Zakaria
90 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
90 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
# Senate LD — Lobbying Disclosure (LD-1 / LD-2)
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## 1. Summary
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The Senate Office of Public Records publishes lobbying disclosures under the
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Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA, as amended by HLOGA 2007). LD-1 is
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registration of a new client-lobbyist relationship; LD-2 is the quarterly
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activity report.
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## 2. Access Methods
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- **API:** `https://lda.senate.gov/api/v1/` (no auth required for read-only)
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- **Bulk download:** `https://lda.senate.gov/api/v1/filings/?format=csv` (paginated)
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- **Auth:** Token required for >120 req/hour — register at https://lda.senate.gov/api/auth/register/
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- **Rate limit:** 120 req/hour unauthenticated, 1,200 req/hour authenticated
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## 3. Data Schema
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Key fields emitted by `fetch_senate_ld.py`:
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| Column | Type | Description |
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|--------|------|-------------|
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| `filing_uuid` | str | Unique filing ID |
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| `filing_type` | str | LD-1, LD-2, LD-203, etc. |
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| `filing_year` | int | Year |
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| `filing_period` | str | Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4 or annual |
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| `registrant_name` | str | Lobbying firm or organization |
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| `registrant_id` | str | Senate-assigned registrant ID |
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| `client_name` | str | Client being represented |
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| `client_id` | str | Senate-assigned client ID |
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| `client_general_description` | str | Client industry / business |
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| `income` | float | LD-2 income from client this quarter (USD) |
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| `expenses` | float | LD-2 expenses (in-house lobbying) |
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| `lobbyists` | str | Semicolon-separated lobbyist names |
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| `issues` | str | Semicolon-separated issue areas |
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| `government_entities` | str | Agencies/chambers contacted |
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| `filing_date` | str | YYYY-MM-DD |
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## 4. Coverage
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- US federal lobbying only (state lobbying handled by individual state ethics offices)
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- 1999 → present (full electronic coverage from 2008)
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- Quarterly reporting cycle (LD-2)
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- ~1M+ filings cumulative
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## 5. Cross-Reference Potential
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- **USAspending** ↔ `client_name` (clients lobbying for contracts)
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- **SEC EDGAR** ↔ `client_name` (public companies as lobbying clients)
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- **OFAC SDN** ↔ `client_name` (sanctions screening of lobbying clients)
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Join key: normalized client_name. registrant_id and client_id are canonical
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when joining Senate-internal records.
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## 6. Data Quality
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- Many lobbyist names appear in multiple registrants over time (job changes)
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- `issues` and `government_entities` are free-text — Inconsistent capitalization
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- Foreign agents register under FARA (Department of Justice), NOT here
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- Income/expenses are reported in $10,000 brackets in some older filings
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## 7. Acquisition Script
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Path: `scripts/fetch_senate_ld.py`
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```bash
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# By client
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python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/fetch_senate_ld.py --client "EXAMPLE CORP" \
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--year 2024 --out data/lobbying.csv
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# By registrant (lobbying firm)
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python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/fetch_senate_ld.py --registrant "BIG K STREET LLP" \
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--year 2024 --out data/lobbying.csv
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```
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Set `SENATE_LDA_TOKEN` env var if you have one (or pass `--token`).
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Defaults to anonymous (120 req/hour).
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## 8. Legal & Licensing
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- Public record under 2 U.S.C. § 1604 (LDA)
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- No commercial use restrictions
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- Reuse is unconditional — see Senate Public Records Office disclaimer
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## 9. References
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- API docs: https://lda.senate.gov/api/redoc/v1/
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- LDA guidance: https://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/ld_guidance.pdf
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- Senate Public Records: https://lda.senate.gov/
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