More than 1,700 lobbyists failed to file reports detailing their political contributions and other spending linked to lawmakers causing the Senate Office of Public Records to refer the non-disclosures to the Department of Justice, BNA reported. (subscription)

Pam Gavin, superintendent of public records in the Senate, made the comments at an ethics conference in Arizona this week. Gavin also announced she will be retiring in early 2010, after 24 years on the Hill, BNA said.

The Department of Justice is charged with enforcing the Lobbying Disclosure Act, but has only prosecuted a few cases since the Act went into effect in 1996, as National Journal reported in October in a story titled "Who's Watching The Lobbyists?" (subscription)