	Introduction

On December 19, 1995, the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) became law. Upon signing the LDA into law, President William Jefferson Clinton endorsed lobbying as a basic American right, while also providing context as to why such a law is necessary for a transparent and open government. Commenting on the disparity between the right of "ordinary Americans" to petition the government and the access that professional lobbyists can have to Members of Congress and executive branch decisionmakers, President Clinton identified a central question: how can individual citizens' rights be balanced against the desire to regulate and potentially control the access of special interests to government? This report provides a retrospective and prospective analysis of the LDA on its 20 th anniversary. This registration requires the public disclosure of certain lobbying activities. The four primary lobbying laws are
the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) of 1938; the Regulation of Lobbying Act (RLA) of 1946; the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995; and the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) of 2007. HLOGA was primarily a response to changes in both practice and perception. Since at least 1999, that data has been available online. If individuals are choosing not to register under the LDA and they continue to engage in lobbying activities, the decline in the number of registered lobbyists and the number of disclosure forms filed provides possible but not conclusive evidence that the number of shadow lobbyists is increasing. Grassroots Lobbying

Grassroots lobbying is the attempt to persuade policymakers by influencing public opinion and motivating citizens to take action, often by asking them to contact their Representatives and Senators. Revolving Door

On a regular basis, federal employees leave the government for private sector employment, while the government also hires former private sector employees for government jobs. Most prominently, 18 U.S.C. In Congress, post-employment restrictions are applied by the House and Senate respectively. The might lead to the acknowledgement that the federal government and private sector can both benefit when employees move between sectors. These might include amending the definition of lobbying, changing disclosure thresholds for registered lobbyists, adjusting resources, and maintaining current lobbying standards. Instead of amending the LDA or FARA, Congress could continue to use existing law to require lobbyist registration and disclosure. An analysis of the four key lobbying laws enacted since 1946 and scholarly work on lobbying raised three issues that have the potential to cause shifts in lobbying practices and perception: shadow lobbying, grassroots lobbying, and the revolving door. Should Congress wish to address these issues, several options exist. Should Congress decide to make changes to the LDA, it will likely be the result of new changes in the practice or perception of lobbying. 2.
On December 19, 1995, President William Jefferson Clinton signed the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) into law (2 U.S.C. §1601, et seq.). In his comments when signing the law, President Clinton identified a central question that continues to be an issue for lobbying laws: how can individual citizens' rights be balanced against the desire to regulate and potentially control the access of special interests to government? As lobbying laws have been developed in the United States, the balance between the right of "ordinary Americans" to petition the government and the access that professional lobbyists can have to Members of Congress and executive branch decisionmakers has been at the forefront.
The four major federal lobbying laws—the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938, the Regulation of Lobbying Act (RLA) of 1946, the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995, and the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) of 2007—were enacted in response to changes in practice or perception surrounding lobbying. In most cases, the enactment, repeal, or amendment of lobbying laws was a response to multiple contextual changes that provided a policy window in which change was possible.
This report provides an retrospective and prospective analysis of the LDA on its 20th anniversary, using research conducted and data collected by the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M capstone class over the 2014-2015 academic year. As the LDA turns 20, several issues, each already addressed to some extent in other statutes, have the potential to cause additional shifts in lobbying practices and perception. These include
Shadow lobbying—when an individual who is paid to engage public officials on behalf of clients does not register as a lobbyist. Shadow lobbying may raise questions about what practices and activities should trigger lobbyist registration requirements. Grassroots lobbying—attempts to persuade government decisionmakers and influence policy outcomes by shifting public opinion and motivating citizens to take action, often by contacting Representatives and Senators. Grassroots lobbying is generally unregulated, although legislation has been introduced in the past that would require grassroots lobbying activities be registered and disclosed. Revolving door—when federal employees leave the government for employment in the private sector or the government hires former private sector employees for government jobs. There are a number of post-employment restrictions that impose limits on federal employees moving to the private sector, or former lobbyists moving to the public sector. Analysis of whether current restrictions strike a suitable balance, are too restrictive, or too permissive, may be instructive.
As these issues evolve, Congress has many options available to potentially amend existing lobbying laws. These include options to
change the definition of lobbying; change disclosure thresholds for registered lobbyists; and adjust resources available for implementation and enforcement.
Additionally, Congress could choose not to amend existing lobbying laws and maintain current standards.