How is the business of lobbying companies in the United States
Accounts and perspectives of lobbying companies in the United States
In the second quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the United States of America , total spending on lobbying activities dropped significantly.
THE DATA
According to OpenSecrets , from April to June, lobbying spending was $ 821 million. This is a much lower figure than the nearly $ 860 million total recorded in the same period last year. Despite the decline, each of the major lobbying firms increased their revenue thanks to the arrival of new customers. This means that many are trying to reach the established K Street lobbies in Washington as the crisis worsens. In the second quarter of 2020, spending on American lobbies fell to the lowest level since Donald Trump took office. It dropped dramatically from the first quarter, when it hit a record $ 938 million. The figure is almost always higher in the first quarter than in subsequent year periods, but this type of decline is unprecedented.
THE LOBBIES
Topping the list almost every year are law firms Akin Gump and Brownstein Hyatt , which have grossed $ 12.5 million and $ 12.3 million respectively. In the second quarter, their revenues were record-breaking. Veteran Holland & Knight also increased its revenue in Q2 2020, to nearly $ 7.2 million from $ 6 million a year earlier. Each of these studios has closed deals with at least 20 new clients from April to today. Lobbying firms that have close ties to President Trump have also seen a huge increase in revenue. Ballard Partners saw its annual revenue rise to $ 6.5 million, up from $ 4.7 million last year, with 25 new clients as of April. Run by prolific fundraiser Brian Ballard – a Trump supporter – it ranks high in the rankings, despite employing just eight registered lobbyists.
BUSINESS DESPITE THE CRISIS
The American Continental Group , led by Trump's campaign advisor David Urban, earned $ 4.4 million, its best quarter to date. Miller Strategies , whose main lobbyist raised multi-million dollars for Trump's re-election campaign , went from $ 2.1 million annually to $ 3.4 million. Established K Street companies and lobbies with close ties to Trump are therefore growing and profiting well despite the pandemic. Clients spent $ 418 million on lobbying contracts with outside firms, the highest number in a second quarter ever. However, overall lobbying spending declined as companies, trade associations and other groups cut spending on their internal government affairs departments.
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The groups that spend less include the United States Chamber of Commerce, the main annual financier of lobbying activities. The House is pushing for payroll tax cuts and Covid-19 liability protections for businesses in the next package of reliefs. The powerful business group failed to get many of its priorities in the CARES Act. The House spent an amount of $ 15 million in the second quarter of 2020, a drop of nearly $ 3 million from the previous year.
Article published on policymakermag.it
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/negli-usa-il-covid-non-ha-frenato-le-lobby/ on Sun, 23 Aug 2020 07:00:44 +0000.