National overview · 2023–2024

U.S. political money trends

Where political money concentrates tells a story about policy priorities and industry power. These national patterns are drawn from FEC, Senate LDA, and USAspending.gov filings.

Lobbying spending by issue area

Federal lobbying disclosures reveal which policy areas attract the most spending. The top issue areas by reported LDA spend:

Top lobbying issue areas

By total reported lobbying spend across all registrants

Taxation/Internal Revenue Code$829.3MHealth Issues$809.0MBudget/Appropriations$728.2MMedicare/Medicaid$469.9MDefense$460.5MTrade (domestic/foreign)$404.9MFinancial Institutions/Investments/Securities$375.4MEnergy/Nuclear$354.5MTransportation$295.5MTelecommunications$244.5M

Who spends the most on lobbying

A small number of organizations account for a disproportionate share of all federal lobbying spend.

Top organizations by lobbying spend

Reported federal lobbying expenditures, Senate LDA filings

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE U.S.A.$142.2MNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS$140.3MPHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH AND MANUFACTURERS OF AMERICA$65.1MAMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$49.3MBUSINESS ROUNDTABLE$47.2MAMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION$42.7MAMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC$38.9MMETA PLATFORMS, INC. AND VARIOUS SUBSIDIARIES$36.3MPHARMACEUTICAL CARE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION$33.7MAMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL$33.3M

Top contribution recipients

The federal politicians who received the most in PAC and organizational contributions.

Top politicians by contributions received

Total PAC + organizational receipts, FEC 2024 cycle

Jason T Smith$3.5MR. Jon Tester$3.2MSherrod Brown$3.2MRobert P. Jr. Casey$3.1MJohn A Barrasso$2.9MTammy Baldwin$2.7MJacky Rosen$2.7MHakeem Jeffries$2.7MBrian Fitzpatrick$2.6MThomas Earl Jr. Emmer$2.5M

What the data shows

Political spending is not uniformly distributed. A small number of industries, healthcare, defense, financial services, and technology, account for a disproportionate share of both lobbying expenditures and PAC contributions. These sectors face heavy federal regulation, depend on government contracts, or have significant legislative exposure, making political engagement a strategic necessity.

Explore individual organizations to see how these aggregate trends translate into specific company-level influence profiles. Browse by issue area, organization, or politician.

Understanding the numbers

Lobbying figures represent disclosed spending under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The actual scope of influence spending is likely higher when accounting for grassroots campaigns, strategic consulting, and activities below the LDA reporting threshold. PAC contribution data represents regulated hard-money donations from organizational PACs to federal candidates. Both data streams update when new filings become available from the FEC and Senate.

Data sourced from the FEC, Senate LDA filings, and USAspending.gov. PlainInfluence is nonpartisan and does not endorse any candidate, party, or organization. Verify important figures with official sources via our methodology.