Seeking to build further on his title as the GOP fundraising frontrunner, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney headed to Washington late last month to begin raising cash from K Street. Read on...

Earlier this month, former Capitol Hill staffer Cindy Brown was featured in a news article from TheHill.com which focused on the newest turn in her career, over at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti (MVC). The article quoted firm partner David Castagnetti as saying Brown was a “rock star.” Read on...

This Impact Report from Lobbyists.info examines recent proposed legislation on the issues related to immigration, specifically the DREAM Act. In particular, this report looks at the lobbying on the relevant legislation during the first quarter of 2011. Read on...

This Impact Report from Lobbyists.info takes an in-depth look at the railroad industry’s lobbying activity. The report highlights some of the industry’s top lobbyists, lobbying firms, companies and associations, and PACs, as well as the current news about the lobby. Read on...

Of all of the major sports leagues in the United States, the NFL is by far the most active in the political arena, perhaps as evidenced by the fact that it is the only league that employs in-house lobbyists. The NFL’s government relations team first registered January 22, 2009, following Q4 2008 activity on broadcast concerns, but has since been deployed to tackle almost every issue on which the league hires outside lobbyists Read on...

Congress was pretty well occupied in the 3rd quarter of 2010 with one thing: keeping their seats. But in between campaign stops and heated rhetoric, Congress worked on a couple of political issues, too. In this report, we’ll look at several carry-over issues, and one new issue: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” lobbying. Read on...

Reviewing quarterly LDA reports is a good way to take the pulse of lobbying in the federal government and Congressional offices. This quarter, contentious political provisions including financial services reform, campaign finance reform, health care reform, and oil spill accountability, have all been issues of interest to lobbying entities. Read on...

HLOGA is a complex law and can be tough to fully understand. So it’s back to basics with our first tip: Who must register as a lobbyist? Merely making one contact with a lawmaker does not mean that an individual must register as a lobbyist. There are several triggers that must be met before registration. Read on...

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is tasked with auditing and reporting on lobbyist compliance with the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) and as amended in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA). To that end, the GAO has issued reports yearly indicating the results of the previous year’s audits. Read on...

As Congress prepares for the last big push on health care reform in the fall, lobbyists, corporations, organizations and associations are starting to turn to the next legislative issue. Some issues that promise to be hard-fought in Fall/Winter 2009 include: Read on...

After the recent death of Massachusetts’ senior Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D), questions have been raised about the fate of political contributions made to the late senator. Read on...

This analysis will examine the following:
• What percentage of organizations and individuals registered to lobby gave campaign contributions in the first half of 2009?
• Which party received more contributions from individual lobbyists and lobbying organizations?
• Which candidates were the top recipients of funds in the first half of 2009, both from organization PACs and contributions from individual lobbyists? Read on...

Lobbying firms have reported their first and second quarter earnings for 2009. Perennial Washington powerhouse Patton Boggs tops the list with $8.4 million in revenue reported. Their earnings are more than twice the amount of the number 10 spot on the list, Ogilvy Government Relations, with $4.2 million reported. The top ten lobbying firms from first and second quarter 2009 are as follows. Read on...

In 2007, Lobbyists.info conducted a survey to determine the number of coalitions that lobbyists were involved in, the amount of time that lobbyists spent engaged in coalition-building, and the resources that lobbyists use in the process of organizing a coalition. A combination of a new administration that, through its campaign promises, sought to reform health care, energy and education, and limitations on lobbying the executive branch for stimulus funds may have inspired more lobbyists to bring their clients and organizations into coalitions. Lobbyists.info has again surveyed lobbyists on their coalition participation to see if any continuing trends or significant changes have occurred in the organization of coalitions. Additionally, Lobbyists.info surveyed lobbyists on their use of social media in the development and organization of their coalitions, and those results are also provided in this report. Read on...

When the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) was enacted last year, supporters proclaimed that the law - which required more frequent disclosures of lobbying activities, new disclosure on lobbyists’ political contributions and a ban on gifts from lobbyists to congressional employees – would reveal the ties between lobbyists and Members of Congress due to increased transparency. Read on...

In order to be more effective in the legislative process, organizations will frequently form coalitions. Coalitions can be created for several purposes, which could include gaining leverage by teaming up with groups with similar feelings on a particular bill or working with larger organizations with an available budget and staff to influence policy. Read on...

How does one define a "typical" lobbyist? With more than 25,000 people involved in government relations at the federal level alone, it may seem impossible to pin down the exact characteristics that lobbyists have. However, certain generalizations can be made based on background information available on Lobbyists.info. Read on...

Before lobbyists submitted their completed LD-203s, they had the option to leave comments to expand upon the information in the form. This is a selection of the most intriguing comments left from the 2008 mid-year reporting period. Names have been left off to protect the innocent. Read on...

No one wants to be on the wrong side of the law. The lobbying reform and ethics bill, recently passed in both chambers of Congress, makes some very significant changes to the current Lobbying and Disclosure Act of 1995. Read on...

The following descriptions are of the most common types of tax exemptions which the organizations listed in Washington Representatives use. All of the organizations are named after the section of the tax code which discusses them. Read on...

In recent years, the number of earmarks has grown exponentially. According to the Congressional Research Service, while only 4,200 items were earmarked in the 1994 appropriations bills, over 13,000 earmarks appeared in the respective 2005 bills. Read on...

Much of the news on lobbyists in 2007 focused on attempts to rein in the influence that they have over domestic issues. However, despite the increased attention on registered lobbyists governed by the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), a different kind of lobbyist—the foreign agent—managed to steal some headlines from domestic lobbyists last year. Read on...

Many in the DC lobbying community have been nervous about the impact of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA). In response, we compiled a list of the “Top 10 Things Lobbyists Need to Know to Stay Out of Trouble” last August. As provisions of the law have been clarified, we present ten more items to help you stay compliant with the law…and keep you from increased fines and possible jail time. Read on...