Democratic House Approprations Committee lobbied by Chairman’s son

Two weeks ago, House Committee on Oversight Ranking Member Darrel Issa (R-CA) raised the issue that House Appropriations Commtitee Chair David Obey’s son had lobbied the committee on stimulus issues. Craig Obey is a lobbyist at the National Parks Conservation Association, and the association denied it to the Washington Times:

Tom Hill, legislative representative for NPCA, said the group, including the younger Mr. Obey, refrains from lobbying Mr. Obey or his office to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

Obey’s office denied it to a local paper:

But a spokeswoman for the lawmaker, Kirstin Brost, said Obey’s son does not lobby his father’s panel. And the idea for the park funding actually came from U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., who chairs an appropriations subcommittee on the environment.

Turns out that these are simply lies. And the lies are refuted by the ethics filings that registered lobbyists are required to file.

In 2008, Craig Obey was registered to lobby on behalf of the NPCA on a number of appropriations bills.

Issa’s staff at the House Oversight Committee compiled all of these into a staff report, which is after the jump. Pages 7 and 8 have pictures of the actual filings that demonstrate this.

2.10.09 House Oversight Committee Minority Staff Report on NPCA