HSUS SENIOR LEADERSHIP "BLINKED!" by Frank Losey

HSUS SENIOR LEADERSHIP “BLINKED!” - - CALL TO ACTION BASED ON “NEW EVIDENCE”

ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF THE LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1995 BY THE HSUS AND HSLF

In 2005 the HSUS was registered as a “Lobbying Organization” and it listed Wayne Pacelle as one of its “Lobbyists.”  However, the HSUS apparently terminated its Registration at a later date.  In contrast, the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) which oversees three PACs, and which was founded by Mr. Pacelle in 2004, had never registered itself as a “Lobbying Organization” - - UNTIL FEBRAURY 29, 2012!  That is when the HSLF and the Senior Leadership of the HSUS “BLINKED,” and they registered the HSLF as a “Lobbying Organization” - - a DELIQUENCY OF OVER 7 YEARS!!!  Most significantly, when the HSLF filed its Registration with the Secretary of the Senate, it listed Mrs. Constance Harriman-Whitfield as one of its “Lobbyists.”  This further “taints” the HSUS for its failure to no longer be registered as a “Lobbying Organization” because Mrs. Harriman-Whitfield, according to her BIO that was posted on the HSUS Website, is a Paid Employee of the HSUS, and she serves as the “Senior Advisor” for “HSUS President and CEO Wayne Pacelle.”   Thus, the recent HSLF Registration substantiates that the HSUS, which is no longer registered, is in violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act.  In this regard, Mr. Pacelle was previously listed, BY NAME, as a Lobbyist for the HSUS in 2005, and now his Senior Advisor, who is on the payroll of the HSUS, has been identified as a “Lobbyist.”  If the HSUS were Pinocchio, its nose would be growing longer and longer with respect to how it has circumvented the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

Even if you have already sent an E-Mail to your Members of Congress, I urge you to send another E-Mail with the precise suggested text set out below.  And if you have not sent an E-Mail, I urge you to do so.  Do not add anything more than what is suggested.  In short, don’t mention PUPS or any other Bill.  Just limit your remarks to the Lobbying Disclosure Act.  If the HSUS then “BLINKS,” as did the HSLF, and then re-registers, it is admitting to the IRS that it has been playing “fast and loose” - - AND THAT COULD RESULT IN THE HSUS LOSING ITS TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.  And if it does not register, there will be mounting Congressional pressure to ask the Justice Department to investigate the HSUS.  Already, at least Six Members of Congress have asked the Justice Department to look into the documented allegations that it had previously received.  And yet another submission, WITH “NEW EVIDENCE,” was received by the Justice Department on March 7, 2012.  Let us build upon the potential “momentum changer” that was created when the HSLF “BLINKED” and registered as a “Lobbying Organization.”

1.   To send an E-Mail to your U.S. Representative, Log onto www.house.gov/writerep/

2.   Fill in your state and ZIP Code on the prompt that appears.

3.   Add your name, address and E-Mail address on E-Mail Form for your U.S. Representative; and on the Subject Line add: LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1995.  If that Subject Line will not allow you to use that Subject, use "OTHER."  Then add then add the message set out below.

4.   To send an E-Mail to your Two Senators, Log onto:    www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

5.   Click onto the E-Mail Address for each of your two U.S. Senators.

6.   Add your name, address and E-Mail address on E-Mail Form for your U.S. Representative; and on the Subject Line add:  LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1995. If that Subject Line will not allow you to use that Subject, use "OTHER."  Then add then add the message set out below.

7.   Send a confirmation that the three E-Mails were sent from which State, and any Congressional Responses, to Frank Losey: <f.losey@insightbb.com>

Suggested Text of E-Mail Message

NOTE:  Resist the temptation to mention your parochial "beef" with the HSUS.  Otherwise, you may receive a "boilerplate" response that says nothing more than:  "Thank You for bringing your issues of concern to my attention.”  WE NEED MORE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO CALL THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT!

On February 29, 2012, the Leadership of the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) made a monumental and self-incriminating admission as to the alleged and documented violations of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 by the HSUS and by the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) - - that was the day that the HSLF registered itself as a “Lobbying Organization,” which it should have done in 2004.

The “HSUS Leadership” includes Mr. Wayne Pacelle, the President and CEO of the HSUS, who according to the HSLF Tax Return Documents, also serves as the Vice President of the (HSLF), which he founded in 2004.  Additionally, the “HSUS Leadership” includes Mr. Markarian who serves as the COO of the HSUS, and who also serves as the President of the HSLF.  According to prior year Tax Returns for the HSLF, both Mr. Pacelle and Mr. Markarian averaged 10 Hours a Week carrying out the HSUS lobbying agenda.  

By way of further background, the Justice Department (Mr. Keith Morgan) received a documented Complaint about the alleged violations of the HSUS and the HSLF by letter dated August 1, 2011.  That initial Complaint was supplemented by Addendums that were dated September 12, and October 4, 2011, as well as the most recent Addendum that was dated March 5, 2012, which documented that:

1.   The HSLF registered itself as a “Lobbying Organization,” as defined by the Lobbying Act of 1995 on February 29, 2012, with an effective  date January 1,  2011 - - a “delinquency” of at least 14 months by its own admission, and more than seven years by the documentation that is now in the possession of the Justice Department.   Most significantly, the HSLF was established by Mr. Pacelle in 2004 when it aggressively began lobbying and assumed responsibility for the submission of the more than 2,300 pages of lobbying-related documents to the Federal Election Commission - - Millions of Dollars to Hundreds of Federal Candidates!!!

2.   The HSLF Registration Filing on February 29, 2012 listed Mrs. Constance Harriman-Whitfield as a Lobbyist for the HSLF, even though she is a paid employee of the HSUS.  Most significantly, Mrs. Harriman-Whitfield, according to her BIO that was posted on the HSUS Website, states that she is the “Senior Advisor, Presidential Initiatives,” and that she “develops initiatives in the area of . . . legislation for HSUS President and CEO Wayne Pacelle.”

3.   Since Ms. Harriman-Whitfield is a paid employee of the HSUS, and is OFFICIALLY LISTED AS A “LOBBYIST,” it logically follows that the HSUS employs a specifically identified “Lobbyist,” and as such, the HSUS should also have registered itself as a “Lobbying Organization.”  Such a conclusion is validated when one considers that the HSUS was previously registered as a “Lobbying Organization” in 2005, and specifically, by name, listed Mr. Pacelle as one of its “Lobbyists!”   This “FACT” raises the collateral question of “Why did the HSUS terminate its status as a “Lobbying Organization?”

Please let me know why the Justice Department apparently has not acted on the documented Complaint about the alleged violations of the Lobbying Disclosure Act as they relate to the HSUS and the HSLF.  If the Justice Department is not the appropriate Federal Agency to investigate documented allegations of violations of the Lobbying Disclosure Act, please advise me as to which Federal Agency is so responsible for ensuring compliance and enforcement of the Lobbying Disclosure Act.  Since at least Six Members of Congress have contacted representatives within the Justice Department concerning the documented allegations against the HSUS and the HSLF, I would appreciate if you would do the same. 

                     

Respectfully,