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Tuesday, February 28, 2006

No Campaign Finance, Grassroots Disclosure in Rules Markup
Nothing controversial on the lobbying front came out of a Sen. Rules Cmte markup today. The bill would give any senator the ability to strike offensive “out of scope” provisions through a 60-vote point of order without killing an entire bill, however, it does not address issues outside the jurisdiction of the Rules committee, such as campaign finance law or lobbying law changes. These are expected to be addressed in a markup on Thursday in Sen. Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee.

The Hill's take...

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:04:30 PM

Monday, February 27, 2006

Nonprofit Subject of GOP-Prompted Audit is Cleared
The following article raises serious questions about the IRS's vetting process of "political intervention" complaints.

More on the IRS PACI Report
A New York Times article on the IRS Political Activities Complaince Initiative (formerly Political Intervention Program).

While the release of the report may be an indication of more transparency from the IRS, Marcus Owens, attorney for All Saints Church notes,

"I wonder whether or not all the 50 or 60 organizations they identified as having engaged in illegal political intervention really did have significant issues," he said. "That having been said, give me an hour and my computer and I can sit down and give the I.R.S. 200 good audit leads on questionable political activity."

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 01:40:45 PM

Friday, February 24, 2006

IRS Releases Report on PIP Program
The IRS has finally issued a report on nonprofit's political activity in elections.

Look for a summary in the next Watcher, or better yet, read it now!

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 01:23:25 PM

FEC Set To Vote on Internet March 20
Roll Call offers this article (paid subscription required). A snippet:

FEC Chairman Michael Toner said he favors less restrictions when it comes to the Internet than more.
"What the FEC does in this area will affect the online political activities of millions of Americans," he said. "I also think the FEC should make very clear that the press exemption applies with full force to online activities including the activities of bloggers, who in this society are functioning in my view as press entities."
Fred Wertheimer, president of campaign finance watchdog group Democracy 21, said his group also believes bloggers should be able to express their views on the Internet free of the restraint of campaign finance laws.
But, he said, candidates, parties, corporations and labor unions that are paying for Internet advertising should fall under campaign finance laws.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 01:21:29 PM

Friday, February 17, 2006

OMB Watch Files Petition for Electioneering Communication Rulemaking
On February 16, OMB Watch, along with numerous other groups such as AFL CIO, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) asking the FEC to exempt legitimate grassroots communications from "electioneering communication" prohibitions.

Currently, the electioneering communications provision bars any ad that mentions a federal candidate broadcast within 30 days of a primary election or within 60 days of a general election.

The petition is in response to the Supreme Court's ruling in Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. FEC. The Court upheld the right of advocacy groups to seek protection for legitimate issue advertising and noted that the FEC had the statutory authority to craft a rule to protect certain ads.

Check out a Roll Call article on the petition.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 07:41:15 PM

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Dems Seek Public Financing
From the Hill newspaper :

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin and Sen. Chris Dodd, the ranking Democrat on the Rules Committee, said yesterday that they will push for public financing of federal elections. The revelations follow public financing proposals that two senior House Democrats unveiled late last month. Rep. David Obey (Wis.), the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Barney Frank (Mass.), the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, announced Jan. 25 plans to reform dramatically the funding of House campaigns. Under their proposal, taxpayers would be asked to contribute voluntarily to a national campaign fund.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 12:49:48 PM

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Two More Hearing Scheduled For Lobby Reform
Two more hearings scheduled on various aspects of lobby reform. We can be guaranteed they won't be the last, though.

Senate Indian Affairs Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 8 to look at closing a loophole under the Federal Election Campaign Act that places no aggregate limit on the contributions an Indian tribe can make in an election year. Click here for details.

Senate Rules Chairman Trent Lott (R-MS)is holding a hearing on Feb. 8 that is a forum to look at adding greater transparency to the legislative process. Click here for more information.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:34:24 AM

Monday, February 06, 2006

Report on Political Activities of Tax-Exempt Orgs in Near Future
According to BNA, new Exempt Orgs Head Lois Lerner spoke at a Tax-Exempt Conference in San Diego over the weekend, stating that the the TE/GE Division will continue to work on its 2005 priorities.

She stated that IRS is likely to revoke the nonprofit status of more credit counseling organizations, beyond the 33 exemptions recently revoked. Additionally, the IRS also will issue an report "in the relatively near future" on political activities of tax-exempt organizations.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:03:45 AM

Friday, February 03, 2006

WRTL Supreme Court Oral Argument Now Online!
Feb. 17 status hearing has been set for Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal Election Commission. A three-judge federal court will consider a challenge to political advertising restrictions under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act . WRTL requested expedited review, and the status hearing is being seen as a possible sign that the federal court will move quickly to reconsider the case.

The case was remanded by the Supreme Court. (if you haven't been following, check out our last Watcher article.)

The transcripts from the Supreme Court now available online

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:03:52 AM

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

WRTL Asks for Expedited Review
The plaintiffs in WRTL have asked for expedited review of the case on remand to a special three-judge court in Washington D.C. From the press release:

"Throughout 2006, there are 30 day blackout periods before each stateâ€™s federal primary elections beginning with the Texas primary on March 7," stated Barbara Lyons, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life. â€œCongress is in session throughout most of this year, meaning that the creation of a grassroots lobbying exception which we have requested would benefit groups that lobby across the country. We have made the District Court aware of this scenario."

BNA reports (paid subscription required) that the FEC is resisting the effort to expedite. "The FEC is expected to respond formally with its own motion by Feb. 7, according to agency spokesman Ian Stirton. It is not known yet whether the FEC will propose its own schedule for proceeding with the case."

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:34:04 AM

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