Lobbying spending by top interest groups dipped amid 2023 gridlock
WASHINGTON — A year of gridlock amid divided government and Republican infighting on Capitol Hill drove down spending by the biggest interest groups by about 13% in 2023 from the previous year.
In a year in which the House was without a speaker for nearly a month and Congress punted action on many of its obligations into 2024, the top 10 interest groups representing companies across business, technology, real estate, and healthcare sectors spent $283.1 million, down from $326.6 million in 2022.
Tax policy, artificial intelligence, China, healthcare, and defense were key drivers of interest and revenue on K Street last year, according to lobbyists. These trends are expected to continue this year, with tax policy taking on even greater prominence due to a bipartisan tax deal in the works and key tax provisions from the 2017 tax law set to expire at the end of 2025.
There’s no doubt going to be a significant amount of work behind the scenes, said William Moschella, co-chair of the government relations department at Brownstein. We continue to see great interest in tax policy. And I think that’s going to be a strong area for the firm throughout 2024 and then into 2025.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce regained the top spending spot after falling to second place in 2022. The business interest group spent $67.7 million on lobbying last year, down from $79.4 million the year before, according to disclosures.
The top 10 spenders in 2023 remained mostly unchanged from the previous year, with the exception of the addition of CTIA, a trade association representing the wireless communications industry, which took the ninth spot with $17.2 million in lobbying expenditures. The American Chemistry Council, which had previously held the 10th position, fell to 11th place.
While the top spenders on lobbying saw a slowdown in 2023, many of the top firms that provide such services reported no drop in revenue compared to 2022. Despite the lack of major legislation in 2023 and the month-long speaker race in the House that resulted in Kevin McCarthy being replaced by Mike Johnson as the Speaker, business was not negatively affected.
If the question is, did it somehow harm business? The answer to that is no, said Moschella. Uncertainty is something that our clients need help navigating, and so it’s something that we continue to assist them with.
In conclusion, the year-long gridlock in Washington led to a decrease in lobbying spending by top interest groups in 2023. Tax policy, artificial intelligence, China, healthcare, and defense were the main focuses of lobbying efforts. Despite the slowdown, lobbying firms did not experience a drop in revenue, indicating that business was not severely impacted by the gridlock.
