Laws Regulating Federal Lobbyists

Federal lobbyists attempt to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, usually members of Congress or heads of Cabinet-level federal regulatory agencies. Lobbyists may include individuals, associations and organized groups, corporations, and other government officials. Some lobbyists represent a legislators constituencies, meaning a voter or bloc of voters within their electoral district. Lobbyists may volunteer or be paid for their efforts. Professional lobbyists—by far the most controversial lobbyists—are hired by businesses or special interest groups to influence legislation or federal regulations affecting those businesses or groups. In public opinion polls, lobbyists rank somewhere between pond scum and nuclear waste. In every election, politicians vow never to be â€Å"bought out† by lobbyists, but often do. Briefly, lobbyists get paid by businesses or special interest groups to win the votes and support of members of the U.S. Congress and state legislatures.   Indeed, to many people, lobbyists and what they do represent the main cause of corruption in federal government. But while lobbyists and their influence in Congress sometimes seem to be out of control, they really do have to follow laws. In fact, lots of them.   Background: The Laws of Lobbying While each state legislature has created its own set of laws regulating lobbyists, there are two specific federal laws regulating the actions of lobbyists targeting the U.S. Congress.   Recognizing the need to make the lobbying process more transparent and accountable to the American people, Congress enacted the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995. Under this law, all lobbyists dealing with the U.S. Congress are required to register with both the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate. Within 45 days of becoming employed or retained to lobby on behalf of a new client, the lobbyist must register his or her agreement with that client with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House. As of 2015, more than 16,000 federal lobbyists were registered under the LDA. However, merely registering with Congress was not enough to prevent some lobbyists from abusing the system to the point of triggering total disgust for their profession. Jack Abramoff Lobbying Scandal Spurred New, Tougher Law Public hatred for lobbyists and lobbying reached its peak in 2006 when Jack Abramoff, working as a lobbyist for the rapidly growing Indian casino industry, pleaded guilty to charges of bribing members of Congress, some of whom also ended up in prison as a result of the scandal. In the aftermath of the Abramoff scandal, Congress in 2007 passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) fundamentally changing the ways in which lobbyists were allowed to interact with members of Congress. As a result of HLOGA, lobbyists are prohibited from â€Å"treating† Congress members or their staff to things like meals, travel, or entertainment events. Under HLOGA, lobbyists must file Lobbying Disclosure (LD) reports during each year revealing all contributions they made to campaign events for members of Congress or other expenditures of efforts they make that might in any way personally benefit a member of Congress. Specifically, the required reports are: The LD-2 report showing all lobbying activities for each organization they are registered to represent must be filed quarterly; andThe LD-203 report disclosing certain political â€Å"contributions† to politicians must be filed twice a year. What Can Lobbyists ‘Contribute’ to Politicians? Lobbyists are allowed to contribute money to federal politicians under the same campaign contribution limits placed on individuals. During the current (2016) federal election cycle, lobbyists cannot give more than $2,700 to any candidate and $5,000 to any Political Action Committees (PAC) in each election. Of course, the most coveted â€Å"contributions† lobbyists make to politicians are the money and votes of the members of the industries and organizations they work for. In 2015 for example, the nearly 5 million members of the National Rifle Association gave a combined $3.6 million to federal politicians opposed to tighter gun control policy. In addition, lobbyist must file quarterly reports listing their clients, the fees they received from each client and the issues on which they lobbied for each client. Lobbyists who fail to comply with these laws face could face both civil and criminal penalties as determined by the Office of the U.S. Attorney. Penalties for Violation of the Lobbying Laws The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House, along with U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) are responsible for ensuring that lobbyists comply with the LDA activity disclosure law. Should they detect a failure to comply, the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House notifies the lobbyist in writing. Should the lobbyist fail to provide an adequate response, the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House refers the case to the USAO. The USAO researches these referrals and sends additional noncompliance notices to the lobbyist, requesting that they file reports or terminate their registration. If USAO does not receive a response after 60 days, it decides whether to pursue a civil or criminal case against the lobbyist. A civil judgment could lead to penalties up to $200,000 for each violation, while a criminal conviction —usually pursued when a lobbyist’s noncompliance is found to be knowing and corrupt—could lead to a maximum of 5 years in prison. So yes, there are laws for lobbyists, but how many of those lobbyists are really doing the â€Å"right thing† by complying with the disclosure laws? GAO Reports on Lobbyists’ Compliance with the Law In an audit released on March 24, 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that during 2015, â€Å"most† registered federal lobbyists did file disclosure reports that included key data required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA). According to the GAO’s audit, 88% of lobbyists properly filed initial LD-2 reports as required by the LDA. Of those properly filed reports, 93% included adequate documentation on income and expenses. About 85% of lobbyists properly filed their required year-end LD-203 reports disclosing campaign contributions. During 2015, federal lobbyists filed 45,565 LD-2 disclosure reports with $5,000 or more in lobbying activity, and 29,189 LD-203 reports of federal political campaign contributions. The GAO did find that, as in years past, some lobbyists continued to properly disclose payments for certain â€Å"covered positions,† as paid congressional internships or certain executive agency positions provided as part of the lobbyists’ â€Å"contributions† to lawmakers. GAO’s audit estimated that about 21% of all LD-2 reports filed by lobbyists in 2015 failed to disclose payments for at least one such covered position, despite the fact that most lobbyists told the GAO that they found the rules regarding reporting covered positions as being â€Å"very easy† or  Ã¢â‚¬Å"somewhat easy† to understand.

