[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 18, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H1257-H1258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          LOBBYING DISCLOSURE TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1997

  Mr. CANADY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill (S. 758) to make certain technical corrections to 
the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                 S. 758

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND REFERENCE.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Lobbying 
     Disclosure Technical Amendments Act of 1997''.
       (b) Reference.--Whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal 
     is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a 
     section or other provision, the reference shall be considered 
     to be made to a section or other provision of the Lobbying 
     Disclosure Act of 1995.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF COVERED EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIAL.

       Section 3(3)(F) (2 U.S.C. 1602(3)(F)) is amended by 
     striking ``7511(b)(2)'' and inserting ``7511(b)(2)(B)''.

     SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF EXCEPTION TO LOBBYING CONTACT.

       (a) Certain Communications.--Section 3(8)(B)(ix) (2 U.S.C. 
     1602(8)(B)(ix)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon 
     the following: ``, including any communication compelled by a 
     Federal contract grant, loan, permit, or license''.
       (b) Definition of ``Public Official''.--Section 3(15)(F) (2 
     U.S.C. 1602(15)(F)) is amended by inserting ``, or a group of 
     governments acting together as an international 
     organization'' before the period.

     SEC. 4. ESTIMATES BASED ON TAX REPORTING SYSTEM.

       (a) Section 15(a).--Section 15(a) (2 U.S.C. 1610(a)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``A registrant'' and inserting ``A person, 
     other than a lobbying firm,''; and
       (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
       ``(2) for all other purposes consider as lobbying contacts 
     and lobbying activities only--
       ``(A) lobbying contacts with covered legislative branch 
     officials (as defined in section 3(4)) and lobbying 
     activities in support of such contacts; and
       ``(B) lobbying of Federal executive branch officials to the 
     extent that such activities are influencing legislation as 
     defined in section 4911(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986.''.
       (b) Section 15(b).--Section 15(b) (2 U.S.C. 1610(b)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``A registrant that is subject to'' and 
     inserting ``A person, other than a lobbying firm, who is 
     required to account and does account for lobbying 
     expenditures pursuant to''; and
       (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
       ``(2) for all other purposes consider as lobbying contacts 
     and lobbying activities only--
       ``(A) lobbying contacts with covered legislative branch 
     officials (as defined in section 3(4)) and lobbying 
     activities in support of such contacts; and
       ``(B) lobbying of Federal executive branch officials to the 
     extent that amounts paid or costs incurred in connection with 
     such activities are not deductible pursuant to section 162(e) 
     of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.''.
       (c) Section 5(c).--Section 5(c) (2 U.S.C. 1604(c)) is 
     amended by striking paragraph (3).

     SEC. 5. EXEMPTION BASED ON REGISTRATION UNDER LOBBYING ACT.

       Section 3(h) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 
     (22 U.S.C. 613(h)) is amended by striking ``is required to 
     register and does register'' and inserting ``has engaged in 
     lobbying activities and has registered''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Canady) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady).


                             General Leave

  Mr. CANADY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on S. 758.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CANADY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 758 the Lobbying Disclosure Technical Amendments Act 
of 1997 addresses several technical issues which have been raised 
during the initial months of implementation of the Lobbying Disclosure 
Act of 1995.
  Once the Lobbying Disclosure Act was implemented by the Clerk of the 
House and the Secretary of the Senate, several minor problems with the 
language of the statute became apparent. The offices of the Clerk and 
the Secretary have sought to interpret the Lobbying Disclosure Act with 
respect to these problems in accordance with the original intent of the 
law, but this technical corrections bill is necessary to clarify the 
language of the Act to ensure compliance with the Act's original 
intention.
  In 1996, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) and I sponsored 
similar legislation, H.R. 3435, which passed the House under suspension 
of the rules by voice vote. A dispute over one of the provisions 
contained in the bill precluded that bill from passing in the Senate in 
the last Congress. Except for the removal of this section and one 
other, the language contained in S. 758 is identical to H.R. 3435. The 
amendments made by S. 758 will strengthen what is already widely viewed 
as a significant and successful law.
  The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 was the first substantive reform 
in the laws governing lobbying disclosure since the Federal Regulation 
of Lobbying Act of 1946. This reform was necessary due to the Supreme 
Court's narrow construction of the 1946 law. That construction came in 
the case of United States v. Harriss, which effectively eviscerated the 
1946 act.
  In the fall of 1995, the House passed this landmark legislation in 
identical form to the Senate-passed language. This enabled passage of 
the bill by the Congress and sent it directly to the President. We were 
thus responsible for the first meaningful lobbying disclosures 
legislation in over 40 years.
  The bill before us today simply clarifies various technical issues 
arising from that landmark legislation. Section 2 of the bill clarifies 
the definition

