Interest Groups Join Spending Fights

The New York Times has this article on the front page this morning. While the level of lobbying has decreased over the last 2 years as the pace of legislation has slowed, lobbying companies are expecting an increase in business as Congress looks toward another round of cuts in the coming months. Some of the more interesting aspects of the article:

Lawmakers are looking forward to being able to raise money again:

All these appeals will make it easier for lawmakers to get the fund-raising machines revved up again. Many events were canceled during the shutdown, as it seemed in bad form to take checks from lobbyists with thousands of federal employees out of work

There will be some conflict between special interests:

The lobbying factions will not, in most cases, be attacking one another. But with Republicans insisting that they will not back down from spending limits set by the 2011 sequestration legislation and rejecting calls by Democrats for new tax revenue, the cuts will almost certainly have to hit some interests, creating unavoidable conflict.

It should be fascinating to watch all of this unfold over the next few months. Do you guys have any thoughts on the interaction of special interests and legislation?