Unable to stop automatic budget cuts, association lobbyists won where they could; getting lawmakers' attention harder than ever

Top association lobbyists had to rise above the din to get things done in the past 12 months.

Gridlock trumped all else in the sequestration battle as, with rare exception, no association lobbying effort was able to spare affected members from the broad and indiscriminate budget cuts.

Yet this year's CEO Update Top Lobbyists were able to achieve other major victories for the trade associations and professional societies they represent.

A few were won on the congressional front, but Top Lobbyists also succeeded in the courts and in far-flung state and local battlefields. They also went deep into the bureaucratic weeds to influence the Federal Communications Commission and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

But the going is getting tougher.

Added to the CEO Update honor role of top lobbyists this year are:

Geoff Burr, Associated Builders and Contractors
Scott DeFife, National Restaurant Association
Marty Durbin, formerly with American Petroleum Institute
Louis Finkel, Grocery Manufacturers Association
Bobby Franklin, CTIA—The Wireless Association
Geoff Freeman, U.S. Travel Association
Laurie Knight, Association of American Railroads
Katherine Lugar, formerly with Retail Industry Leaders Association
Frank Purcell, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
JC Scott, Advanced Medical Technology Association
Brian Wolff, Edison Electric Institute
Nick Yaksich, Association of Equipment Manufacturers
Mike Zaneis, Interactive Advertising Bureau

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