Prostitution, The Act Of Prostitution - 1324 Words

Prostitution, the act of â€Å"providing or receiving sexual acts, between a prostitute and a client, in exchange for money or some other form of remuneration† (Hock 557). The idea of exchanging sex for valuables has been seen since the beginning of human society; the first reported data about prostitution was reported around 3000 B.C.E in one of the first known civilizations, Mesopotamia (Caraboi and Fierbinteanu 362). Also, prostitution is often referred to as â€Å"the world’s oldest profession.† Today, even though prostitution is illegal in most parts of the world, it is still prevalent worldwide with many different types of prostitutes and different ways to exchange sexual services for payment. An example of a type of prostitute is brothel workers; brothel workers work in â€Å"a house of prostitution,† a brothel, which are normally in areas where prostitution is not criminalized (Hock 560). Like prostitution, human trafficking has been around for thousands of years and is still present today. The United Nations on Drug and Crime (UNODC) is the international agency that handles issues about human trafficking and other organized crimes. The UNODC defines human trafficking â€Å"as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, or fraud, or deception† (â€Å"What is Human Trafficking?†). The transatlantic slave trade is an example of human trafficking; slave traders transported millionsShow MoreRelatedProstitution And The Act Of Prostitution1401 Words   |  6 Pagesoldest profession,† also known as prostitution, is considered a grey area in morality (Thiroux). Prostitution is defined as selling oneself or one’s talents for base purpose (Agnes). Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of arguments for prostitution and the act of prostitution becoming legal. 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I support the legalization of prostitution because I believe that legalized prostitution will be a benefit of society. Once legalized, prostitution can provide many benefits to the participants of the business. Prostitution can provide a benefit of the economy in most places, and provide safe business practices andRead MoreThe Current Status Of Prostitution Essay1638 Words   |  7 PagesResearch on Prostitution Phillip Walton CRIM/ECON 355 Dr. Richard Lotspeich November 14, 2016 Abstract This paper will examine the current status of prostitution as an illegal act and the market it generates; then show what effect legalizing prostitution would have on the prostitution market. Prostitution has a very large market that if legalized could be used as a source of revenue for governments through the form of taxes. So the focus will include how the prostitution market is generated, what

