New Security Measures May Stifle Lobbying In Capitol

Roll Call reports:

Lobbyists who’ve been around a long time can regale younger generations with tales of freely roaming the Capitol — parking steps from an entrance to the temple of democracy and leisurely loitering by elevators to grab members en route to the House or Senate floors.

Those days, of course, vanished long ago. And now COVID-19 has shifted the influence industry online. But the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, a horror to anyone on K Street familiar with the complex’s hallowed halls, has ignited a fresh fear among lobbyists and activists.

What if, they worry, new security measures keep them at a perpetual distance from the lawmakers and staff they aim to influence, long after the pandemic ends?

Read the full article.

Lobbyists worry that enhanced security measures will keep clients, school groups and advocates-for-a-day away from Hill hallways. https://t.co/oXC43pebxM

— Roll Call (@rollcall) February 8, 2021