THREE IDEAS FOR LOBBYING REFORM

[Lee] “Drutman maks three serious recommendations for reform. One complex proposal he offers for reducing the imbalance of corporate spending on lobbying is to provide a federal subsidy for lobbying advocates who are outgunned financially by business. The catch is that they would have to show that there is widespread public support for their antibusiness position based on polls or surveys.

“A more simple plan he proposes, which I’d certainly prefer, would be to establish an Office of Public Lobbying, which would create a team of lobbyists to represent public opinions legislation in opposition to the overwhelming corporate positions. Drutman thinks a job in an Office of Public Lobbying could be appealing to staff members whose boss just lost an election, or others who want to remain in Washington and not work for corporate lobbyists. It could also have more appeal than working for an advocacy organization because it would probably be more secure.

“The imbalance of information available to congressional staff that so favors business could be offset by a congressional Lobbying Procedure Act. Any and all positions taken by a business lobbyist would be posted on a central website, to which opponents could react. The posting would include a list of any lobbyist meetings with staffers or policymakers, the names of those attending, and a short summary of the position offered. White papers or drafts of legislation would be posted on the website as well.

“The most important benefit of this proposal would be that the inner workings of business lobbying would be made public. Thus the advantage of having countless lobbyists to reach all policymakers with their messages would be reduced; their arguments would be available to all on the website. Opposition could also develop counterarguments once they knew the corporate lobbyist positions, and post them as well. The website would become an open marketplace of ideas, undoing the secretive nature of business lobbying.”

Jeff Madrick, “How the Lobbyists Win in Washington,” a review of Lee Drutman’s The Business of America Is Lobbying: How Corporations Became Politicized and Politics Became More Corporate, April 7, 2016, in The New York Review, April 7, 2016, pp: 50-52.