Capitol Hill is aswarm with lobbyists representing big corporations, labor unions, foreign governments and ideological activists groups, all trying to persuade Membes of Congress to vote this way or that on thousands of legislative proposals every day, right? So many that it’s impossible to keep track of them, right?
Wrong!
The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) has a new online tool that tracks the number of lobbyists reporting work on particular bills for each year going back to 2005. Here’s how Capital Eye, CRP’s fine blog, describes what the tool has turned up thus far:
Of the 10 most lobbied-on bills in the 110th Congress (2007-2008), seven were appropriations bills. These bills saw a lot of action:
- More than 1,200 clients reported paying lobbyists to try to sway Congress on how to appropriate Department of Homeland Security funds.
- 978 clients paid lobbyists to work on appropriations for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.
- More than 800 clients hired lobbyists to represent their interests related to the farm bill in 2007-2008. Agricultural company Monsanto filed 34 reports that mentioned the bill during that time, while Verizon Communications filed 23 and Kraft Foods filed 16.
- Nearly 750 clients hired lobbyists to represent their interests related to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which gave the government the authority to buy and insure certain kinds of troubled assets in an attempt to strengthen the economy. Blue Cross/Blue Shield filed 59 reports that mentioned the bill, while the American Hospital Association filed 25 and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals filed 18.
- More than 700 clients hired lobbyists to represent their interests related to the energy bill in 2007-2008. Edison Electric Institute and General Motors each filed 30 reports that mentioned the bill during that time, while the Nuclear Energy Institute and electric utility Southern Co. each filed 22.
For vastly more info on Congress and lobbyists, go here.
