CEO DATELINE - Report: Number of registered lobbyists drops, but political spending increases
CEO DATELINE - Report: Number of registered lobbyists drops, but political spending increases
- April 26, 2017 |
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Walt Williams
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The number of registered lobbyists has dipped significantly during President Donald Trump's first few months in office but spending on lobbying has risen, according a recent analysis by government watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics.
The group noted the number of registered lobbyists dropped 10.3 percent from January to March, to only 9,175 official lobbyists on record—the largest drop in recent years. But at the same time, business expenditures on lobbying rose to more than $838 million.
"For the first time in the past five years, there is a lot of energy in Washington in terms of getting legislation passed," Caleb Burns, a partner at law firm Wiley Rein, told CRP's OpenSecrets blog.
"Lobbying up until this quarter has been defensive, oftentimes to ensure that nothing did happen," he said. "Those registered were not working at 100 percent, but now given the general atmosphere they're working furiously on behalf of their clients. I've never seen the business community this excited in the two decades I've been in Washington."
Pharmaceutical and health care industries led the increase, spending $78 million on lobbying during the first quarter of 2017 compared with roughly $68.5 million during the same timeframe last year. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America accounted for a significant part of that bump, increasing in spending from $6 million to $8 million during the first quarter.
Still, total spending by most associations remained relatively steady, with business groups spending about $32 million—roughly the same amount as the first quarter of 2016.
As for the drop in lobbyists, the number has been shrinking since at least 2010, when 11,446 lobbyists where registered. In President Barack Obama's administration, new rules were enacted restricting lobbying activities. Trump has continued to target lobbyists by promising to "drain the swamp" in Washington, D.C.—although his administration has weakened Obama-era rules restricting lobbying. http://bit.ly/2qeNvSW
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