Wal-Mart, the Democrats' New Friend

"Pens and other promotional items: Distribute pens with your logo to event attendees."

"Coffee breaks: We'll announce your sponsorship of the morning continental breakfast or mid-morning coffee break and feature your logo or brand in the break area."

"Wi-Fi Hotspot: We will blanket the meeting area with wireless Internet access and include you as a promotional sponsor."

"Post-Dialogue VIP Dinner: End the conference on a high note and host a VIP event; choose from some of D.C.'s finest restaurants."

None of these constitute lobbying. Companies become sponsors "to prove that they are not only a thought leader in the space but also that they are a good corporate citizen," said Danielle Yates, the advisory committee's spokeswoman.

Oh.

Strange Pairings of the Week

You rarely see the Business Roundtable, an organization of big-company chief executives, and the Education Trust, an advocate for poor and minority children, in the same room let alone on the same page on a controversial issue.

But last week -- and in fact every week for months -- lobbyists for the two and for several other odd-bedfellow groups have convened in a conference room at the Roundtable's sleek new offices to plot how to extend and strengthen the No Child Left Behind law.

On April 26, representatives of the Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- two meat-eating lobbies if ever there were some -- conducted a skull session with people from the trust, the Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights and the National Council of La Raza. They all back common goals for the law, including placing more emphasis on math and science, and they lobby both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to make those goals happen.

The lefty groups want more federal assistance for education, because they favor more government help in general. The corporate folks want the law beefed up, because they think it will improve the quality of their workforce. Both sides also benefit politically by putting their muscle behind a priority of President Bush and key Democratic chairmen such as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.). "It's not a coalition I ever dreamt I'd be part of," said Amy Wilkins of Education Trust. "But it seems to be effective."

Lobbying Expands in a Lean Year

Election years are often fallow for lobbyists, because the interests that employ them tend to take a wait-and-see approach. Yet total spending on federal lobbying last year managed to zoom up to $2.6 billion, a nearly 11 percent increase from $2.4 billion in 2005, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.

The biggest-spending sector was finance, insurance and real estate, with $353.9 million, followed by health, with $337.7 million, new data from the Center for Responsive Politics show. Organized-labor lobbying was near the bottom, with $29 million in federal expenditures last year.

Spending by registered lobbyists has risen steadily year over year. And lobbyists expect another bumper season this year in the wake of the Democratic takeover of Congress. Change breeds uncertainty, they say, and uncertainty inevitably brings extra lobbying fees.

Please send e-mail tokstreet@washpost.com.