2 U.S.C. § 1611 — Exempt organizations

Page 372 TITLE 2—THE CONGRESS § 1610 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 691, known as the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of this title and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as a note under section 1601 of this title. § 1610. Estimates based on tax reporting system (a) Entities covered by section 6033(b) of title 26 A person, other than a lobbying firm, that is required to report and does report lobbying ex- penditures pursuant to section 6033(b)(8) of title 26 may— (1) make a good faith estimate (by category of dollar value) of applicable amounts that would be required to be disclosed under such section for the appropriate quarterly period to meet the requirements of sections 1603(a)(3) and 1604(b)(4) of this title; and (2) for all other purposes consider as lob- bying contacts and lobbying activities only— (A) lobbying contacts with covered legisla- tive branch officials (as defined in section 1602(4) of this title) and lobbying activities in support of such contacts; and (B) lobbying of Federal executive branch officials to the extent that such activities are influencing legislation as defined in sec- tion 4911(d) of title 26. (b) Entities covered by section 162(e) of title 26 A person, other than a lobbying firm, who is required to account and does account for lob- bying expenditures pursuant to section 162(e) of title 26 may— (1) make a good faith estimate (by category of dollar value) of applicable amounts that would not be deductible pursuant to such sec- tion for the appropriate quarterly period to meet the requirements of sections 1603(a)(3) and 1604(b)(4) of this title; and (2) for all other purposes consider as lob- bying contacts and lobbying activities only— (A) lobbying contacts with covered legisla- tive branch officials (as defined in section 1602(4) of this title) and lobbying activities in support of such contacts; and (B) lobbying of Federal executive branch officials to the extent that amounts paid or costs incurred in connection with such ac- tivities are not deductible pursuant to sec- tion 162(e) of title 26. (c) Disclosure of estimate Any registrant that elects to make estimates required by this chapter under the procedures authorized by subsection (a) or (b) for reporting or threshold purposes shall— (1) inform the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives that the registrant has elected to make its esti- mates under such procedures; and (2) make all such estimates, in a given cal- endar year, under such procedures. (d) Study Not later than March 31, 1997, the Comptroller General of the United States shall review re- porting by registrants under subsections (a) and (b) and report to the Congress— (1) the differences between the definition of ‘‘lobbying activities’’ in section 1602(7) of this title and the definitions of ‘‘lobbying expendi- tures’’, ‘‘influencing legislation’’, and related terms in sections 162(e) and 4911 of title 26, as each are implemented by regulations; (2) the impact that any such differences may have on filing and reporting under this chapter pursuant to this subsection; and (3) any changes to this chapter or to the ap- propriate sections of title 26 that the Comp- troller General may recommend to harmonize the definitions. (Pub. L. 104–65, § 15, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 702; Pub. L. 105–166, § 4(a), (b), Apr. 6, 1998, 112 Stat. 38; Pub. L. 110–81, title II, § 201(b)(4), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 742.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (c) and (d)(2), (3), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’ meaning Pub. L. 104–65, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 691, known as the Lobbying Dis- closure Act of 1995. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under sec- tion 1601 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2007—Subsecs. (a)(1), (b)(1). Pub. L. 110–81 substituted ‘‘quarterly period’’ for ‘‘semiannual period’’. 1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–166, § 4(a)(1), in introduc- tory provisions, substituted ‘‘A person, other than a lobbying firm,’’ for ‘‘A registrant’’. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 105–166, § 4(a)(2), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as fol- lows: ‘‘in lieu of using the definition of ‘lobbying ac- tivities’ in section 1602(7) of this title, consider as lob- bying activities only those activities that are influ- encing legislation as defined in section 4911(d) of title 26.’’ Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–166, § 4(b)(1), in introductory provisions, substituted ‘‘A person, other than a lob- bying firm, who is required to account and does ac- count for lobbying expenditures pursuant to’’ for ‘‘A registrant that is subject to’’. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 105–166, § 4(b)(2), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as fol- lows: ‘‘in lieu of using the definition of ‘lobbying ac- tivities’ in section 1602(7) of this title, consider as lob- bying activities only those activities, the costs of which are not deductible pursuant to section 162(e) of title 26.