Distilled Spirits group spent $1.3M lobbying in 2Q on underage drinking prevention, taxes

Distilled Spirits group spent $1.3M on 2Q lobby

WASHINGTON — The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States Inc., whose members include Bacardi USA Inc. and Brown-Forman Corp., among others, spent $1.3 million in the second quarter lobbying the federal government on issues including underage drinking prevention and excise taxes.

That’s slightly more than the $1.2 million that the group spent in the year-ago period and the $1.18 million the group spent in the first quarter of 2010.

The trade group also lobbied on drunk driving, alcohol research, advertising and free trade with Korea, Panama and Colombia, among other matters in the April-through-June period, according to the disclosure form filed July 20 with the House clerk’s office.

The group lobbied both arms of Congress, and the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau, according to the report.