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B-129874 1 (1978-03-13)

handle is hein.gao/gaobachkk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: . COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES 406 WASHINGTON, D.C. 2048 INREPLY B-129874 REFER TO: MAi~R i. The Honorable Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Speaker of the House of Representatives Dear Mr. Speaker: We understand that a Rule will soon be requested for. H.R. 8494, entitled the Public Disclosure of Lobbying Act of 1978. The bill was approved on February 22, 1978, with amendments, by the House Committee on the Judiciary. H.R. 8494 designates the Comptroller General as the official with primary responsibility for administering the proposed law. The present lobbying law, the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act (2 U.S.C. §261 et seq.), is universally consid- I P ered ineffective--from the standpoint of the law itself, its administration, and its enforcement. The Attorney General is responsible for enforcing the current lobbying law. Although the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate administer the law, these officials have no right of access to records required to be maintained, and no investi- gative or compliance authority. They are self-acknowledged repositories of informati-on they cannot verify. Unlike other laws requiring the reporting of information, the present lobbying law provides no administrative means to assist either the Attorney General or the administering officials in the verification and enforcement process. In short, the Government's ability to monitor and ensure compliance with the present law depends almost exclusively on the compli- ance efforts of the Attorney General and his willingness to engage in time-consuming litigation. This enforcement scheme has proved itself unworkable and ineffective. The General Accounting Office completed a review of the administration and enforcement of the present lobbying law in 1975, when we issued a report entitled, The Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act--Difficulties in Enforcement and Administration. This report confirmed the near total ineffectiveness of the enforcement scheme described above, and the crippling and debilitating effects of that scheme on the lobbying law's administration.

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