We must act quickly to make our economy run on renewable power — and ensure that disadvantaged families and displaced workers share equitably in the new economy. We also must fight the corrupting power of fossil fuel companies and ensure that energy regulators are effective and publicly accountable. Litigation can remedy or deter wrongdoing, impact policy and meaningfully slow abuses of power. Whether suing on behalf of our members to ensure the honest functioning of government, or representing individual consumers seeking redress in court, our litigation draws on our expertise in administrative law, constitutional law, and government transparency.
Lobbying provides lawmakers with valuable knowledge of societal problems and points the way to potential solutions. However, when the lobbying profession becomes too closely tied to money, it can lead to corruption. Meaningful lobbying reform should protect the right of all persons to lobby but attempt to break the potentially corrupting nexus between lobbyists, money and lawmakers.
Undue influence-peddling — in which special interests may exercise too much sway over public policy for self-serving purposes, can be a real problem for a democratic society. Democratic government requires legitimacy to function properly, and legitimacy comes from the trust and support of its citizenry.
Any widespread perception of undue influence-peddling in government pokes holes in the fabric of that legitimacy. In democratic societies, the rise of the profession of lobbyists — especially lobbyists whom are well compensated to represent special interests — has challenged this perception of governmental legitimacy. In some European democracies where public cynicism in the integrity of government is not so strong, carefully planned and administered efforts by lobbyists and their lobbying associations to abide by principles of transparent and honest policy-making may well be sufficient.
The meaningful lobby reforms that Public Citizen advocates include a strong set of measures to rein in undue influence peddling. But today, wealthy special interests and their lobbyists have thrown our system out of balance.
They make the rules, they set the agenda, and they do it by drowning out average citizens. In Nebraska, we know that well-connected insiders have more access to our elected officials and can exert much more influence than the rest of us. A two year cooling-off period between being a legislator and a lobbyist. Better disclosure of food and drink gifts to policymakers which currently reported as a lump sum.
Professor and former CCPS Director James Thurber is working on an analysis of the changes in strategies and tactics of lobbying under the Trump administration. He addresses the following questions: Have there been major changes in lobbying since the election of President Trump? Is he implementing his new code of ethics related to lobbying?
What are the major ethical and legal issues associated with the Trump administration and lobbying? He has also focused on analysis of and reforms in the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
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