DClobbyist
Washington, DC
Male, 44
I've been a Federal lobbyist since 1998. During that time, I worked with Members of Congress, their staff, key Federal agency decision makers and 3 Presidential administrations (Clinton, Bush and Obama). I worked on a number of high level issues for clients and fought many legislative battles on Capitol Hill.
The standing filibuster no longer exists. Although the party in power in the Senate often threaten to change the rules and bring the standing filibuster back, they soon realize that the political winds may change and they may be in the Senate minority, and be subject to those same rules. Then they back off.
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Yes. I have retainer agreements that are usually good for 2 years. Of course if you never win, or rarely win you won't have very many clients.
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Lobbyists do have an image problem. And we do very little to fix that problem. The public does not really know what lobbyists do. Most people think we are all like Jack Abramoff. In reality, of the 16,000 or so registered lobbyists only a handful are corrupt.
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Good question! I try not to make it so, but inevitably, politics often finds a way into my conversations. See my answer to the question below!
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Casino Dealer
Do you find casinos to be depressing places to work?
Private Detective
Has anyone ever caught you surveilling them, and what happened?
Chef
Do you get offended when a customer sends back a dish?
Yes, people can submit legislation ideas to Members of Congress. It's done all the time. The 1st Amendment to the Constitution provides that anyone can petition Congress to redress grievances. In fact, the White House has a website where anyone can submit a petition, and the White House will consider it (if you get 100,000 signatures to support it). The value of a lobbyist comes from knowing how to write legislation so that it will get the support it needs to pass Congress. Then bringing it to the right Member of Congress to sponsor it. Then working with that Member of Congress to get many co-sponsors on the bill. Then working to make sure it goes to the right Committee. Then making sure the right witnesses come to the hearing to support the bill. Then making sure the bill passes the Committee. Then getting support for it in the full House (or Senate) to make sure it passes. The doing the exact same thing in the other body of Congress. Then making sure it can be passed, intact, by both the House and the Senate. Then making sure the President will sign it. And, in many cases, getting public support for the bill along the way.
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My wife does not have or want anything to do with politics, and what political views she does have are the opposite of mine. Sometimes, it does cause friction. But after several years of political debate on hundreds of issues, we initiated a "no political discussions at home" rule. I'm working on not breaking that rule too often.
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Right now, registered lobbyists must filed activity reports 4 times a year and reports on financial contributions 2 times a year. The penalty for knowingly failing to file reports, or filing false reports is a fine up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment up to 5 years. There are also several "good government groups" that monitor lobbying activity. Lobbyists are also bound by the Honest Leadership of Government Act (HLOGA) which became law after the Abramoff scandal. The problem, is that the rules only apply to registered lobbyists. The average citizen lobbyist does not meet the thresholds to become a registered lobbyist. Therefore, they can legally do many things that a registered lobbyist can not, like give gifts, etc. I would support a law that says EVERYONE who meets with a Member of Congress for the purpose of influencing legislation must, at a minimum, register and be bound by the HLOGA rules.
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