i$ii ired iiii rr uns $1'l Their weaponsnow areBlackBerries and cellphones. But cclnnections, sany, and fundraising clout are still the kevsto the influencewielded by the ciqzs5O top lobbyists. ,N t)Ni\r) AFTERALUCRAflIVE l2-year run on Capitol Hill, it hasn't bccr.rd.rc bcst of timcs fbr Washington lobbyists, especiallyRepublicalrs. Onc of thc most pror-r-rincntlobbyists, lack Abramofl, nor,v H"n *, resiclcsin (lumberlirr.rcl,Marvlar.rd, a guest of tl-rcFedcral Bu- reau of Prisons. His prosccutior.ror.r chirrgcs of giving illcgal w ,,.fJ gifts ar-rdr-nc:rls to lawrnakerslr-rd cleflaucling clients casta pall over tr profbssionthat, fbirly or not, dicl-r't l-ravcthe best rcpu- tation to begin witl-r. For Rcpublicans who thor-rght thir.rgscoulct.r't ger worse, thcv did. Dcurocrirtswor-r both housesof Congress in the 2006 clections, retnrning sorne old bulls-ar-r-rongthern llar- nev Frank, Charles Rangel, lol.rr.rConyers, John Dingell, and Hcr-rryWaxmxn-to powe r. Twelve yearscarlier, new Republican n-rajoriryleader Torr-r Delay instituted tl-reI( Street Project, by r,vl.richloyal fliends of the 1994 Republicar-rrevolutiorr were to be rewarded. Big businesswas none too subtly infbrnted tl.rtrtf'r'ier.rds ar.rd aides of the victors should reap tl.respoils. Democratic powers like Tl.rornasHale Boggs fr. began talk- ing about retirement. Republican staffersand el,en rnembers i ".{qifui! * drui$"1L By Kim IsaacEisler ,, #"* .* Photograph by Gary Landsman "' rd"r."$- $ *:l FF 66 WASHINGTONIAN \ f - ll ry ofCongress, eagerto cashin, left the money,so they come to us." the minding comesin. Even after a bill Hill and beganrecruiting clientswho Depending on the sizeof the project is passedand signed,it is subjectto re- could benefit from their contactsand andthe targetfunding,lobbying feescan versal.The good lobbyist can't let his or influence. rangefrom $700,000to $1,000,000 her guard down. Abramoff was just one lobbyist who a year)on the high side.There are no becamea hot property. In 1998, when guarantees-lobbyists are not allowed lN THEWAKE of the Abramoff scandal, we lastpicked Washington's 50 top lob- to work on contingency.Ifthe project questionswere raised,as they periodi- byists,Abramoff ranked 22nd. Shordy is not includedin an appropriationsbill, cally are,about the need for a layerof thereafter he was wooed awayfrom one there is nothing to do but try, try again lobbyistsbetween corporate America or fum by another,whose revenues skyrock- the nextyear,perhaps with a more influ- municipalAmericaand the United States eted-and whosepartners apparently ential lobbyist. Congress.Lobbyists, almost to a per- didn't look closelyat how he operated. Earmarksare profitable , but manylob- son, write Abramoff off asthe bad apple The amount of money generatedby byistslook down their nosesat that prac- in the barrel rather than acknowledging people claiming to have influence that tice area.Says tax lobbyist |ohn Raffaelli, that the barrel itself might be the prob- can affect legislation,appropriations, "We don't playin that world. Our fum is lem. A few lobby firms haveappointed and agencydecisions is big. Lawsnow more involved in creatingstrategies for ethics officers;most saythey aren't require lobbyiststo file financial-disclo- policiesthat my clientsare advocating." needed.But evengood onessometimes sure forms when they make contact with work in the shadows.As one prominent ((My a legislator.Those forms revealthe min- CRUDELYDISTILLED INTO ttree words,prac- lobbyist observes, greatestsuccess imum that lobbyistscan make.Much titionerssay, the lobbying gameboils down every year is getting something done more moneystill legallygoes unreported -for organizing grassrootslobbying campaigns,advising clients on how they Membersof Congressmake $16b,2oo canlobby, making speeches, contacting regulatoryagencies, and creatingpub- a year.Ex-members make that much lic-relationscampaigns. representinga singleuniversity. A MAJORGROUP ofclients is public uni- versities,hospitals, and municipalities, to "finding, grinding, and minding." without havingmy fingerprintson it." which spendhundreds of millions of You find a clientwith a need,and then On the surface,the lobbying indusuy dollarseach year to win appropriations, you haveto go into the systemand find seemsto be highly competitive. Legal often in the form ofearmarks-language a way to get what the client wantsdone . TimesrecentJy listed 50 firms with rev- designating that funds go to a specific That's the grinding. The minding is enuesof more than $7 million a year. project or institution-that their elected making surethat your languageor your The highest-grossingof the 50, the law representativesdon't havethe time or earmarkstays in the bill until it is signed firm Akin Gump, reported $76 