Vote on “527 Reform” Could Spark Progress on Lobby Reform Bill
Reports today are that Senate Majority Leader Bill First may bring up a vote on the issue of “527 reform” in September to force Senate Democrats to go on the record against such changes to campaign finance law right before the fall election. Such a move would also pave the way toward a final vote on lobby reform legislation, which has been lingering in “pre-conference” negotiations for months.
House-passed lobby reform legislation (H.R. 4975) would apply Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) restrictions to 527 organizations so that they can no longer raise unlimited amounts of money. However, the companion bill in the Senate (S. 2349) does not include any 527 language. A conference on these two bills is pending, and negotiators are said to have reconciled most of the differences between H.R. 4975 and S. 2349 except for that of 527 reform.
According to this morning’s Congress Daily, “House GOP leaders have urged their Senate counterparts to take up the lobbying reform conference report with the 527 language... to force Democrats to vote against the campaign finance changes and publicly prove the Senate does not have the necessary 60 votes to overcome Democratic opposition. The leaders would then send the bill back to conference to strip the 527 provision.”
One remaining question, though, is whether the votes are there in the House to approve a conference report without 527 language because it is one of the few provisions in the bill that has broad support among rank-and-file Republicans. Given this fact, it is likely Frist will defer to House leadership on how to proceed.
For more information on how lobby reform legislation might impact the advocacy work of your organization, please contact me.
House-passed lobby reform legislation (H.R. 4975) would apply Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) restrictions to 527 organizations so that they can no longer raise unlimited amounts of money. However, the companion bill in the Senate (S. 2349) does not include any 527 language. A conference on these two bills is pending, and negotiators are said to have reconciled most of the differences between H.R. 4975 and S. 2349 except for that of 527 reform.
According to this morning’s Congress Daily, “House GOP leaders have urged their Senate counterparts to take up the lobbying reform conference report with the 527 language... to force Democrats to vote against the campaign finance changes and publicly prove the Senate does not have the necessary 60 votes to overcome Democratic opposition. The leaders would then send the bill back to conference to strip the 527 provision.”
One remaining question, though, is whether the votes are there in the House to approve a conference report without 527 language because it is one of the few provisions in the bill that has broad support among rank-and-file Republicans. Given this fact, it is likely Frist will defer to House leadership on how to proceed.
For more information on how lobby reform legislation might impact the advocacy work of your organization, please contact me.
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