General Electric spent $8.3 million lobbying federal government in second quarter

GE spent $8.3 million on 2Q lobbying

WASHINGTON — General Electric Co. spent $8.3 million lobbying in Washington during the second quarter, focusing on a wide range of issues from broadcasting rules to clean energy legislation.

The conglomerate, which does business in most of the economy’s major sectors, spent more than the $7.2 million it devoted to lobbying in the year-ago quarter, according to a company disclosure filed July 20 with the House clerk’s office. It was also more than the $7.14 million spent during the first quarter of 2010.

Among the issues GE listed was financial reform legislation dealing with matters such as derivatives, credit cards, mortgages and financial services reform. The company’s GE Capital lending arm is a major provider of consumer and commercial loans.

GE also lobbied on the Pentagon’s budget, focusing on the Obama administration’s attempts to strike funding for a second engine for the F-35 fighter jet. The engine, built by GE’s aviation unit and Rolls Royce, has been labeled unnecessary by the administration, though it has strong support in Congress.

Other issues the company focused on were health care bills, research and development spending on alternative fuels like wind energy, and legislation related to the Federal Aviation Administration. GE also lobbied on telecommunications issues due to its ownership of the NBC network.