16 November 2009 Channing D. Phillips, Esq. Acting United States Attorney 555 4th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20530 The Honorable Nancy Erickson Secretary of the U.S. Senate U.S. Capitol, Room S-312 Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Mr. Phillips, Secretary Erickson and Clerk Miller: By this letter, we urge you to investigate the activities of Mr. Andy Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), regarding meetings and other lobbying contacts with administration, White House and Congress during 2009. Specifically, it is important to determine whether those and related activities could constitute unregistered “lobbying” by Mr. Stern in violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), 2 U.S.C. 1601, et seq. In fact, Mr. Stern was a registered lobbyist for SEIU until January of 2007 when he terminated his registration. For the reasons discussed below it appears that Mr. Stern continued to lobby extensively after he terminated his registered status, and in 2009 devoted so much time on lobbying and related activities that he should have re-registered as a lobbyist under LDA. Failure to file accurate reports or to register under LDA is a violation of the Act, which provides for civil penalties of up to $200,000 and criminal penalties of up to 5 years in prison. Reports must be filed electronically with the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate. Responsibility for enforcement of the Act rests with the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, under 2 U.S.C. 1605. In addition, the Government Accountability Office is required under the LDA to conduct random audits of filers. It does not appear that there has been an audit of the SEIU reports. Therefore, we urge you to immediately investigate Mr. Stern’s activities, detailed below, to assess whether a violation of the LDA has occurred and if so, what appropriate enforcement actions should be taken. THE LDA DEFINITION OF LOBBYING The LDA defines a “lobbyist” as a person who spends over 20% of his time on “lobbying activities” and has two or more “lobbying contacts.” It is important to note that the calculation of the 20% of time spent on lobbying activities includes numerous activities beyond direct lobbying contacts, and is with respect to a calendar quarter of a year. A lobbyist must be registered by his or her employer and both must file reports disclosing their lobbying activities. A “lobbying contact” includes any oral or written communication with certain individuals in the federal government (“covered” officials) regarding the formulation, modification or adoption of legislation, programs, policies or positions of the government, as well as government contracts or nominations of individuals subject The Honorable Lorraine C. Miller Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Capitol, Room H154 Washington, D.C. 20515–6601
722 12 TH STREET, N.W. 4 TH FLOOR WASHINGTON DC 20005 WORKERFREEDOM.COM ATR.ORG (P) 202.785.0266 (F) 202.785.0261
Investigation of Andy Stern
to Senate confirmation. The public officials in government who are “covered” officials include any person in the White House and any Member, Senator or staff member of Congress.
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“Lobbying activity” under LDA includes time spent on lobbying contacts as well as time spent by the individual on any efforts to support his or her, or another’s, lobbying contacts such as preparation or planning activities, research and other background work, as well as time spent coordinating the lobbying activities of others. Accordingly, a “lobbyist” is someone whose job includes talking with or writing to two or more “covered” officials in Congress or the White House and who spends more than 20% of his or her time in any given calendar quarter on such communications as well as on efforts to prepare for such communications and to coordinate with other individuals who are engaged in their own lobbying activities. In effect, if an individual spends on average one day per five-day work week in a calendar quarter engaged in lobbying activities and communicates with covered officials, that person is a lobbyist. There are approximately 13 weeks in a quarter. Therefore, spending more than 13 days on lobbying activities strongly indicates that the individual is a lobbyist and should report his or her activities as required by federal law. LOBBYING ACTIVITIES BY ANDY STERN White House Logs On October 30, 2009, the White House released a log of visitors covering the period between January 20, 2009 through September 15, 2009. The logs indicate that Mr. Stern visited and met with the President and/or White House staff on 22 occasions during that time period. The last reported visit was on July 13, 2009. During the first calendar quarter of 2009, Mr. Stern went to the White House on 11 separate days, including twice on February 18. In the second calendar quarter, Mr. Stern visited on 9 days, and twice on April 13 for a total of 10 visits. Since White House personnel, including the President and Vice President, are considered “covered” officials under LDA, all of Mr. Stern’s communications with them during these 22 visits covering 20 days would constitute “lobbying contacts.” The time spent at the White House also constitutes “lobbying activity” time which must be captured for determining whether Mr. Stern spent more than 20% of his time during any calendar quarter engaged in lobbying. (Incidentally, in 2008, on his own LM2 disclosure form filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, Mr. Stern disclosed that he spent at least 24% of his time on lobbying and political activities, without separating those two activities out.) Additional White House-Related Lobbying Activity In addition, the time that Mr. Stern spent preparing for his visits to the White House and time spent following up on those visits also must be captured in calculating whether he spent 20% of his time on lobbying in any given calendar quarter. Since only 13 days of lobbying activity in a calendar quarter would trigger the 20% threshold, it appears that Mr. Stern spent at least 11 such days lobbying in the first quarter and 9 days in the second quarter on visibly lobbying the White House in person. Of course, this would not include any other lobbying activity Mr. Stern conducted during that period, including telephone calls with officials, meetings with White House personnel outside the White House, or meetings with other
