A Temporary Reprieve

I am happy to report that last night the Senate voted 55-43 and adopted the Bennett Amendment, which removed the grassroots lobbying provisions, to the Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act. As you will recall, Harry Reid, the majority leader in the Senate, had proposed legislation which would require churches, public interest organizations and others to register as grassroots lobbyists. As I stated, this would have been one of the most significant restrictions placed on the freedom of political expression in our Nations history.  The outcry against this measure has been nothing short of amazing. We heard from over 20,000 citizens in just 48 hours, expressing outrage over this attempt to muzzle our voices. At the same time, House leadership has indicated that they will now re-evaluate the Fairness Doctrine, which would significantly censor and curtail conservative talk radio and Christian talk radio. Our Government Affairs office is looking at the Fairness Doctrine issue right now. Ive also assembled a legal team thats preparing an analysis on why the Fairness Doctrine would be an unconstitutional restraint on free speech.

While I am very pleased with our victory at the United States Senate, we cannot afford to drop our guard for even one moment. The House will take up this legislation as early as next week. Indications are that Nancy Pelosi, the new Speaker of the House, will insert the grassroots lobbying legislation provision in the House of Representatives Bill on Lobbying Reform. Once passed, it will require a conference committee between the House and the Senate. We are not out of the woods yet on this important matter. Momentum continues to build, and we need to now turn our efforts to the United States House of Representatives.

On next weeks radio broadcast, Jay Sekulow Live!, we will be devoting a substantial amount of time focusing in on the challenge in the House of Representatives with regard to lobbying reform. If you have not signed on to our Petition of Protest, we encourage you to do so today by clicking here. Again, were thrilled with the temporary reprieve that weve received; but the battle on this important issue is going to continue in a very aggressive way.