What is a lobbyist?

A lobbyist is a person hired to influence government decisions, often working for a corporation, trade association, labor union, advocacy group, or other organized interest. Lobbyists work to influence legislation, regulations, executive actions, and other government decisions on behalf of their clients. They communicate with lawmakers and staff, executive branch officials, regulators, and others who shape government policy.

Many lobbyists are former government officials. Former members of Congress, congressional staff, executive branch officials, and political appointees often move into lobbying after leaving government, leveraging their relationships, knowledge of how government works, and credibility with former colleagues. This phenomenon is sometimes called the revolving door. Federal law imposes some restrictions on the revolving door, including a one-year cooling off period before former members of Congress can lobby their former colleagues, but critics argue these restrictions are too weak.

Lobbyists work in many settings. Some work directly for organizations as in-house lobbyists, often called government affairs or public policy professionals. Others work at lobbying and law firms that represent multiple clients. Major lobbying firms in Washington include Akin Gump, Brownstein Hyatt, BGR Group, Holland & Knight, K&L Gates, Squire Patton Boggs, and many others. Some lobbyists also work for trade associations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Association of Realtors, and the American Hospital Association, which represent groups of companies in particular industries.

Lobbyists are required to register and disclose their activities under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as amended by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. People who are paid to lobby and spend more than 20 percent of their time on lobbying activities for a particular client must register, disclose their clients and issues, and file quarterly reports of their activities and spending. The number of registered federal lobbyists has been around 11,000 to 13,000 in recent years, with annual spending on registered lobbying activities exceeding 4 billion dollars. The actual number of people working to influence government is much larger, since the disclosure thresholds exclude many policy professionals.

Lobbyists provide a range of services. They monitor legislation and regulations, draft proposed legislative language, prepare testimony and policy papers, organize meetings with lawmakers, coordinate grassroots advocacy by an organization's members, build coalitions with other organizations on shared issues, and interact with regulatory agencies on rulemakings. Effective lobbying requires expertise in policy, procedure, politics, and personal relationships, all developed over years of work in particular issue areas.