Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
6/12/2015
A government watchdog organization is concerned that two top Navy submarine officials might have violated anti-lobbying laws when they urged attendees of an October symposium to push their local Congressmen to support the Ohio-class Replacement (OR) Program. The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) sent a letter last week to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting the Government Accountability Office review whether Naval Nuclear Propulsion Director Adm. John Richardson and Rear Adm. Joe Tofalo, Director of Undersea Warfare (N97), spent taxpayer dollars on publicity to engage in grassroots lobbying on the planned OR procurement. Richardson has been nominated by the Obama Administration to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, while Tofalo has been nominated to serve as commander of Naval Submarine Forces.
During the 2014 Naval Submarine League Annual Symposium, Richardson told attendees to “increase support” for OR, and POGO said part of his speech “explicitly directed attendees to lobby for” OR. “Inform those in your sphere of influence: everyone from your Congressmen to your local PTA,” Richardson said. “Look for ways to make people aware of how vital this is to the nation’s security; the stakes are extremely high. Don’t assume that somebody else will do this; we all need to do it.”
Tofalo reiterated Richardson’s comments later during the symposium. “Admiral Richardson talked about commander’s guidance and getting the message out,” Tofalo said. “He challenged all of you to go out and interact with folks, whether it’s calling on your own Congressmen, or if you belong to some organization from the Chamber of Commerce to the Rotary Club. I am committed to help you do that. If anybody needs help in strategic messaging, then you call ‘1-800-N97’ and let us know.”
Did Officials Violate Hatch Act?
POGO has alleged that Richardson’s and Tofalo’s remarks violate laws such as the Hatch Act, which limits political activities of executive branch employees; and the Anti-Lobbying Act, which prohibits use of taxpayer funds by federal agencies to conduct grassroots lobbying to pressure Congress to support any legislation or appropriation. “Taken together, these remarks seem to indicate a troubling coordinated campaign by Navy leadership to engage in grassroots lobbying to secure support for the Ohio Replacement Program,” the letter states. “If your office chooses to investigate these potential violations, POGO urges you to also consider any role of higher level commanders in this campaign, including orders Admiral Richardson and Rear Admiral Tofalo may have received from their commanders.”
The Anti-Lobbying Act prohibits lobbying in the form of a “personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, to favor or oppose, by vote or otherwise, any legislation or appropriation by Congress[.]” However, in 1989, then-Attorney General Dick Thornburgh wrote a memorandum opinion on the applications of the Anti-Lobbying Act, in which he stated that the prohibition on other devices does not appear to prohibit speeches or other verbal communications that are not relayed by telephone. “Thus, we do not believe that the statute prohibits public speeches by executive branch employees aimed at generating public support for Administration policies and legislative proposals,” the memo states.
But the ultimate determination of whether Richardson and/or Tofalo adhered to anti-lobbying laws remains to be seen. While a POLITICO article published on June 8 cited a Navy spokesperson as saying the Navy was reviewing the legality of Richardson’s and Tofalo’s actions, it is unclear whether the service is still examining the matter. A June 9 Navy Times article cites an anonymous Defense Department official who said the Navy is not investigating either official, after the service’s legal advisers determined the officers’ comments constituted appropriate advocacy. The Navy did not provide NS&D Monitor with an official statement on the matter this week.
