Record spending for lobbying in Washington

From the L.A. Times (for those who don't have an account with these major U.S. newspapers, don't want to give their personal information and still want to read the full text version of the articles - this great website helps you to log-in in a anonymous way!):

As President Bush campaigned for reelection pledging to protect doctors and insurance companies from patient lawsuits while easing the tax burden on businesses, industry groups spent record amounts of money lobbying to influence the White House, Congress and their constituents. According to public records filed with the Senate, industry groups spent $1.1 billion on lobbyists and advertising campaigns for the first half of 2004, a new record. The top spenders were the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Medical Association. According to the watchdog group PoliticalMoneyLine.com, the two groups spent a combined $39 million to advocate medical liability limits.