WASHINGTON: The US capital may well be the only city in the world where lobbyists spend $3 billion on something that they themselves insist isn't even for sale: the votes of American lawmakers.

Washington is crawling with lobbyists — exactly 10,199 of them to be exact, according to the website of the Centre for Responsive Politics.

Over the years, they have come to symbolise the sour side of influencing the powerful and power-hungry in Congress, with massive amounts of money sloshing around the notorious K Street corridor lobbyists call home.

Total lobbying spending — seeking congressional or government action on everything from health, energy and transportation industries to defence and agribusiness — amounted to a whopping $3.32 billion in 2011, and this year is on track for about the same.

Some of that ends up in the palms of elected officials, as allowed by law, in the form of checks delivered in private fundraisers held at swank rowhouses just steps from the Capitol. In an election year like this one, the events can run morning, noon and night.

“Congress is here this week, so there could be dozens every day,” said Kathy Kiely, managing editor of the Sunlight Foundation, a non-partisan group seeking more government transparency.

In an effort to shed light on the nexus between lobbying and congressional campaigns, she collects invitations to such events and posts them on a website, politicalpartytime.org.

“If you're a lobbyist in Washington, you can never go hungry, because you're invited to dozens of breakfasts, dozens of lunches, dozens of dinners,” Kiely said.

The money of politics: The sheer number of fundraisers illustrates the outsized role money has come to play in American politics — and it has only increased since the last election cycle, after a US Supreme Court decision loosened contribution restrictions.

On a recent May day, no fewer than 14 receptions were recorded by Sunlight, starting with an 8:00 am breakfast for Democrat John Garamendi ($1,000 to $1,500 per person), a lunch for Michael Fitzpatrick ($500 to $1000) at the Capitol Hill Club — a private social club for Republicans — and a Mexican fiesta for Democrat Ed Pastor ($500 to $1,000).

Pastor, a 10-term congressman from Arizona, has already raised $530,845 for the November elections. But it won't do.

“You just try to keep going and raise as much money as you can,” he said before heading into the event.

“If you don't have money, your campaign will not be very successful... It takes money, so you need to raise it.” Election campaigns need the funds for anything from putting together mailers to organising events and buying television and radio ads.

In the heat of a re-election campaign, lawmakers can devote up to 30 hours per week fundraising by telephone or in receptions, said Sunlight's policy director John Wonderlich.

But is it buying influence? In a moment of candor, Pastor acknowledged it could be viewed that way.

Lobbyists and contributors “do have some influence because Arizona companies, they hire Arizona people, so you've got to be cognizant that your constituents have to be employed, and you also have to deal with their interests,” he said.

Pastor would not let cameras into his event, but he said guests included representatives of the defence and mining industries, which are well established in his district.

Defence giants General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are among the major donors to Pastor's campaign, according to the website.

The lobbying king repents: One figure who long symbolised the ethical shortcomings of some lobbyists' attempts to woo lawmakers was Jack Abramoff.

At the height of his power, he led a team of 40 lobbyists and had access to the White House. He was jailed in 2006 on corruption charges.

Abramoff claims his 43 months in prison redeemed him, and he now crusades against the institution he once dominated. “If you ask any member of Congress, they're going to tell you that their vote is not for sale for a $2,000 check, and they're probably right in the abstract,” he said.

“The problem is this: once you do something like that for a public servant, once you do something that engenders gratitude from somebody, either they're going to express that gratitude overtly, and they're going to do something directly back for you, or they're at least going to view you more favorably.” Among the reforms promoted by Sunlight is a requirement that all lobbyists be registered. Currently, only those who spend more than 20 per cent of their time need to do so.

How is the foundation advancing its cause? The irony is striking; Sunlight has hired a lobbyist of its own.—AFP