The 508(c)(1)(a) Initiative Workshop

V. Political Lobbying for Nonprofits
and Faith-Based Organizations
“Churches” (which is how the Internal Revenue Code describes all houses
of worship, including churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques), as
with all other public charities, can lobby. Federal tax law draws a
distinction between activities intended to influence public policy, and
campaigning for a specific candidate. Campaigning for a candidate is
strictly prohibited, while influencing the passage of legislation is allowed.
- See AFJ’s “Election Checklist for Houses of Worship” for more information on
what churches can and cannot do in the context of elections.
________
Lobbying in the United States
describes paid activity in which special
interests hire well-connected
professional advocates, often lawyers,
to argue for specific legislation in
decision-making bodies such as the
United States Congress. It is a highly
controversial phenomenon, often seen
in a negative light by journalists and the
American public. While lobbying is
subject to extensive and often complex
rules which, if not followed, can lead to
penalties including jail, the activity of
lobbying has been interpreted by court
rulings as free speech and is therefore
protected by the Constitution. Since the
1970s, lobbying activity has grown
immensely in terms of the numbers of
lobbyists and the size of lobbying
budgets, and has become the focus of
much criticism of American governance.
Since lobbying rules require extensive
disclosure, there is a large amount of
information in the public sphere about
which entities lobby, how, at whom, and
for how much. The current pattern
suggests much lobbying is done by
corporations although a wide variety of
coalitions representing diverse groups is
possible. Lobbying happens at every
level of government, including federal,
state, county, municipal, and even local
governments. In Washington, lobbying
usually targets congresspersons,
although there have been efforts to
influence executive agency officials as
well as Supreme Court appointments. It
has been the subject of academic
inquiry in various fields, including law,
public policy, and economics. While the
number of lobbyists in Washington is
over twelve thousand, those with real
clout number in the dozens, and a small
group of firms handles much of lobbying
in terms of expenditures. A report in The
Nation in 2014 suggested that while the
number of 12,281 registered lobbyists
was a decrease since 2002, lobbying
activity was increasing and "going
underground" as lobbyists use
"increasingly sophisticated strategies" to
obscure their activity. Analyst James
Thurber estimated that the actual
number of working lobbyists was close
to 100,000 and the industry brings in $9
billion annually.
Page 53 of 183