There has been a quiet upheaval in the lobbying industry.
On the surface, the firms that represent thousands of businesses, trade associations and special interests are taking a beating.
In practice, however, the lobbying industry is moving below the radar. More than $3 billion is still spent annually, more of which is not being publicly disclosed. Corporate America is relying on new tactics to shape the legislative outcomes it wants.
The adoption of innovative practices by the influence industry, combined with legal reporting requirements that are full of loopholes, have created misleading indicators which suggest that there has been a decline in the clout of the lobbying sector.
In fact, lobbying techniques have evolved so as to elude the regulations that implement the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act. These regulations are revised every 6 months in “written guidance on LDA registration and reporting requirements” issued by the Clerk of the House and The Secretary of the Senate.