Why companies spend all that campaign donation money

What do companies actually hope to gain when they funnel money toward campaigns and political causes?
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The one place in Washington, D.C., where bipartisanship is flourishing

Dec 8, 2020
The biggest, most lucrative lobbying firms in Washington are bipartisan.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

How corporate lobbying changed the 2017 tax overhaul

Jan 3, 2020
Corporate lobbyists won big under the Treasury Department's rules and regulations to implement the bill.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin in 2017.
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Market concentration and low competition has become the new normal in America

Dec 17, 2019
NYU finance professor Thomas Philippon argues that U.S. markets are no longer as free and competitive as they were a few decades ago.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Lobby groups want USMCA decision as soon as Congress reconvenes

Aug 2, 2019
Some argue Congressional recess is when the real work gets done, when lobbying groups pull out all the stops to get policies passed.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for CABC

Departing members of Congress lobby for new jobs

Dec 12, 2018
An exodus of lawmakers means tough competition for lobbying jobs.
K Street is ground zero for the influence-peddling business in Washington, D.C.
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S&P 500 companies make fewer election-related donations, survey shows

Oct 4, 2018
The companies that still donate are also becoming more transparent.
Joe Raedle/Newsmakers

For public good, not for profit.

Ahead of G-7 summit, lots of behind the scenes lobbying on trade

Jun 8, 2018
Business leaders and their lobbyists urge President Trump to stop levying tariffs.

The pot lobby hits Capitol Hill

May 24, 2018
A couple hundred business owners push for the federal legalization of marijuana so their companies can grow.
Cannabis business owners went to Washington, D.C., to lobby this week for legalizing marijuana and easing banking and tax laws.
Nancy Marshall-Genzer/Marketplace

The NRA hasn’t always been the NRA

Feb 15, 2018
The National Rifle Association spent about $5 million lobbying Congress last year. That’s up from around $1.5 million 10 years ago, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.  But the NRA is not just a Washington lobbying powerhouse. Its reach extends across the country.   Click the audio player above for the full story.