Common Cause Can't File Lobby Report On Time

According to the House Administration Committee, the liberal good government reform organization Common Cause failed to file its lobby reports on time.

Common Cause, did not file its 2004 year-end lobbying disclosure report with the House until August 1, 2005, nearly six months after the date prescribed by law, U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, Chairman of the House Administration Committee, stated that a recent directive issued by him mandating the electronic filing of such reports by January 1, 2006, will hopefully eliminate such serious oversights in the future. Notably, Common Cause is a leading member of the self-described "Congressional Ethics Coalition,” a group of liberal outside organizations that many in the national media have pointed to as “government watchdogs."

Chairman Bob Ney had these comments:

Noting that on its website, Common Cause claims to have "led efforts" to "enact strict lobbying disclosure requirements." Ney said, "When we first took these important steps in June, I wondered why groups such as Common Cause did not say a word in support. At first, I thought it was because they so rarely support Republican initiatives, even if they are in-line with their own philosophy, but now it seems that they first needed to get their own paperwork in order. Now that it seems they are in compliance with the law, I hope they will support our efforts to increase accountability and transparency in government."

For the most part, the Lobbying Disclosure Act is a joke. Large segments of activity designed to influence the government are not reportable, the most glaring of which is the 20 percent rule, which states that if a person does not spend more than 20 percent of the compensated work time on lobbying (which itself is pretty narrowly defined), they those efforts need not be documented. Thus if a CEO of a major American Corporation works (on the low side) 60 hours a week, they could spend 12 hours lobbying Congress each week before having to report that lobbying activity--that is a lot of lobbying by a CEO--who will get heard.

But leaving that aside, you would think that an organzation "dedicated to making government open and accountable" could get their lobbying reports in on time. Not so good!!