AT&T, Comcast Tops Lobbying Expenditures, In The Telecommunications And Cable Industry.

AT&T, Comcast Tops Lobbying Expenditures. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Here are third quarter lobbying expenditures for three telecommunications companies:

• AT&T spent $3.47 million, a 19 percent decrease from $4.30 million in 2013.
• Sprint spent $706,343, a 2 percent decrease from $718,096 in 2013.
• Verizon spent $2.91 million, a 4 percent decrease from $3.04 million in 2013.

Here are lobbying expenditures for two cable companies:

• Comcast spent $4.23 million, a 6 percent increase from $3.98 million in 2013.
• Time Warner Cable spent $1.80 million, an 8 percent decrease from $1.96 million in 2013.

"These lobbying disclosure statements don't include payments to trade associations or the sort of 'soft' lobbying that has become a Google trademark – funds to think tanks and academic research centers, When all that is factored in, the amounts are staggering. Policy making is no longer about what's right; it's all about the money."

View the Clerk of the House's Lobbying Disclosure database.

Press Release

Update: Comcast has indicated that hat a portion of trade association dues, based on the lobbying done by the association, such as the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), is in fact included in Comcast's total reported lobbying amount. NCTA spent $3.81 million on lobbying in the third quarter, House disclosure records show.