Influence industry officially in a funk

[Dover]

Washington’s lobbying industry is officially in a funk.

After a banner year in 2010, many of K Street’s biggest shops have seen their lobbying revenue decline this year, a trend that has continued in recent months.

..//..

Smith Davis, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, said legislative activity in Washington is moving slower than normal due to the overwhelming focus on the supercommittee — the powerful congressional panel charged with finding at least $1.5 trillion in budget cuts. He said the 2012 campaign season won’t thwart work in Congress because it’s “already here.”

..//..

Rich Gold, head of Holland & Knight’s public policy and regulation group, said work on regulations — which is not reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act — has helped firms compensate for the lobbying slowdown.


cont'd
http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/188945-influence-industry-officially-in-a-funk

[annabanana]

1. K Street are the middlemen. Corporations can buy direct now.

It's probably cheaper.

[meow2u3]

2. That's what they're doing at the White House

They cut out the middlemen and have the corporate executives there. So Obama was literally true when he said he wouldn't allow lobbyists in his White House. He just didn't tell us the banksters would go in themselves.

[Dover]

3. Lobbying Disclosure Act

Loopholes

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 a number of other "thresholds" that define what must be recorded. Any organization that contributes 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 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. This is the significant failure of this bill.

During a hearing before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Senator Christopher Dodd stated that “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.”<3>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying_Disclosure_Act_of_1995