Hot-button issues increase trade group expenditures; U.S. Chamber lobbying reaches new high The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opened its massive war chest in the third quarter, spending a total of $29 million on lobbying efforts,one of the highest quarterly expenditures ever for a trade association. The mammoth effort to pass the $700 billion emergency financial package put the Chamber over the top, said a spokesperson for the group, as the organization targeted its resources to press lawmakers the Treasury department for passage of the stabilization bill. Third-quarter lobbying disclosures reveal that many industry groups made single-digit spending increases from previous… Read More