"We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate."
 -- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
 

If you need help filing your lobbying disclosure forms, we suggest Beth Anne Cole, who has more than 12 years of experience filing federal lobbying disclosures for lobbying firms, individual lobbyists, corporations and startup companies. She files all registrations, as required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), including quarterly reports and LD-203 contribution reports. If you are new to lobbying, she can help you register with the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, submit any new registrations, and file quarterly reports. She also has experience with GAO audits, and receives annual training on LDA compliance. Beth Anne can be contacted by email at bethannec -at- gmail.com, or by phone at 202-329-1983.

The links below are from "Lobbying and Advocacy," by Deanna Gelak.

• The Constitution of the United States

• FREE Pocket Constitution

• Architect of the Capitol

  • Capitol Visitor Center

  • The Statue of Freedom

  • The United States Capitol: An Overview of the Building and Its Function

• Biographical Directory of the United State Congress - 1774 - Present

• Budget of the United States Government

• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

• Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

• Congressional Record: Thomas | GPO

• Dept. of Justice, Foreign Agents Registration Unit (FARA)

• Earmarks database - from OMB

• Election Assistance Commission

• Executive Orders (EO)

• Federal Election Commission (FEC)

  • Brochures

  • Contributions

  • Contribution Limits (chart)

  • Publications

  • Laws and Regulations

    • "Federal Election Campaign Laws," Compiled by The Federal Election Commission  (244 page PDF)

  • Quick Answers to PAC Questions

  • Special Notices on Political Ads and Solicitations (also available as a 12-page PDF )

• Federal Register (FR)

• Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit, DoJ

• Forms

  • LD-1 and LD-2 must be filed electronically and are platform dependent: Windows or Mac

  • LD-2 Instructions (6-page PDF)

  • LD-203 is required to be file by by July 30 and January 30 each year, beginning July 30, 2008.

  • Lobbying Disclosure Act (and forms) Guidance - by the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House (27 page PDF)

• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Tax Information for Charities & Other Non-Profits

  • Political and Lobbying Activities

    • "Political Campaign and Lobbying Activities of IRC 501(c)(4), (c)(5), and (c)(6) Organizations," by John Francis Reilly and Barbara A. Braig Allen, 2003 EO CPE Text  (66-page PDF)

    • Political Campaign Intervention by 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations - Educating Exempt Organizations

    • The Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations

    • Revenue Ruling 2007-41, 2007-25 I.R.B., Exempt organizations; political campaigns, June 18, 2007  (6-page PDF)

  • Political Organizations - Resource Materials

    • Common Tax Law Restrictions on Activities of Exempt Organizations (chart)

    • Revenue Ruling 2004-6, 2004-4 I.R.B. 328: Clarifying the tax implications of political activities by section 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, January 26, 2004  (5-page PDF)

    • Tax Information for Political Organizations

      • Political Organization Filing and Disclosure (including Forms 8871 and 8872)

      • Section 527 Filing Requirements 

• nationalatlas.gov - from the Dept. of the Interior

• Office of Government Ethics (US OGE)

• Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

  • Salary Tables and Related Information

• Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

  • Earmarks database

  • Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)

    • OIRA Reports to Congress

  • OMB Reports

  • Statements of Administration Policy on Non-Appropriations and Appropriations Bills (SAP)

• Office of Special Counsel

  • Hatch Act for Federal Employees

• Plum Book (United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions) - OPM

• Public Law Electronic Notification Service (PENS)

• Regulations.gov - from USA.gov ("includes regulations that are open for public comment (i.e., proposed) and closed for comment (i.e., final).")

