Tucked within the Catskill Mountains, the tiny village of Kiryas Joel, N.Y., is best known for its almost exclusively Hasidic Jewish population and sky-high poverty rate.
Kiryas Joel has also this year spent as much of its own money to lobby the federal government -- $140,000 -- as cities exponentially larger, such as Chicago, Dallas and Tucson, Ariz.
Such lobbying largess represents a broader uptick in local, state and territorial governments spending their own taxpayers' money in a bid to influence Congress and federal agencies. The trend comes despite -- or perhaps, because of -- a deep recession that's eviscerated local governments' budgets from Maine to the Mexican border.
At $41.56 million through June 30, the non-federal public sector ranks 12th among 121 profiled industries and special interest areas in terms of federal lobbying expenditures, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.
That's more than the non-federal public sector spent on federal lobbying during all of 2001. Since then, its lobbying expenditures have increased each year, growing to more than $84.1 million in 2008.
So far in 2009, 73 local, state or territorial governmental entities have spent at least $100,000 between January and June to lobby the federal government. More than 750 have spent at least $20,000.
Topping the list? Puerto Rico. Three elements of its territorial government have combined to spend $610,000 on federal lobbying during the first half of 2009.
The island territory is followed by Pennsylvania ($540,000); Miami-Dade County, Fla. ($410,000); Los Angeles County, Calif. ($380,000) and Riverside County, Calif. ($300,000).
It's a sensitive topic for many local and state governments: Elected officials from, and hired lobbyists for Kiryas Joel and a dozen other municipal entities did not return requests for comment. Nor did officials from the National League of Cities or the United States Conference of Mayors.
But some local politicos openly contend lobbying the federal government is a wise and potentially lucrative investment, particularly for municipalities struggling during an economic downturn to provide essential services for their residents -- water, housing, transportation, jobs.
"We're not building museums. We're trying to address simple, basic needs for our people here," said Barrett Pederson, mayor of Franklin Park, Ill., which has spent $180,000 on federal lobbying efforts during the first half of 2009. "We want to make sure the message of Franklin Park and our residents is put in front of Congress in a clear, constructive matter."
The bulk of Franklin Park's 2009 federal lobbying expenditures -- it ranks 13th nationwide among local, state and territorial governments -- went toward securing federal funding for flood control and sewer rehabilitation projects, Pederson said.
Henderson, Nev., won't ever match the glitz of the city of which it's a suburb -- Las Vegas. But this year, it's edging its typically high-rolling neighbor in federal lobbying expenditures, $100,000 to $80,000.
Federal lobbying in part helped Henderson secure federal support for turning land near a small airport into a business zone instead of residential lots -- a city priority, said Santana Garcia, an intergovernmental relations specialist for Henderson.
"We wanted to ensure it was appropriately developed, and we were successful," Garcia said.
As for Puerto Rico, the territory must fight for federal attention without the clout of voting representation in Congress. Therefore, says Alison Lynn, director of strategic communications for the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, hiring consultants can provide needed help.
"We're in a different situation than 99 percent of Americans -- a pretty unique situation," Lynn said, noting that the island is angling for more federal funding for war veterans and health care issues, among others.
She notes, too, that while Puerto Rico out-lobbied all other local, state or territorial government through June, it's scaled back expenditures compared to recent years. Indeed, the territory is on pace this year to post its lowest annual lobbying output since OpenSecrets.org began tracking such numbers in 1998.
Like any private entity, non-federal governments must adhere to federal lobbying disclosure rules. Generally, these rules apply to people paid by an organization to lobby federal officials on behalf of the organization's interest.
But mayors, city council members, city managers and other such officials find themselves exempt from federal disclosure rules. That means the true value of government-on-government lobbying is probably significantly higher than what's known.
Consider that city mayors routinely travel to Washington, D.C., to lobby the federal government on a variety of issues, from parks and public safety, to more recently, securing federal economic stimulus funding. Some do so under the auspices of umbrella groups, like the United States Conference of Mayors, while others do so unilaterally on behalf of their own jurisdictions.
