More hopy changy U an believe in - Best quarter for Lobbying in US History

Thought obama was going to stop this? THEY LIE!!! http://bit.ly/1lC2ZR 2009 is on pace to be another bumper year for lobbyists! (and this is a 25 year old bi-partisan nonprofit organization not just some racist haters like me and anyone else that damn disagrees with among others a black president)

Yet more hope and change and change you can believe in.

Am I the only one to say yet again that all dam lobbying should be made illegal bottom line. I truly despise unions in almost every single case there is in 2009 and they are Einstein compared to the dam damage that lobbyists do on a daily basis.

HIGHEST SINGLE QUARTER OF LOBBYING IN WASHINGTON DC HISTORY. NICE HUH.

Federal Lobbying Boom Continues, Third Quarter Reports Indicate

Published by Michael Beckel on October 30, 2009 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Try not to be too spooked on the eve of Halloween, but 2009 is on pace to be another bumper year for lobbyists.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the sectors that could be affected most by the Obama administration's domestic agenda -- particularly health, business and energy -- have been some of the biggest spenders over the course of the year.

During the third quarter, corporations, unions, trade associations and other special interests spent $849 million on federal lobbying, the Center for Responsive Politics has found. This is the largest single-quarter lobbying expenditure since firms began filing quarterly at the start of 2008 -- about $8 million more than was spent during the third quarter of 2008.

The year-to-date total spent on lobbying now stands at $2.5 billion through the end of September, with that sum supporting 13,428 individual active lobbyists. By comparison, the total amount spent on all federal lobbying during 2005 was $2.43 billion.

Below, we've detailed some of these areas by business sector and issue.

HEALTH
The health sector remains the year's top spender on lobbying, with $396 million between January and September. This is about a nine percent increase when compared to the same period in 2008. This year, Congress and President Barack Obama have advanced plans toreform the nation's health care system. Their aim: grant coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, make health insurance costs more affordable, prevent denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions and create a new public health insurance option to compete against private insurers.

Of the four main industries that make up this sector, pharmaceutical and health product companies spent the most on third quarter lobbying. Three of these four main industries experienced modest decreases in lobbying during the third quarter compared to the second quarter. The only one that didn't? HMOs and health services, which increased lobbying spending by roughly one percent compared to the year's second quarter.

Moreover, both the HMOs/health services industry and the pharmaceuticals/health products industry have spent about 12 percent more on federal lobbying during the first nine months of 2009 than they did during the same period last year.

Name	Q3 Lobbying	Q2-Q3 Change	08-09 Change
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products	$65,689,497	-4.0%	12.6%
Health Services/HMOs	$17,721,274	0.9%	11.6%
Hospitals/Nursing Homes	$26,492,929	-0.4%	2.1%
Health Professionals	$19,435,774	-6.0%	0.3%

BUSINESS
Ranking second behind the health sector in 2009 lobbying is the miscellaneous business sector, which includes manufacturers and distributors, retailers, food and beverage organizations, casinos and business groups such as the lobbying powerhouse of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. These groups together spent $363 million during the first nine months of the year -- an increase of about six percent compared to the same period in 2008.

This sector also showed the greatest percentage increase between second quarter and third quarter lobbying, lead by the Chamber of Commerce's $39 million three-monthlobbying blitz opposing many of the Democrats' legislative proposals. From second to third quarter, this sector's lobbying expenses increased by about 30 percent. This increase buoyed the overall third quarter figures, as several other sectors experienced modest declines compared to the lofty levels of the second quarter.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
A high-profile area for new legislation and reform, the energy and natural resources sector, like the health sector, remains an influential force on K Street. Between January and September, these companies and groups spent $300 million on federal lobbying -- an increase of about six percent compared to the same period last year.

Of the main industries within this sector, electric utilities and oil and gas companies spent the most. Electric utilities spent about $37 million during the third quarter, which represents a six percent increase compared to the second quarter -- but these companies have spent about eight percent less on lobbying in 2009 than they did during the first nine months of 2008. Oil and gas companies, meanwhile, spent about $38 million between July and September -- a modest increase over their second quarter spending. They have now spent about 26 percent more this year than during the same timeframe in 2008.

The industry within this sector that has experienced the greatest percentage increase compared to the first three quarters of 2008 has been the alternate energy production and services industry. They have only spent about $23 million on federal lobbying so far this year, but this represents a 40 percent increase over their lobbying between January and September last year.

