In early February, OMB Watch conducted a week-long Internet survey on federal grassroots lobbying disclosure that asked respondents to express their support or opposition to a variety of disclosure principles. Over 1,100 people responded to the survey, and the results were clear: strong support exists for federal grassroots lobbying disclosure.

Of the respondents, 70 percent strongly supported federal grassroots lobbying disclosure in general, and another 18 percent moderately supported the concept. Only nine percent opposed disclosure. Even among nonprofit organizations, some of which were concerned about disclosure provisions, nearly 56 percent of respondents strongly supported disclosure.

Many of the principles described in the survey, such as reporting triggers, exclusions for communications with members and congregants, and exclusions for Internet communications — including bloggers — address concerns that surrounded the grassroots lobbying disclosure provision that was stripped from S.1, the Senate's lobbying reform and ethics bill that passed Jan. 18. The reactions of many survey respondents to the disclosure principles illustrate that if disclosure and transparency are the goals, we can gather and make public relevant information without imposing onerous reporting requirements and without chilling speech.