Lobbying

When the talk of health care reform was generic — and therefore unthreatening — the insurance lobby joined a number of other powerful voices in the health care industry to announce its support. But with the Democrats pushing ever-harder to ensure the inclusion of a public plan option, the push-back is beginning to emerge. From [...]

It’s not everyday that lawmakers with top ratings from the National Rifle Association go around criticizing the powerful gun lobby. But regarding the NRA’s bid to pressure senators to vote against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, some are losing their patience.
Here’s Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), quoted yesterday by The Hill:
“I’m very disappointed. [NRA seems] to [...]

Nuclear power courts new friends as it pushes for subsidies in the Senate’s sweeping climate bill.

In January of 2007, just days after the Democrats took control of the House for the first time in over a decade, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed “to close the revolving door between government officials and lobbying firms.”
Sike!
From CQ’s Jonathan Allen comes a heartwarming tale of lobbyists, lawmakers and the revolving door that just keeps [...]

It should come as no surprise that health care companies, executives and lobbyists would target their political donations to the lawmakers who will guide this summer’s health reform debate. But, in a great piece revealing how moneyed interests literally buy influence in Washington, Dan Eggen of The Washington Post points out this morning that even [...]

As we’ve pointed out, passage of the House climate change proposal last month wouldn’t have happened without the liberal sponsors first bowing to the demands of some of their more conservative Democratic colleagues, who were protecting the same polluting industries the bill aims to rein in.
Among the most vocal opponents of the initial draft was [...]

Congressional Democrats this week have been publicly incredulous that the credit card industry would have the temerity to raise rates and limit lending in the months before legislation restricting those practices takes hold. Indeed, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who in April asked the Federal Reserve to step in to prevent card issuers from raising rates [...]

President Obama has taken a good deal of heat from the business community and other special interest groups for his strict ban on lobbyists attending fundraisers where the president himself will appear. But it seems that some congressional lawmakers are none too happy with the restrictions either. Politico reports today that, despite the lobbyist ban [...]

The Hill reports that the American Association for Nude Recreation is coming to town next week to lobby Congress on nudism-related issues.
The AANR will be visiting a handful of congressional offices, but it is keeping the names of the lawmakers close to the chest (pun intended).
AANR members hope to increase the number of locations for [...]

As the Wall Street bailout nears its first anniversary, a risky aspect of the financial rescue has flown largely under the radar.