New Website Tracks Lobbyist Registrations & Trends in D.C.

From The Sunlight Foundation --

With the 112th Congress officially convened, a new session of lobbying in Washington has also started. In order to know who is lobbying for whom, the Sunlight Foundation today launched its new “Lobbyist Registration Tracker”. The website is a go-to resource on federal lobbying where users can find information on recent registrations made by lobbyists and lobbying firms, the client who hired them and what issues are being lobbied.

Lobbyists have filed more than 350 new registrations since Election Day. Currently, clients are seeking to influence issues from the federal budget and health care to Kyrgyz government negotiations with the United States. Lobbyists must file registrations with the House and Senate within 45 days of being hired. The Lobbyist Registration Tracker utilizes filings made with the Senate Office of Public Records to provide a snapshot — updated weekly — of who is hiring lobbyists and why.

“This website gives you the earliest insights into what policies and topics are drawing the attention of special interests in Washington,” said Bill Allison, editorial director of the Sunlight Foundation. “While we can't fully track campaign money, this is one arena where we have information on about who is meeting with Congress to influence policy matters and government spending.”

The Lobbyist Registration Tracker can be browsed via a single issue, such as banking or defense; by registrant, an individual lobbyist or firm; or by the client that hired the lobbyist. The issue, registrant and client pages include a listing of all new registrations made since 2009 and a timeline of trends over the past 12 months. These pages are available as a RSS feed or can be downloaded as a .CSV file. The Lobbyist Registration Tracker also connects users to the Sunlight Foundation’s Influence Explorer, which provides political contribution, lobbying activity, earmarks and federal spending information on people, organizations and corporations.