Talk of lobbying on Capitol Hill always generates superlatives – the US capital is home to a formidable number of highly influential lawyers-turned-lobbyists, working on the front line of the most powerful legislature in the world. On the other side of the Atlantic, Brussels, the European legislative nerve centre, also hosts huge swarms of advocates seeking to make their mark on new legislation. But the historical and institutional context of the EU makes for interesting differences to the Stateside approach to influencing public policy.
However much Washington lobbyists and lawmakers deny it, money obviously talks on Capitol Hill – some $8bn is spent on lobbyists every year. Law firms alone spent some $12m of their profits on lobbyists in 2000.
