McCaskill Bill To Prohibit Lobbyists From Paying Line Placeholders At Hearings

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Ends pay-to-play tactics that shuts citizens out of observing legislative process

Even before dawn, professional "line standers," who are paid to hold a place in line for lobbyists attending Congressional hearings, filed into the Hart Senate Office Building after waiting outside for hours. All too often, the result is hearing rooms filled to capacity with lobbyists who paid a "line stander" for a seat, preventing citizens from observing the legislative process. Today, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill proposed legislation that would prohibit lobbyists from paying "line standers" by requiring the same disclosures and penalties associated with the gift ban included in the new ethics rules.

"This is not a private enterprise; this is not a concert; this is not an entertainment venue. This is a democracy. And if we don't make sure that every part of it is equally available to every American, then I think we have failed. I think the founding fathers would be, frankly, very embarrassed," McCaskill said.

Many of the "line standers" occupying the hallways outside of hearing rooms are employed through companies that pay upwards of $15 to $30 an hour, while charging lobbyists twice as much for their services. Freelance "line standers" can earn as much as $60 an hour to guarantee a seat in a hearing room for a lobbyist. The lobbyists' motivation is to secure prime real estate in the room with a goal of making eye contact with members of Congress. They believe that being seen in the front row will help members know who truly cares about the issue at hand, potentially giving a leg up to those lobbyists seeking to yield additional influence on votes.

The pay-to-play system of attending hearings is yet another example of where big money talks on Capitol Hill. It may not be the direct influence that once occurred when lobbyists were allowed to take members of Congress on junkets to foreign countries to play golf, but it is still an opportunity for lobbyists to have exclusive access to lawmakers, shutting citizens out of the system.

McCaskill's bill would close that loophole by making the practice of paying "line standers" an offense similar to offering gifts to members of Congress and their staff. In fact, it uses the same gift ban disclosure rules under the new ethics law and applies it to federal lobbyists and their firms and companies who hire lobbyists. Federal lobbyists must include on their disclosure forms a certification that they're aware of this prohibition and have not violated it. The penalties are also the same as those under the gift ban. Violators can face up to a $200,000 fine and up to 5 years in jail.

"I have no problem with lobbyist being in hearings, but they shouldn't be able to buy a seat," McCaskill said today. "It seems to me that if we are going to make sure lobbyists aren't buying meals for senators, and we are going to make sure lobbyists aren't buying elected officials gifts, then we ought to make sure they aren't buying seating at a public hearing."

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