Tough Times for K Street Lobbyists in DC

This story has the feeling of something only people inside the beltway would care about a great deal, but we pass it along because the reality of the situation is that "K Street Lobbyists" as they are called in DC, affect legislation that touches every American. (Not to mention many people in foreign countries.)

Well, it turns out it's a bit of tough times for lobbyists. Not that bad, mind you -- lobbyists will still pull in $2.9 billion this year. But thanks to a variety of scandals where lobbyists were behind the implosion of several political careers (can you say Bob Ney or Duke Cunningham?), the National Journal reports that "lobbyists and lobbying firms are now targets as never before."

In 2007, Congress passed tough reforms that cracked down on many of K Street's most hallowed practices. Gone are the days when lobbyists could buy meals and gifts for lawmakers and their staffers and could finance entertainment, corporate jets, and junkets. Lobbyists and their firms must now file three times the number of reports with Congress than in years past. Even more ominous, the new law exposes lobbyists and their employers to potential prison time and hefty fines if they fail to follow the regulations.

As if that were not enough, the lobbying class -- long derided outside the Beltway as the scourge of Washington -- is a convenient punching bag in the presidential campaign. After winning the Wisconsin primary on February 19, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., declared in a victory speech, "Washington has become a place where good ideas go to die... because lobbyists crush them with their money and influence."

But as the article points out, all three of the remaining presidential contenders have top lobbyists working for them. And while there are more rules, there is also more lobbying taking place than ever before.

Ah, the more things change, the more they stay the same ...

11:40 AM ET | 03-24-2008 | permalink