Religious lobbyists used to be like subsistence farmers, and now it’s like agribusiness, said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 15th-biggest spender, with $6.3 million spent on advocacy in 2008, according to the Pew study. The study noted that 80 percent of the groups are registered as tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, meaning they are restricted in how much direct lobbying they can do. But some watchdog groups that focus on money in politics have said that federal law exempts some religious organizations from having to disclose communications related to lobbying.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 08:59:20 +0000