Center for Responsive Politics OpenSecrets.org
Editor’s Note: A good website to know about. A lot of data on lobbying available.
Lobbying Database
In addition to campaign contributions to elected officials and candidates, companies, labor unions, and other organizations spend billions of dollars each year to lobby Congress and federal agencies. Some special interests retain lobbying firms, many of them located along Washington’s legendary K Street; others have lobbyists working in-house. We’ve got totals spent on lobbying, beginning in 1998, for everyone from AAI Corp. to Zurich Financial.
| Total Lobbying Spending | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Number of Lobbyists* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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NOTE: Figures are on this page are calculations by the Center for Responsive Politics based on data from the Senate Office of Public Records. Data for the most recent year was downloaded on April 28, 2014.
*The number of unique, registered lobbyists who have actively lobbied.
- Totals: A summary of political giving dating back to 1990 election cycle, including breakdowns by type of contribution and political party
- Top contributors: A list of organizations (usually U.S. companies) that have given the most from that industry through their employees and political action committees
- Top recipients: A list of candidates that have received the most from a particular industry
Plus more!
Sector Totals, 2013-2014
| Rank | Sector | Amount | Dems | Repubs |  To DEMS  To REPUBS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance/Insur/RealEst | $172,827,317 | 32.9% | 56.0% |   |
| 2 | Other | $113,552,639 | 44.7% | 39.3% | |
| 3 | Ideology/Single-Issue | $104,239,447 | 36.3% | 41.8% | |
| 4 | Misc Business | $88,473,842 | 35.6% | 56.3% | |
| 5 | Lawyers & Lobbyists | $71,300,161 | 60.1% | 33.3% | |
| 6 | Health | $65,375,066 | 40.7% | 54.1% | |
| 7 | Labor | $48,685,905 | 50.5% | 6.6% | |
| 8 | Communic/Electronics | $44,451,767 | 54.6% | 39.1% | |
| 9 | Energy/Nat Resource | $41,260,278 | 21.2% | 73.4% | |
| 10 | Agribusiness | $29,485,708 | 26.5% | 69.9% | |
| 11 | Construction | $29,149,051 | 25.5% | 63.4% | |
| 12 | Transportation | $26,760,118 | 28.1% | 69.5% | |
| 13 | Defense | $14,054,121 | 41.0% | 58.7% | |
All donations took place during the 2013-2014 election cycle and were released by the Federal Election Commission on Sunday, April 20, 2014.
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center.
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DEFENSE
Although the defense sector contributes far less money to politicians than many other sectors, it is one of the most powerful in politics. The sector includes defense aerospace, defense electronics and other miscellaneous defense companies.
Individuals and political action committees associated with the defense sector contributed more than $27 million to political candidates and committees during the 2012 campaign cycle, with far more going to Republicans than Democrats: $16.4 million versus $11 million. [Read more Background]
Top Contributors, 2013-2014
| Contributor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Lockheed Martin |  $1,756,424 |
| Northrop Grumman | $1,745,083 |
| Boeing Co | $1,568,046 |
| Raytheon Co | $1,324,348 |
| United Technologies |  $934,100 |
| General Dynamics | $745,408 |
| BAE Systems | $604,685 |
| Huntington Ingalls Industries | $549,494 |
| Harris Corp | $305,964 |
| L-3 Communications | $273,480 |
| SAIC | $273,275 |
| Honeywell International | $266,540 |
| DRS Technologies | $244,750 |
| DynCorp International | $228,372 |
| General Electric | $208,500 |
| Alliant Techsystems | $205,686 |
| Sierra Nevada Corp | $200,580 |
| Emergent Biosolutions | $184,450 |
| Exelis Inc | $164,000 |
| Airbus Group | $147,000 |
Republicans Outside Spending Groups 
Contribution Trends, 1990-2014
Top Industries Lobbying on Defense, 2014
| Industry | Total |
|---|---|
| Defense Aerospace |  $15,432,546 |
| Misc Defense | $8,851,923 |
| Defense Electronics | $7,019,009 |
Top Recipients, 2013-2014
| Candidate | Office | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Durbin, Dick (D-IL) | Senate |  $217,050 |
| Cornyn, John (R-TX) | Senate | $200,500 |
| Thornberry, Mac (R-TX) | House | $176,950 |
| McKeon, Buck (R-CA) | House | $168,550 |
| Moran, Jim (D-VA) | House | $168,050 |
Related
STUDY: 422% INCREASE SINCE 1998 IN FORMER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AS LOBBYISTS
HALF OF RETIRING SENATORS BECOME LOBBYISTS, UP 1,500% IN 40 YEARS
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