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18-600: The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 ( 2 U.S.C.   § 1601 ) was legislation in the United States aimed at bringing increased accountability to federal lobbying practices in the United States . The law was amended substantially by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. Under provisions which took effect on January 1, 1996, federal lobbyists are required to register with

36-442: A number of other "thresholds" that define what must be recorded. Any organization that spends more than $ 10,000 towards lobbying activities must also be registered. Amounts even slightly below this threshold are exempt from reporting. The outline for registration includes "name, address, business telephone number, and principal place of business of the registrant, and a general description of its business or activities", as well as for

54-538: A three-month period". Also included in the legislation are the definitions of what actions must be disclosed which includes lobbying to certain members of the Executive Branch who are included on specific payrolls. Also included are members of Congress. The legislation does not include those lobbyists whose "activities constitute less than 20 percent of the time engaged in services", thus failing to regulate grassroots (small donors) lobbying. The LDA includes

72-436: Is both a client and an employer of such employees." The legislation also defines "lobbyist": "The term "lobbyist" means any individual who is employed or retained by a client for financial or other compensation for services that include more than one lobbying contact, other than an individual whose lobbying activities constitute less than 20 percent of the time engaged in the services provided by such individual to that client over

90-656: The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and Budget Control Act of 2011 Chapter 21 —Civic Achievement Award Program in Honor of Office of Speaker of House of Representatives Chapter 22 -- John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development Chapter 22a -- Open World Leadership Center Chapter 23 —Government Employee Rights Chapter 24 —Congressional Accountability Chapter 25 -- Unfunded Mandates Reform Chapter 26 -- Disclosure of Lobbying Activities Chapter 27 —Sound Recording Preservation by

108-854: The Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and the Secretary of the United States Senate . Anyone failing to do so is punishable by a civil fine of up to $ 50,000. The clerk and secretary must refer any acts of non-compliance to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia . A consequence of the act is that the act "removed from Foreign Agents Registration Act a class of agents who are engaged in lobbying activities and who register under

126-532: The Sunlight Foundation opined that the HLOGA of 2007 drove lobbyists underground. In January 2015, a report by the Sunlight Foundation and OpenSecrets found that of 104 former congressional members and staffers whose "cooling off" period ended during the first session of the 114th Congress which opened January 6, 2015, 29 were already in government relations, "public affairs," or serve as counsel at

144-541: The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct within three days if they engage in negotiations or agreements for future employment or compensation. Requires that Members prohibit their staff from having any lobbying contact with the Member's spouse if such individual is a registered lobbyist or is employed or retained by a registered lobbyist to influence legislation. Posting of travel and financial disclosure reports on

162-1061: The Internet Participation in lobbyist-sponsored events during political conventions Procedural reform Congressionally directed spending reform Post-employment restrictions Disclosure by senators and staff of employment negotiations Elimination of floor, parking and gym privileges for former Members who become lobbyists Influencing hiring decisions (K Street Project) Ban on gifts from lobbyists and entities that hire lobbyists National party conventions Restrictions on lobbyist participation in travel Attendance at constituent events Senate privately paid travel public website Lobbying contact with spouses or immediate family members who are registered lobbyists Prohibits senators' immediate family members who are registered lobbyists from engaging in lobbying contacts with their family member's staff. Mandatory Senate ethics training for members and staff Annual reports on ethics enforcement In April 2014,

180-624: The LDA. This Act was administered by Congress." Before the Lobbying Disclosure Act was passed, the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act was the only act that regulated lobbying. The Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act was considered ineffective in achieving its objective (regulating lobbying). The FRLA was considered ineffective due to its vagueness and lack of clarity. During this time, lobbying had increased, which created

198-746: The Library of Congress Honest Leadership and Open Government Act [REDACTED] The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 ( Pub. L.   110–81 (text) (PDF) , 121  Stat.   735 , enacted September 14, 2007 ) is a law of the United States federal government that amended parts of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 . It strengthens public disclosure requirements concerning lobbying activity and funding, places more restrictions on gifts for members of Congress and their staff, and provides for mandatory disclosure of earmarks in expenditure bills. The bill

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216-614: The client. The register must also include a statement of what issues the registrant expects to lobby or what may have already been lobbied. After recording, the records are maintained by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. Due to severe understaffing, these two offices are unable to check for illegal activities or corrupt practices, which is the most glaring shortcoming of

