Government and Politics Issues

Lobbying Costs Far Exceed Previous Estimates

Two years ago, the Associated Press estimated lobbying in Washington costs roughly $800 million a year, based on a sampling of disclosure reports filed with Congress. But a more recent tabulation of all lobbying reports filed during the first half of 1997 shows that figure to have been 50 percent too low.

  • The most recent survey, a joint effort by the AP and the Center for Responsive Politics, reveals that lobbying is a $1.2 billion a year Washington industry.

  • So special interest groups are spending $100 million a month to pressure the federal government into making decisions favorable to their pet projects.

  • The AP said the new numbers are probably conservative because they do not include part-time lobbyists, lobbying by some foreign organizations or selling of "strategic advice" -- all of which are outside reporting requirements.

The five biggest lobbying spenders are the American Medical Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Philip Morris, General Motors and the Edison Electric Institute -- all of which spent $5 million or more.

Lobbyists run the gamut from high profile players like the tobacco industry to the American Association of Nude Recreation, which hired a lobbying firm to help defeat proposed restrictions on nude sunbathing in Florida (the nudists lost).

Source: Bill McAllister, "Pressure's Up to $100 Million a Month," Washington Post, March 12, 1998.

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