Who Spends the Most Lobbying the US Government

The AARP focuses on issues affecting Americans over the age of 50 and is the second-most profitable interest group on this list after the National Association of Realtors. The AARP recently advocated for boomers who turned 60 in 2020 who could see a decline in their Social Security payments due to a problem related to the coronavirus pandemic in how earnings are calculated.

The NCTA is the primary trade association for the U.S. broadband and subscription television industries. Along with three other interest groups or companies on this list — the CTIA, Verizon, and Comcast — spent heavily lobbying against strict net neutrality rules and other telecom and broadband regulations, according to the consumer advocacy group Common Cause.

The North Bethesda, Maryland-based aerospace, defense, and cybersecurity company is the world’s largest defense contractor and lobbies for favorable legislation on defense issues. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission earlier this year sued to block Lockheed Martin from acquiring Aerojet Rocketdyne, the last independent supplier of missile propulsion systems.

The NAM has been criticized for its efforts to obstruct legislation pertaining to actions to mitigate climate change. Some NAM members including Microsoft and Procter & Gamble, have disavowed NAM’s policy position on climate change but still maintain membership to the advocacy group.

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon is one of the two defense contractors on this list (Lockheed Martin is the other one). One of the many examples of the revolving door between defense lobbyists and the Pentagon is former Raytheon lobbyist Mark Esper, whom President Donald Trump appointed as the 27th U.S. Secretary of Defense.