06-22-2005, 01:47 AM
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Commentator
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 1,584
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Govt. growth increases lobbying
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8307867/
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The lobbying boom has been caused by three factors, experts say: rapid growth in government, Republican control of both the White House and Congress, and wide acceptance among corporations that they need to hire professional lobbyists to secure their share of federal benefits.
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Take the example of Hewlett-Packard Co. The California computer maker nearly doubled its budget for contract lobbyists to $734,000 last year and added the elite lobbying firm of Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC. Its goal was to pass Republican-backed legislation that would allow the company to bring back to the United States at a drastically lowered tax rate as much as $14.5 billion in profits from foreign subsidiaries.
The extra lobbying paid off. The legislation was approved and Hewlett-Packard will save millions of dollars in taxes. "We're trying to take advantage of the fact that Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House," said John D. Hassell, director of government affairs at Hewlett-Packard. "There is an opportunity here for the business community to make its case and be successful."
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The Republicans in charge aren't just pro-business, they are also pro-government. Federal outlays increased nearly 30 percent from 2000 to 2004, to $2.29 trillion. And despite the budget deficit, federal spending is set to increase again this year, especially in programs that are prime lobbying targets such as defense, homeland security and medical coverage.
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Unless the Democrats decide hell needs a little freezing over and decide to advocate smaller government, the people no longer have a viable small government party. Hopefully that'll change before we're driven into financial ruin.
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