Lobbying Expenditures Disclosure

Resolution Text

RESOLVED, shareholders of Verizon request the preparation of a report, updated annually, disclosing:

Company policy and procedures governing lobbying, both direct and indirect, and grassroots lobbying communications.
Payments by Verizon used for (a) direct or indirect lobbying or (b) grassroots lobbying communications, in each case including the amount of the payment and the recipient.
Verizon’s membership in and payments to any tax-exempt organization that writes and endorses model legislation.
Description of management’s decision-making process and the Board’s oversight for making payments described in sections 2 and 3 above.

For purposes of this proposal, a “grassroots lobbying communication” is a communication directed to the general public that (a) refers to specific legislation or regulation, (b) reflects a view on the legislation or regulation and (c) encourages the recipient of the communication to take action with respect to the legislation or regulation. “Indirect lobbying” is lobbying engaged in by a trade association or other organization of which Verizon is a member. Both “direct and indirect lobbying” and “grassroots lobbying communications” include efforts at the local, state and federal levels.

The report shall be presented to the Corporate Governance and Policy Committee and posted on Verizon’s website.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Full disclosure of Verizon’s lobbying activities and expenditures is needed to assess whether Verizon’s lobbying is consistent with its expressed goals and shareholder interests. Verizon spent $166,939,249 from 2010 – 2022 on federal lobbying. This does not include state lobbying expenditures, where Verizon also lobbies extensively, for example spending $12 million on lobbying in California from 2010 – 2022. And Verizon lobbies abroad, spending between €400,000 – 499,999 on lobbying in Europe for 2022.

Companies can give unlimited amounts to third party groups that spend millions on lobbying and undisclosed grassroots activity.1 Verizon fails to disclose its payments to trade associations and social welfare groups (SWGs), or the amounts used for lobbying, to shareholders. Verizon belongs to the Business Roundtable, CTIA – the Wireless Association, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and USTelecom – the Broadband Association, which together spent $47,460,000 on federal lobbying in 2022, and supports SWGs that lobby like Americans for Tax Reform and the RATE Coalition.

Verizon’s lack of disclosure presents reputational risks when its lobbying contradicts company public positions. For example, Verizon publicly supports addressing climate change, yet the BRT lobbied against the Inflation Reduction Act2 and NAM leverages its “influence to obstruct climate policy progress in the U.S. at the federal, state and local levels.”3 As Verizon has drawn scrutiny for paying single digits in federal taxes for 2018 – 2022,4 the RATE Coalition lobbied against raising taxes to pay for health care, education and safety net programs.5 And while Verizon no longer belongs to the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council,6 it was still represented by NAM, which previously sat on its Private Enterprise Advisory Council.7

Verizon should expand its lobbying disclosure.

1 https://theintercept.com/2019/08/06/business-group-spending-on-lobbying-in-washington-is-at-least-double-whats-publicly-reported/. 

2 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/19/top-us-business-lobby-group-climate-action-business-roundtable. 

3 https://www.greenbiz.com/article/dont-play-both-sides-take-3-steps-now-fix-your-trade-group-gap. 

4 https://itep.org/corporations-reap-billions-in-tax-breaks-under-bonus-depreciation/. 

5 https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/08/31/business-lobbying-democrats-reconciliation/. 

6 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/09/verizon-quits-alec-david-horowitz/. 

7 https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/02/03/alec-expands-private-board-of-directors-with-woke-capitalism-fighters/.