Lobbyists boost D.C. spending

Despite the recession, Massachusetts companies and interest groups have sharply increased spending in Washington, D.C., to influence how federal officials distribute more than $1 trillion to revive the lagging economy.

In the first three months of the year, local firms spent $14.4 million to lobby the US government, according to federal records, 21 percent more than in the first quarter of 2008. Also, the number of Massachusetts companies hiring lobbyists increased 14 percent this year, to 320.

"That spending is up this year is a telling reminder that lobbying is a very different kind of industry," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, which monitors the influence of money in politics. "It may seem counterintuitive during an economic decline, but many companies feel it's a good way to maximize their chances at shaping legislation that will affect them."

Industry specialists gave several reasons for the increased spending on lobbying, including a change in presidential administration that brought new faces to the seats of power and a new bounty of government spending initiatives, most prominently the $787 billion stimulus package.

Companies and other parties that lobby the US government are required to disclose their activities quarterly to the US Senate. But the disclosure forms provide few details on the filer's interests, other than to indicate generally which areas of federal policy or certain proposed laws or rules they are lobbying on.

Still the forms show that some firms have nearly doubled their spending over last year, while others were compelled to hire lobbyists for the first time because of conditions in their sector.

First Wind Energy LLC, a Newton-based firm that runs wind farms nationwide, hired Washington lobbyists after the market for tax credits that finance its projects collapsed during the larger credit crisis last year, according to the records. First Wind spent $120,000 to get access to US lawmakers who were working on a proposal to revive the use of tax credits for renewable-energy projects.

"This is absolutely critical both to our company and to the growth of renewable energy across the country," said Carol Grant, vice president of external affairs for the company, which is seeking funding to build four wind farms in New England.

Grant said First Wind representatives met with lawmakers to discuss problems with the financial markets and ways to restore credit. The Obama administration is still developing guidelines for the energy incentives approved in the legislation.