Loud and clear: insurers look to public policy veterans to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill.

Insurance lobbying interests are hiring recent politicians to advance the industry's agenda in the halls of Congress these days. And while hiring former politicians is de rigueur for any lobbying interest, some pretty high-profile politicos are opting out of public office and into the insurance lobbying beat. It's almost as if the insurance industry is bulking up for a battle on Capitol Hill, as lawmakers continue to weigh such hefty issues as TRIA renewal, the SMART Act and the optional federal charter.

When the American Insurance Association needed a point person to head its fight for asbestos litigation reform, it tapped former Montana Governor Marc Racicot as its chief executive officer, effective Aug. 1. It's a subject the former Enron lobbyist and recent chairman of the Republican National Committee knows well: According to the Billings Gazette, Racicot's hometown of Libby, Mont., lost some 200 residents to asbestos exposure.

In similar fashion, former Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating was bitten by the insurance lobbying bug after leaving his state post in 2003. Keating was tapped by the American Council of Life Insurers as its chief executive officer for his experience with treasury and tax issues. He'd worked under presidents Reagan and the elder Bush.

According to the Center for Public Integrity, which tracks state and federal lobbying registration, some 2,277 former federal officials have left office and joined the general lobbying ranks between 1998 and 2004. Per federal law, a politician-turned-lobbyist may not actively lobby for one year after leaving public service.

It's a career choice that often is misunderstood, or chastised. Yet lobbying Capitol Hill for passage--or not--of specific legislation is a full-time occupation, and a right protected under the U.S. Constitution, for more than 12,000 men and women nationwide--many of whom represent insurance trade groups and companies in Washington, D.C.

"It's a relationship business. Your currency is credibility and honesty," said Joel Wood, the top lobbyist for the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers. "In a perfect world, my job is to help educate members of Congress on how to think correctly."

Getting the job done right is a skill best left to those with a heavy political or socioeconomic background. And it doesn't hurt to be friendly.

"Part of it is facilitation: getting the smart people--the attorneys who have expertise on specific areas--connected to the right people, "Wood said. "A lot of it is painstaking work to try to ferret out what Congress has done that is relevant to our member firms and report it to them."

And a lot of it is identifying which committees have jurisdiction over the lobbyist's interests. For the insurance industry, they include the House Financial Services Committee, the House Education and Workforce Committee, the Senate Labor and Pension Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.

The issues often move from one side of the street to the other, and an effective lobbyist knows how to work both sides, Wood said.

"I'm a conservative Republican from Tennessee and Mississippi, but [Rep.] Barney Frank is a smart guy, and he's been very helpful on a lot of things," Wood said. Frank, of Massachusetts, is the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. Sometimes contact with the committees is broad-based; "other times, you are laser-focused on one or two key individuals," Wood said.

To be an effective insurance lobbyist takes a three-pronged approach: credibility, access and trust, said Carl Parks, the top lobbyist for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

"Certainly, you have to be able to bring valuable information and represent a constituency that is really engaged in the political process" said Parks, who has been lobbying for 35 years. "In the old days, lobbyists weren't nearly as proactive; you kept a lower profile, kind of operated behind the scenes. The best lobbyists typically were not quoted in the media."

Digging In

Lobbying is mostly a time commitment, said Charles Symington, the head lobbyist for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, known in Washington as the Big I.

"One of the most important characteristics is just hard work, just putting the time in. Being, knowing, learning the issues. And also, spending the time to meet the staff and members," Symington said.

"A big chunk of it is social. It is at least as important that you work well with your colleagues and even your committees as it is to be actively engaged with the staff on Capitol Hill," Wood said. "All of us bring different kinds of strengths to the table. Largely, we get along pretty well. And then sometimes we don't."

It helps to have a real love of public policy, said Kimberly Olson Dorgan, lead lobbyist for the American Council of Life Insurers. Good political judgment is also crucial.

"You need to understand who-likes-who on Capitol Hill, the dynamics of a committee and how they work, relationships on the Hill, and issues of the day," Dorgan said. "If Congress is, as they are today, focused on retirement security issues, you want to make sure they know the position the life insurance industry has on retirement security."