A Short Note On Tier E Health Monitoring System - 1070 Words

5. Two-Tier e-Health Monitoring System This paper proposes another structural engineering for e-Health cell phones eliminating so as to observe framework the outsider server in the framework. Distributed computing is proposed to be incorporated with the framework for effective information stockpiling and snappy access in patient records. This structural planning is intended to improve the security level of the e-Health observing framework and to ensure the classification of the patients information. By wiping out the outsider server in the information transmission process, we can keep the e-Health framework from potential vulnerabilities that can happen amid the information transmission from the patients to the specialists. E-Health cell phones observing framework can upgrade the nature of human services by coordinating the utilization of Internet correspondence with patient-specialist treatment. 6. An Approach of a Decision Support and Home Monitoring System for Patients with Neurological Disorders using Internet of Things Concepts The Internet of Things and data and CommunicationTechnologies connected being developed of medicinal services frameworks have achieved a developmental procedure. 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lesson learned Essay Example For Students

lesson learned Essay Lesson LearnedAs I was standing in front of the judge many emotions proceeded to give me a nudge, my heart sank and the tears rolled down my face as if I was trying to fill a river. I knew I was going to be jailed for the bad decision that I had made when I decided to get behind the wheel of my vehicle. After my sentencing I was escorted to the booking room where they proceeded to take my fingerprints, height, and my photo. After this procedure was finished I was lead down this long gloomy hallway where the noises was most frightful to me since I had never experienced anything like this. I could hear a jingle sound comingfrom the jailors keys that he was carrying, the rattle of the handcuffs that seemed to be tightening around my wrists, and the heavy door slamming behind me. The noises sent echoes off the concrete walls and shivers down my spine. This experience of being incarcerated seemed to me to be the most horrible, scariest, and loneliest place to be. I often remember how being incarcerated made me feel. I hope to never be in thathorrible place again. As I entered the cell there were four slabs of metal attached to theconcrete walls one of these slabs were my bed. On that bed was a thin green mattress that was only an inch thick maybe two and a pillow that showed no comfort at all. The one blanket that the jailor had given to me was not enough to keep me warm in a place so cold. The privacy I had was very little. The shower and toilet was located in the corner of the cell but they were not isolated enough to where the other inmates could not see me. I undressed and dressed inside the shower to have some privacy. I even tried to haveprivacy by hanging up a blanket from one corner of a wall stand to another but I got introuble by the jailor. All of these things just seemed so horrible and degrading to me. My first few nights being in the cell called J-1 was scary. There were three otherwoman in the cell that was always yelling or fighting over ridiculous things like the television. Around the corner I could hear the accused killer Cowboy Mike always singing the country songs that he liked so much or the banging of his coffee cup against the bars of the cell when he was angry. One time he even used the shower curtain rod to try to escape from his line cell. Even further down the line there was an accused rapist and of course he had to put his two cents in by always screaming that the devil was coming after him. All I could think is how scary this was and I wanted out. Not twodays from now nor thirty days I wanted out right then!I was separated from the outside unable to touch or hold the people that were so dear to me. It was a lonely feeling; I would hate to see anyone experience such loneliness. Even though we did have visits it was never the same as being on the other side. When my family did come to visit the jailor would escort me to the visiting room. It only consisted of an outside lawn chair, a glass window, and a phone. The visiting periodswere only fifteen minutes, which seemed like only two. Sitting behind the window was hard to cope with since the only time I could even get close to my family is when I put my hand on the glass where there hand would meet mine. Yes, just like in the movies. The most painful part was seeing how much I hurt my children and not being able to hold or take care for them like a parent is supposed to do. I will never allow this empty feelingto enter my life again or my families. .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc , .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc .postImageUrl , .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc , .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc:hover , .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc:visited , .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc:active { border:0!important; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc:active , .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u61092f7b6255e13db9036f93aa90d9dc:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Hall Essay Life is definitely an experience being incarcerated. I know now that I do not want to enter that cell called J-1 ever again because life is to important to feel horrible, scared, or lonely.