Lobbying Disclosure Act LDA

Congress tried to regulate lobbying in 1946, but the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act was narrow and widely ignored. The Lobbying Disclosure Act, signed December 19, 1995, replaced it. It requires a person to register if they are paid to lobby, make more than one lobbying contact, and spend at least 20 percent of their time for a client on lobbying activities over three months. Firms and organizations register with the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate, which post the filings online.

Registrants file quarterly reports listing each client, the issues and bills they worked on, which chambers and agencies they contacted, and how much they were paid or spent, along with the names of individual lobbyists and any government jobs those lobbyists held. After the Jack Abramoff scandal, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 moved reports from twice a year to quarterly, required lobbyists to disclose their campaign contributions twice a year, and tightened gift and travel rules for members of Congress.

The reports are the basis for nearly all lobbying statistics, including the more than 5 billion dollars reported in 2025. But the law has gaps. Strategic advisers who avoid direct contacts or stay under the 20 percent threshold need not register, grassroots campaigns and state lobbying are not covered, and the Justice Department rarely prosecutes violations, though the Government Accountability Office audits compliance every year. Reform proposals would lower the threshold and cover more activities, while critics of expansion warn about burdening the right to petition.