But not everyone is so enamored with the lobbying profession.

"Probably 90% of what they do is OK. I just try to point out the 10% that isn't," said J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America. There are effective lobbyists, and not-so-effective lobbyists, he said: "Some guys have made some terrible enemies on Capitol Hill. There are all kinds, from very good to very bad."

And sometimes, he said, the bad ones "get played pretty good."

As the former federal insurance administrator under Pres. Jimmy Carter, Hunter recalled when former Sen. William Proxmire was confronted by a young lobbyist, who shouted, "How dare you be for this bill--it's an outrage."

"Proxmire winked at me and said, 'Maybe you're right; maybe I should pull the bill,'" Hunter said. To which the lobbyist stammered: "You can't.... I just formed a coalition."

Most insurance lobbyists are far more effective. On the Hill, since who you know is as important as what you know, the astute lobbyist will foster close ties with many lawmakers on key-issue-related committees. With 71 members on the House Financial Services Committee alone, that's a lot of people to get to know.

Symington said his first step is to set up a meeting with a committee staffer. "Often times, our first point of contact is a legislative assistant, or L.A. We speak to the L.A. responsible for the financial services issues," he said. Each committee member's staff consists of a chief of staff; a legislative director, or L.D., who oversees a host of legislative issues; and several L.A.s charged with specific financial services issues such as banking, insurance, securities and housing.

Be Prepared

It helps that many of the industry's top lobbyists, including Parks, Symington, Wood and Dorgan, previously worked on Capitol Hill.

"I've seen it from every perspective that's involved in the public policy process," Parks said. "It gives you the ability to see these different aspects of the campaign and know how the people on the Hill think, what matters to them."

Symington, a former staffer for Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, and Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., said that some 20 members of IIABA are both members of Congress and independent insurance agents, which makes them invaluable to the industry. Having a large political action committee is also critical, and IIABA has the largest of the trade groups. It also has the largest grassroots network, which enables it to coordinate meetings between agents and members in various districts nationwide.

Having served two terms as governor and a term as state attorney general, Racicot had also chaired the Bush-Cheney re-election committee and was a partner with the D.C. office of Texas law firm Bracewell and Guiliani, where he'd worked since 2001, when AIA came calling. Based in Washington, D.C.,AIA represents some 435 property/casualty companies that together write more than $120 billion in annual premiums.

Since his hire in 2003, Keating has tapped such Washington insiders as Dorgan, the wife of Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D. Keating also brought in Pamela F. Olson, a former assistant secretary of the Treasury for tax policy, as a consultant. Olson, who'd helped develop the Bush administration's flexible savings plan, the Lifetime Savings Account, could be helpful to the AIA as it lobbies against the plan. And Gregory F. Jenner, a former deputy for Olson, is also now on AIA staff.

Having access to lawmakers is key. Political fundraising is a big part of lobbying too, but it's not everything, Wood said: "Your access isn't based on just doling out campaign money. We support people who deserve support and have been part of the process."

Friends and Enemies

Lobbying in the nation's capital is highly competitive, but it can be a friendly competition, even when long-time associates don't see eye-to-eye. PCI, ACLI and CIAB all are lobbying for the optional federal charter regulatory overhaul, while IIABA is against it; yet Wood and Symington remain "good friends."

"Philosophically, we support an optional federal charter, where you can choose whether you want a state charter or a national charter. But that's a standoff and has been for a long time," Wood said. "Yet we and the Big I have been working on it. They come at it from the right, and we come from a more progressive standpoint."

Symington's biggest foe in the OFC debate is Francis Bouchard, the lead lobbyist at Zurich North America--one of the biggest proponents of the charter. "We're friends, but we play this chess game on opposing sides with this whole regulatory reform issue," Symington said of Bouchard.

One thing most insurance lobbying groups and companies do agree on is Hurricane Katrina, which inundated the Gulf region on Aug. 29.

"It's all-consuming right now," Parks said. How insurance lobbyists are dealing with its aftermath is a good example of the multiple roles they must play on any given day. "It's a huge role, trying to provide information and education to the policymaker at the federal level as to what's really going on down in the affected area."

