Association of American Railroads

At $10.1M in disclosed federal lobbying, Association of American Railroads 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, Association of American Railroads's annual disclosed lobbying spend has held roughly steady — $2.0M at the start versus $1.9M at the most recent year-end. Year-to-year wobbles inside that range usually reflect timing of legislative cycles rather than a strategic shift.

Association of American Railroads's disclosed lobbying covers 5 general issue areas — a moderate footprint. Filers in this range tend to engage on a coherent cluster of related topics rather than spreading effort across the federal agenda.

2 of 7 lobbyists reported by Association of American Railroads (29%) 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 Carol L. Stewart (Former Staff Director, Senate Banking Committee); Wayne E. Berman (Former Staff Director, House Appropriations Committee). 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, Association of American Railroads ranks #18 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. Association of American Railroads's $10.1M sits 7% above the sector average.

Association of American Railroads's LobbySpend Influence Score of 55/100 (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.