Capitol Hires

What it is

Capitol Hires lists lobbyists who say, in a filing under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, that they once held a government job: in a member of Congress’ office, on a congressional committee or in the executive branch. Each row names the public company that hired the lobbyist (directly or through a lobbying firm), the office they came from and the job they held there.

Who files it

The lobbying firm (or the company, for its own lobbyists) on each quarterly report (LD-2) and registration (LD-1) it files with the Senate and the House.

How current

New filings are posted every day. We read each one the day after it is posted.

Terms

Covered positionA covered position is a job in the federal government that a lobbyist held in the 20 years before the filing: in the office of a member of Congress, on a committee, or in the executive branch. The Lobbying Disclosure Act asks the lobbyist to name it.As writtenThe office, the member and the job title are shown as the registrant typed them. A short job title such as LD or CoS is not spelled out.Linked memberA member is linked to their page only when exactly one member of Congress fits the name, the chamber, the first name and the years given. Otherwise the name is shown as written, without a link.FilingsThe same lobbyist is usually named again on each quarterly report for the same client. A row is shown once, with the number of filings that name them for this client and the latest one.

Worth knowing

Each row reflects what was disclosed at the time of filing. A lobbyist listed may no longer be registered. The text is free-form, so we read it by rules and some offices are missed or misread. Check the filing before relying on one row. A member is linked only on a unique match, and many are not: those are shown as written. Company matching is automatic and can miss a subsidiary. Information, not investment advice.

All of this comes from lobbying disclosure filings that the Senate and the House publish.