A number of mayors met in February with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden about stimulus relief, while another mayoral delegation met with Obama administration officials in April about environmental concerns.
Mayors who've this year met with Obama or top Obama officials include Thomas Menino of Boston, Richard Daly of Chicago, Tom Leppert of Dallas, Bill White of Houston, Manny Diaz of Miami, Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Ray Nagin of New Orleans, Phil Gordon of Phoenix, Luke Ravenstahl of Pittsburgh and Gavin Newsome of San Francisco.
Reliance on such stealth lobbying may in part (along with bruised city budgets) explain why big cities with high-profile politicos may be relying less on registered Washington lobbyists than smaller municipalities.
That federal lobbying expenditures of all kinds aren't disclosed is "unbelievable," says Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
"Not only are these numbers outrageous, but they almost assuredly understate the case," Norquist tells Capital Eye. "At the least, it should be reported when taxpayer dollars are used in any form to lobby the federal government, and frankly, I don't think taxpayer dollars should be used for this purpose at all. Taxpayer dollars are not voluntary."
Back in Kiryas Joel, the $140,000 worth of those taxpayer dollars spent on lobbying this year roughly equals the average yearly income for nine working residents. Reports filed by the lobbying firm the village hired, Russ Reid Company, indicate its lobbying centered on transportation and federal appropriations legislation. (See these reports here and here.)
And despite its status as the nation's most impoverished municipality, Kiryas Joel is on pace this year to nearly double its previous lobbying record -- $160,000 in 2006.
Top federal lobbying expenditures by non-federal governmental entities between January 1 and June 30:
Government entity / organization 1st quarter $ 2nd quarter $ Through June 30 $
Puerto Rico 230,000 380,000 610,000
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 270,000 270,000 540,000
Miami-Dade County, FL 205,000 205,000 410,000
Los Angeles County, CA 190,000 190,000 380,000
Riverside County, CA 160,000 140,000 300,000
San Diego County, CA 110,000 120,000 230,000
Wayne County, MI 115,000 115,000 230,000
State of Nevada 120,000 110,000 230,000
City of Phoenix, AZ 100,000 120,000 220,000
City of Jacksonville, FL 90,000 100,000 190,000
City of Birmingham, AL 95,000 95,000 190,000
Municipality of Anchorage, AK 95,000 90,000 185,000
Village of Franklin Park, IL 30,000 150,000 180,000
State of Indiana 83,500 83,500 167,000
Orange County, CA 77,500 87,500 165,000
City of San Antonio, TX 81,100 81,100 162,200
City of New Orleans, LA 60,000 90,000 150,000
City of St Helena, CA 60,000 90,000 150,000
Monterey County, CA 60,000 90,000 150,000
Broward County, FL 70,000 70,000 140,000
City of Chicago 70,000 70,000 140,000
City of Dallas, TX 70,000 70,000 140,000
City of Tucson, AZ 70,000 70,000 140,000
Madison County 70,000 70,000 140,000
Santa Clara County, CA 70,000 70,000 140,000
Village of Kiryas Joel, NY 70,000 70,000 140,000
Cuyahoga County, OH 80,000 60,000 140,000
Village of Bensenville, IL 110,000 30,000 140,000
Plaquemines Parish, LA 80,000 50,000 130,000
Lower Colorado River Authority 90,000 40,000 130,000
City of Auburn, AL 62,500 62,500 125,000
State of California 62,500 62,500 125,000
City & County of San Francisco, CA 60,000 60,000 120,000
City of Austin, TX 60,000 60,000 120,000
City of Carrollton, TX 60,000 60,000 120,000
City of Detroit, MI 60,000 60,000 120,000
City of Houston, TX 60,000 60,000 120,000
City of San Francisco, CA 60,000 60,000 120,000
King County, WA 60,000 60,000 120,000
Sacramento Area Flood Control 60,000 60,000 120,000
Sacramento County, CA 60,000 60,000 120,000
City of Miami, FL 70,000 50,000 120,000
Santa Rosa County, FL 70,000 50,000 120,000
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