Investigation of Andy Stern
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Administration appointees. Nor does it include time Mr. Stern would have spent scheduling meetings, engaging in preparatory meetings with staff, reviewing talking points and briefing materials, making security arrangements, or traveling to meetings, which took even more time. News Reports of Additional Lobbying Activity Furthermore, Mr. Stern’s lobbying activities were not limited to the White House during the period in question. According to published reports and Mr. Stern’s own public statements, he was actively engaged in lobbying other executive branch personnel as well as both Houses of Congress, in addition to his constant presence at the White House. For example, on June 3, 2009, Roll Call reported that “SEIU President Andy Stern has met with [Congressman] Sestak and [Senator] Specter as part of his regular legislative meetings.” (Emphasis added) This indicates that Mr. Stern has meetings with Members and staff of Congress on a regular basis and that he met at least once with the identified Senator and Congressman during the second quarter of 2009. All Senators, Congressmen and staff are “covered” officials under LDA, and therefore meetings to discuss legislation or policy with such officials constitute lobbying activity within the meaning of the statute. In addition, the time Mr. Stern spent planning for such meetings, following up on those lobbying contacts, scheduling such contacts and traveling to and from those meetings all constitutes lobbying activity that must be included to determine whether Mr. Stern met the 20% threshold for reporting under the statute. On May 26, 2009, Politico reported that Mr. Stern participated in an AARP roundtable with Senator Kent Conrad. In the same story, Anna Burger, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer, announced that the union would sponsor 100 events in 16 states on health care reform and that Congress “will be hearing from us in big ways.” Admissions by Mr. Stern of Additional Lobbying Activity Further, Mr. Stern is an avid user of Twitter to announce his lobbying activities. On June 17, Mr. Stern Tweeted, “Great discussion last 2 days with many Senators. Complicated issue but commitment to change. All understand-longer we wait worse it gets.” On May 18 he Twittered “At Springsteen Concert. Lots of fundraisers in box. Good free choice meetings with key Senators today.” And on June 24 he announced, “Lobbying with Mayor Bloomberg on health care. Leaving Senator Snowe. Mayor big proponent of keeping people healthy and the right public plan.” On April 29, Mr. Stern Twittered that he had met with Senator Specter and Secretary Sebelius. Obviously, both Senators and Cabinet Secretaries are “covered” officials under the law, and the time spent both meeting with these officials and all preparatory and follow-up activities conducted by Mr. Stern in connection with those meetings is considered “lobbying activity.” Based on the White House Visitor Logs, public reports and Mr. Stern’s own public statements, he lobbied actively and extensively on behalf of SEIU during 2009. In the second calendar quarter of 2009 Mr. Stern visited the White House 10 times on 9 different days, and in addition conducted “regular legislative meetings,” had meetings over two days “with many Senators,” had on another day “good free choice meetings with key Senators,” and on additional separate occasions met with Senator Conrad, Senator Specter, Senator
Investigation of Andy Stern
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Snowe, and Congressman Sestak. All of these meetings which appear to cover at least 16 days constitute lobbying activities under the LDA. Mr. Stern’s lobbying activities during the first calendar quarter seem to have been as extensive as in the second quarter, even though the White House logs cover fewer than three months due to the January 20 inaugural date. Mr. Stern visited the White House more frequently (12 times on 11 days) than in the second quarter (10 times on 9 days) and presumably maintained his “regular legislative meetings.” He Twittered and on February 18 noted “…had cocktails with Prez and VP.” Non-Public Lobbying Activity by Mr. Stern Of course, the available public information does not reveal all of the days that Mr. Stern was meeting with or talking with covered government officials about legislation or programs. Nor does it reveal the additional amount of time Mr. Stern spent planning and preparing for his meetings, as well as the time he spent coordinating with others, except for Mayor Bloomberg. Such non-public communications and activity would significantly expand the amount of time that Mr. Stern spent on lobbying as defined by federal law. Nevertheless, the limited public record that is available indicates that Mr. Stern appears to have met the LDA definition of being a lobbyist by spending at least 16 days during the second calendar quarter lobbying dozens of officials and being the White House’s most frequent visitor. Finally, under the LDA, if Mr. Stern has violated federal lobbying disclosure laws at various points during this year, it does not adequately remedy the violation for him to simply register now. The fact that Mr. Stern affirmatively delisted himself as a lobbyist and then went on to conduct further extensive lobbying activity raises an issue of possible willful conduct that should be carefully investigated. We have provided the enclosed documents for your consideration and review. Most neutral observers would probably rate Mr. Stern as the most visible power-player in Washington this year – personally advancing his legislative agenda on health care, labor law changes and a host of other issues in meetings with a huge number of top officials in the Administration and Congress. Any failure to fully and adequately enforce the nation’s lobbying disclosure laws as they apply to Mr. Stern’s high-profile lobbying presence would make a mockery of the law and invite public skepticism as to its efficacy. Sincerely,
