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Sloan Comments on Obama Admin Restriction on Lobbyist Communcations

Today, Melanie Sloan, CREW's Executive Director, made the following statement:

CREW has been impressed by President Obama’s obvious commitment to accountability and transparency, and he has done much to restore the credibility of the government on these issues, but we think he has made a mistake -- and said so.

On March 20th, the president issued a memo banning lobbyists from any oral communications with government officials regarding Recovery Act funds. Lobbyists can send written communications, but no telephone or in-person meetings are permitted. Any written communications by lobbyists will have to be disclosed, but communications by non-lobbyists will not be. The stated goal of the memo is to ensure that no improper pressure or undue influence is brought to bear on officials making funding decisions.

Although at first blush this appears like a good thing, there are several problems, the main one being that the end result of this memo is not an end to lobbying for funds, but that a new class of people will start lobbying. Rather than sending in the registered lobbyist, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, and any other business, or city, or locality seeking funds will send in executives, corporate officers, mayors, etc. to make the calls and appear at the meetings (having been prepped by their actual lobbyists). And what’s more, none of these meetings or conversations will be disclosed – these conversations will all be behind closed doors. When non-lobbyists lobby, they are not required to disclose their government contacts as registered lobbyists are, and under the terms of the March 20th memo, the government will only disclose communications with lobbyists, not any others. Secondarily, this ban may have constitutional problems, as explained by the ACLU, who joined us in this action, because lobbying is a protected First Amendment activity.

CREW has proposed a much stronger alternative: the administration should disclose any and all communications – written and oral, over the phone and in-person – regarding Recovery Act funds. On agency web sites the government should post the name and business affiliation of the person engaging in the communication, the name and position of the government official with whom the conversation took place, the date of the communication and the subject matter of the discussion.

CREW has long advocated transparency and accountability and believes the Obama administration is committed to these goals. Nevertheless, as issued, this lobbying ban will not ensure that no improper influence or pressure is used to obtain government funds. In fact, many of the executives who will end up meeting with government officials are likely to have contributed generously to the campaigns of key members of Congress and even the Obama campaign. There is nothing to suggest that these folks are not just as capable as lobbyists of exerting pressure and influence.

CREW’s role is not to simply accept the assurances of government officials that they are doing what is best, but to independently assess new policies and dictates with a critical eye. We want to ensure that our government is really doing what it says it is, and the prohibition against lobbyists communicating with the government will not provide greater accountability as claimed.

The letter, which CREW, the ACLU and the American League of Lobbyists sent to White House Counsel Gregory Craig yesterday, more fully lays out our concerns and is attached. Please do not hesitate to call me if you would like to discuss this or have any concerns.