million power ro ger. by the Presidentand isn't axed,thanks in lobbying feeslast year. "Congressionalstaffs are extremely to a rival lobbyist, at the last minute. Law firms, owned by their partners, busy,and often there aren't enough The minding, lobbyistssay, continues are quite competitive.But in recent staffersto do everything," saysa lobby- evenafter your legislationis passed. yearsprivate lobby shops,operating ist who specializesin representingcities. In 2006 a mysteriouslast-minute pro- outside the stricturesof bar-association "Our job is to facilitatecommunicarion, vision that had the effect of prohibiting codes,have proliferated. A little secret packagepriorities, and makesure that online poker madeits way into a port- of Washington lobbying is that three requestsfor funding meet deadlinesand securitybill. Martin Gold, the lobbyist largeinternational advertising compa- get includedin legislation." responsiblefor makingit happen,is with nies own most of the powerful lobby This has createdan odd situation on Covington & Burling, which represents companies.They areOmnicom, based Capitol Hill. Members of the House of the National Football kague. The NFL in New York, and two London co{pora- Representativesmake $I65,200 a year. wasnot reallyinterested in poker, but tions, WPP and Interpublic Group. Former congressmenlike Bill Paxonof many online gambling sitesalso allow Vin Weber, a former Minnesota con- NewYork and Bob Livingston of Loui- betting on football games.The NFL gressmannow perceivedas one of the sianamake that much representinga wants to stamp out gambling on its most influential Republicanlobbyists, single university,hospital, or water dis- games.It doesn't like that online gam- works for a relatively obscure consult- trict. Livingston's lobby group took in bling sitesmake money off its product ing firm called Clark & Weinstock.But $16 million lastyear, much of it from without paying the NFL for the privi- Clark & Weinstockis owned by Omni- governmentinstitutions in Louisiana lege. Online poker got caught in the com. Omnicom also owns Ketchum, a that he formerly represented. crossfirewhen Gold's provision made largePRfum, which owns the Washing- Two ofthe biggestlobby fums in Wash- it much more difficult to transfer cash ton Group, whose CEO is former con- ington, Cassidy& Associatesand Van from American banksto online casinos. gresswomanSusan Molinari. Omnicom ScoyocAssociates, specialize in earmarks. After the new Congresstook power in alsoowns the giant PRfirm Fleishman- "Public institutions arestarved for fa- 2007, House FinanceCommittee chair Hillard aswell as the Washington lobby cilities," saysStewart Van Scoyoc,who Barney Frank announced that he would companyPorter Novelli. countsdozens of collegesamong his cli- revisit the ban on Internet gaming and British-basedWPP owns three gi- ents. "They can't go to their statesbe- hoped to rescindthe measurethe NFL ant PR companies-Ogilvy, Burson- causethe legislaturesclaim they haveno paid for. That, lobbyists say,is where Marsteller, and Hill & Knowlton. With- 6A WASHINGTONIAN in that framework, the British now own It was thought, after Republicans wasWhite House chief of staff. suchpowerful lobby firms asQuinn Gil- took power in the 1990s,that Boggs's When Republicanscame to power, the lespie&Associates, Timmons & Com- influencewould wane.He talked about former Ted Kennedy aide deftly part- pany,and Wexler & Walker.Interpublic retiring to his EasternShore farm, nered with Republicanstrategist Dan is the owner ofone ofWashington'sbig- where he liked to take House commit- Mattoon, a pal of then-SpeakerDennis gestlobby shops,Cassidy & Associates. tee chairmen on weekend hunting trips. Hastert's.Mattoon hired Hastert's son Wayne Berman, whose homegrown Now, with close friends like John Ding- to work with him. With Nancy Pelosi FederalistGroup turned into Ogilvy ell, Henry Waxman, and Barney Frank now Speaker,Mattoon, the younger Government Relations, owned by \4IPP, backon top, Boggs'slaw firm, Patton Hastert, and Podestasplit up earlier this is typicalin claimingthatthe foreign own- Boggs,makes $70 million a yearfrom year.Podesta and his team of23 lob- ershipis no problem: "It givesus a larger more than 350 lobbying clients. byistsare saidto collect $I2 million to canvasand offices all over the world." His biggest and best-known client, $I5 million in annualbillings. I askedanother lobbyist how people Mars, payshim $2 million a year.In re- would feel if a Chinesecompany rather turn Boggshas for yearsmade surethat 4. Jack Quinn, Quinn Gillespie& fu- than a British one owned five ofthe most everyUS servicemanand woman gets a sociates.A former White House coun- influential lobbying firms in America Snickersbar or pack of M&Ms in his or sel to PresidentClinton