Nonprofit Lobbyists Want Exemption From Some Ethics Rules

A coalition of nonprofit groups is pressing the White House to relax rules that limit the ability of lobbyists to get appointed to jobs in the Obama administration, saying they should not apply to people who are working for the public welfare.

The rules, which also restrict appointees from working on certain issues if they are former lobbyists, are “causing serious, unintended harms to nonprofit organizations who want and need to participate in our democracy,” says a memorandum submitted on Thursday to White House lawyers.

The groups ask the White House to amend or clarify a January 21 executive order on ethics and make a public statement underlining the difference between “lobbying undertaken on broad public policy issues in the public interest and lobbying undertaken in order to pursue private pecuniary gain.”

The memorandum was written by Larry Ottinger, president of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, and Stephen Rickard, executive director of the Open Society Policy Center, the advocacy arm of the Open Society Institute, the grant maker — as a followup to a March meeting with White House officials on the issue.

The proposals were drawn up in consultation with a group of advocacy and watchdog organizations including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, OMB Watch, and the Project on Government Oversight.

Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, says the ethics rules are preventing highly skilled nonprofit leaders from joining the administration and participating in some meetings with administration officials.

We think that the president should take aim at the real problem, which is the corrupting influence of money,” he says.

The executive order, which applies to appointments made by the president or vice president, says that former lobbyists may not work on “any particular matter” that they lobbied on during the previous two years, including any “specific issue area” that that matter falls under.

The nonprofit groups argue that barring someone from working on entire “issue areas” is too broad. The order also says that registered lobbyists may not take jobs with any agency that they lobbied during the previous two years.

In their memorandum, Mr. Ottinger and Mr. Rickard say they support the general goal of the executive order, which aims to reduce the influence of special interests on government. But they want the White House to exempt nonprofit groups falling under sections 501©3 and 501©4 of the tax code — charities and advocacy groups — from the rules on hiring and “issue areas.”

They suggest the president could amend the order, issue a clarifying statement, or expand an existing provision that allows some lobbyists to get waivers when it is deemed in the public interest. (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington however, said in a followup letter to the White House that it does not believe the rules should allow any waivers.)

The document also suggests ways that President Obama could explain the difference between public-interest and other lobbyists, for example by drawing on his experience as a community organizer and adding, “Citizen participation is a priority for my administration.”

However, David Wenhold, president of the American League of Lobbyists, is not happy about that idea.

“That’s very subjective,” he said. “You’re putting lobbyists in classes of people; these people are good and those are not.”

The White House press office has not yet responded to The Chronicle’s questions about the issue.