In every government Capitol, lobbyists work to influence government officials.
There can be a convoluted process for governmental decisions. Regarding budget numbers:
"the numbers ... may have corresponded to a real need,
as articulated by a think tanker who transmitted [a] PDF to a congressional staffer
who made a recommendation to their boss, who then ... also talked to a corporate lobbyist.”
A proper lobbying campaign, "should have four elements:
[1.] education, [2.] litigation, [3.] media outreach, and [4.] political influence,” explained Charles Koch.
Mr. Koch spoke about (#1) Education.
He helped fund “think-tanks [and] institutes ... to turn out trash science debunking global warming.”
Another task for these "educational" institutes has been to produce documents used for lobbying.
For example, they'd "provide speakers, talking points, press releases, [and] transportation,”
according to Jane Mayer in her 2016 book, Dark Money.
Mr. Koch was not alone. “ExxonMobil cast doubt on the scientific consensus about the climate crisis”.
Exxon carried this out "through industry trade associations, [so to] not tarnish the company’s reputation.”
The “American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is [one such] trade association."
Mr. Koch also mentioned attorneys; (#2.) Litigation:
“The big gains go to companies that ... hire lawyers and lobbyists to ... game the rules,
and then hire … more lawyers when the government tries to punish them for breaking the law.”
Click these links for: the (#3.) Media, and (#4.) Political Influence pages.
After the US quit the Paris climate accords, media reports revealed widespread lobbying expenditures:
-
"more than $11 million in donations … from coal and oil."
-
-
"tens of millions more from ... the ... Koch ... Scaife and Mercer families."
"In the 2015-2016 election cycle oil, gas, and coal companies spent $354 million.”
-
“140 conservative foundations ... spent $558m over seven years ... fighting climate reform.”
-
-
"The unprecedented lobbying spending spree by Big Oil ... has continued into 2025."
Finally, another lobbying tactic involves “the revolving door", when “regulators, while in office...
make decisions enabling [them] to cash in later when joining a firm they [had] regulated”!
If enough regulators succumb to the "revolving door", then an entire agency may get "captured";
“regulatory agencies ... come to be dominated by the industries ... they are charged with regulating”!
Besides favorable regulations, companies also try to obtain money from governments. See the Subsidies page.