Quarterly Lobbying Reports Show Yet Another Decline

Following a pattern that has been playing out for the last few years, spending on K Street lobbyists declined in the first quarter of 2013. With a handful of exceptions -- mainly organizations that were involved in the hottest issues of the past three months, including gun control -- industries and groups that traditionally spend big on lobbyists have trimmed back once again.  Total expenditures for lobbying at the federal level fell to $796.2 million in the most recent quarter, according to analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. That's a drop of 3.5 percent from the $825.2 million spent in the fourth quarter of 2012. And it's an 8 percent drop from the spending level of the comparable quarter a year ago.

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