We need to fight back, so I've released the most sweeping set of anti-corruption reforms since Watergate. Under my plan, we will end lobbying as we know it.
Corporate interests spend more on lobbying than we spend to fund both houses of Congress — $2.8 billion last year alone.
But corporate lobbyists also swarm our federal agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Corporate lobbyists are experts at killing widely popular policies behind closed doors. They've defended predatory financial advisors against new rules, made sure fossil fuel companies can continue emitting greenhouse gases, and helped payday lenders whisper into the ears of the Trump administration and cripple consumer protection rules. They'll do whatever it takes to maximize their profits — even if it comes at the expense of working people.
We need to fight back, so I've released the most sweeping set of anti-corruption reforms since Watergate. Under my plan, we will end lobbying as we know it.
My plan also calls for something unique — a new tax on excessive lobbying on every corporation and trade organization that spends over $500,000 per year on lobbying. Every dollar raised by the tax will be placed into a new Lobbying Defense Trust Fund dedicated to helping Congress and federal agencies fight back.
Companies that spend between $500,000 and $1 million per year on lobbying will pay a 35% tax on those expenditures. For every dollar above $1 million, the rate will increase to 60% — and for every dollar above $5 million, it will increase to 75%.
Some of the companies that would have to pay the tax? Koch Industries, Pfizer, Boeing, Microsoft, Walmart, and Exxon.
And nobody will be surprised that the top five industries that would have paid the highest lobbying taxes over the last ten years are: Big Pharma, health insurance companies, oil and gas companies, Wall Street firms, and electric utilities.
With the revenue from this new tax, we will establish a new Lobbying Defense Trust Fund, which will help our government fight back against the influence of lobbyists.
First, we'll use the Lobbying Defense Trust Fund to strengthen congressional support agencies. This lobbying tax revenue would help to reinstate the Office of Technology Assessment and increase the budget for agencies like the Congressional Budget Office.
Second, we'll give more money to federal agencies that are facing significant lobbying activity. Every time a company spends more than $500,000 lobbying against a rule, the taxes on that spending will go directly to the agency.
Third, revenue from the lobbying tax will help to establish a new Office of the Public Advocate. This office will help the American people engage with federal agencies and fight for the public interest in the rule-making process.
My new lobbying tax will make hiring armies of lobbyists significantly more expensive for the largest corporate influencers like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Boeing, and Comcast.
It's just one more example of the kind of big, structural change we need to put power back in the hands of the people — and break the grip that lobbyists have on our government for good.
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