By Kevin Drawbaugh
Washington - Corporations, unions and other interests spent a record-setting $2.79 billion in 2007 on lobbying Washington officials for favorable policies, said a study from a watchdog group released on Thursday.
The Center for Responsive Politics said spending in 2007 eclipsed the previous record in 2006 by $200 million, with health care interests, Wall Street, the real estate industry and insurers among the biggest spenders.
"Lobbying seems to be a recession-proof industry. In some respects, interests seek even more from our government when the economy slows," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the 25-year-old group that analyzes data on money in politics.
The latest figures show a year of typical growth for K Street, the nickname often applied to the capital’s booming influence industry, but there were notable changes, too.
For instance, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce remained the nation’s single-largest spender, with $52.8 million expended in 2007 on in-house and outside lobbyists. But that was down 27 percent from last year, the center said.
Sharply higher spending was seen on other fronts, with private equity firm Blackstone Group LP ramping up its expenditures 477 percent to $5.4 million. The private equity industry successfully halted an effort in Congress recently to raise taxes on the profits of its senior partners.
The National Education Association, the largest U.S. teacher’s union, spent $9.2 million last year - up 464 percent - amid efforts to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind act.
Factors Behind Increase
Lobbying spending grows because fees are up, more groups see lobbying as important and more expenses are being disclosed as rules tighten, said Lane Kneedler, a partner at the law firm of Reed Smith in its Richmond, Virginia office.
Kneedler, who teaches a government ethics seminar at the University of Virginia Law School, added that lobbying by "special interests" is sometimes unfairly maligned.
"What some people consider to be a ’special interest’ is probably what other people believe to be their legitimate vehicle for voicing their view," he said.
Drug and health care product companies spent $227 million on lobbyists last year, up 25 percent over 2006 and more than any other industry group, with insurers second at $138 million.
Next came electric utilities at $113 million, computer and Internet companies at $111 million, and hospital and nursing home companies at $90.5 million, said the center.
Securities and investment firms spent $87 million, raising its expenditure by 40 percent over 2006, the center said.
Corporations that spent heavily on lobbying included General Electric, Exxon Mobil, AT&T, General Motors, Verizon, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Among K Street’s many firms, Patton Boggs reported the highest revenue from registered lobbying for the fifth consecutive year, at $41.9 million, the center said.
The firm’s top clients included private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, candy and pet food maker Mars Inc, drugmakers Bristol Myers Squibb and Roche Holding AG, as well as an association that represents trial lawyers.
On the level of lobbying expenditure overall, the center said: "The amount of money spent on federal lobbying has increased about eight percent annually since the late 1990s, making last year’s growth typical."
The center said it based its study on public disclosures available through the Senate Office of Public Records. The study was released first to Reuters and then posted on the center’s Web site at www.opensecrets.org.
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