American League of Lobbyists

September 19, 2006

Mr. Tom Scarritt, Editor
Mr. Bob Blalock, Editorial Page Editor
The Birmingham News
P.O. Box 2553
Birmingham, AL 35202

Dear Messrs. Scarritt and Blalock:

I am writing in response to your September 17 editorial entitled "The Lobbying Game."

While I do not question the genuineness of your concern, the overall tone of "lobbying as a corrupt industry" is one that I find offensive. Your editorial ignores the overwhelmingly positive contributions lobbyists make daily to the public policy process.

You decried the expenditure of taxpayers' money on lobbying, without acknowledging that such lobbying almost invariably results in increased benefits or revenues back to the entity that sponsored the lobbying. While you might consider it an "inefficient way to spend tax dollars," it has become a necessary component of modern government.

Thus far, over 3,900 bills have been introduced in the U.S. Senate this Congress. The number on the House side is closer to 6,100. Do you really want 525 legislators voting on this legislation in a vacuum, or do you want them to have input from the people who would be affected by the legislation? Neither the legislators nor their staffs have the time to review all this information by themselves.

The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees U.S. citizens the right to free speech and the right to petition Congress for redress of grievances. And this includes the right to hire lobbyists to do the talking for you. Most citizens, citizen groups and universities, as well as state and local governments, lack the personal knowledge of federal procedures and/or the political contacts to be effective in Washington. Likewise, most mayors, university regents and others who have hired lobbyists are well satisfied with their investment.

Is the system too complicated? Possibly. Does that make it wrong or inefficient to hire lobbyists? Absolutely not! If a city encountered legal difficulties, no one would blink an eye at the decision to retain professional legal counsel. Why is therefore any less appropriate to retain professional lobbyists to do the work they do best?

Following the Abramoff scandal, there was a huge flurry of congressional activity with the introduction of multiples bills purporting to reform the business of lobbying. But after hearings on both the Senate and House side, most Members came to realize that safeguards are already in place, and that enacting new laws and new penalties were unnecessary for the regular law-abiding lobbyists and would have little impact on the corrupt individuals bent on flaunting all laws.

The one area that seems to have merited real consideration is greater disclosure of the earmarking of appropriations funding, which the House of Representatives has addressed this past week. Under the new House rule, the identity of the member sponsoring an earmarked appropriation will be disclosed, which will bring more transparency to the funding process. This disclosure should allow greater oversight by all, including the media, without removing the input of those persons most knowledgeable about a particular district's needs – the congressional member.

The League recently issued a media release asking that political candidates refrain from mischaracterizing the lobbying profession as a means of raising money and/or garnering votes. We would ask that same courtesy of the press. It serves no legitimate purpose to lump all lobbyists with the few notorious "bad apples" who appear on the front pages of the paper – except perhaps to sell papers.

Established in 1979, American League of Lobbyists has as its mission "to enhance the development of professionalism, competence and high ethical standards for advocates in the public policy arena and to collectively address challenges that affect our First Amendment rights." We have had a Code of Ethics since 1987 (copy attached). We urge you to accurately describe this necessary and essential part of the public policy process.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Paul A. Miller
President