Enron Lobbying Costs in Question

Enron underreported its lobbying expenditures by more than 50% for the first half of 2001, according to a report released Tuesday.

The company reported spending $825,000 on lobbying in the first six months of 2001. But 13 outside lobbying firms reported nearly $1.8 million in income from Enron, and that amount should have been included in the company’s report, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign finance research organization in Washington.

An Enron official said that one of its lobbyists misstated its fees in its filing and that the company was reviewing the statements filed by the other lobbyists.

Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said it was critical for the public to have “the full picture of Enron’s lobbying activities.”

Noble said the lower lobbying figure appears only on the report filed by Enron Corp., not on reports filed by Enron’s subsidiaries.

When those units are included, Enron’s lobbying totals--as reported by outside lobbying firms--exceeded $2 million for the first half of 2001.

In comparison, Enron and its subsidiaries spent $2.1 million on lobbying in all of 2000 and $1.9 million in 1999.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Secretary of the Senate Jeri Thomson and Clerk of the House Jeff Trandahl, the center complained of Enron’s apparent violation of lobbyist reporting requirements under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The act requires firms to file semiannual lobbying reports with the secretary of the Senate and the clerk of the House that reveal the amount of income they receive from their clients.

Companies must identify their overall lobbying expenditures, including payments to outside lobbying firms. It is unclear whether the $825,000 reported by Enron Corp. reflects in-house lobbying efforts, payments to outside lobbying firms, or both, the center said.