American Federation of Teachers

At $11.6M in disclosed federal lobbying, American Federation of Teachers ranks as a major spender — well above the typical filer. Outlays in this range generally reflect a sustained presence in Washington, with at least one full-time government affairs lead and a stable of outside lobbyists engaged on the organization's priority issues.

Across the 5-year window from 2020 to 2024, American Federation of Teachers's annual disclosed lobbying spend has held roughly steady — $2.2M at the start versus $2.2M at the most recent year-end. Year-to-year wobbles inside that range usually reflect timing of legislative cycles rather than a strategic shift.

American Federation of Teachers's disclosed lobbying focuses on a narrow 4-issue footprint. A focused issue list usually means the organization concentrates its federal engagement on a small set of bills or rulemakings directly relevant to its core business.

3 of 8 lobbyists reported by American Federation of Teachers (38%) disclose prior federal government service. That share is common at established government affairs operations that explicitly hire from agency and committee staff.

Among the named bench, lobbyists with disclosed prior federal service include Steven J. Elmendorf (Former Professional Staff Member, Senate Appropriations Committee); Howard M. Berman (Former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative); Craig B. Holman (Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense). The covered-position field on LDA cover sheets captures executive-branch and senior congressional roles held within the prior two years.

Within the Trade Association sector, American Federation of Teachers ranks #12 of 114 tracked organizations by disclosed lobbying spend. The sector leader is US Chamber of Commerce at $387.8M; the sector average is $9.5M. American Federation of Teachers's $11.6M sits 22% above the sector average.

American Federation of Teachers's LobbySpend Influence Score of 56/100 (grade C) is the most common grade in the index — it covers organizations with established but moderate federal advocacy programs. The score combines disclosed total spend (40%), issue breadth (30%), and revolving-door connections (30%). A C-grade is typical of mid-size corporations and trade associations with steady quarterly filings on a focused issue set.

Every figure above is sourced from Senate lobbying disclosure filings submitted under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. Per-issue dollar splits and covered-position flags are filer-reported and may be amended after initial submission.