Study: Railroad Lobby Tops Trucking

Fighting against economic re-regulation and for approval of the sale of Conrail, railroads far outspent trucking on lobbying in 1998, according to a report by the Center for Responsive Politics.

With $16.6 million in lobbying expenses, railroads, their trade associations and suppliers ranked 26th among the top 100 industries tracked by the center, a nonpartisan group advocating campaign finance reform. That put them just behind agricultural services and products and just ahead of health services.

Trucking, by contrast, spent $9.2 million last year, ranking 39th, just ahead of sea transport, which spent $8.9 million, and transportation unions, which spent $8.7 million. Air transport interests were 14th in spending with $34 million.

The insurance industry, which paid out $77.2 million, was the nation’s biggest spender on lobbying in 1998, according to the center.

Washington’s lobbying industry thrived last year, the center found. Companies, unions and trade associations spent a combined $1.42 billion on lobbying, up nearly 13% from the $1.26 billion spent in 1997.

The number of registered lobbyists jumped 37% from 14,946 on Sept. 30, 1997, to 20,512 on June 15, 1999.

“In all, there were more than 38 registered lobbyists and $2.7 million in lobbying expenditures for every member of Congress,” the center said in its first look at year-to-year lobbying trends.

For the full story, see the August 9 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.