"Dealing with the insurance consequences of Katrina is No.1 now," Wood said. "It wouldn't surprise me if we didn't wind up seeing some combination of TRIA reforms come up with Katrina flood reform."

To be effective, a lobbyist needs even more than just access. "You have to be persuasive; that's where my law degree helps. You have to be outgoing. You have to know the people who make the decisions," Symington said. "You have to know the issues to make the case. If you don't know the issues, then you can't be persuasive. To be truly effective, you have to have both."

The Revolving Door

What Washington insiders call "the revolving door"--the tendency for politicians, such as ex-governors and state insurance commissioners, to enter the insurance lobbying profession--is a "good and important" way of doing business on Capitol Hill, Parks said. After all, they do know the ropes.

Insurance commissioners and governors have run operations, he explained: "No disrespect meant, but you can be a member of Congress and you understand the political process, but it's not like running a state or insurance department with a big budget or a lot of people."

Members of Congress really don't need to know anything about insurance, Dorgan said. "There is no federal entity that they have to provide oversight of. If you think of the banking industry, every so often the top regulator will come before the committee to explain what the issues are, or future opportunities. Because there's no equivalent of the office of the controller, we're out there all by ourselves," Dorgan explained. "So when terrorism reinsurance comes up, for example, members of Congress are unfamiliar with how the industry works."

With insurance being state-regulated, there's not a lot of understanding of how insurance works in Washington, Parks added. PCI has been lobbying federal lawmakers for regulatory reform, but since more than a third of its commercial marketplace is surplus lines, it hasn't been easy: laws governing surplus lines vary by state. "It's difficult enough to get their attention on terrorism insurance," Parks said.

"For our member companies to succeed, the marketplace has to work," Parks explained. "Bad public policy narrows the choices and competition that's in the marketplace and makes it more difficult for consumers to have the best choice of prices and values."

At the state level, issues more directly impact insurance companies, said Hunter, who served as insurance commissioner for the state of Texas in the early 1990s: "They're very strong in the state. It's very hard to get an insurance commissioner to do something that all of the insurance companies are against."

He said that's also due to the "revolving door:" An insurance commissioner will need to get back to work, likely at an insurance company, when his term is over.

Parks once lobbied for Sears-Roebuck Co., and recalls having to often defend why such a large successful operation would need a lobbyist. He'd list the reasons: trade law, taxes, legal reform, product liability--and pretty soon folks would leave wondering, not why Sears needed a lobbyist, but why more companies did not have them.

"There's just so much on the radar screen for policymakers that they have to have the interest groups from the outside provide them with the expertise and information that they need to make their decisions," Parks said.

"The issue for any company is how it contributes to the bottom line; the PR function in the life insurance industry absolutely contributes to the bottom line," Dorgan said. "Without lobbyists, the insurance industry would be absolutely at a loss."

"When I was not working on the Hill, I didn't know what lobbyists did. I didn't understand what their profession was about," Symington added. "Their reputation is not the best in some circles, but all in all I think it's a worthy profession. I really do."

Key Points

* Many of the 12,000 full-time lobbyists in the United States represent insurance trade groups or companies.

* Credibility, access and trust are chief qualities found in effective lobbyists.

* Some major industry trade groups have recently hired seasoned politicians to lobby for them.

The Lobbyist' Lobby

Hailed as the "residence of presidents" the landmark Willard Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., is also the birthplace of the term "lobbyist."

President Ulysses S. Grant reportedly coined the term "lobbyist" while escaping the pressures of the White House in the hotel's elegant front lobby. When word got around of his fondness for the Willard, folks seeking influence began to come by, too.

"According to what we understand ... he used to come over from the White House with his brandy and cigar, and sit in the lobby. And there, would-be powerbrokers would approach him with their requests," said Director of Public Relations Barbara Bahny.

Grant is said to have uttered: "Here they come--the lobbyists."

Early in its 205-year history, the Willard became a gathering place for social and political activity in the nation's capital. Bought by brothers Henry and Edward Willard in 1850 and expanded in 1859, it hosted the last social occasion attended by the North and South prior to the Civil War.

