We Can Implement ‘Arms Length Lobbying’

01/07/2006

Paul Munnis

Lobbying of our lawmakers is a disgrace as can be seen from the Jack Abramoff scandal and many more citations could be added to his example in order to solidify the assertion. The Lobbying process needs major reform.

We have the technology to permit “Arms Length Lobbying.” This is described as a ban on lobbyers from state and federal capitols and replacement of their personal communications with Internet communications via an architected interface. For example: for every piece of legislation that is to come before a legislative body, a data base of private comments could be established and a database of public comments could be established. Lobbyers who are registered could be permitted to input to the private database and the general public could input to the public database. Report generators could provide reports to lawmakers and their staff that they could read prior to voting.

In this manner needed input to lawmakers could arrive as text, audio or video data and the need to wine, dine, provide travel junkets, and offer overnight travel stays could end. Just fill out a database form, provide the desired attachments to make your position on pending legislation known, and then move-on.

This would do much for politicians’ peace of mind. It isn’t always fun to have your arm twisted by powerful personalities who carry implied political threats as a part of their message and it is often difficult to avoid such contact especially if they are heavyweights in your District. This way they can make their point and then move on. Telephone and video lobbying input can be recorded and added to the database as audio and video files.

Staffers would not mind having everything available for online inspection before advising their boss on the best voting options and the rational for their recommendation. Staffers would also be banned from dealing with lobbyers except through established interfaces.

Hearings would continue in committees as is done today and lobbyists could attend those meetings and make their positions known and to call attention to them. However the testimony to be given would first be placed into the database files. Committee Chairs would thus be spared “surprises” and the appearance would be for the benefit of the committee to cross examine a lobby representative.

Some might poo-poo this notion citing state-of-the-art limitations but that is in rapid improvement and storage costs are plunging. We are reaching a point where data processing costs and limits are no longer a factor nor is controlled access. Any new costs will be offset by savings in ethics violations and prosecutions. As for privacy, that is the point—the public has a right to know all considerations involved in legislation. Representative government is not based upon a web of secrecy nor shadow deals.

We need to formalize all approaches made to our lawmakers and to keep lobbying at arms length.