Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. statement, October 2, 1995

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Richard Cross October 2, 1 995 202-225-306 1 STATEMENT BY CONGRESSMAN ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR REGARDING ISTOOK-MCINTOSH-EHRLICH GRANT REFORM PROPOSAL “The grant reform proposal authored by Reps. Istook, McIntosh, and myself is a reasonable attempt to put an end to a practice which had been one of the best-kept secrets in Washington— taxpayer subsidized lobbying by federal grantees. It places reasonable limitations on the amount of monies all federal grantees may devote to political advocacy— limits wholly consistent with existing provisions of the IRS code. Moreover, it affects only those organizations which apply for and receive federal taxpayer funds through grants— about ten percent of the nonprofit community. Private lobbying activities of individuals will not be affected. “While the vast majority of local nonprofit organizations do an admirable job, some national chapters have lost sight of the needs of their grassroots membership. Accordingly, I believe this grant reform proposal will in fact improve upon the ability of nonprofit organizations to provide services to their respective communities by rechanneling precious resources away from advocacy and back to activities which will benefit real people.”