Over the past decade, lobbyists have reported to Congress that they collected more than a half billion in fees, but appeared to have done no actual lobbying for that money, according to a new report by the Center for Responsive Politics, criticizing firms' lack of disclosure.
The non-partisan Center found 19,000 reports filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act where firms reported receiving $565 million in fees, but listed no lobbyist name, no issue and no government contact information. The forms were essentially blank, except for the name of the registrant and the fees they collected. For more on what the Center calls "stealth" lobbying, read the report.
--Bara Vaida
Update @3:30 PM: here's a comment from a campaign finance lawyer, who is also a reader:
"Lawyers who lobby are still bound by the rules of legal ethics, which, among other things, prevent a lawyer from representing two different clients on opposing sides of the same issue.
So if Lawyer A was hired by Company 1 to lobby in favor of H.R. 100, Lawyer A would be ethically precluded from lobbying against H.R. 100 if Company 2 approached Lawyer A to do so.
Sometimes lobbyists - especially very well connected lobbyists - get hired just so no one else can hire them to work on the same issue. "
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