"During that time the lobby was the epicenter of the founding of our new nation, our united country," Bahny said. "It's so significant. It's really a microcosm of the history of the United States"

The Willard has hosted every American president since James Polk (1845-1849). In 1861, Julia Ward Howe wrote the words to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" there as Union troops marched outside, and President-elect Abraham Lincoln slipped into the hotel amid assassination rumors under the protection of Detective Allen Pinkerton. In 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. penned his immortal "I Have a Dream" speech at the Willard.

Now called the Willard InterContinental Washington, the historic hotel will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its grand reopening in June, and its staff is already coordinating a celebration with cultural institutions around the city.

Lobbyists still gather at the Willard--for a drink at the bar or to dine in the stately Willard Room. Lobbying, however, mostly takes place on Capitol Hill.

Lobbyists by the Number

More than 2,200 former federal government employees registered as federal lobbyists between 1998 and 2004, according to a study of federal records by the Center for Public Intergrity; more than 12% of current lobbyists (as of April 2005) are former executive and legislative branch employees.

175

Number of former House members

34

Number of former Senators

42

Number of former agency heads

2,277

Number of former federal officials

Source: The Center for Public Integrity

The Revolving Door: Lobby Leaders

It's no coincidence that the current leaders of some of the major lobbying groups were once politicians themselves. After all, they're experienced in running large corporations, such as states and state commissions.

* Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Rusbuldt was once an aide to former Rep. Carroll Campbell, R-S.C.

* American Insurance Association President and CEO Marc Racicot was governor of Montana from 1993 to 2001 and chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2002 to 2004; most recently, he was chairman of the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign.

* Property Casualty Insurers Association of America President and CEO Emie Csiszar is a former insurance commissioner from South Carolina, and was president of the group that became the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

* American Council of Life Insurers President and CEO Frank Keating was governor of Oklahoma, following a 30-year career in law enforcement (with the FBI and as a U.S. attorney and state prosecutor), and was a member of the Oklahoma House and Senate. He also served in the Treasury, Justice and Housing departments under presidents Reagan and Bush Sr.

* Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers President Ken A. Crerar spent three years as a special assistant to Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., before joining the Council in 1987 as chief lobbyist and director of the political action committee.

Who's Who Among Insurance Lobbyists

The following is a selected listing of current insurance lobbyists
arranged alphabetically by company.

Lobbyist's Name                        Company/Group

David Stertzer                       Association for
                                       Advanced Life
                                        Underwriting
Kimberly Olson Dorgan            American Council of
                                       Life Insurers
Jonathan Topodas                               Aetna
Charlyn Iovino                                 Aetna
Gina Rigby                                     AFLAC
Scott Styles                        America's Health
                                     Insurance Plans
Leigh Ann Pusey                   American Insurance
                                         Association
Rich Merski                   American International
                                          Group Inc.
Peter Lefkin                                 Allianz
Chuck Bruse                                 Allstate
Tom Crawford                                C2 Group
Dan Conway                                     Chubb
Joel Wood                   The Council of Insurance
                                    Agents & Brokers
Mark Isakowitz           Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock
Kathleen King                    GAO Healthcare Team
Roger Levy                        Genworth Financial
Ed Kaleta                                     Humana
Charm Symington                Independent Insurance
                               Agents and Brokers of
                                             America
Jay Velasquez                  Independent Insurance
                               Agents and Brokers of
                                             America
James Lee Witt                      James Lee Witt &
                                          Associates
Doug Bennett                          Liberty Mutual
Jim Morrill                        Lincoln Financial
Alison Weiss                             Mass Mutual
Kate Carey                                   MetLife
Janet Trautwein              National Association of
                                 Health Underwriters
Jeff Rouch                                Nationwide
Phil Anderson                             Navigators
Ron LeFrancois                         New York Life
John Jonas                              Patton Boggs
Carl Parks                         Property Casualty
                                Insurers Association
                                          of America
Tim Campbell                      St. Paul Travelers
Joel Friedman                           The Hartford
Eric Thompson                           The Hartford
Francis Bouchard                           Zurich NA

Lobbyist's Name                                          Lobbying For

David Stertzer                          Sustainable estate tax reform

                                           AGAINST: Estate tax repeal
Kimberly Olson Dorgan            Retirement Security Agenda, employee
                         benefits, mortgage insurance, incentives for
                                        annuities and long-term care,
                                             optional federal charter

Jonathan Topodas               Health insurance coverage requirement,
                           medical liability reform, ERISA, employer-
                           based health-care system, health insurance
                           via the Internet over state lines, generic
                          drugs, pay for performance, "principles" of
                                                           SMART Act.

