February, 24 2010, 04:19pm EDT
Health Care Lobbying: The Frenzy Continued
Businesses and Organizations Employed Thousands in 2009 to Influence Reform Legislation
WASHINGTON
More
than 1,750 companies and organizations hired about 4,525 lobbyists --
eight for each member of Congress -- to influence health reform bills in
2009, according to a new analysis
by the Center for Public Integrity. The Center's story includes an
interactive database that tracks all the lobbying interests in detail.
The
list of firms and groups that worked to put their imprint on
legislation is diverse, ranging from health care interests and advocacy
groups to giant corporations, small businesses, American Indian tribes,
religious groups, and universities. Among industries, 207 hospitals
lined up to lobby, followed by 105 insurance companies, and 85
manufacturing companies. Trade, advocacy, and professional
organizations trumped them all with 745 registered groups that lobbied
on health reform bills.
The
number of lobbyists working Congress on health reform more than doubled
throughout 2009 from more than 1,400 in the first three months of the
year to nearly 3,700 in the final quarter. The total number of
lobbyists for 2009 reflects a higher number because some of those
lobbyists joined the fray only for a portion of the year.
Among
the most visible organizations in the halls of Congress, AARP deployed
56 in-house lobbyists and two from outside firms to work the issue on
behalf of its members. The pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce
deployed 47 lobbyists, all but eight from outside firms. The corporate
titans who direct the Business Roundtable deployed 40, five from
outside firms, and the American Medical Association had 33, 11 from
outside firms.
The
Center's searchable database of 2009 lobbying disclosure records
details which companies and organizations lobbied on health reform. The
database is searchable by sectors (hospitals, insurance, manufacturing,
trade associations, etc.) and by individual organizations. It includes
the amount each organization spent to lobby on health reform bills, the
lobbying firms they hired, and the names of individual lobbyists who
took the message to Congress.
The Center is also providing the following code for an interactive graphic that can be embedded for the Web:
https://www.publicintegrity.org/project_assets/HealthLobby2009/SWF/healthLobbyEmbed.swf
(then click on 'Embed')
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy. We are committed to transparent and comprehensive reporting both in the United States and around the world.
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