234-1126: The legislation. During a hearing before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Senator Christopher Dodd stated that "[s]ince 2003, the Office of Public Records has referred over 2,000 cases to the Department of Justice, and nothing's been heard from them again". The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 brought significant changes to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. It mandated quarterly filing of lobbying reports, introduced electronic filing requirements, and expanded disclosure obligations for registered lobbyists. The Act required disclosure of lobbyists' contributions, prohibited certain gifts and travel provided by lobbyists to government officials, and imposed stricter enforcement measures, including increased civil penalties and criminal sanctions for non-compliance. Additionally, it aimed to enhance transparency in lobbying activities by making lobbying activity reports readily accessible to

252-457: The lobbying disclosure act undertook to become finalized as law. The LDA defines a number of provisions attempting to maintain a degree of transparency in the activities of lobbyists. The legislation defines a client as "any person or entity that employs or retains another person for financial or other compensation to conduct lobbying activities on behalf of that person or entity. A person or entity whose employees act as lobbyists on its own behalf

270-500: The need for effective legislation for regulating lobbying. Along with the lack of coherent regulations towards lobbying, public and constituent pressure increased the urgency of creating the LDA. The rise of lobbying and lack of regulation raised a concern in the general public and specifically within Congress itself. This raised the concern about lobbying practices in a bipartisan manner, which led to even further pressure to address

288-404: The problem. All these factors contributed to applying pressure to the government to come up with a bill, which led to the Lobbying Disclosure Act being enacted. The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 was introduced on January 4, 1995, in the House and Senate and was passed on at the end of the year on December 29, 1995. The LDA went through many stages; These steps illustrate legislative process

306-2445: The public online and by addressing conflicts of interest among government officials. Title 2 of the United States Code Chapter 1 — Election of Senators and Representatives Omitted sections: 2, 3, & 4. Chapter 2 — Organization of Congress Repealed section: 25b. Omitted sections: 29b, & 29c. Chapter 3 — Compensation and Allowances of Members Omitted sections: 42a-1, 42b 43, 43a, 44, 45, 46, 46a-2, 46a-4. Repealed sections: 31-1, 31a, 31b-3, 31b-6, 31c, 38, 41, 42, 42c, 42d, 43b, 43b-1, 43c, 46a-3, 46b, 46b-2, 46c, 46d, 64d-2, 46d-3, 46d-4, 46d-5, 46e, 46f, 46f-1, 46g, 46g-1, 46h, 46i, 52, 53, 56, 58b, 58c-1, & 59a. Chapter 4 —Officers and Employees of Senate and House of Representatives Chapter 5 -- Library of Congress Chapter 6 —Congressional And Committee Procedure; Investigations; Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 Chapter 7 -- Contested Elections Chapter 8 -- Federal Corrupt Practices Chapter 8a —Regulation of Lobbying Chapter 9 -- Office of Legislative Counsel Chapter 9a -- Office of Law Revision Counsel Chapter 9b -- Legislative Classification Office Chapter 9c -- Office of Parliamentarian of House of Representatives Chapter 9d -- Office of Senate Legal Counsel Chapter 10 —Classification of Employees of House of Representatives Chapter 10a —Payroll Administration in House of Representatives Chapter 11 -- Citizens' Commission on Public Service and Compensation Chapter 12 —Contested Elections Chapter 13 -- Joint Committee on Congressional Operations Chapter 14 -- Federal Election Campaigns Chapter 15 -- Office of Technology Assessment Chapter 16 —Congressional Mailing Standards Chapter 17 -- Congressional Budget Office Chapter 17A —Congressional Budget And Fiscal Operations Chapter 17b -- Impoundment Control And Line Item Veto Chapter 18 —Legislative Personnel Financial Disclosure Requirements Chapter 19 -- Congressional Award Program Chapter 19a -- John Heinz Competitive Excellence Award Chapter 20 -- Emergency Powers to Eliminate Budget Deficits , including laws originally passed in Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act and amended in following acts such as

324-685: Was signed into law by President George W. Bush on September 14, 2007. Main Sponsor: Sen Reid, Harry M. Co-sponsors: Closing the revolving door Ending the " K Street Project " Prohibiting gifts by lobbyists Full public disclosure of lobbying activity New transparency for lobbyist political donations, bundling and other financial contributions Congressional pension accountability Prohibited use of private aircraft Toughening penalties for falsifying financial disclosure forms Disclosure by Members and staff of employment negotiations Requires senior staff to notify

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