David Obey: “I would simply say again, you cannot now use Federal dollars to lobby the Federal Government. That is existing law. All…”

“I would simply say again, you cannot now use Federal dollars to lobby the Federal Government. That is existing law. All the Istook proposition says is that to the Red Cross, the Boy Scouts, the Farmers' Union, Alzheimer's Association, Girl Scouts, the Epilepsy Foundation, churches and charities, you have got to go through this paperwork joke. It says to the giant contractors who spend billions of dollars in contracts with the Federal Government, no Washington ink is exempt. You do not have to worry about it, big boys. Mr. Chairman, I think the selectivity of this amendment is pernicious and it is cynical. It just seems to me that the best way to deal with this is to keep an even playing field, turn down this amendment. I think every Member of this House is a big enough boy or a big enough girl to handle a tough lobbying job from the Boy Scouts without having this kind of wasteful proposition intervene.”