Recent Articles
Lobbying’s Return On Investment – Radio Report From NPR (Audio)
NPR’s Alex Blumberg reports on a study by University of Kansas researchers Raquel Alexander and Susan Scholz which sheds light on the potential financial returns that lobbying can bring. The study uses the American Jobs Creation Act, which was widely lobbied by corporate interests, as the focus to determine the financial gains received by those [...]
There Is Room On The Bus For Local Transit Lobbying
$286.4 billion. This is the number of Federal dollars directed at transportation related issues in the highway and transit bill signed into law in 2005. Intricate behemoths dense with provisions, earmarks and “pork,” Federal transportation measures have more on-ramps of opportunity for lobbyists than a California freeway cloverleaf. High-speed rail, road construction, environmental mandates — [...]
Political Stampede Over Horse Meat for Human Consumption
Horse. It’s what’s for dinner. Or it could be as Congress lifts the ban on slaughtering horses for human food. Not at all surprisingly, reaction to the decision has been visceral and extreme, whipping up conflict between western ranching and agri-business interests and animal rights activists. Horse meat production had been bridled since 2006 when [...]
Lobbying Finds Religion
God is playing the influence game. The media caricature of lobbyists as shills for big business is upended in a new study by the esteemed Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which reveals that religious institutions spanning the faith spectrum spend a least 390 million dollars a year on political advocacy. Examining 212 religion-related [...]
Financial Services Regulatory Update – 10/26/2011
Amendment to Increase Government-backed Mortgage Loan Limits Introduced: On October 19th Senators Feinstein (D-CA), Isakson (R-GA), and Menendez (D-NJ) introduced an amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill (H.R. 2112) that would return government-backed mortgage loan limits to their higher, temporary levels set in 2008. Designed to jolt the floundering housing market by lowering the cost [...]
It’s Still Meet Over Tweet With Veteran Lobbyists, But For How Long?
Dinosaurs beware, as the business of government increasingly trends through social media connections, many lobbyists just aren’t linked in. A survey of Washington’s most prominent lobbying firms reveals that about half of them, including many of K Streets’ power brokers, lack any effective presence on Twitter, Facebook or other online networking services. Indeed, while lobbyists [...]
Lobbyists Jam For Gibson Guitars Amidst Wood-Stock Outrage
As the Feds look into allegations that Gibson Guitars violated the Lacey Act, the legendary instrument maker is playing its own power chord with the retention of six lobbyists from the Washington firm of Crowell & Moring. In August Federal agents raided Gibson’s facilities, impounding wood imported from India. While the government has yet to [...]
Momentum Gathers In Oppositon To Proposed Federal Lobbying Rules
Critics fear that the Office of Government Ethic’s (OGE) proposed elimination of popular exemptions to Federal lobbying gift rules would effectively close down nearly all “common sense” relationships between Federal employees and lobbyists.
