Many major lobbying clients posted a drop in fees as Congress departed for a long break through the presidential campaign. With lawmakers remaining on the trail, lobbyists have pinned their fortunes on the lame-duck session.
Lawmakers must fund the government after Dec. 9 when the stopgap measure expires. Mitch McConnell wants to push a bill to enlarge available funds for medical research. Both issues are going to be priorities for Wall Street interests.
Prolonged breaks in legislating have put pressure on some of the lobbying industry’s biggest spenders, according to recent lobbying disclosures covering sessions through July and September. Major groups reported spending much less in the third quarter of this year, while few held steady.
“The figures in our disclosure cover federal, state and local presidential campaign activities, and tend to have a cyclical nature,” a spokesman for the Realtors lobby said, noting that spending not required under lobbying disclosure laws were included in the report. “Because this is an election year, it’s not a surprise that activity has slowed.”
The chamber decreased slightly between the second and third quarters from $29.3 to $26.7 million, lobbying disclosures revealed. The third-quarter tab represented an increase above the $21.1 million that was reported this time last year.
New third-quarter reports detail money spent on voter education programs and efforts to assist “business-friendly candidates,” said Blair Latoff Holmes, the executive director at the chamber for media relations.
“There are fewer legislative days during a lame-duck session, so we are going to need to see what develops,” Latoff added. “Our first priority is going to have to be drafting a spending bill.”
She pointed out that their organization will maintain its advocacy for the TPP, even though the chances of it passing during a lame-duck session are poor. Both contenders for the White House have stated that they oppose the TPP- a fact that hurts the pact’s fortunes in the coming year.
Some of Washington’s biggest and most influential lobbying outfits have reported a drop in fees in the third quarter, to include Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, whose revenue dropped to $8.5 million, from $9.6 million in the second quarter and $9.7 million last year.
The second largest lobbying practice, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, reported $6.4 million in lobbying fees, a noticeable decline over the previous quarter’s spending when it reported bringing in $6.7 million each- and a nominal increase over third quarter receipts from 2015.
Some of the primary influences on K Street in the third quarter include incorporations and budget concerns. Over 3,500 groups, including AT&T and Boeing, disclosed turning their efforts to gain an influence over the incorporations process during the third quarter while lawmakers finish up the short-term patch in September. Records show budget changes have attracted over 1,000 lobbying interests such as the Business Roundtable.
Despite the fact that Congress declined to promote any serious changes to tax law this year, nonetheless, lobbyists still reported having pressed the issue, that over 2,500 firms and clients reported that they have been working on tax issues.
Lobbyists have stated that while Congress is on break, clients will be eager to seek advantages for their issues in 2017 and during the lame-duck session.
“This year has been unusual since lobbying activity on the Hill has been on the decline,” said Tate, who met Jeff Forbes, when they worked at the White House’s during the Bill Clinton presidency. “Depending on how things shake out in the election, everything may be up in the air. It’s about how you approach the options to be sure that your people are prepared.”
This may be good news for K Street, if Hillary Clinton wins the election, she is likely to “be more focused on bringing along the Congress in protecting interests than even the last administration has been- some commentators have noted.
Such statements about drops in lobbyist activity are somewhat standard. Many people have pointed to the fact that Donald Trump has promised, if elected, to clean house. He’s said in no uncertain terms that he would drain the swamp of corruption that the Congress has become.
He set the Internet on fire when, during a presidential debate, he said if he is elected Hillary Clinton would go to jail. Considering the fact that much of the quiet money and secret dealing that goes on in Washington surrounds lobbying, it makes good sense that if the sheriff is coming to town, lobbyists may see a need to curtail any untoward activity long before that day comes.
Regards,
Ethan Warrick
Editor
Wealth Authority
