No company spends more on federal lobbying most quarters than General Electric, and last quarter, GE once again led corporate America in lobby spending, with $5.33 million, according to data from the Senate Office of Public Records. Second place was Comcast, at $4.52 million.
If the GE & Comcast pairing sounds familiar to you, that’s because they are the two parent companies of NBC Universal, and thus of liberal MSNBC, where I am a paid contributor. They were also the top two companies in lobbying in the second quarter.
Here are the top ten companies last quarter, in lobbying expenditures.
| General Electric | $5,330,000 |
| Comcast | $4,520,000 |
| Conoco Phillips | $4,423,000 |
| Southern Company | $4,410,000 |
| Northrop Grumman | $4,300,000 |
| AT&T | $4,240,000 |
| American Electric Power | $4,175,572 |
| Lockheed Martin | $4,010,000 |
| $3,760,000 | |
| Boeing | $3,630,000 |
And here are the top ten trade groups in Q4 2011 lobbying:
| Chamber of Commerce | $14,250,000 |
| National Association of Realtors | $6,100,000 |
| U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform | $5,670,000 |
| National Cable & Telecom Association | $5,450,000 |
| American Chemistry Council | $5,370,000 |
| American Hospital Assn. | $5,370,000 |
| American Medical Assn. | $5,210,000 |
| Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America | $4,820,000 |
| Business Roundtable | $3,890,000 |
| National Association of Broadcasters | $3,550,000 |
