WASHINGTON-Wireless, telecom and high-tech sectors that spend an estimated $300 million a year to change the hearts and minds of congressmen, federal regulators and White House officials are unlikely to lose prized access to policymakers, with efforts to pass lobbying reform legislation showing signs of losing steam and direction.
Even so, the high-profile lobbying reform issue is not expected to go away. One reason: Some lawmakers are apt to be implicated in the government’s lobbying corruption probe as a result of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s plea deal with U.S. prosecutors.
Lobbying has been a strong suit of the wireless industry, which convinced Congress in 1993 to largely deregulate mobile phone carriers at the state level. Industry lobbyists also have persuaded lawmakers to champion countless other pro-cell phone measures over the past two decades. Less visible, but arguably as important, have been wireless lobbying victories in which Congress and federal regulators were dissuaded from taking action deemed detrimental to industry.
Banning lawmakers-turned-lobbyists from the House floor and House gym or prohibiting privately-financed travel by lawmakers are unlikely to slow the giant lobbying machine in the nation’s capital. Lobbying reform appears to be as much about damage control for Republicans-indeed, a reaction to the Abramoff lobbying scandal-as it is about altering the ingrained political money culture of official Washington. Democrats, with little apparent success, have attempted to gain political leverage from the lobbying fiasco. The problem is, Democrats have baggage of their own.
Abramoff, whose former law firm lobbied for the company contracted to improve in-building mobile phone coverage in the House and Senate, has close ties to former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). DeLay last month stepped down from his post under pressure from the GOP in the wake of political money laundering charges against him in Texas.
But that should not change DeLay’s status as a magnet for lobbyists. Last week, House GOP leaders gave DeLay a coveted seat on the appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Federal Communications Commission, the Commerce Department (including the National Telecommunications and Information Administration), the Justice Department, the State Department and other agencies.
Mobile phone companies do not appear alarmed about lobby reform activity on Capitol Hill.
“T-Mobile has always abided by the lobbying rules and will continue to do so if changes are made,” said Tom Sugrue, vice president of government affairs for T-Mobile USA Inc.
T-Mobile, according to lobbying disclosure records, spent $311,604 on lobbying in the first half of 2005. T-Mobile’s lobbying expenditure is relatively small compared with other wireless companies.
Wireless and other tech companies must file lobbying payments for the second half of 2005 on Feb. 14. Those reports covering the last six months of 2005 are expected to mirror the first six months of last year. According to PoliticalMoneyLine, a group that tracks political money, the amount of lobbying money spent by telecom, high-tech and media companies has steadily increased since 1998.
“Just as we do today, Sprint Nextel will abide by all lobbying rules, regulations or laws that are put in place,” said the nation’s No. 3 mobile phone carrier. Sprint Corp., before merging with Nextel Communications Inc., spent $569,000 in the first six months of 2005. Nextel, before joining forces with Sprint, spent more than $1.53 million in the same period.
The nation’s top cellular operator, Cingular Wireless L.L.C., was also the top spender among its peers, doling out $3.48 million on lobbying the first half of last year.
No. 2 Verizon Wireless ranked next in lobbying dollars, spending $1.42 million in the first half of 2005.
During that period, Motorola Inc., the largest U.S. cell phone vendor, spent $3.3 million on lobbying. Its competitor in the wireless infrastructure space, Lucent Technologies Inc., spent far less-$800,000-on lobbying during the first six months of last year. CDMA king Qualcomm Inc. spent $1.68 million on lobbying during the first half of last year. The trade group representing wireless and other telecom vendors-the Telecommunications Industry Association-spent $260,000 on lobbying during the same period.
CTIA, the cell phone trade group, spent $1.61 million on lobbying in the first half of 2005. Its wireline counterpart-the US Telecom Association-spent $11.44 million on lobbying in that time. Some USTA members are parent companies of CTIA members.
CTIA President Steve Largent said full and swift disclosure-not a myriad of new rules-is the key.
“I think there should be no rules with the exception of total disclosure,” said Largent. “I think there should be no rules on how much you pay for lunch or dinner or a show or whatever you want to do. But you have to disclose everything.”
Largent said disclosure within 48 hours is reasonable.
“From my experience, for 98 to 99 percent of the members of Congress, it is not an issue,” Largent said. “It is not even a problem because they are not up here to get a free dinner or a show. They are up here to work and do the people’s work. But every now and then you have an odd-ball. If you have a minimum amount of rules, but you enforce them tightly, that is what they need to do…I think the road they are going to go down is crazy and treats members of Congress as if they are children.”
Largent, a former congressman from Oklahoma, said he has not lobbied members on the House floor or in the House gym.
“If I felt like I wanted to talk to a member of Congress about an issue that we have in the wireless industry, I can make an appointment,” said Largent. “I can tell the member what I am coming for, what I want to talk about-that is where you conduct business. You don’t conduct business in the gym or especially on the House floor. That is not the purpose for the privilege.”
Washington reporter Heather Forsgren Weaver contributed to this report.
