By Alex Knott

“WASHINGTON, April 7, 2005 —
Special interests and the lobbyists they employ have reported spending,
since 1998, a total of almost $13 billion to influence Congress, the
White House and more than 200 federal agencies. They've hired a couple
thousand former government officials to influence federal policy on
everything from abortion and adoption to taxation and welfare. And
they've filed—most of the time—thousands of pages of disclosure forms
with the Senate Office of Public Records and the House Clerk's Office….”