Discuss the major provisions of the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946 and the reasons why it failed to regulate lobbying to a great degree.
What will be an ideal response?
Answers will vary. In an attempt to control lobbying, Congress passed the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act in 1946. The major provisions of the act are as follows: Any person or organization that receives money to influence legislation must register with the clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate.Any groups or persons registering must identify their employer, salary, amount and purpose of expenses, and duration of employment.Every registered lobbyist must make quarterly reports on his or her activities.Anyone violating this act can be fined up to $10,000 and be imprisoned for up to five years. The act did not succeed in regulating lobbying to any great degree for several reasons. First, the Supreme Court restricted the application of the law to only those lobbyists who sought to influence federal legislation directly. Any lobbyist seeking to influence legislation indirectly through public opinion did not fall within the scope of the law.Second, only persons or organizations whose principal purpose was to influence legislation were required to register. Many groups avoided registration by claiming that their principal function was something else. Third, the act did not cover those whose lobbying was directed at agencies in the executive branch or lobbyists who testified before congressional committees.Fourth, the public was almost totally unaware of the information in the quarterly reports filed by lobbyists. Not until 1995 did Congress finally address those loopholes by enacting new legislation.
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