Grover G. Norquist President Americans for Tax Reform Enclosures
Brian M Johnson Executive Director Alliance for Worker Freedom
Investigation of Andy Stern
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MEMORANDUM DATE: SUBJECT: November 6, 2009 Andy Stern’s Executive and Legislative Activities
In the Service Employees International Union’s 2006 Year End Lobbying Report, International President Andy Stern had his status updated as to no longer be expected to lobby for the SEIU. According to the White House Visitors Logs, between January 20, 2009 and August 13, 2009, Stern visited the White House 22 times. These visits included meetings with the President, Vice President, Rahm Emanuel, and Peter Orszag. In addition, news articles have reported during that during 2009 Stern has held numerous meetings with Members of Congress and Senators. Stern also discusses meeting legislative and executive officials on his Twitter.com page. Delisting as a Lobbyist According to the Service Employees International Union’s 2006 Year End Lobbying Report, Andy Stern updated his status as to no longer be expected to act as a lobbyist for the organization. (SEIU 2006 Year End Lobbying Report, Secretary of the U.S. Senate, Filed 2/2/07) Visits to the White House The chart details the date, time, individual visited, meeting location, the total number attendees, and the description of Andy Stern’s visits to the White House. Total Description Of Attendees Meeting The Obama Administration 1/20/2009 12:30PM Max Doebler OEOB 299 Lunch In The Eeob. 2/4/2009 5:00PM Tina Tchen WH 215 Bill Signing. 2/9/2009 2:00PM Ron Klain OEOB 3 2/13/2009 2:00PM Kristin Sheehy WH 7 2/18/2009 2:15PM Rahm Emanuel WH 2 2/18/2009 6:45PM POTUS WH 10 2/23/2009 12:30PM POTUS WH 59 Meeting 3/5/2009 12:30PM POTUS WH 14 This Is For The Health Care Summit 3/10/2009 11:30AM Ron Klain OEOB 8 3/17/2009 6:30PM POTUS WH 393 St. Patrick's Reception Guests 3/24/2009 5:30PM Kristin Sheehy WH 3 4/13/2009 2:00PM Peter Orszag OEOB 4 4/13/2009 4:30PM Jennifer Cannistra OEOB 3 4/15/2009 6:30PM Kristin Sheehy WH 5 4/16/2009 9:15AM VPOTUS OEOB 43 Vpotus Event 5/11/2009 11:00AM POTUS WH 22 Health Care Meeting 5/12/2009 5:30PM Kristin Sheehy WH 5 5/26/2009 10:00AM POTUS WH 136 Event Around Scotus 6/1/2009 2:00PM Kristin Sheehy WH 4 6/13/2009 9:30AM Office WH 543 Group Tours 7/7/2009 5:30PM Kristin Sheehy WH 5 7/13/2009 1:00PM POTUS WH 14 Labor Leaders Meeting (Source: White House Visitors Log’s, Released 10/30/09) Date Time Visited Meeting Location
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News Reports of Executive and Legislative Meetings “In the former category, there’s Service Employees International Union boss Andy Stern, who told the Wall Street Journal that if the power of persuasion didn’t work, then the persuasion of power would have to do. The records show Stern had 22 meetings, many face-to-face with the president, more than anyone else known so far. Stern might as well borrow a White House bedroom.” (emphasis added) (Investors Business Daily, 11/3/09) “Labor leader and Obama supporter Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union. Twenty-two Stern visits to the White House are reflected in the records, including at least seven with Obama. Most of the visits with Obama were for group events; the subjects of most of his visits to other people weren’t disclosed.” (emphasis added) (Associated Press, 10/31/09) “The most frequent visitor included in the narrow sample was Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union and Mr. Obama’s top ally in the labor movement. Mr. Stern visited the White House 22 times, sometimes for health care or other public events in the East Room, other times for meetings with the president or aides like Rahm Emanuel, Peter R. Orszag or Ronald A. Klain. “The visit tally underscores the clout that S.E.I.U. and Mr. Stern enjoy in this White House, something that has generated consternation at times among business groups and envy among rival unions. By contrast, Richard L. Trumka, the new president of the AFL-CIO, visited seven times in the same period. (emphasis added) (New York Times, 10/31/09) “One thing is clear: Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern holds sway at the White House, where he’s listed for 22 visits—the top number on the logs. Visitors in the top 10 also include former Clinton White House “Chief of Staff John Podesta, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy, and NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan.” (emphasis added) (Wall Street Journal, 10/30/09) “Topping the list, in terms of frequency of visits, was Stern, the head of the Service Employees International Union. He made the short trip from Dupont Circle at least 19 times, including for five meetings with the president. “The records show Stern arriving at 11:34 p.m. on Feb. 18 for a meeting with Obama in the Blue Room. The next day, he was back for a meeting with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Four days later, he was back in the White House for another East Room event with the president, according to the records. On June 13, Stern got a tour of the White House residence.” (emphasis added) (Washington Post, 10/31/09) “Let me bring in Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union. “Mr. Stern, good to have you with us tonight. I understand that you`re going to be a guest of Speaker Pelosi at the joint session and speech tonight, which I think speaks volumes.