• State of the Union

  • Video and transcript archive on C-SPAN

• Supreme Court of the United States

• The Unified Agenda (aka Semiannual Regulatory Agenda)

• The World Factbook - from the CIA

• THOMAS - U.S. Legislative Information on the Internet

• USASpending.gov - "Where Americans Can See Where Their Money Goes"

• U.S. Government Manual

• U.S. House of Representatives

  • Committees

    • Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

      • 2008 House Ethics Manual (456-page PDF)

      • Code of Official Conduct

      • Financial Disclosure

      • Highlights of the House Ethics Rules (15-page PDF)

      • The House Gift Rule

  • Office of the Clerk

    • Guide to The Lobbying Disclosure Act

    • Public Disclosure and Lobbying Registrations

  • How Our Laws Are Made (also available as a 67-page PDF )

  • Leadership   (page from TheCapitol.Net)

    • Democratic Leader | Whip | Caucus

    • Republican Leader | Whip | Conference

    • Speaker

  • Rules of the House of Representatives 

    • The Outside Earned Income Limitation Applicable to Members and Senior Staff
      (Rule 25, Limitations on Outside Earned Income and the Acceptance of Gifts (5-page PDF))

    • Also see "Memorandum for All Members, Officers, and Employees: Holiday Guidance on the Gift Rule," from the House Committee on Ethics, December 9, 2011 (8-page PDF)

• U.S. Senate

  • Committees

  • Leadership  (page from TheCapitol.Net)

    • Democratic Leadership | Policy Committee | Senatorial Campaign Committee

    • Republican Leadership | Policy Committee | Senatorial Committee

  • Lobbying Disclosure

  • Office of Public Records

  • Secretary of the Senate

  • Senate Ethics Committee

  • Standing Rules of the Senate

    • Rule 35, Gifts

    • Rule 37, Conflict of Interest

• Unified Agenda (aka Semiannual Regulatory Agenda)

• White House (also see OMB and OIRA, above)

  • Executive Orders

  • President's Budget
     

• See also:

  • Congress by the Numbers

  • Congressional Leadership

  • Federal Budget Links and Research Tools

  • Legislative Glossary

• Courses

  • Advanced Legislative Procedure

  • Capitol Hill Day - custom training

  • Media Training

  • Drafting Effective Federal Legislation and Amendments

  • Preparing and Delivering Congressional Testimony

  • Speechwriting: Preparing Speeches and Oral Presentations

  • Tracking and Monitoring Legislation

  • Working with Congress and Congressional Staff: Communicating Effectively with Capitol Hill
     

Capitol Learning Audio Courses

• Drafting Effective Federal Legislation and Amendments in a Nutshell

• Effectively Using Persuasion in Your Oral Presentations: A Trial Lawyer's Perspective

• How to Organize a Capitol Hill Day

• How to Work the Hill Like a Pro

• Keys to Effective Presentations: Invigorate Your Delivery and Increase Your Confidence

• Making the Most of a Site Visit with a Member of Congress

• PACS in a Nutshell

• Researching Federal Legislative Histories: Bills, Resolutions, Committee Hearings, and Committee Reports

• Researching Legislative Histories: Finding Legislative Intent in Bills and Committee and Conference Reports

• Researching Federal Legislative Histories: Statutory and Code Research

• Statutory Construction: A Primer on How to Read and Understand Statutory Text

• Strategies and Tactics That Will Help You Impact Congressional Action
  

• Publications

  • Congressional Deskbook

  • Congressional Directory

  • Federal Regulatory Process Poster

  • How to monitor and influence policy at the federal level Chart

  • Lobbying and Advocacy

  • Media Relations Handbook

  • Persuading Congress

  • Real World Research Skills

  • Testifying Before Congress

back to top

• Congress by the Numbers

• Congress - Published Schedules

• Congressional documents online

• Congressional Leadership and Committees

• Essential PAC Web Sites

• Essential Washington and Hill web sites

• Federal Budget Links and Research Tools

• Glossary of Congressional and Legislative Terms

• Leadership of Congress

• Legislation and legislatures

• Legislative Glossary

• Pay and Perquisites of Members of Congress

• What's the deal with...?

• Visiting Washington, DC

back to top
 

• "Campaign Finance Legislation in the 108th Congress," CRS Report RL32650

• "Churches and Campaign Activity: Analysis Under the Tax and Campaign Finance Laws," CRS Report RL34447

• "Churches and Campaign Activity: Analysis of Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act and Similar Legislation," CRS Report RL32973

• "Comparison of Selected Senate Earmark Reform Proposals," CRS Report RL33295

• "Congressional Gifts and Travel: Legislative Proposals for the 109th Congress," CRS Report RL33237

• "Congressional Gifts and Travel, Legislative Proposals for the 109th Congress," CRS Report RS22317