[[Page H1258]]

of covered executive branch official under the act. Section 3 of the 
bill adds a clarification of the exception to a lobbying contact so 
that any communication compelled by a Federal contract, grant, loan, 
permit, or license would not be considered a lobbying contact.
  Moreover, at the request of the administration, section 3 of the bill 
also makes plain that groups of governments acting together as 
international organizations, such as the World Bank, will not be 
required to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
  In addition, section 4 of the bill clarifies how estimates based on 
the tax reporting system can and should be used in relation to 
reporting lobbying expenses. This section also provides that 
registrants engage in executive branch lobbying and who make a section 
15 election under the Act must use the Tax Code uniformly for all their 
executive branch lobbying registration and reporting under the act.
  Finally, section 5 of S. 758 clarifies the original intent of the act 
by providing that anyone engaged in even a de minimis level of lobbying 
activities on behalf of a foreign commercial entity can register under 
the Lobbying Disclosure Act rather than under the Foreign Agents 
Registration Act of 1938.
  This change reaffirms the congressional intent of requiring 
disclosure of foreign nongovernment representations under the Lobbying 
Disclosure Act and disclosure of foreign governmental representations 
under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
  I want to thank the ranking member on the Subcommittee on the 
Constitution for his cooperation in moving forward this legislation 
which has already been passed by the Senate. I believe that this 
legislation is something that will simply help make a good and 
important law function with the maximum efficiency.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as a result of a recent study on the lobbying disclosure 
reports, we now know that special interest groups are spending 
approximately $100 million a month to lobby the Federal Government. 
Before the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, there were no requirements 
in place that would have made this information available.
  Mr. Speaker, there is nothing inherently wrong with those who 
petition their government. In fact, we ought to be encouraging more 
participation in the democratic process. But the public is entitled to 
have an idea of how much money is being spent by groups as they advance 
their particular interests.
  Mr. Speaker, the Lobbying Disclosure Act was the first legislation to 
reform lobbying activities in any substantial way since the Federal 
Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946.

                              {time}  1115

  Under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, individuals and organizations who 
lobby the Federal Government are no longer exempt from reporting and 
disclosure requirements. Professional lobbyists are now required to 
disclose who pays them, how much to lobby the Federal Government, that 
is Congress and the executive branch, and on what issues. The LDA has 
been very successful in providing understandable requirements for 
lobbyists, as well as providing important information to the public 
about lobbying activities.
  S. 758 addresses several technical issues which have been raised 
during the implementation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. The 
original House version, H.R. 3435, which was cosponsored by my 
colleagues on the Committee on the Judiciary, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Canady) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), 
and I would like to at this point congratulate both of them for working 
in a bipartisan manner to fashion legislation that everyone could agree 
on.
  Mr. Speaker, that bill passed the Committee on the Judiciary by a 
unanimous rollcall vote of 25 to 0 and then passed the House without 
opposition.
  In the Senate, two provisions were removed from the legislation. Both 
sides have agreed, however, that the removal of these two provisions, 
which were removed at the urging of several Senators, was not enough to 
warrant reconsideration of the legislation.
  One provision which was removed from the original version would have 
simplified the manner in which U.S. multinational companies disclosed 
information about their subsidiaries or other related entities with a 
significant direct interest in the outcome of the company's lobbying 
activities.
  The second provision would have limited the recordkeeping of 
registrants under Section 5 of the act by eliminating the requirement 
that the report contain a list of lobbyists for each general issue area 
and, instead, required the registrant to provide a list of all 
employees who acted as a lobbyist for the organization in one section.
  This change would have eliminated the need for organizations with a 
wide range of general issue areas and a large number of registered 
lobbyists to undertake the time-consuming task of discerning which 
lobbyists worked on which issues.
  In summary, Mr. Speaker, this bill passed the Senate by unanimous 
consent; and I urge my colleagues to vote for the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CANADY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McInnis). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 758.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________