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“She wants to know what you think. She wants to keep you close. Your employees want to make sure that they don`t lose their health care benefits. And she`s always been for collective bargaining.” (emphasis added) (Transcript, The Ed Show with Ed Schultz, MSNBC, 9/9/09) “Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern - who has participated in the Senate talks - said in a statement earlier this year that no matter what deal clears the Senate, the voting provisions would be included ‘in the final bill or by amendment in both houses of Congress.’” (emphasis added) (Roll Call, 7/28/09) “The closed-door meeting at the White House included U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and John Sweeney, the president of the AFL-CIO, and Andrew L. Stern, president of the giant Service Employees International Union. Union leaders also discussed a bill to make it easier to organize new members, as well as the domestic auto industry.” (emphasis added) (The Detroit News, 7/14/09) “SEIU President Andy Stern has met with Sestak and Specter as part of his regular legislative meetings.” (emphasis added) (Roll Call, 6/3/09) “AARP is urging members to turn out in Montana for a series of listening sessions hosted by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who has taken the lead role in writing a bill. In North Dakota, AARP is holding a roundtable with “Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern. “SEIU, a major player in the push for health care reform, is holding 100 events in 16 states, union Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger said. “‘While Congress might be going home, it doesn’t mean they won’t be hearing from us,’ Burger said. ‘They will be hearing from us in big ways.’” (emphasis added) (Politico, 5/26/09) “Union leaders are among those who haven’t yet fallen in line with Specter. Sestak met with Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern on Monday, fueling speculation that Sestak is seeking labor’s support as he considers a potential candidacy. Stern, whose group hasn’t committed to endorsing Specter in the 2010 primary, praised Sestak’s CNN appearance as ‘impressive’ on his Twitter feed Sunday.” (emphasis added) (Politico, 5/4/09) “The Finance Committee will hold its second health care roundtable Tuesday, focusing on improving access to health care coverage.” “Discussion of the public option could dominate the session. Senators will question witnesses on both sides of the issue, including America’s Health Insurance Plans President Karen Ignagni and Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern”. (emphasis added) (Politico, 5/4/09)
Investigation of Andy Stern
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On Twitter “Lobbying with Mayor Bloomberg on health care. Leaving Senator Snowe. Mayor big proponent of keeping people healthy and the right public plan” (https://twitter.com/SEIU_ANDYSTERN, 6/24/09) “Great discussion last 2 days with many Senators. Complicated issue but commitment to change. All understand-longer we wait worse it gets” (https://twitter.com/SEIU_ANDYSTERN, 6/17/09) “At Springsteen Concert. Lots of fundraisers in box. Good free choice meetings with key Senators today “ (https://twitter.com/SEIU_ANDYSTERN, 5/18/09) “Great White House meeting with serious, real discussion on cost savings. June 1 deadline for real results. Glad we could get this started.” (https://twitter.com/SEIU_ANDYSTERN, 5/11/09) “Leaving White House. Serious , real discussion with great possibilities. Now work to be done by June 1 deadline. Glad we get start this.” (https://twitter.com/SEIU_ANDYSTERN, 5/11/09) “At White House for meeting with President on Health care.” (https://twitter.com/SEIU_ANDYSTERN, 5/11/09) “Congressman Sestak impressive on CNN. Visiting him tomorrow.” (https://twitter.com/SEIU_ANDYSTERN, 5/3/09) “Specter, Sebelius, Washington Capitols, and 100 great days. On a roll Now let's fire Ken Lewis at B of A today to keep a great week going” (https://twitter.com/SEIU_ANDYSTERN, 4/29/09) “just left White House where group from MoveOn to Chamber of Commerce but mostly progressives had cocktails with Prez and VP” (https://twitter.com/SEIU_ANDYSTERN, 2/18/09)