Meanwhile, the environmental lobby has been advocating for reforms opposed by many groups within the energy sector. Their lobbying is up 14 percent from last year. Still, they've spent just $6 million on federal lobbying during the third quarter and about $16 overall between January and September.

Name	Q3 Lobbying	Q2-Q3 Change	08-09 Change
Alternate Energy	$6,579,242	-25.3%	40.5%
Oil & Gas	$38,351,477	1.7%	26.2%
Electric Utilities	$37,419,570	6.4%	-8.1%
Coal Mining	$3,590,270	-8.8%	-16.3%
Mining	$6,312,045	-12.2%	-18.9%
Environment	$6,066,978	14.2%	14.0%

WALL STREET
The finance, insurance and real estate sector, similarly, has spent $334 million on federal lobbying during the first three quarters of 2009 -- hardly insignificant. However, this does represent a downturn of about four percent compared to the same period in 2008.

Lawmakers continue to keep these groups in the limelight, as they debate new legislationand regulations as the country recovers from a deep recession and Wall Street crises.

Insurance companies lead this pack with $39 million in lobbying during the third quarter. This represents a four percent decline from the second quarter, but between January and September, their federal lobbying still stands five percent higher than during the same time last year.

Credit agencies and finance companies also show more in lobbying expenses this year than last year -- with a four percent increase. During the first nine months of the year, these groups spent $25 million, of which $8.6 million was in the last quarter.

Credit unions, meanwhile, have spent only $6.6 million on lobbying during the first nine months of 2009. Still, this is a 51 percent increase over how much they spent during the same period last year.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, savings and loans groups have experienced the largest drop in lobbying this year compared to last year.

During the third quarter, these organizations spent just $140,000 on federal lobbying. And to date, they've spent $710,000 -- which is a 70 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2008. One of the biggest contributing factors to this: the failure of Washington Mutual, which spent $919,000 on federal lobbying last year.

Name	Q3 Lobbying	Q2-Q3 Change	08-09 Change
Credit Unions	$2,454,738	25.7%	51.1%
Insurance	$39,329,507	-4.1%	5.3%
Credit/Finance Companies	$8,624,510	0.0%	3.9%
Accountants	$3,793,214	13.5%	1.1%
Commercial Banks	$10,240,365	-12.6%	-2.4%
Real Estate	$14,675,042	-10.9%	-24.9%
Securities & Investment	$1,484,000	-8.5%	-27.2%
Savings & Loans	$140,000	-44.0%	-70.3%

LABOR
The labor sector has also experienced an increase in lobbying during the first three quarters of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008. Through September, as labor groups sought to push priorities like health insurance reform and the Employee Free Choice Act, they spent $32 million on federal lobbying -- an increase of roughly four percent compared to the same period last year.

DEFENSE
The sector experiencing the largest drop in federal lobbying during the first nine months of this year compared to last year is the defense sector. Between January and September, defense companies and organizations spent $96 million -- a drop of about 16 percent compared to the same period in 2008. This year, the Obama administration called for increased Department of Defense spending but also advocated cutting several high-profile defense programs, such as the F-22 fighter jet.

GUNS
Among the smaller industries tracked by the Center are the gun rights lobby and the gun control lobby.

During the third quarter, gun control groups spent just $30,000 on federal lobbying. Over the course of the year, these organizations have spent just $110,000 and hired 18 lobbyists. Still, this sum represents about a five percent increase over lobbying spending through the same period in 2008.

Gun rights organizations, in contrast, have flourished on K Street. Between January and September, they spent about $3.7 million and hired 54 lobbyists. This represents a 36 percent increase over the same period last year. In the third quarter alone, they spent $1.2 million.

The National Rifle Association has been the biggest spender in this area, accounting for about half of the overall total, with $1.5 million in lobbying expenses so far this year. Among other legislative priorities, they have pushed to overturn restrictions on guns in the District of Columbia, to allow guns on Amtrak and in National Parks and to extend the ability to carry concealed weapons between states.

Note: To date, the Center for Responsive Politics has processed nearly all of the third quarter lobbying reports. In the coming weeks, we will continue process the last of the reports, amendments and terminations filed with the U.S. Senate. The numbers presented in this story and in our database may be adjusted as accordingly.

CRP Research Director Jihan Andoni contributed to this report.