All third quarter (July 1 to September 30) lobbying disclosure forms were due last night to the clerk of the US House of Representatives and the Secretary of the US Senate. By and large the figures show a decrease in lobbying compared to last summer, likely due to the utter failure of Congress to accomplish much of anything. Instead, lobbying shops and public affairs professionals are mired in regulation work, following up on last year's big reform measures in the financial and healthcare sectors.
The US Chamber of Commerce was the biggest spender with its lobby for trade agreements and other issues, Politico writes. (National Journal has more on how those trade deals got through.)
Other notable spenders:
The American Medical Association spent $7.2 million on Q3 lobbying, mainly trying to persuade the super committee to make changes to Medicare payments.
Google spent $5.9 million on lobbying since the beginning of the year, a 51% jump from prior year.
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint also found reasons to lobby.
Ogilvy Government Relations reports a 25% bump in its Q3 revenues to new clients such as the National Retail Federation and the Seneca Nation of Indians. Many other lobby shops show a decline in Q3 revenues, though.
Don't fret for lobbyists just yet, though. Despite those that note a potential slow down to the industry when the business-friendly GOP is in charge, or during wait-and-see election year attitudes, lobbying spending has increased every year since 1999 according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks the data filed by lobbyists themselves in accordance with the law.