ALAWON v4n96 (November 15, 1995)
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v4n96

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                                                   ISSN 1069-7799
                             ALAWON
                 ALA Washington Office Newsline
               An electronic publication of the
         American Library Association Washington Office

                      Volume 4, Number 96
                       November 15, 1995

In this issue: (159 lines)
     RESTRICTIONS ON NONPROFIT POLITICAL ADVOCACY
          IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: ASK YOUR SENATORS AND         REPRESENTATIVE
 TO VOTE AGAINST ISTOOK AMENDMENT

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          RESTRICTIONS ON NONPROFIT POLITICAL ADVOCACY

The controversial legislative proposal to restrict the advocacy
voice of nonprofit organizations is expected to be offered
tomorrow, November 16, to H.R. 2564, a lobbying disclosure reform
bill, by its principal sponsors, Representatives Ernest Istook
(R-OK) and David McIntosh (R-IN).  The Istook amendment, in all
of its mutations, is opposed by the American Library Association
because ALA is particularly sensitive to proposals that would
impede the free flow of information, a vital element in a
democratic society.  ALA believes the effects of the Istook
proposal would be extensive and adverse not only on nonprofit
organizations, but the entire nation, for the following reasons:

- Congress and other law and policy makers would be shut off from
information nonprofit organizations provide them to help craft
good public policy.

- The burden of compliance and enforcement with the requirements
of the Istook proposal would be onerous.  Compliance could mean
that nonprofit organization would be restricted from spending
their own funds to protect the interests of their constituents
whenever the government was involved.

- Realistically, there is no need for the proposed amendment.
Using federal funds to lobby is prohibited under current law;
penalties for violations are severe.

ALA belongs to the Let America Speak Coalition led by Independent
Sector, OMB Watch and the Alliance for Justice.  OMB Watch has
prepared the following analysis of the version of the latest
Istook amendment:

Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK) proposes to add to the lobby  reform
bill an amendment that is in many respects similar to the
original Istook amendment, except that it uses the framework of
the Simpson/Craig amendment passed by the Senate last week.

Once again, there is no evidence of the need for the Istook
amendment.  The Inspectors General of several key federal
agencies and the OMB have indicated that there is no pattern of
nonprofit grantees using federal funds to lobby.

  Key elements of the amendment include:

1.  All grantees will be required to submit a new annual report
no later than Dec. 31 of each year that provides information
about the grant.  For those grantees spending $25,000 or more per
year on lobbying, they must also include  a "good faith estimate"
of how much was spent on lobbying.  This information will be
posted on the Internet and will be available through a free,
expedited Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process.  This means
that all grantees will be required to keep an extra set of books
based on the definition of "lobbying" that follows.

2.  Lobbying is defined very broadly.  It includes all
communications with legislative or executive branch employees at
the local, state, or federal level that deal with attempts to
influence legislation or any "program, policy, or position" of
the government agency, including nominations or confirmations of
individuals.  There are specific exemptions, such as testimony or
responding to notices in the Federal Register.  The traditional
exemption for nonpartisan analysis is not included as an
exemption.

This definition is considerably broader than the IRS definition
of lobbying that applies to charities, especially with its
inclusion of communications with the executive  branch.  It is
way broader than the Simpson/Craig amendment which did not apply
to communications directed to local or state governments, and
limited which federal employees are considered covered when
communicating with the executive branch.  In some respects it is
even broader than the original Istook amendment in that the scope
of what is included is broader (e.g., influencing the policy of
the government) with one key exception: the original Istook
amendment included litigation involving the government, this one
does not.

  3.  For grantees receiving more than $125,000 in grants, they
will be prohibited from receiving federal grants if  they lobby
above a specified threshold.  The threshold is based on the
501(h) rules from the tax code with one  exception.  There would
be no cap: if "exempt purpose expenditures" exceed $17 million,
then the entity's threshold is $1 million plus 1% of the excess.
"Exempt purpose expenditures" means the total expenditures minus
the  amount of federal grants.

In a bit of confusing draftsmanship, the amendment states that
the limitation on lobbying and the prohibition on federal grants
does not apply to those who have elected 501(h) and lived under
those rules for the full previous federal fiscal year.  Does that
mean that you need not comply with the Istook amendment
definition of lobbying?  If so, this could be a major
breakthrough.  (Our assumption is that this is poor drafting and
that the intent was to insure  that charities have the $1 million
cap on lobbying, while other entities, such as businesses, do
not.  The Istook  office was not available to answer our question
on this  point.)

  4.  501(c)(4) social welfare organizations with revenues of $3
million or more that lobby will be prohibited from  receiving
federal grants.
Gary Bass
OMB Watch
(202) 234-8494
bass@tknet.org

ACTION NEEDED: Please call, fax or e-mail your Representative
immediately to ask him or her to vote against the Istook
amendment, or any similar legislative language from
Representative McInstosh, when it is proposed as an amendment to
H.R. 2564, the lobby disclosure reform bill.

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ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the
American Library Association Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania
Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.  Internet:
alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-628-8410; Fax: 202-628-8419.
Contributing to this issue:Anne A. Heanue and Claudette W.
Tennant; Editor: Lynne E. Bradley (leb@alawash.org).

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