The 508(c)(1)(a) Initiative Workshop

usiness. Wall Street lobbyists and the financial industry spent upwards of $100 million
in one year to "court regulators and lawmakers", particularly since they were "finalizing
new regulations for lending, trading and debit card fees." One academic analysis in
1987 found that firms were more likely to spend on lobbying if they were both large and
concerned about "adverse financial statement consequences" if they did not lobby. Big
banks were "prolific spenders" on lobbying; JPMorgan Chase has an in-house team of
lobbyists who spent $3.3 million in 2010; the American Bankers Association spent $4.6
million on lobbying; an organization representing 100 of the nation's largest financial
firms called the Financial Services Roundtable spent heavily as well. A trade group
representing Hedge Funds spent more than $1 million in one quarter trying to influence
the government about financial regulations, including an effort to try to change a rule
that might demand greater disclosure requirements for funds. Amazon.com spent
$450,000 in one quarter lobbying about a possible online sales tax as well as rules
about data protection and privacy. Corporations which sell substantially to the
government tend to be active lobbiers. For example, aircraft manufacturer Boeing,
which has sizeable defense contracts, pours "millions into lobbying":
Boeing Co. is one of the most influential companies in airline manufacturing and has
continually shown its influence in lobbying Congress ... Between January and
September, Boeing spent a total of $12 million lobbying according to research by the
Center for Responsive Politics. Additionally, Boeing has its own political action
committee, which donated more than $2.2 million to federal candidates during the 2010
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