Nothing says lobbying like splashing your company’s name in bright colors across the pages of Capitol Hill’s three must-read specialty publications on the first day of a new congressional session.

In all, 13 corporations, unions or special interest groups that lobby the federal government purchased at least one full-page advertisement in today’s print editions of Roll Call, The Hill or Politico, an OpenSecrets Blog review of the newspapers indicates. And 10 of these 13 groups spent at least $1 million during the first nine months of 2010 on their federal lobbying efforts.

Advertising and public relations expenses are not required to be included in federal lobbying reports.

In terms of Inauguration Day advertising, energy giant Chevron leads this pack, placing two two-page spreads in both Politico and The Hill.

“Fighting AIDS should be corporate policy. We agree.” Chevron’s ad in The Hill reads in giant, boldface letters placed to the left of a child hugging a woman.

“It’s time oil companies get behind the development of renewable energy.” the Politico text reads next to a picture of a blank-faced young girl staring at you through her honey brown eyes.

Chevron certainly knows it some Washington, D.C.: Through the first nine months of 2010, it spent an even $10 million lobbying the federal government — second behind ConocoPhillips among oil and gas industry interests — while employing more than 40 individual lobbyists. The company’s political action committee, meanwhile, donated more than $582,000 to congressional candidates during the 2010 election cycle.

Meanwhile, General Electric and Rolls-Royce scored a hat trick by populating all three publications with a one-page ad peddling its Joint Strike Fighter engine.

For the first three quarters of 2010, GE spent a cool $32 million on federal lobbying efforts, while Rolls-Royce North America chipped in $1.27 million.

GE’s PAC contributed $1.46 million to congressional candidates this past election cycle, while the PAC of Rolls-Royce donated $317,500.

These ads did not overly address members of Congress in their message. Others, however, most certainly did.

Take the ad by the Communications Workers of America in Politico, which states in massive red letters, “A New Year’s Resolution for the Senate,” followed by slightly less massive black text reading “Change the Senate Rules to Stop the Abuse of the Filibuster.”

Probably won’t find that message in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.



Communications Workers of America has, through September, spent $650,000 on lobbying, while its PAC last election cycle filled congressional candidates’ coffers with about $1.63 million, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of its most recent reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Then there’s Coca-Cola, which exponentially increased its lobbying expenditures during the past two years in part to defend against a hypothetical soda tax and other food-related proposals. The beverage giant offered this cheery greeting on page 27 of Politico: “Welcome back, Congress. Would you like to hear about our New Year’s resolutions?”

It goes on to read, “We are committed to making a positive difference in the world and look forward to working with members of the 112th Congress to promote stronger communities, economic growth and sustainable, responsible business for years to come.”

Coca-Cola, in 2010, employed more than 40 registered lobbyists to work with members of Congress and others in the federal government. The company spent about $9.4 million on federal lobbying efforts in 2009 and about $4.9 million during the first nine months of 2010. It had never spent more than $2 million on federal lobbying prior to 2008.

Coca-Cola’s PAC donated $385,500 to congressional candidates during the 2010 election cycle, too.

The chart below details which notable companies and organizations today placed ads in Politico, Roll Call or The Hill and how actively they’ve lobbied and donated to federal politicians of late:

Company / Organization Politico Roll Call The Hill Lobbying $ PAC $ Boeing 1 page 13,180,000 2,094,000 Motorola 1 page 2,600,000 294,000 GE / Rolls-Royce + 1 page 1 page 1 page 33,320,000 1,784450 Heritage Group * 1 page N/A N/A Coca-Cola 2 pages 4,890,000 385,500 Communications Workers of America 1 page 650,000 1,629,550 Chevron 2 pages 2 pages 10,000,000 582,500 Lockheed Martin 1 page 9,918,390 1,875,250 SNR Denton ** 1 page 2,170,000 N/A American Gas Association 1 page 770,000 309,500 Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America 1 page 1,250,000 1,061,750 Goldman Sachs 1 page 3,510,000 595,900 National Beer Wholesalers Association 1 page 1 page 620,000 2,708,000 Pfizer 1 page 10,740,000 1,049,367 World Wildlife Fund 1/4 page 760,000 N/A

+ General Electric and Rolls-Royce totals combined as they jointly placed advertisements.

* Heritage Group, which placed the ad, is a holding company that itself does not lobby or contribute to federal candidates. Some of the companies it owns do.

** SNR Denton is a lobbying firm. The total listed reflects income earned from lobbying clients.

Note: Lobbying figures reflect expenditures from January to September 2010.



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