Legions of lobbyists are ready to square off over Bush plan

[Rose Siding]

snip> Business interests have been awaiting this opportunity for years. More than six years ago, influential business and trade associations joined with corporations such as Hewlett-Packard and Pfizer to form the Alliance for Worker Retirement Security and push for changes along the lines the president now proposes.

Derrick Max, the alliance's executive director, is planning a beefed-up lobbying strategy that includes direct mail to voters and direct pressure on lawmakers.
"We did $5 million in 2002, and this will be multiples of the five," he said.

Members of Max's alliance have given $34.6 million to political parties and candidates for federal office since 1999, more than two-thirds of it to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which monitors campaign contributions. In 2003 and the first half of 2004, members also spent $108 million on lobbying for a variety of issues related to Social Security.
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The Cato Institute, a libertarian policy group, has long been advocating a shift toward investment accounts. One of its biggest backers is the American International Group, an insurance and financial services company whose business includes managing U.S. retirement plans....MORE...

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