• "'Dear Colleague' Letters: A Brief Overview," CRS Report RS21667

• "DOE Budget Earmarks: A Selective Look at Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy R&D Programs," CRS Report RL33294

• "Lobbying and Ethics Rules Changes in the 110th Congress," CRS Report RL34166

• "Lobbying and Related Reform Proposals: Consideration of Selected Measures, 109th Congress," CRS Report RL33293

• "Lobbying Congress: An Overview of Legal Provisions and Congressional Ethics Rules," CRS Report RL31126

• "Lobbying Disclosure and Ethics Proposals Related to Lobbying Introduced in the 109th Congress: A Comparative Analysis," CRS Report RL33234

• "Lobbying Registration and Disclosure: Before and After the Enactment of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007," CRS Report R40245, April 22, 2011 (20-page PDF)

• "Lobbying the Executive Branch: Current Practices and Options for Change," CRS Report R40947 (Also see "A Closer Look at CRS's Recent Report "Lobbying and the Executive Branch," by Daniel Schuman, Sunlight Foundation, December 4, 2009, and "CRS Report on Lobbying Rules," by Amanda Adams, CFG, December 9, 2009)

• "Lobbyists and Interest Groups: Sources of Information," CRS Report RS20725

• "The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress," CRS Report R41542

back to top

• Election Law Blog - Rick Hasen

• Election Law @ Moritz - Moritz College of Law, Ohio State

• Nonprofit & Foundation Advocacy Blog - Alliance for Justice

• Political Activity Law - Eric Brown

• Supreme Court of the United States Blog (SCOTUSBLOG) - from Akin Gump

• Votelaw - Edward Still
   

• American League of Lobbyists (ALL)

  • Code of Ethics

• C-SPAN

  • C-SPAN Archives

• capitolhearings.org - live coverage of Senate (audio) and links to House Committee hearings (audio and video), from C-SPAN

• Center for Public Integrity - "nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization in Washington that concentrates on ethics and public service issues."

• Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW)

• Congress: Email your Senator and your Representative

• Congress.org

• Congressional Management Foundation (CMF)

• Economic Research Institute (ERI)

  • Nonprofit Organization Information - including Form 990 search

  • Nonprofit Salaries

• Federal News Service

• Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)

• GuideStar - nonprofits information

• Investigative Research Specialists

  • Research Starting Points

• KnowWho (cookies required)

• LegiStorm - congressional salary information

• Lobbying: The Basics - from The Democracy Center

• National Whistleblower Center

• Nonprofit Advocacy and Lobbying - from Independent Sector

• OnTheIssues - "Every Political Leader on Every Issue"

• OpenCongress

• opencrs - "Congressional Research Reports for the People"

• OpenSecrets.org - "The online source for money in politics." From the Center for Responsive Politics.  Highly Recommended  Includes:

  • PAC donations with links to FEC records by PAC

• Political Advocacy Groups, a large list from Kathi Carlisle Fountain, Political Science Librarian at Washington State University Vancouver Library  Recommended  

• Politico - Lobbying

• PR Newswire

• Project Vote Smart - biographical information on elected officials

• Roll Call

• Special Libraries Association (SLA)

• The Center for Public Integrity

• The Hill

• Trade Associations - from USA.gov

• United States Capitol Historical Society (USCHS)

• What You Should Know as a Federal Employee, Contractor, Cooperative Agreement Participant, or Grantee - from the Dept. of Energy

back to top

• ASAE CareerHQ.org

• associationjobs.com

• Federal Government: Salary Tables - from OPM

• LegiStorm - congressional salary information

• Opportunities in Public Affairs

• Public Affairs Council Job Openings

• Roll Call Jobs

• Washington Post Jobs

• "Less Than Half of U.S. Workers Know or are Committed to Their Organization's Goals," FranklinCovey, PRNewswire, March 15, 2004

back to top

• American Research Group

  • Margin of Error Calculator

  • Sample Size Calculator

• Gallup

  • Gallup Brain - "a searchable, living record of more than 70 years of public opinion"

• Mason-Dixon Polling and Research

• The Note - ABC News

• OnTheIssues - "Every Political Leader on Every Issue"

