American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

THE INTEREST GROUP UNIVERSE| 237

What is this dilemma? On one hand, people who have worked in industry or as

lobbyists already know a particular fi eld and the relevant laws, making them well

qualifi ed to work in this area for the executive branch. Similarly, former offi cehold-

ers, congressional staff , and bureaucrats are attractive to lobbying fi rms, as they

have fi rst-hand knowledge of how policies are made and they enjoy established

relationships with people in government. On the other hand, the problem with

the revolving door is that people in government may try to help particular fi rms and

interest groups in return for a well-paid position after they leave government service.

Or, when the infl uence works in the opposite direction, lobbyists-turned-lawma kers

may favor the fi rms and organizations that once employed them. It is very hard to

craft restrictions that avoid these problems. At the least, most executive or legisla-

tive branch employees who take lobbying jobs are legally required to refrain from

lobbying people in their former offi ce or agency for one year; elected offi cials who

become lobbyists must wait two years.

The Business of Lobbying

Interest group lobbying is heavily regulated.^12 Such fi rms must fi le annual reports
identifying their clients and specifying how much each client paid. Similarly,
interest groups and corporations must fi le reports that list staff members who
spent more than 20 percent of their time lobbying Congress and that detail expen-
ditures to lobbying fi rms. Data from these sources and others off er insight into the
extent of lobbying in American politics.
Today, lobbying involves billions of dollars a year. Figure 8.1 presents annual lob-
bying expenditures for 2000 through 2011. As the fi gure shows, a total of $3.27 bil-
lion was spent on lobbying in 2011. Figure 8.2 indicates that a multitude of groups and
organizations lobby the federal government. The amount spent as well as the number
of groups lobbying government has increased signifi cantly over the last decade.
Why are there so many interest groups and registered lobbyists, and why are
their numbers increasing? Figure 8.2 suggests that this proliferation is related to the
large size and widespread infl uence of the federal government. People lobby because
they have a stake in what the government does: they want their company to get a gov-
ernment contract, they want a new regulation to favor their business sector, or they
wa nt the government to either limit what citizens ca n do or rela x restrictions on citi-
zens’ behavior. Simply put, the federal government does so many things and spends
so much money that ma ny individua ls, orga nizations, a nd cor porations have strong
incentives for lobbying.^13 Moreover, as groups form on one side of a policy question
and start to lobby, people who oppose them may form their own interest groups and
start lobbying as well, either separately or together.^14
The expenditures shown in Figure 8.1 pay for many things. For example, begin-
ning in 2003, lobbyists for the Boeing Corporation were working to secure a govern-
ment contract with the U. S. milita r y for Boeing to build ta nker a ircra f t ( pla nes that
can refuel other planes in midair). Along with meetings between Boeing employees
and Department of Defense staff to negotiate the contract, Boeing’s lobbyists and
employees met with members of Congress, congressional staff , senior members
of President Bush’s staff , and the leaders of labor unions whose members worked
for Boeing.^15 Boeing also ran ads in Washington newspapers promoting its tanker
proposal. Thus, in pursuing the contract, Boeing paid the salaries of its employees
who planned and executed the lobbying eff ort, paid for outside lobbyists and their

WHEN THE SCANDALS SURROUNDING

Jack Abramoff came to light in

2005, many Americans considered

him a typical lobbyist who used

gifts, bribes, and favors to get

advantageous policy decisions

from elected offi cials and

bureaucrats. Abramoff’s actions

were illegal, but the question

remains: Are his tactics common

in Washington, or was he a rare

exception?