Federal Lobbying: Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946 Is Ineffective

GAO discussed the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act, to determine: (1) the amount of receipts and expenditures reported by lobbyists; (2) whether lobbyists filed timely and complete reports; (3) whether people involved in lobbying were registering and reporting as required by the act; and (4) if additional measures could improve compliance with and administration of the act. GAO noted that: (1) 6,000 lobbyists reported total receipts of $233.8 million and total expenses of $76.2 million in 1989; (2) in 1989, lobbyists submitted 62 percent of the 32,009 quarterly reports late; (3) 85 percent of a random sample of initial registrations and 94 percent of quarterly reports were incomplete; (4) about 9,800 individuals and organizations involved in lobbying were not registered as lobbyists; (5) the lobby report form and some of its instructions were confusing and ambiguous; (6) in 16 of the 22 various receipt and expenditure categories listed on quarterly report forms, lobbyists often reported receiving or spending nothing; and (7) because there was no audit or examination of filers' records, there was uncertainty on whether the information reported was accurate.