don't have to 
     register with the Department of Justice.
       USBICEF's Tonelson noted that many domestic companies have 
     become almost proxy foreign agents. ``The China trade debate 
     is a perfect example . . . ``said Tonelson.
       He added that, ``the positions that they're lobbying for 
     hard have become almost indistinguishable from the Chinese 
     government, and in fact they've become the most effective 
     voice for the Chinese government.''
       So, for example, while the Chinese Embassy paid a paltry 
     $18,750 to the law and lobbying firm of Jones, Day, Reavis & 
     Pogue for keeping up on issues like Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) 
     trade status, groups like the U.S.-China Business Council and 
     large multi-national corporations lobby the U.S. government 
     in favor of the MFN renewal.
       As of June 30, 1996, 595 active registrants (totaling 2,825 
     individuals) were registered to represent 871 foreign 
     principals.


  Lobbying, law and P.R. firms grossing over $1 million from foreign 
                                clients

DDB Needham Worldwide.......................................$18,343,333
O'Leary & Clarke & Partners...................................5,139,405
FCB/Leber Katz Partners.......................................5,131,928
International Registries Inc..................................4,709,640
Merkley Newman Harty..........................................3,670,489
Patton Boggs..................................................3,574,939
Fleishman-Hillard Inc.........................................2,619,152
Cassidy & Associates..........................................2,060,465
Bozell Sawyer Miller Group....................................1,786,831
Arnold & Porter...............................................1,614,937


              Foreign governments spending over $1 million

Japan....................................................$17,840,878.31
Bahamas....................................................8,722,043.54
Cayman Islands.............................................8,212,662.99
Ireland....................................................5,546,970.00
Marshall Islands...........................................4,376,538.87
Mexico.....................................................3,576,368.31
Canada.....................................................2,716,742.50
Hong Kong..................................................2,569,187.99
Bermuda....................................................2,473,473.71
2,273,449.09.........................................................

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