The Gila River Indian Community of Arizona was one of Washington, D.C., biggest lobbyists for the first half of 2004, The Hill newspaper reports.

The tribe gave more than $820,000 to the firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to lobby for federal funding, The Hill said. This made the tribe one of the top 20 lobbyists, according to the paper's analysis. The top lobbyist was the Asbestos Study Group, which spent $5.5 million on the firm of Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman.

Appearing only once on the top 20 list was the firm of Greenberg Traurig. The firm used to have several top tribal clients but lost them in the wake of the scandal involving former partner Jack Abramoff. In the last half of 2003, the firm had seven of the top 20 contracts.

Get the Story:
Law firm gets lobby bonanza (The Hill 12/8)

Relevant Links:
Gila River Indian Community - http://www.gric.nsn.us
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld - http://www.akingump.com

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