Organizations and their lobbyists registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) must file electronic semiannual reports disclosing their political and similar contributions, and certifying adherence to the new 2011 congressional gift and travel rules.

A. Tracking and reporting contributions

The semiannual report requires registered organizations and lobbyists to disclose the dates, amount of contributions and recipients of: 

• Political contributions totaling $200 or more to a federal candidate or party within the six-month period;
• Contributions for events to honor or recognize covered* legislative and executive branch officials; for entities named for or established, financed, maintained or controlled by such officials; for entities designated by such officials; or meetings or retreats held by or in the name of such officials; and
• Contributions of over $200 to a presidential library or presidential inaugural committee.

Each individual lobbyist must keep track of his or her own contributions. If the organization reimburses an individual lobbyist for a reportable contribution, the organization reports the expense on its report, not the lobbyist.

Types of Contribution
Events to honor or recognize
Expenses for events to honor or recognize a covered official need only be reported if:
a) the official receives special honor or recognition, and
b) the organization or the lobbyist is the sponsor of the event.

Who is a sponsor? A sponsor is the person or persons who are primarily responsible for organizing the event or who pay the cost of the event. According to the LDA Guidance, a lobbyist or registrant would only need to report their expenses for the event if they: 1) undertake activities that would make them a sponsor of the event, or 2) purchase enough tickets/tables at an event so that it appears they are paying the costs of the event.

What expenses are reportable? Sponsors must report all expenses for these events, including payments to third parties, such as for costs of room rental and food.

Note: If an organization is not the sponsor of an event, it is not required to disclose costs for attending events to honor or recognize an official.

Entities designated by covered officials
Report contributions that are made to an entity designated by the covered* official, for example a contribution in lieu of speaking honoraria that is directed to a specific charity by a covered official. The Guidance notes, however, that a contribution following a mere statement of support or solicitation does not necessarily constitute a reportable event under Section 203 of the Act without some further role by a covered official. Before making these types of contributions, IS recommends checking with the House Ethics Committee and Senate Ethics Committee to make sure they are permissible.

Monitoring contributions within your organization
(1) Send an email to the heads of each department (or any one in the organization authorized to approve expenses or reimbursements) every six months asking whether they approved any expenditures of the type that must be reported on the contribution report; and

(2) Ask your finance department one month prior to filing the report whether there were any organization expenditures during the six-month period that fit the reportable contribution types listed above.

B. Certification
Who certifies that the organization is familiar with/has followed the gift and travel rules?
According to LDA guidance: “…in the case of a registrant, a signatory is an individual who is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained in the filing.”

What does the certification mean for an organization?
The need for familiarity with the gift and travel rules will vary depending on the employee’s job description or his or her degree of interactions with members of Congress or staff. Here are methods that may be appropriate for your organization.

(1) All staff: Depending on the size of your organization, staff could be informed of the rules through a general posting, briefing, or provided a summary of the gift and travel rules via email and asked to acknowledge that they have read the summary and have complied with the rules.

(2) Public policy staff may need to attend a briefing on how the gift and travel rules impact their activities, in addition to an all-staff message.

(3) Lobbyists for the organization should be expected to review and understand the rules. Organizations should consider providing their lobbyists with a summary as well as with complete copies of the gift and travel rules. The lobbyists should also be included in any briefings and all-staff email communications.

C. Record-keeping
Organizations should keep copies of LD-203 reports filed by their individual in-house lobbyists in addition to the organization’s report. Keep copies of these reports in the organization’s central files as well as with the department’s files.

Resources
Guidance (PDF) on the quarterly lobbying reports and the LD-203 contributions report.
Summary of House gift rule
Senate Ethics Manual

* Covered legislative branch officials include: Members of Congress and their staff; committee, leadership and caucus employees; employees of the Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the House.

Covered executive branch officials include: the President and Vice President, Cabinet-level officials and their immediate deputies; officials serving in an Executive Level I-V position; generals and admirals of the uniformed services; and Schedule C appointees and some of their support staff (in policy-making positions).

Last Updated: June 30 , 2009