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2007 AMENDMENT Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) hav- ing an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under sec- tion 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as a note under section 1601 of this title. § 1611. Exempt organizations An organization described in section 501(c)(4) of title 26 which engages in lobbying activities Page 373 TITLE 2—THE CONGRESS § 1614 shall not be eligible for the receipt of Federal funds constituting an award, grant, or loan. (Pub. L. 104–65, § 18, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 703; Pub. L. 104–99, title I, § 129(a), Jan. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 34.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1996—Pub. L. 104–99 substituted ‘‘award, grant, or loan’’ for ‘‘award, grant, contract, loan, or any other form’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 104–99, title I, § 129(b), Jan. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 34, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect as if in- cluded in the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 [Pub. L. 104–65] on the date of the enactment of such Act [Dec. 19, 1995].’’ [For provision that notwithstanding section 106 of Pub. L. 104–99 [110 Stat. 27], section 129 of Pub. L. 104–99 [see above] to remain in effect as if enacted as part of Pub. L. 104–134, see section 21103 of Pub. L. 104–134, set out as a note following note captioned 501 First Street SE., District of Columbia; Disposal of Real Property, under section 2001 of this title]. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as a note under section 1601 of this title. § 1612. Sense of Senate that lobbying expenses should remain nondeductible (a) Findings The Senate finds that ordinary Americans generally are not allowed to deduct the costs of communicating with their elected representa- tives. (b) Sense of Senate It is the sense of the Senate that lobbying ex- penses should not be tax deductible. (Pub. L. 104–65, § 23, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 705.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as a note under section 1601 of this title. § 1613. Prohibition on provision of gifts or travel by registered lobbyists to Members of Con- gress and to congressional employees (a) Prohibition Any person described in subsection (b) may not make a gift or provide travel to a covered legislative branch official if the person has knowledge that the gift or travel may not be ac- cepted by that covered legislative branch offi- cial under the Rules of the House of Representa- tives or the Standing Rules of the Senate (as the case may be). (b) Persons subject to prohibition The persons subject to the prohibition under subsection (a) are any lobbyist that is registered or is required to register under section 1603(a)(1) of this title, any organization that employs 1 or more lobbyists and is registered or is required to register under section 1603(a)(2) of this title, and any employee listed or required to be listed as a lobbyist by a registrant under section 1603(b)(6) or 1604(b)(2)(C) of this title. (Pub. L. 104–65, § 25, as added Pub. L. 110–81, title II, § 206(a), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 747.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 110–81, title II, § 206(b), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 747, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by this sec- tion [enacting this section] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 14, 2007].’’ § 1614. Annual audits and reports by Comptroller General (a) Audit On an annual basis, the Comptroller General shall audit the extent of compliance or non- compliance with the requirements of this chap- ter by lobbyists, lobbying firms, and registrants through a random sampling of publicly available lobbying registrations and reports filed under this chapter during each calendar year. (b) Reports to Congress (1) Annual reports Not later than April 1 of each year, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Con- gress a report on the review required by sub- section (a) for the preceding calendar year. The report shall include the Comptroller Gen- eral’s assessment of the matters required to be emphasized by that subsection and any rec- ommendations of the Comptroller General to— (A) improve the compliance by lobbyists, lobbying firms, and registrants with the re- quirements of this chapter; and (B) provide the Department of Justice with the resources and authorities needed for the effective enforcement of this chapter. (2) Assessment of compliance The annual report under paragraph (1) shall include an assessment of compliance by reg- istrants with the requirements of section 1603(b)(3) of this title. (c) Access to information The Comptroller General may, in carrying out this section, request information from and ac- cess to any relevant documents from any person registered under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 1603(a) of this title and each employee who is listed as a lobbyist under section 1603(b)(6) of this title or section 1604(b)(2)(C) of this title if the material requested relates to the purposes of this section. The Comptroller General may re- quest such person to submit in writing such in- formation as the Comptroller General may pre- scribe. The Comptroller General may notify the Congress in writing if a person from whom infor- mation has been requested under this subsection refuses to comply with the request within 45 days after the request is made. (Pub. L. 104–65, § 26, as added Pub. L. 110–81, title II, § 213(a), Sept. 14, 2007, 121 Stat. 750.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b)(1), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’ meaning Pub. L. 104–65, Dec.