The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 25, 1991 - Page 7 Levin: Lobby laws ineffective Report reveals only $3,547 of $5.7 million in 1990 lobbying funds were disclosed WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) says six major military contractors spent $5.7 mil- lion lobbying the government in 1990 but were required to publicly disclose only a fraction of the costs. A new lobbying disclosure law enacted in October 1989 is so rid- dled with exemptions that the con- tractors reported only $3,547 of the $5.7 million spent last year, a Senate investigation said. "We have discovered again that the lobbying disclosure laws are failing miserably to achieve their purpose," the Detroit Democrat said. The investigation of lobbying disclosures was conducted by Levin's Senate Governmental Af- fairs oversight subcommittee. Committee investigators made the results available to The Associated Press before a hearing on the disclo- sure problems scheduled for today. The $5.7 million was the figure privately provided to the Defense Contract Audit Agency by the six companies. The committee didn't break down the money company by company. The six contr'actors studied were: McDonnell Douglas, which had military contracts worth $8.9 billion in fiscal 1990; General Dy- namics, $6.5 billion; General Elec- tric, $5.8 billion; United Technolo- gies, $2.9 billion; Martin Marietta, $4.2 billion; and Lockheed, $3.8 bil- lion. The committee said the figures were from published compilations of the top 200 government contrac- tors. A government-wide regulation requires contractors to disclose their costs to the contracting agency to prevent unauthorized charges; lobbying expenses must be broken out separately. measuring publicly reported expen- ditures. The investigators said they could not conclude that the contractors violated either disclosure law. "Disclosure under the Byrd Amendment is almost non-existent and it's not because there's so little lobbying," Levin said in a news re- lease. "Instead there's a real prob- lem with the way this law has been interpreted, applied and also stu- 'We have discovered again that the lobbying disclosure laws are failing miserably to achieve their purpose' - Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) want to make sure Congress will finance production of a prototype. An example of a contractor lob- bying blitz occurred just last week when the Senate Appropriations Committee resuscitated the Sea- wolf submarine. A day earlier, the panel's defense subcommittee voted to stop funds for the warship. Sen. Daniel Inouye, (D-Hawaii), y chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, led the 180-degree' turnabout. Inouye said he changed, his mind after heavy lobbying by the, shipbuilder, the Electric Boat Divi- sion of General Dynamics Corp., the Navy and senators from Connecti- cut, home of Electric Boat. Among its other provisions, the: Byrd Amendment requires a con-- tractor to disclose the name and ad-s- dress of each person paid to influ- ence the award, the amount of the'' payment and the activity for which the individual was paid. However, investigators said they found numerous exceptions and lim- itations that exclude virtually all lobbying from coverage. E What a gas United Nations inspectors hosed each other down yesterday after inspecting mustard gas shells in Iraq. Iraq detained 44 U.N. inspectors yesterday for the.second day in a row and demanded back videotapes and documents said to show Iraq's nuclear weapons program. Prof. argues in favor of organ transplants The committee said it compared the $5.7 million to two laws requir- ing public disclosure: the October 1989 Byrd Amendment, named for its sponsor, Sen. Robert Byrd, (D- W.Va.), and the 1946 Lobbying Regulation Act. The Byrd Amendment requires disclosures by the contractors; the 1946 law requires information from lobbyists. Reports filed for 1990 under the older law showed lobby- ists received $388,727 from mili- tary contractors - another way of diously avoided." The companies have many reasons to lobby Congress and the Defense Department. They bid against each other for contracts. Their produc- tion lines face shutdowns as weapons technology advances. They , DEARBORN (AP) - Squeam- ish family members and lawsuit- fearing doctors are obstacles to a free market in human organs that would help save lives, a law professor argued yesterday at a conference on organ transplants. James Blumstein of Vanderbilt University first raised the prospect of allowing people to sell their or- gans in the early 1970s. In those days, he was shunned as a social out- cast and his ideas only whispered about. Now, the debate over how to get enough kidneys, hearts. and livers for those awaiting transplants includes whether and how to pay for them. That could be in cash, or in other ways such as a break on insurance premiums or funeral expenses. "Incentives work," Blumstein said. "Various concerns have been raised by objectors. Fears, uncer- tainty, ignorance. These deal with the price that would be used to in- duce supply, not with whether or not incentives would work. "If people are not inclined to donate, that means you have to raise the price." About one in three Americans agree on donor cards or on the back of driver's licenses to allow their organs to be transplanted at death. But doctors worried about being sued often ask for a relative's per- mission even though they don't have to. It's the timing and manner in which the question is asked that of- ten determines the reply, said Jim Warren, editor of Transplant News, a Maryland-based newsletter. Dr. Robert Sells, director of the MerseyRegional Transplant Unit of the Royal Liverpool Hospital in England, challenged the ethics of selling human organs. U r. WHAT'S HAPPENING 1 , ?a RECREATIONAL SPORTS Intramural Sports Program FLAG FOOTBALL Entries Taken: Monday & Tuesday September 30 & October 1 11:00am-4:30pm IMSB (instant Scheduling) FLAG FOOT OFFICIALS Clinic Begins: Tuesday October 1, 1991 7:00pm IMSB Call 763-3562 for Additional Information _ - .._ .. -.. f r 1811 WASHIENAW I I ich*a DilyRcce 0 You.I i-- - --- , - ,,, - ,. 1 I WHAT DO WOLVERINES DO IN MAY? KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AFTER GRADUATION? STILL EXPLORING YOUR OPTIONS? OVER 65 MICHIGAN ALUMNI HAVE JOINED THE MAY DEPARTMENT STORES COMPANY WHY? FIND OUT: OPEN HOUSE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 POND ROOM MICHIGAN UNION 10AM-4PM CASUAL DRESS LIGHT REFRESHMENTS