07-17-08
WHAT'S NEW IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS
It's summertime, and the living is easy. But there's nothing easy about the LD-203 lobbying disclosure forms that have produced mass confusion (and high legal fees) in the lobbying community, reports The Washington Post. Over on Capitol Hill, Congress spent the July 4 recess hearing how unhappy their constituents were with the housing slump and high gasoline prices. After getting an earful -- as well as low approval ratings -- legislators are likely to take action on both issues. Democratic members are also taking aim at some of the business-friendly rulings made by the Supreme Court in recent years. "There are decisions being handed down that undercut the original intent of the law," one member of the Judiciary Committee told Roll Call. These stories and more in this edition of the Public Affairs News Monitor.
HEADLINES AT A GLANCE
"Disclosure Form Makes It Hard For Lobbyists To Disclose"
"Economic Worries Sour Mood Toward Congress"
"Congress Targets Courts Pro-Biz Rulings"
"Climate Change Disclosures Gain Steam"
"Can Your Lawmaker YouTube?"
"In Lobbying, The Language Is as Important as Issues"
"Employers Fight Tough Measures On Immigration"
"Who's Watching the Watchdogs?"
"Proxy Access Proxy?"
"Why Companies and Campaigners Collaborate"
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"Disclosure Form Makes It Hard For Lobbyists To Disclose"
Washington Post (07/08/08) P. A13; Birnbaum, Jeffrey H.
Last year's lobbying ethics law has left a number of loopholes and other issues that have made reporting a daunting task, according to lawyers dealing with the LD-203 disclosure form, which they are struggling to advise their clients on. "Our clients want to comply. They have a lot of questions," said Patton Boggs' Benjamin L. Ginsberg, while Jan W. Baran of Wiley Rein says there is no specific place to list contributions to groups established, financed, maintained or controlled by members of Congress or their staff. Similarly, Skadden Arps' Kenneth A. Gross says there is no place on the form where representatives from corporations or trade associations can sign to certify that they understand and have complied with new gift-giving rules. There is also ambiguity about some of the other instructions. Meanwhile, Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) are seeking to close a "loophole" that enables foreign companies' representatives to register as domestic lobbyists rather than foreign agents. Registering as a foreign agent brings tougher disclosure rules, but the proposal has been criticized by Todd M. Malan of the Organization for International Investment, who warns of the impact on a foreign-based multinational competing with U.S.-based multinational when both companies have plenty of staff and business in the United States. (www.washingtonpost.com)
"Economic Worries Sour Mood Toward Congress"
Wall Street Journal (07/07/08) P. A3; Belkin, Douglas; Hitt, Greg; Tuna, Cari
Members of Congress spent the July 4 recess seeing the sour mood of constituents amid the housing slump and high gas prices, which could push lawmakers to act to address economic concerns. Bills to help out struggling homeowners and to clamp down on oil-price speculation are the most likely to receive attention quickly. Still, despite the negative mood on Congress, the majority Democrats still have strong approval ratings. During his return to his Danville, Va., district, freshman House democrat Jerry McNerney addressed a July 4 parade where anxiety over gas prices was strong; like many House members, McNerney said the House has taken a number of steps on high energy prices that were later thwarted in the Senate. Prior to the recess, Congress missed its goal for completing work on a large housing bill, and its hearings and other activities on energy prices did not have concrete results. Time will be fleeting to take action now as members turn their attention to the upcoming election, and while the housing bill is expected to be done relatively quickly, there are several options available on energy. These include greater oversight of energy trading, authorizing strategic petroleum reserve releases, and a suspension of the federal gas tax. (www.wsj.com)
"Congress Targets Courts Pro-Biz Rulings"
Roll Call (07/07/08); Newmyer, Tory
As they prepare for the departure of the Bush administration, Democrats in Congress are taking aim at the increasingly business-friendly Supreme Court with targeted legislation to reverse recent decisions. So far, the effort to reverse decisions limiting corporate liability seems to be uncoordinated, but legislators and legal experts expect stepped-up efforts as Democrats take a more secure grip on Congress. "There are decisions being handed down that undercut the original intent of the law," said Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. "Our role in many cases is to make clearer what that intent was." Of the 30 cases in which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's legal arm has filed briefs in the past two terms, its side has prevailed in 21 of them. The legislative and judicial branches now have "more strikingly different views than you've had at any time recently," according to Mayer Brown lobbyist and lawyer Andrew Pincus. Activists argue that the decisions on corporate interests have at least as big an effect on ordinary Americans as the high-profile recent decisions on handguns and Guantanamo Bay detainees' rights. Among the legislation taking aim at recent court decisions is a bill to restore patients' right to sue, countering recent court decisions based around federal preemption of state law. Democrats have also been pressing for a response to a ruling last year against a woman suing her employer regarding discriminatory pay that hinged on an elapsed 180-day statute of limitations; the bill, called the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, would renew the statute of limitations every time the plaintiff receives a discriminatory paycheck.(www.rollcall.com)