                                AGAINST: Delaying Medicare drug bill,
                                        unacceptable benefit mandates
Charlyn Iovino             Consumer-related health-care improvements,
                             TRIA extension that includes group life,
                                tax-favored long-term-care treatment.
Gina Rigby
Scott Styles               Medical liability reform, improved access,
                             tax credits for long-term-care insurance

Leigh Ann Pusey           Asbestos litigation reform, auto insurance,
                         credit-based scoring, producer compensation,
                               property insurance, regulatory reform,
                           taxation, TRIA, tort reform and litigation
                         management, workers' compensation, SMARTAct,
                                            optional federal charter.
Rich Merski
Peter Lefkin
Chuck Bruse
Tom Crawford               Represents multiple life insurance clients
Dan Conway
Joel Wood                  Reforms following Hurricane Katrina, TRIA,
                                 SMART Act, optional federal charter,
                                         benefits, Risk Retention Act
Mark Isakowitz            Represents America's Health Insurance Plans
                                                  and Mutual of Omaha
Kathleen King                    Health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid
Roger Levy                  Life insurance, long-term-care insurance,
                         group health, dental, disability, retirement
                                                              issues.
Ed Kaleta
Charm Symington            Tax reform, Asbestos Compensation Fairness
                           Act, medical-liability reform, Class Acton
                           Fairness Act, health-care reform, business
                           exemption for Do Not Call/Fax legislation,
                              National Flood Insurance Program, TRIA,
                                                           SMART Act.

                          AGAINST: Optional federal charter, the sale
                           of crop insurance through federal agencies
Jay Velasquez                                      Outside consultant
James Lee Wilt                                              Hired by:
                         The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation;
                               Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, D-La.;
                            and following Hurricane Katrina, Allstate
Doug Bennett
Jim Morrill
Alison Weiss
Kate Carey                                            Social Security
Janet Trautwein
Jeff Rouch
Phil Anderson
Ron LeFrancois
John Jonas                    TRIA, annuities relief (capital gain on
                             distribution), Social Security, optional
                                                      federal charter
Carl Parks                 Reforms following Hurricane Katrina, TRIA,
                                optional federal charter, Fairness in
                            Asbestos Injury Resolution Act, SMART Act
Tim Campbell
Joel Friedman
Eric Thompson
Francis Bouchard                             Optional federal charter

Lobbyist's Name          Miscellaneous Attributes

David Stertzer
Kimberly Olson Dorgan    Wife of Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-ND
Jonathan Topodas         Specializes in:
                         Medicare, Medicaid, medical malpractice,
                         quality of care, the uninsured, patient
                         safety, uniformity of regulation, ERISA and
                         the employer-based health-care system.
Charlyn Iovino           Specializes in:
                         Taxation (HSAs, HRAs and FSAs), health
                         information technology, group life, disability
                         and long-term care, and corporate issues.
Gina Rigby
Scott Styles
Leigh Ann Pusey          Former communications coordinator for House
                         Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga, and deputy
                         director of communications for the Republican
                         National Committee 1993-94, among other posts.
Rich Merski
Peter Lefkin
Chuck Bruse              Former judiciary committee staffer
Tom Crawford
Dan Conway               A/k/a "the gentleman lobbyist"
Joel Wood                Former press secretary and legislative
                         director for Rep. Don Sundquist, R-TN
Mark Isakowitz           Served on Pres. George W. Bush's transition
                         team
Kathleen King
Roger Levy
Ed Kaleta                Lobbied for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Charm Symington          Former insurance counsel to the
                         House Financial Services Committee
Jay Velasquez            Former staffer for Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Tex
James Lee Wilt           Former FEMA head under Pres. Clinton
Doug Bennett
Jim Morrill
Alison Weiss
Kate Carey               Former Ways & Means Committee staffer
Janet Trautwein          Chief lobbyist, and newly promoted executive
                         vice president and chief executive officer
Jeff Rouch
Phil Anderson            Independent lobbyist who opened his own firm;
                         honed his skills at ACLI, CIAB and IIABA
Ron LeFrancois
John Jonas               Former Ways & Means Committee tax counsel
Carl Parks               Former staffer with Sen. Paul Coverdale, R-Ga.
Tim Campbell
Joel Friedman
Eric Thompson
Francis Bouchard         One of the few lobbyists who never worked on
                         Capitol Hill