• the polling company

• PollingReport.com

• Quinnipiac University Polling Institute

• Rasmussen Reports

• Survey USA

• Voting Record / Ratings

  • American Conservative Union

  • National Journal

back to top
 

• Media Relations Handbook

• Bacon's Media Directories

• Business Wire

• Burrelle's Media Directory

• C-SPAN Archives

  • C-SPAN Congressional Chronicle - "index to the C-SPAN video recordings of the House and Senate floor proceedings"

• C-SPAN Media Guide

• Gebbie Press

• News Media Yellow Book

• PR Newswire

• State Newspaper List

• Toastmasters

• US Newspaper List

• Yahoo - News and Media

• Society of Professional Journalists

  • Code of Ethics (also available as a 1-page PDF )

back to top

 

• Advocacy Handbooks

  • Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials

  • Lobbying and Advocacy

  • Persuading Congress

  • Pocket Guide to Advocacy on Capitol Hill

• American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)

• Council of State Governments (CSG)

• Government - States from Hieros Gamos

• International City/County Management Association (ICMA)

• Links to State and Local Resources - from USA.gov

  • American Hometowns - Cities, Counties and Towns

  • Local Governments

  • State Government

  • Tribal Governments

• MultiState Associates

• National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL)

• National Association of Counties (NACo)

  • Find a County

• National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

• National Governors Association (NGA)

• National Institute on Money in State Politics (FollowTheMoney.org)

• National League of Cities (NLC)

• Secretaries of State Contact Information - from the National Association of Secretaries of State

• State and Local Government on the Net - Highly Recommended

• State and Local Governments - links from The Library of Congress

• Stateline.org - Funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts

• State Services Organization (SSO)

• StateScape

  • State Legislature and Legislation Links

  • State Newspapers

• Stateside Associates

• U.S. Conference of Mayors

back to top

See also our list of political books and government classics

 

Lobbying and Advocacy	Testifying Before Congress	Persuading Congress	Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials
Congressional Deskbook	Legislative Drafter's Deskbook	Congressional Directory	Media Relations Handbook

 

The Almanac of American Politics	Politics in America	State Rankings	Washington Information Directory (WID)
The Almanac of the Unelected	CQ Federal Staff Directory	Washington Representatives	National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States
back to top
Federal Yellow Book	Lobbying, PACs, Campaign Finance: 50 State Handbook	United States Government Manual	The Lobbying Manual: A Complete Guide to Federal Law Governing Lawyers and Lobbyists
back to top
Yale Book of Quotations	The Business Writer's Handbook	On Writing Well	Elements of Style
Basic Interests	Interest Group Politics	The Interest Group Connection: Electioneering, Lobbying, and Policymaking in Washington	Interest Group Society
back to top
The Book of the States	The Council of State Governments State Directory	The Logic of Collective Action	The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities
The Lobbying and Advocacy Handbook for Nonprofit Organizations	Public Affairs in Practice	Total Lobbying	The Third House
back to top
Sam Smith's Great American Political Repair Manual	Cities and the Wealth of Nations	Semisovereign People	Who Governs?
The United States Capitol	The Library of Congress	3D Puzzle: U.S. Capitol Building	The White House, the Capitol, and the Supreme Court
back to top
Glen Brown's History of the United States Capitol	The United States Capitol	The United States Capitol	American Pantheon
The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson	The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power	The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent	The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate
back to top
The Safe Hiring Manual: The Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Imposters and Terrorists Out of Your Workplace	The Complete Reference Checking Handbook	Legal, Effective References: How to Give and Get Them	Reference Checking for Everyone: How to Find Out Everything You Need to Know About Anyone
Managing Conflict with Direct Reports	Managing Difficult People: A Survival Guide For Handling Any Employee	Working With Emotional Intelligence	Perfect Phrases for Building Strong Teams
Getting Things Done	Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done	The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People	Boundaries: When to Say YES, When to Say NO, To Take Control of Your Life

Related Resources

Live Courses

Drafting Effective Federal Legislation and Amendments
 

Capitol Hill Workshop

Tracking and Monitoring Legislation: How to Find and Use Congressional Documents 

How to Research and Compile Legislative Histories: Searching for Legislative Intent

Audio Courses



 

Publications