How Washington lobbyists peddle power

The US Chamber of Commerce, representing 3 million businesses, is Washington’s lobbying powerhouse. Among individual organizations, the Chamber “is the No. 1 spender on lobbying over time and again this year so far,” says Ms. Krumholz. “If there ever is a corporate battle, they are at the head of it. This is what they do best.”

In 2008, the Chamber spent $91.7 million on lobbying, according to CRP. Part of the Chamber’s power comes from the presence of local chambers in congressional districts around the country. In Washington, the Chamber has a deep bench of policy experts and an in-house law firm, the National Chamber Litigation Center, which works to shape legal policy.

The other top individual spenders on lobbying in recent years: Exxon Mobil, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, AARP, the American Medical Association, and the American Hospital Association.

It is clear that the Chamber does not cower before the Obama administration.

“I have a good relationship with the White House. We are dealing with them on all kinds of things,” says Chamber President Thomas Donohue. “We are trying to be fair and helpful, but that doesn’t mean we roll over and play dead just because they are excited about something when in fact we know it ain’t going to work,” he said at a recent lunch sponsored by the Monitor.

R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president for government affairs at the Chamber, tracks some 300 legislative issues of interest to his employer. “Solid, sound research and information counts for something in this town ... where facts matter and people are important,” he says.

And Mr. Josten notes the formidable grass-roots efforts the Chamber can mount using its capacity to mobilize local businesses.

“We generated 208,000 letters against the House healthcare plan in six weeks,” he says, which is an impressive volume even on such a controversial issue.

Some critics question the effectiveness of big lobbying budgets focused on Washington.

“Every dollar that the Chamber of Commerce spends on a lobbyist is a waste of money,” argues Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and himself a registered lobbyist.

He stresses the importance of building support for legislative initiatives through grass-roots efforts rather than working the halls of Congress.

“The Christian Coalition in the 1990s had three people in D.C. – everyone else was in the field,” says Mr. Norquist. “They were a power and they won elections. K Street is here, they’re grouped in big buildings, but they have no grass-roots capacity.”

Those who compete with the Chamber and other well-funded entities stress the key role of grass-roots efforts to build support for action in Washington. “We know we can’t match the money that is being spent by the opposition,” John Sweeney, AFL-CIO president, said at a recent Monitor breakfast.

Previous

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Next