U.S. Insurers Ranked by Spending on Lobbying

Spending by U.S. insurers on lobbying in 2004 totaled $102,774,980.

Companies and organizations                 Spending Rank
in this country ranked                      Among all all
by total spending                          U.S. Companies          2003

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assoc. and
  state affiliates                                     19    $8,860,000
American Council of Life Insurance                     24    $5,962,510
American International Group Inc.                      40    $6,867,300
United Services Automobile Association
  Group                                                55    $4,760,000
Health Insurance Association of America
  (HIAA)                                               57    $2,490,000
American Insurance Association                         59    $5,161,000
American Association of Health Plans                   62    $5,840,000
Property Casualty Insurers Association
  of America (PCI)                                     74    $4,336,000
Prudential Financial Cos.                              80    $3,273,000
Metropolitian Life Insurance Co.                       NA    $4,000,000
AFLAC Inc.                                             NA    $2,320,000
New York Life Insurance Co.                            NA    $3,040,000
Aetna Inc.                                             NA    $2,923,839
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.                NA    $2,020,000
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.                 NA    $3,200,000
Zurich Holding Co. of America Inc.                     NA    $2,800,000
State Farm Insurance Companies                         NA      $420,000
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.                           NA    $2,460,000
Allstate Insurance Co.                                 NA    $2,220,000
CNA Financial Corp.                                    NA    $1,360,000

Companies and organizations
in this country ranked
by total spending                                2004    1998-2004

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assoc. and
  state affiliates                         $6,430,000    $48,790,000
American Council of Life Insurance         $9,155,756    $44,062,720
American International Group Inc.          $8,095,000    $35,182,300
United Services Automobile Association
  Group                                    $2,834,828    $29,629,318
Health Insurance Association of America
  (HIAA)                                           $0    $29,510,000
American Insurance Association             $3,253,861    $29,291,861
American Association of Health Plans       $2,740,000    $27,935,342
Property Casualty Insurers Association
  of America (PCI)                         $5,225,420    $24,492,760
Prudential Financial Cos.                  $3,641,000    $23,535,440
Metropolitian Life Insurance Co.           $4,240,000    $15,560,000
AFLAC Inc.                                 $4,200,000    $15,520,000
New York Life Insurance Co.                $2,420,000    $15,500,000
Aetna Inc.                                 $2,705,698    $15,190,202
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.    $4,900,000    $14,720,000
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.     $4,240,000    $14,680,000
Zurich Holding Co. of America Inc.         $2,530,000    $11,870,000
State Farm Insurance Companies             $1,000,000    $10,680,000
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.               $2,100,000     $9,260,000
Allstate Insurance Co.                     $2,510,000     $8,760,000
CNA Financial Corp.                          $580,000     $8,380,000

Source: The Center for Public Integrity

The Top 10 Lobbying Firms'
Midyear Revenues

In addition to staff lobbyists, some
companies, including insurers, hire
outside lobbyists.

Firm                                Midyear Revenues for 2005

Patton Boggs *                                 $17.91 million
Cassidy & Associates *                         $13.88 million
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld *               $13.34 million
Van Scoyoc Associates *                        $12.78 million
Dutko Worldwide                                $10.03 million
Barbour Griffith & Rogers *                    $ 9.18 million
Williams & Jensen *                            $ 8.96 million
DIA Piper Rudnick                              $ 8.20 million
Hogan & Hartson                                $ 8.09 million
PMA Group                                      $ 8.07 million

Several firms did not report in time to make the
article.

* Includes insurance among its multiple lobbying
efforts

Source: thehill.com, Sept. 26, 2005