I spoke a bit too soon.

Rep. Istook and Rep. David McIntosh plan to offer a series of amendments
today, this time to the lobbying reform bill.

I think it is now clear that the worst of these amendments will be
defeated.  There may be a chance that some portion may be approved, which
would give Istook and McIntosh an opportunity to declare victory and walk
away.  I think it unlikely that anything will be passed that
would have any serious effect on museums -- but stay tuned.  (Not to be
too mysterious, the provision with the best chance of success would
forbid federal grants to 501(c)(4) advocacy groups with budgets over $3
million that lobby -- since no museum is a (c)(4), it wouldn't affect us,
although of course we still oppose it on principle.)

For people who want to contact their members of Congress to urge them to
vote against the Istook/McIntosh amendments, here is the basic message
that we are delivering:

"Please reject the Istook/McIntosh amendments on "taxpayer subsidized
political advocacy" to the lobbying reform bill.  While some of the worst
features of the original proposal have been removed, the sponsors still have
not been able to demonstrate the need for any legislative action at all.
Once and for all, current law *forbids the use of taxpayer funds for
lobbying*, and nobody has been able to demonstrate a single case of
uncorrected abuse."

House members can be reached by calling 202/225-3121 (although the
government shutdown may affect the Capitol switchboard); many have email
(see House gopher house.gov or website for addresses) or you can contact
me if you want current fax numbers.

Also, of course, please contact me if you have any questions on the
substance of the amendments (it's a bit of a "moving target," since the
sponsors redraft it about once a day!).

Andy Finch
[log in to unmask]
AAM Government Affairs
202/289-9125
FAX 289-6578