Research Guides: U.S. Politics: Interest Groups and Lobbying

Lobbying

Political Advocacy Groups
A directory of interest groups that lobby Congress.
Open Secrets Lobbying Database
Find campaign contribution and spending amounts by industries, issues and more. The filters on the left hand side are helpful to narrow your search. Dollar amounts and top spending industries can be useful if you're following a money trail in your research.
FollowTheMoney Lobbyist Register
Locate names of state registered lobbyists here. Find search tools mid-way down the page for federal, state and local elections. Further down are ways to locate data by year, and news reports are after that.
House of Representatives Lobbying Disclosure
U.S government requirements, forms and report details for lobbyists.
Senate Lobbying Disclosure Reports

Lobbying - Direct contact made by a lobbyist in order to persuade government officials to support the policies their interest group favors.
Interest groups - A group of people with common goals who organize to influence the government.
Political Action Committee (PAC) - An organization formed to provide financial support for political candidates. A PAC is local or state based. For example, the Dallas Police Officer's Political Action Committee(DPOPAC) provides financial support for and endorses state and local candidates.