Lobbying

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Lobbying can consist of the private cajoling of legislative members, public actions (e.g. mass demonstrations), or combinations of both public and private actions (e.g. encouraging constituents to contact their legislative representatives). As a professional occupation it is also known as "public affairs". Practitioners may work in specialist organizations or as part of public relations consultancies. The term does, however, have other meanings - see Public affairs (disambiguation).

Contents 1 Origins 2 Targeting legislators 3 Corruption concerns 3.1 Anti-corruption measures 4 Country specific issues 4.1 United States 4.2 European Union 4.2.1 History 4.2.2 Current practice 4.3 United Kingdom 4.3.1 "Sale" of peerages 5 Notes 6 References 7 See also 8 External links 8.1 Lobbying in the United States: 8.2 Lobbying in Europe

[edit] Origins

The term "lobbyist" originated at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, where it was first used by Ulysses S. Grant to describe the political wheelers and dealers frequenting the hotel's lobby in order to access Grant who was often found there, enjoying a cigar and brandy.

^[1]

[edit] Targeting legislators

Legislators can be sorted into five classes, according to the Democracy Center[2], each class being associated with a specific lobbying strategy effectiveness:

1. "Champions." All issues need a group of lawmakers dedicated to being tireless, committed advocates for your cause. What they can do for you is make the case to their colleagues, help develop a strong 'inside' strategy, and be visible public spokespeople. What they need is good information, and visible support outside the Capitol.
2. "Allies." Another group of legislators will be on your side but can be pushed to do more -- to speak up in party caucuses or on the floor.
3. "Fence Sitters." Some legislators will be uncommitted on the issues, potentially able to vote for each other. These are your key targets and lobbying strategy is about putting together the right mix on "inside" persuasion and "outside" pressure to sway them your way.
4. "Mellow Opponents." Another group of legislators will be clear votes against you, but who are not inclined to be active on the issue. With this group what's key is to keep them from becoming more active, lobbying them enough to give them pause but not to make them angry.
5. "Hard Core Opponents." Finally, there are those lawmakers who are leading your opposition. What is important here is to isolate them, to highlight the extremes of their positions, rhetoric and alliances and to give other lawmakers pause about joining with them.

[edit] Corruption concerns

Lobbying is frequently performed on behalf of organizations which also make campaign contributions. This has led to allegations of corruption by opponents of some lobbying organizations.

Some politicians have been known to make bad decisions and some have been found in apparently compromising positions because of their need to solicit financial contributions for their campaigns. Critics complain that they then appear to be acting in the interests of those who fund them, giving rise to the public perception of political corruption.

Supporters of the system respond that many politicians act in the interests of those who fund them due to common ideologies or shared local interests, and that lobbyists merely support those who agree with their positions.

[edit] Anti-corruption measures

Many jurisdictions, in response to concerns of corruption, require the formal registration of lobbyists who come in contact with government representatives.

Several states and cities in the United States have passed Clean Elections laws to be sure that lobbyists gain influence by the persuasiveness of their arguments rather than the size of their campaign contributions.

[edit] Country specific issues

[edit] United States

Main article: Lobbying in the United States

[edit] European Union

[edit] History

Lobbying in Brussels was only born in the late 1970s. Up to that time, “diplomatic lobbying” at the highest levels remained the rule. There were few lobbyists involved in the system and except for some business associations, representative offices were rarely used. The event that sparked the explosion of lobbying was the first direct election of the European Parliament in 1979. Up until then the Parliament consisted complex, and companies increasingly felt the need of an expert local presence to find out what was going on in Brussels. The foundation of lobbying was therefore the need to provide information. From that developed the need to influence the process actively and effectively . The next important step in lobbying development was the Single European Act of 1986 which both created the qualified majority vote for taking decisions in the Council and enhanced the role of the Parliament, again making EU legislation more complex and lobbying more important and attractive for stakeholders. In short, the stronger the EU developed from a Member States organization to an own political player in the world, the more policy areas it covered, the more important it became as a lobbying target. With the EU enlargement in 2004 this development has taken a further step, bringing in not only a lot more players and stakeholders but also a wide range of different political cultures and traditions.

In the wake of the Abramoff scandal in Washington and in light of the massive impact that this had on the lobbying scene in the U.S.A., the rules for lobbying in the EU — which until now only consist of a non-binding code of conduct — will probably also be tightened and made more specific, as indicated by the Commission through its latest transparency initiative (Green Paper on European Transparency Initiative).

