Obama's claim to not work with lobbyists has a catch: they simply don't register

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) formally requested an investigation by the acting United States Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Esq., into the potentially illegal lobbying activities of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Treasurer and Change to Win Chairwoman Anna Burger.

The groups filled their first lobbying investigation request with the U.S. Attorney's office and key Congressional offices on November 13th against SEIU President Andy Stern. The Secretary of the U.S. Senate, Nancy Erickson, has notified Andy Stern of the groups' complaint and a response from SEIU has yet to be seen.

In their most recent effort, ATR & AWF claim the SEIU's LM-2 mandatory financial disclosure forms filled with the Department of Labor seem to indicate otherwise. A letter delivered today and available on their websites, ATR President Grover Norquist and AWF Executive Director Brian Johnson wrote:

LM-2 forms from 2007 and 2006, both years when Ms. Burger was a registered lobbyist, reveal that she spent well over 20 percent of her time on politics and lobbying. Yet after de-listing, Burger reported spending an even larger amount of her time, 37 percent, on politics and lobbying activity.

"Given her role as the head of the Change to Win Federation, her senior position with SEIU, and her appointment to Obama's Economic Recovery board, Burger is almost certain to have had enough contact with covered officials during relevant reporting periods to cause her to legally have to re-register," said Norquist. "Now, she is heading to the White House to participate in a jobs summit. I guess one way Obama can still work with lobbyists is to just have them not follow the same rules as everyone else - seems like politics as usual," Johnson added.

The full letter can be viewed on www.atr.org and www.workerfreedom.org.

Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) is a special project of Americans for Tax Reform dedicated to the protection of workers rights.

SOURCE Alliance for Worker Freedom

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RELATED LINKS
http://www.atr.org/
http://www.workerfreedom.org/