Some information about lobby information
What is a Lobbyist?
A lobbyist is an activist who seeks to persuade members of the government (like members of Congress) to enact legislation that would benefit their group.
Lobbying is a regulated industry and a protected activity under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees rights to free speech, assembly, and petition.
Professional lobbyists research and analyze legislation or regulatory proposals, attend congressional hearings, and educate government officials and corporate officers on important issues. Lobbyists also work to change public opinion through advertising campaigns or by influencing ‘opinion leaders’.
#Who spent the most money to lobby?
| Sector | Total |
|---|---|
| Misc Business | $8,132,254,991 |
| Health | $8,081,900,301 |
| Finance/Insur/RealEst | $8,042,885,550 |
| Communic/Electronics | $6,433,109,959 |
| Energy/Nat Resource | $5,764,206,025 |
| Other | $4,037,224,213 |
| Transportation | $3,996,913,258 |
| Ideology/Single-Issue | $2,538,630,287 |
| Agribusiness | $2,341,286,863 |
| Defense | $2,264,984,599 |
| Construction | $883,473,981 |
| Labor | $778,078,337 |
| Lawyers & Lobbyists | $483,356,955 |
#Which one is the top issue?
| Issue | No. of Clients* |
|---|---|
| Fed Budget & Appropriations | 14,088 |
| Health Issues | 8,112 |
| Defense | 7,760 |
| Taxes | 7,035 |
| Transportation | 6,152 |
| Energy & Nuclear Power | 5,296 |
| Environment & Superfund | 4,863 |
| Government Issues | 4,509 |
| Trade | 4,387 |
| Education | 4,231 |
#The Full issue code list
| Code | Description | Code | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | Accounting | HOM | Homeland Security |
| ADV | Advertising | HOU | Housing |
| AER | Aerospace | IMM | Immigration |
| AGR | Agriculture | IND | Indian/Native American Affairs |
| ALC | Alcohol & Drug Abuse | INS | Insurance |
| ANI | Animals | INT | Intelligence and Surveillance |
| APP | Apparel/Clothing Industry/Textiles | LBR | Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace |
| ART | Arts/Entertainment | LAW | Law Enforcement/Crime/Criminal Justice |
| AUT | Automotive Industry | MAN | Manufacturing |
| AVI | Aviation/Aircraft/Airlines | MAR | Marine/Maritime/Boating/Fisheries |
| BAN | Banking | MIA | Media (Information/Publishing) |
| BNK | Bankruptcy | MED | Medical/Disease Research/Clinical Labs |
| BEV | Beverage Industry | MMM | Medicare/Medicaid |
| BUD | Budget/Appropriations | MON | Minting/Money/Gold Standard |
| CHM | Chemicals/Chemical Industry | NAT | Natural Resources |
| CIV | Civil Rights/Civil Liberties | PHA | Pharmacy |
| CAW | Clean Air & Water (Quality) | POS | Postal |
| CDT | Commodities (Big Ticket) | RRR | Railroads |
| COM | Communications/Broadcasting/Radio/TV | RES | Real Estate/Land Use/Conservation |
| CPI | Computer Industry | REL | Religion |
| CSP | Consumer Issues/Safety/Protection | RET | Retirement |
| CON | Constitution | ROD | Roads/Highway |
| CPT | Copyright/Patent/Trademark | SCI | Science/Technology |
| DEF | Defense | SMB | Small Business |
| DOC | District of Columbia | SPO | Sports/Athletics |
| DIS | Disaster Planning/Emergencies | TAR | Miscellaneous Tariff Bills |
| ECN | Economics/Economic Development | TAX | Taxation/Internal Revenue Code |
| EDU | Education | TEC | Telecommunications |
| ENG | Energy/Nuclear | TOB | Tobacco |
| ENV | Environmental/Superfund | TOR | Torts |
| FAM | Family Issues/Abortion/Adoption | TRD | Trade (Domestic & Foreign) |
| FIR | Firearms/Guns/Ammunition | TRA | Transportation |
| FIN | Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities | TOU | Travel/Tourism |
| FOO | Food Industry (Safety, Labeling, etc.) | TRU | Trucking/Shipping |
| FOR | Foreign Relations | URB | Urban Development/Municipalities |
| FUE | Fuel/Gas/Oil | UNM | Unemployment |
| GAM | Gaming/Gambling/Casino | UTI | Utilities |
| GOV | Government Issues | VET | Veterans |
| HCR | Health Issues | WAS | Waste (hazardous/solid/interstate/nuclear) |
| WEL | Welfare |
#Who do lobbyists work for?
Lobbyists represent just about every American institution and interest group - labor unions, corporations, colleges and universities, churches, charities, environmental groups, senior citizens organizations, and even state, local or foreign governments.
#Does a lobbyist have to be registered?
Since 1995, the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) has required individuals who are paid for lobbying at the federal level to register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House. Lobbying firms, self-employed lobbyists and organizations employing lobbyists must file regular reports of lobbying activity.
Most the above Q&A come from https://www.tripsavvy.com/faqs-about-lobbying-1039165
#Where to get lobbying data?
- lobbyview: created by In Song Kim,
- Characteristics:
- Used paper:
- KIM, I. S. (2017). Political Cleavages within Industry: Firm-level Lobbying for Trade Liberalization. American Political Science Review, 111(01), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055416000654
- Center for Responsive Politics (CRP, opensecrets.com)
- Characteristics:
- widely used in related financial and economic researches;
- Easy to use;
- Hard to match;
- Used paper:
- Borisov, A., Goldman, E., & Gupta, N. (2016). The Corporate Value of (Corrupt) Lobbying. Review of Financial Studies, 29(4), 1039–1071. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhv048
- Davis, A. K., Guenther, D. A., Krull, L. K., & Williams, B. M. (2015). Do socially responsible firms pay more taxes? The Accounting Review, 91(1), 47–68. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51224
- Di Giuli, A., & Kostovetsky, L. (2014). Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility. Journal of Financial Economics, 111(1), 158–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2013.10.002
- Minnick, K., & Noga, T. (2017). The influence of firm and industry political spending on tax management among S&P 500 firms. Journal of Corporate Finance, 44, 233–254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2017.04.001
- Characteristics:
- Official Lobbying Data.
- Lobbying Disclosure.
- U.S. Senate/Lobby
- Data is easy to download, but hard to match with financial database.