Anti-lobbying rule limits federal managers

Federal managers shouldn't try to build grassroots support for legislative proposals, the Comptroller General warned in a recently published decision.

Members of Congress don't like it when federal employees lobby for bigger budgets or administration proposals, but laws prohibiting federal employees from lobbying are unclear about what exactly "lobbying" is. There's also no governmentwide anti-lobbying statute, so the language of prohibitions on the practice, often tucked into annual appropriations bills, varies from agency to agency.

In a decision that may help clear up some of the confusion, Comptroller General David Walker gave two specific examples of what not to do.

• Don't urge members of the public during a public meeting to contact Congress in support of funding.
• Don't launch a nationwide campaign to drum up public support for a budget proposal.

Last year, the Forest Service decided to educate the public about its new strategic plan, which included the legislative proposals. The agency's plan included public meetings and one-on-one meetings with stakeholders.

On March 20, 1998, the Huron-Manistee National Forests in Michigan held a public meeting to describe the plan and discuss road funding issues. According to the minutes of the meeting, the forest supervisor, in his closing remarks, said: "Let Congress know what our problems and solutions are. They need to know what is important to you."

Meanwhile, regional staff around the country met with stakeholders to discuss the strategic plan, including the proposed change to the way state payments are made.

According to reports the regional staff filed, "many" of the stakeholders the agency met with "indicated they may contact their congressional delegation with their comments." A school superintendent in Florida contacted by the Forest Service was reported to be "very excited; will make calls to local members of Congress to support."

Both examples are lobbying no-no's, Walker said. The Interior Appropriations bill prohibits "any activity or the publication or distribution of literature that in any way tends to promote public support or opposition to any legislative proposal on which congressional action is not complete."

"This Forest Service effort was comprised of just the sort of particularly egregious instances of agency lobbying through public information campaigns that we have held violate the Interior Department Appropriations restriction," the Comptroller General said.

Walker also found that Forest Service managers probably had no idea they were violating the law. The topic of lobbying is not mentioned in any of the documents related to the Forest Service public education plan. The agency should have educated its employees about anti-lobbying rules, Walker said.

The Comptroller General decision is Forest Service Violations of Section 303 of the 1998 Interior Department Appropriations, B-281637, May 14, 1999.