FIRST QUARTER LOBBYING disclosure was due Monday. Here are some of the highlights:
Facebook spent $2.4 million for lobbying in Q1 2013, $1 million more than it spent in Q1 2012, and over $1 million more than it spent in all of 2011.
The NRA spent about $800,000 in the first quarter, over $100,000 more than it did in Q1 2012. OpenSecrets blog calls this slight uptick in spending “surprisingly little” given the intensity of the lobby’s rhetoric after Sandy Hook.
The most targeted issue for lobbying spending was (surprise) pharmaceuticals, where over $22 million was spent. Merck & Co Inc bested the rest of the industry by spending $4 million, roughly what Phrma spent in Q4 2012. This time around, Phrma spent a relatively meager $1 million.
Here are the top ten spending firms in 2013 so far:
| PATTON BOGGS LLP |
$7,712,500 |
| AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP |
$5,382,500 |
| HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP* |
$4,195,000 |
| VAN SCOYOC ASSOC INC |
$3,767,500 |
| BGR HOLDING LLC |
$3,422,500 |
| CASSIDY & ASSOCIATES INC |
$2,997,500 |
| ERNST & YOUNG LLP (WASHINGTON COUNCIL ERNST & YOUNG) |
$2,930,000 |
| CORNERSTONE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS LLC |
$2,787,500 |
| BREAUX LOTT LEADERSHIP GROUP |
$2,632,500 |
| FIERCE ISAKOWITZ & BLALOCK |
$2,542,500 |
*bold = firm jumped in rankings from previous quarter
