While lobbyists may spend freely on advocacy, they are limited in gifts to legislators and in their ability to contribute to campaigns.

The state's 573 lobbyists are spending less money wining and dining legislators, election officials reported yesterday.

One person, with just a few hard-working people in the field, managed to derail a bill that lobbyists spent millions of dollars on.

In 1989 lobbyists spent $2.2m entertaining anonymous politicians.

"Yes, we should continue to look at how firms and lobbyists spend money and what influence that may bring to bear."

Nor is it surprising that lobbyists for the savings and loans are spending little of their diminished political capital to soften the Congressional stance.

The lobbyists spent $5 million on the effort.

Led by a group advocating a strong Social Security system, lobbyists spent more than $63.62 million trying to influence Congress in 1987.

These lobbyists take a long term view, and will spend three or four years building up "relationships', gently influencing people, floating ideas.

He said lobbyists for foreign governments had spent more than $100 million in an attempt to head off the legislation.