Bill Bennett: “My amendment is called the grassroots lobbying amendment. I have discussed it and its virtues at some length previously…”

“My amendment is called the grassroots lobbying amendment. I have discussed it and its virtues at some length previously during the period of debate, but I remind everyone what this is all about. This has to do with the regulations and reporting requirements placed on organizations that stimulate people to contact their Members of Congress. These organizations can be, and many times are, outside of Washington, DC. They can, and many times do, carry on their work without ever contacting a Member of Congress directly or participating in any of the activities we normally think of as lobbying. And yet, if an organization or an individual were to stimulate neighbors, Members of a fraternal organization, their bowling club--whatever it is--to try to get them active in the process of petitioning the Government, they run the risk of not registering properly because under the underlying bill, they are defined as lobbyists, and if they fail to fill out their forms properly, if they fail to register properly, they are subject to a $200,000 fine. The ACLU has said--in my opinion accurately--that this would have a chilling effect on all of these kinds of activities.”