Grass-roots Lobbying. During consideration of the ethics and lobbying overhaul bill (S. 1), Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah) offered this amendment that would strike Section 220, a provision that would subject grass-roots lobbying groups to strict disclosure requirements, from the bill. The bill caused a firestorm of controversy from grass-roots activists who saw this bill as a threat to the freedom of speech. Commenting on Section 220, LifeNews.com reported, “If this provision is enacted, many ordinary citizens will get less and less information from pro-life groups and other issue-oriented organizations about what is going on in Congress.”
The Senate adopted the Bennett amendment by a vote of 55-43 (Roll Call 17) on January 18, 2007. We have assigned pluses to the yeas because it would preserve the right of free speech for grass-roots organizations to inform the public about events on Capitol Hill without subjecting them to repressive regulatory controls.