"Climate Change Disclosures Gain Steam"
Politico (06/26/08); Lovley, Erika
A growing investor movement is pushing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require full disclosure of global warming risk to corporations, and it could gain further clout if California's state government approves a proposed disclosure bill. Among the institutional investors and environmental groups backing the move in California are Ceres, a network of investment and environmental groups, and the California Public Employees' Retirement System. "We hope this bill will have a trickle-up effect to Washington and show the government that California will act if they don't," said State Sen. Dean Florez, the Democratic backer of the bill. "This is something all investors are beginning to take much more seriously," said Julie Gorte, a vice president at the investment firm Pax World Management Corp., adding, "We want to be prudent with our investments. There are very few businesses that aren't affected by climate change." Among the supporters of the idea at the federal level are Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who chairs the Securities, Insurance and Investment Subcommittee, along with such Democratic senators as Robert P. Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania and Robert Menendez of New Jersey. Similarly, a group of 50 state treasurers, institutional investors, asset managers, and venture capitalists last month put pressure on Congress to enact caps on greenhouse gas emissions, and there is a gathering trend on Wall Street to expect that legislation on climate change is inevitable.(www.politico.com)
"Can Your Lawmaker YouTube?"
Orange County Register (07/13/08); Bunis, Dena
Members of Congress are starting to enter the digital age and communicate to their constituents via Web sites and other online outlets, writes Orange County Register columnist Dena Bunis. Members are rule-bound to post only official Senate and House video on their sites and not to link to video-sharing sites such as YouTube, but Bunis comments that "as far as I know there aren't any Internet police on Capitol Hill who are hauling away lawmakers who do this--and I'm told more than 100 on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers routinely do." Senate Rules and House Administration committees have been engaged for a while now in working out ways to redraft the rules to bring Congress into modern times. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) proposed a plan to permit video only on sites approved by the House as a way of guaranteeing that official business was not being posted on sites with ads, which provoked the ire of Republican Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (Ohio), who complained in a letter to House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that Capuano intended to "effectively shut down what has emerged as a free and helpfully uncensored pipeline of real-time information between the American people and their elected leaders." Meanwhile, the Senate Rules Committee harbors similar concerns about posting official Senate content on sites with ads, and also wants to ensure that someone who provides a senator with private information does not find out later that the information has been sold. One proposal under discussion involves the establishment of a separate YouTube segment that is free of advertising, while another is the creation of a special congressional logo to certify the official nature of the content.(www.ocregister.com)
"In Lobbying, The Language Is as Important as Issues"
The Hill (07/09/08) P. 1; Bogardus, Kevin
In an effort to resurrect the free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia, the Fratelli Group has presented the results of a U.S. Chamber of Commerce-commissioned survey, "What to Say/Not Say (and Why) on International Trade," to the Justice Department. The survey of adults in a half-dozen cities was conducted by Presentation Testing from January to April to determine what language is most effective in promoting free trade to Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, and women. The survey indicates that free trade supporters should use the term "international trade" instead of "globalization" to avoid concerns about the exploitation of Third World workers, and they should underscore the contributions made by small companies despite the fact that global trade is primarily controlled by large corporations. Additionally, proponents should highlight how free trade will "level the playing field," address workers' concerns about losing health coverage, and speak out against "isolationism" instead of "protectionism."(www.thehill.com)
