How to Guarantee Respect for Public-Interest Lobbyists

Lobbyists have become a big issue in the political campaigns, as the candidates and the voters show their disdain for special interests that buy government action with piles of campaign cash.

In Washington and elsewhere, pressure is growing to stop these interests from drowning out other voices with money, including those of nonprofit groups.

The growth in the business of lobbying is staggering. The number of companies with registered lobbyists grew by 58 percent in a recent six-year period, according to the Cato Institute. The total amount of spending on lobbying, says the Center for Responsive Politics, increased from more than $1.5-billion in 2000 to more than $2.8-billion in 2007.

Those numbers do not even count when companies lobby government agencies for lucrative contracts, or wage “grassroots” lobbying actions, sometimes by forming sham nonprofit organizations that serve as industry front groups.

The lack of disclosure about who is behind lobbying efforts, the huge amounts of money involved, and the conflicts of interest have caused the two presumptive presidential nominees, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, to take aim at lobbyists as part of the problem in Washington.

As public-interest lobbyists, we agree with both the need to overhaul lobbying and campaign-finance laws and the importance of exercising our First Amendment advocacy rights.

Indeed, to restore public faith in democracy, nonprofit groups need to do even more lobbying and advocacy. While it is critical to clamp down on unethical lobbying, nothing should be done to dampen interest in advocacy by the nation’s more than one million charities. Communities across the country would benefit from such advocacy.

Nonprofit causes have a tough time competing against a system awash in cash and cozy relationships between business and government officials. Unfortunately, too often today, grant makers, lawyers, accountants, and government officials who feel threatened by overt advocacy efforts discourage nonprofit groups from vigorous lobbying and advocacy. Instead, they should educate and support nonprofit groups to contribute their on-the-ground expertise and networks to achieve their missions and strengthen the democratic process.

Still, to change the current lobbying culture, nonprofit groups themselves need to demonstrate that they are operating in an ethical and open manner. Simply being a nonprofit organization does not guarantee appropriate behavior. When a nonprofit group is set up to evade taxes and campaign-finance laws, or when a tax-exempt group does not disclose it is being financed by business interests to lobby for an issue central to that business interest, it feeds into the cycle that Senators Obama and McCain have criticized.

To lead the way toward a more open and democratic process of civic engagement, a group of public-interest advocates have proposed a set of ethical principles to guide our work.

The first principle is that public-interest lobbying must add civic value: It should involve a diverse spectrum of voices, take a broad and long-term view, and act to strengthen the public trust, not to undermine it. Alexis de Tocqueville observed in the 1830s that voluntary associations are ideally suited to bring relevant and diverse voices to the policy table.

Second, public-interest lobbying must be inclusive, engaging the community and particularly those most affected by the public policy being advocated. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people only works if the people are centrally involved.

Many nonprofit groups are in the trenches, deeply involved in carrying out government programs. Their feedback is critical to making government work better. Imagine how the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita might have been different if the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others had paid more heed to what local nonprofit groups were telling them.

Third, smart and ethical lobbying must be credible, trustworthy, and based on reliable facts, figures, and studies. That means obeying all laws and regulations, providing objective information without any intent to mislead, and keeping promises. Following that rule alone might have kept the Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff from committing the fraud that sent him to jail.

Finally, public-interest lobbying must be multifaceted and adaptive, using every available advocacy tool and taking educated risks as needed. It always must seek to serve the public good.

None of this makes us better than lobbyists serving for-profit clients, just different.

We aren’t driven primarily by the goal of making money, though we certainly need money to operate and we know market forces can create real change.

We want to win, but we play by the rules. We don’t seek power for its own sake, but we’re not afraid of it and will use it when we have it.

The American League of Lobbyists has taken steps in the right direction with its code of ethics in 1987 and a more recent 2006 Lobbying Certificate Program. However, those efforts are voluntary and have had limited impact on the industry as a whole. Lobbying remains an unlicensed profession.

Since it has been more than 20 years since the original ethics code was adopted and the concerns about lobbying have intensified along with the number of lobbyists in the United States, we encourage the league to revisit this topic and seek recommendations from a broad range of players.

We also urge and offer to work with the league to put in place a pro bono standard similar to what exists in the legal profession.

For more than a hundred years, lawyers have recognized a professional responsibility to provide free services and other support to those of limited means or working for a charitable purpose. Some lobbying firms already perform substantial pro bono work or represent nonprofit clients.

The many lobbyists who work at law firms could help to increase the amount of free lobbying services their own firms provide and to provide a bridge for carrying the tradition over to independent lobbying companies. This could make a big difference to for-profit lobbyists, as well as to the charitable organizations that need this help.

We believe that our new, public-interest lobbying code, if we and other lobbyists for nonprofit groups can live up to it, can help to revive the democratic process and, just as important, public belief that democracy works.

John Sununu, the crusty chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, had it right 20 years ago when he said, “Read the Constitution: The system is designed to be lobbied.”

People are supposed to petition the government for redress of grievances, and they have guaranteed rights to call freely for change in speeches, meetings, and publications.

But lobbyists come in all shapes and sizes. Today, nonprofit groups are almost invisible to the presidential campaigns and the public. That is good in the sense that we are not associated with the worst scandals and corruption, but it’s bad in that people generally don’t think of lobbying as something nonprofit organizations can and should do.

Indeed, many days we feel like the late Doug Fraser, who served as president of the United Auto Workers. While in his encore career as a faculty member at Columbia University’s business school, a student came up to Mr. Fraser, who was neatly dressed, tall, and lean, and said that he didn’t fit the student’s stereotype of a labor leader. Mr. Fraser asked him what the student expected to see. The young man said he was looking for a fat guy with a cigar who mouthed nonstop expletives. Mr. Fraser, quick as ever, said, “You mean Lee Iacocca.”

Although we do not fit into stereotypes, public-interest lobbyists are making a tremendous difference across this country every day against all odds. However, only if policy makers hear far more of America’s voices can they govern in accord with what the people need.

Lobbying is not only a constitutional right, but also a moral responsibility of nonprofit groups to improve the quality of life. So lobbying always needs to be a key part of nonprofit activities and one that we do with impeccable attention to ethics and the law.

David Cohen is a senior fellow at Civic Ventures and Council for a Livable World. Larry Ottinger is president of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. The center’s principles for public-interest lobbying are online at http://www.clpi.org.