[edit] Current practice

The fragmented nature of EU institutional structure provides multiple channels through which organized interests may seek to influence policy-making. Lobbying takes place at the European level itself and within the existing national states. The most important institutional targets are the Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament.^[2] The Commission has a monopoly on the initiative in Community decision-making. Since it has the power to draft initiatives, it makes it ideally suited as an arena for interest representation. There are three main channels of indirect lobbying of the Council. First, interest groups routinely lobby the national delegations in Brussels,; the second indirect means of lobbying the Council is for interest groups to lobby members of the many Council-working groups. The third means of influencing the Council is directly via national governments. As a consequence of the co-decision procedures, the European Parliament attracts attention from lobbyists who target the rapporteur and the chairman of the committee. The rapporteurs are MEPs appointed by Committees to prepare the parliament’s response to the Commission’s proposal and to those measures taken by the Parliament itself.

There are currently around 15,001 lobbyists in Brussels (consultants, lawyers, associations, corporations, NGOs etc.) seeking to influence the EU’s legislative process. Some 2,600 special interest groups have a permanent office in Brussels. Their distribution is roughly as follows: European trade federations (32%), consultants (20%), companies (13%), NGOs (11%), national associations (10%), regional representations (6%), international organizations (5%) and think tanks (1%).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom lobbying traditionally referred to the attempt to influence an MP's vote by either their fellow parliamentary colleagues, by one of their constituents or by any outside organisation. More recently the term has narrowed in its usage to mainly refer to the operation of "lobbyists" hired to represent the views of an organisation. ^[3] This industry has been steadily growing in recent years and is now estimated to be worth £1.9 billion and employ 14000 people.^{[citation needed]} A recent report by the Hansard Society has shown some MPs are approached over 100 times a week.^{[citation needed]}.

The Association of Professional Political Consultants (APPC) is a self regulatory body for UK public affairs companies. Its code of conduct promotes 'transparency' and forbids certain practices, such as making payments to MPs.

[edit] "Sale" of peerages

In addition to "open" lobbying, the United Kingdom, political parties have been accused of trying to raise campaign funds by offering peerages and other honors. Since peers sit in the House of Lords, part of the UK legislature, they are in a position to initiate or amend Bills on their way to becoming Acts of Parliament - a very influential position. The rules of Parliament do, however, require participants in debates to 'declare their interest'. The 'sale' of peerages is a criminal offence. To circumvent this law, it is alleged that some contributions thus solicited, are given, not as outright gifts but as loans.^[4]

Lobbyists are present in all levels of government.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ [1], Willard.
2. ^ Kierkegaard, Sylvia (2005) How the Cookie (almost crumbled). Computer Law and Security Report Vol.21 Issue 4
3. ^
4. ^ Police loans inquiry is widened, BBC.

[edit] References

• Geiger, Andreas: EU Lobbying handbook, A guide to modern participation in Brussels, 244 pages, ISBN 3-9811316-0-6, Helios Media GmbH, 2006 (http://www.helios-media.com/de/information/buecher/lobbying_handbuch.php)
• Geiger, Andreas: From a lobbyist's point of view, European Agenda 1/2006)
• The Bulletin, 16 March 2006, p. 14, Lobbying Europe: facts and fiction
• The European Lawyer, December 2005/January 2006, p. 9, The lobbyists have landed
• Financial Times, 3 October 2005, p. 8, Brussels braces for a U.S. lobbying invasion
• Public Affairs News, November 2004, p. 34, Judgement Call
• The European Lawyer, December 2004/January 2005, p. 26, Lifting the lid on lobbying
• Geiger, Andreas: Lobbyists — the Devil’s Advocates?, European Competition Law Review, Volume 24, issue 11/2003, p. 559
• Lobbying (Web). BBC News: Politics. BBC (22 December 2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
• Police loans inquiry is widenened (Web). BBC News: Politics. BBC (30 March 2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.

[edit] See also

Main list: List of basic public affairs topics

• Interest group

[edit] External links

[edit] Lobbying in the United States:

• LobbyWatch - a project of the Center for Public Integrity with reports on lobbyists and lobbying efforts as well as a searchable database
• Sourcewatch - collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy (formerly Disinfopedia)
• U.S. Senate Office of Public Records - a searchable database of registered lobbyists
• OpenSecrets.org
• NoLobby.com

[edit] Lobbying in Europe

• Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU)
• Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)
• Spinwatch
• Lobbying in the European Union: current rules and practices (2003), in PDF format