Punted deadlines on must-pass legislation drove lobbying activity and revenues, as expenditures by K Street’s biggest spenders ticked up in the first quarter of this year.
The top 10 interest groups by spending last quarter dropped $89.1 million on lobbying, up about 3 percent from the fourth quarter and up nearly 13 percent compared with the first quarter of last year, according to new disclosures filed with the House and Senate.
“There’s a pent-up demand to get issues across the finish line. The unpredictability of the legislative process has companies turning to trusted partners to help them navigate a very confusing policy and political landscape,” said Loren Monroe, a principal at BGR Group. “There are a lot of policy priorities waiting to get done, but many did get done in the last couple of weeks where literally hundreds of billions of dollars were appropriated in a relatively short order.”
