Chamber Doubles '08 Lobbying Totals
The top-spending groups on health care reform generally spent about as much lobbying last year as they did in 2008 -- with one notable exception: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber stood out not only for consistently outspending other groups, but also for nearly doubling its lobbying spending over the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2009 alone, the group's outflows easily topped the amount spent by any other group all year.
Lobbying disclosure forms show the Chamber spent $123.3M on all lobbying activities for 2009, compared to $62.3M in 2008. The forms do not break down spending by legislative issue, and the chamber lobbied on subjects other than health care in 2009, including cap and trade legislation, which the group vehemently opposed.
Their total spending is equal to the amount spent by the next 9 organizations that lobbied heavily on health care. PhRMA, AARP and the American Medial Association all spent more than $20M last year, while the American Hospital Association and the Business Roundtable spent more than $13M each.
Check out the full report at National Journal's Under the Influence blog.
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