Universities Get Free Pass on New House Ethics Rules
Lobbying Lawmakers, Federal Agencies Wins Universities Goodies
By Fredreka Schouten
USA Today
March 8, 2007
WASHINGTON — New House ethics rules that restrict lobbyist-funded travel exempt trips paid for by colleges and universities, a powerful lobbying force in Washington.
Colleges, universities and other higher-education groups spent at least $75 million on federal lobbying efforts in 2005, and more than $900,000 on travel for lawmakers since 2000, according to a USA TODAY analysis of travel and lobbying reports compiled by non-partisan data-tracking firms.
ACADEMIC LOBBYING: Lobbying lawmakers, federal agencies wins universities goodies
Universities, which spent more on lobbying than hospitals and nursing homes in 2005, seek help on issues such as federal student aid, immigration restrictions for foreign students, and special grants.
The grants, known as earmarks, are often anonymously inserted into spending bills by lawmakers. The Chronicle of Higher Education tallied more than $2 billion in earmarks to universities in 2003, the most recent count available.
David Williams of Citizens Against Government Waste said universities, like corporations, "want as much money as possible, and (travel) is one way of greasing the skids."
In January, the new House Democratic majority instituted travel rules that took effect this month. A Senate bill that leaves open the door to university-funded travel is not yet law.
Brendan Daly, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said lawmakers wanted the exemption so they can deliver commencement speeches. The exemption, however, allows for any travel funded by higher education.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., an earmark critic, said many of the new ethics rules make little sense. "I can do a $2 million earmark to a New York university and then they can give money through their friends to my campaign, but they can't buy me a $20 dinner," he said, referring to a new ban on lobbyist-paid meals.
Recent travel included an overnight stay by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., in November at a villa in Florence, Italy, owned by New York University. NYU did not pay for Kennedy's air travel, but it provided about $1,500 in car-service fees.
Kennedy, who heads the Senate's education panel, spoke at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the Florence flood. NYU spokesman John Beckman said Kennedy's trip was unrelated to the university's lobbying, which hit nearly $1 million in the past two years.
Seven lawmakers traveled to Seoul in November with a legislative exchange program at George Washington University. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., took his wife. The price: $7,700. Sensenbrenner, taking his sixth Asian exchange trip since 2000, values the "exchange of ideas," said his aide, Raj Bharwani.
Harvard University has spent the most on travel, nearly $334,000, since 2000. Harvard's Kevin Casey said travel is " divorced" from lobbying.
Lobbying Lawmakers, Federal Agencies Wins Universities Goodies
March 8, 2007
USA Today
Fredreka Schouten
WASHINGTON -- Nearly $1 million for a mobile science lab. More than $4.5 million to support military families. About $24 million to improve weather forecasts in war zones.
These are among the federal grants, known as earmarks, that Congress has directed to universities in recent years.
Higher-education institutions spent at least $75 million in 2005 on lobbying to win grants and influence policy, according to a USA TODAY analysis of the lobbying database compiled by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Earmarks have increased dramatically. A Congresional Research Service study found 15,877 earmarks worth $47.4 billion in 2005 spending bills, up from 4,126 projects costing $23.2 billion in 1994.
The most recent tally by The Chronicle of Higher Education found more than $2 billion in education grants in 2003.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a critic of earmarks, last year asked 113 universities to disclose their earmarks and what they accomplished with the money. Ninety-nine schools responded.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reported receiving about $17.7 million since 2001. The UNC grants included $4.8 million for a Citizen Soldier program that provides services to families of deployed Guardsmen and women, along with $2.5 million for the university's planetarium.
Last year, the university spent at least $120,000 to lobby Capitol Hill and federal agencies.
The university also has paid for more than $16,000 worth of travel for members of Congress since 2000, according to the data collected by PoliticalMoneyLine, a non-partisan data-tracking firm.
In November, the university picked up the tab for six congressional aides to visit the campus and see several of the federally funded programs, including the mobile science lab that received a $900,000 grant in fiscal year 2003. The staffers stayed overnight and received free tickets to a UNC-North Carolina State football game.
"You can't take Chapel Hill to Washington," said Karen Regan, the university's interim director of federal affairs. "The university thinks it's a sound investment of its resources for members of staff to see the impact" of grants on the community.
Just 35 miles away from Washington, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore doesn't typically pay for lawmakers or their aides to visit the campus, said Beth Felder, director of federal programs. But the university spent more than $1.3 million on lobbying in 2005. Felder said Johns Hopkins' lobbying focuses on big-picture issues, such as boosting overall research funding.
The university has received earmarks, including $24 million that it shared with the University of Alaska to improve military weather forecasting.
The Democrats who took control of Congress in January have promised to clamp down on earmarks. Democratic leaders recently announced a moratorium on earmarks in the 2007 budget and have pledged to significantly cut earmarks in 2008.