"Employers Fight Tough Measures On Immigration"
New York Times (07/06/08); Preston, Julia
At all levels of government, employers nationwide are battling tough crackdowns on illegal immigration, responding to such strict proposals as revoking licenses of companies that employ illegal immigrants. Business groups are offering alternative ideas that would revise federal rules for verifying new employees' identity documents, as well as expanding programs to bring in legal immigrant laborers. The push to counter the crackdown proposals is coming from both sides of the aisle, but in many places it is reopening the split in the Republican party between business types and those concerned about border enforcement and the impact of illegal immigrants on the job market. Arizona companies, hit by a law the Republican-controlled state legislature passed last year to revoke the licenses of businesses caught two times with illegal immigrants, have won approval of a narrower version of the law clarifying that it did not apply to people hired before this year. A ballot initiative in November, backed by more than 284,000 signatures, would make the state law even more employer-friendly. Immigration bills have been defeated in Indiana and Kentucky in part because of business opposition, and chambers of commerce in Oklahoma won a federal court ruling suspending portions of a 2007 state law that would require use of a federal database to check new hires' immigration status. Businesses in California, meanwhile, are having elected officials such as the mayor of Los Angeles lobby federal immigration authorities against raids of well established firms. Raids have been stepped up greatly after years of little enforcement, with 4,940 arrests in workplaces during 2007, and states have seen more than 175 bills introduced this year on employment of immigrants, although business pressure has seen businesses' concerns increasingly reflected in the legislation. (www.nytimes.com)
"Who's Watching the Watchdogs?"
Fortune (07/07/08) Vol. 158, No. 1, P. 18; Bandler, James; Burke, Doris
Statistical tests conducted by Stanford University's law and business schools reveal that there is little, if any, similarity between the ratings offered by four of the leading corporate-governance rating services. The Corporate Library, ISS Governance Services, GovernanceMetrics International (GMI), and Audit Integrity all received poor ratings due to inconsistency in their ratings. For example, Pfizer received a score of "100" from ISS, but a "D" from the Corporate Library. Lockheed Martin earned a 9.5 out of 10 from GMI, but an "F" from Corporate Library. According to the Stanford academics, there was slight or no statistical evidence of correlation between the scores and corporate performance. "It points out that there's no grand unified theory of corporate governance," said Cary Klafter, vice president of legal and corporate affairs at Intel. (www.fortune.com)
"Proxy Access Proxy?"
Financial Week (07/14/08); Rummell, Nicholas
A Delaware court is expected to rule soon whether shareholder activists will be allowed to nominate dissident directors to corporate boards. The court will decide whether the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) should be allowed to pay to submit a dissident slate of directors on its own ballot instead of on the corporate proxy. If one of the union's nominee's is selected, the company would then reimburse the AFSCME for its costs. So far the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears content to defer to the Delaware court on this issue because it is unlikely the commission will have time to rule on the issue of corporate proxies in 2008. Although there has been a great deal of opposition from corporations concerning proxy reimbursement, experts say this particular proposal may be more acceptable because the company only has to pay if it selects one of the nominees. Eventually the SEC will have to weigh in on this issue. However, for the time being it would seem proxy reimbursement may be left up to the states. If Delaware rules for the union, other states may simply follow its example, and the SEC--or Congress--may be spared from revisiting proxy access. North Dakota already allows proxy reimbursement. (www.financialweek.com)
"Why Companies and Campaigners Collaborate"
Financial Times (07/08/08) P. 13; Skapinker, Michael
Companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) increasingly are teaming up, with BP and Greenpeace forging one of the more unlikely alliances more than a decade ago. Experts say companies see the value in learning about the opposition, and many band together to help out during disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Companies benefit from such collaboration because NGOs let them know about hot-button issues; and forging alliances also boosts employee morale, given that executives and workers often sympathize with the causes of NGOs. Finally, collaboration with NGOs gives companies a sort of "seal of approval." Meanwhile, NGOs benefit from corporate donations as well as from the company's global staff, cross-border efforts, and technical expertise. However, experts urge both companies and NGOs to conduct due diligence before collaborating to protect their reputations.(www.ft.com)