Judge rules NAM must disclose who "manufactures" their lobbying budget

The Clerk of the House wants to know who's paying for those trade associations lobbyists. The associations don't want to tell. Now they have to.

Last year's Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (aka the Lobbying Reform bill) requires coalitions and trade organizations that lobby to disclose who contributes at least $5,000 to their efforts per quarter. The National Association of Manufacturers was not too happy about this, since well...transparency would allow people to know who has been paying them to lobby against stuff like, the DTV transition and converter box subsidies.

Well, as CQ Politics reports, judges are just not buying the NAM's...bill of goods (sorry, I had to).

A federal judge Friday rejected the National Association of Manufacturers' request to delay enforcement of a new lobbying law requirement while the group appeals a decision last week upholding the mandate.

Under the 2007 law, umbrella lobbying groups such as NAM must file reports by April 21 that disclose every member that contributes at least $5,000 to lobbying efforts during a quarter and "actively participates in the planning, supervision or control of such lobbying activities."

U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly upheld that requirement in an April 11 ruling against NAM.

Interesting note, Judge Kollar-Kotelly is rather prolific. She is also:

A) The judge that extended the Microsoft antitrust consent decree earlier this year, and

B) The chief judge of the secret FISA court that oversees secret wiretapping warrants. I guess her tolerance for secrets only goes so far.

Someone's getting a Christmas card.