Advocates Fault System Of Lobbying Disclosure

A common phenomenon in the lobbying world: firms report collecting money from clients while claiming on public disclosure forms that they did not contact any members of Congress or administration officials in return. A study to be released today by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics identifies 19,000 such lobbying reports over the past decade, totaling nearly $600 million in payments. The frequency of such reports is also increasing, the study shows, accounting for more than one out of 10 filings last year. Many lobbyists say the situations are attempts to be transparent even in cases in which firms end up doing no lobbying work during a given period.