Invenvo

IBM Corp. spent $7.8 million in 2007 to lobby on numerous issues, including data privacy and security, identity theft and patent and immigration reforms.

IBM which lobbied Congress, the White House, the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission and numerous other agencies, spent about $3.9 million in the first six months of 2007 to lobby on largely the same issues.

IBM recently filed a protest of a $1 billion biometrics database contract the FBI awarded to Lockheed Martin Corp. which built and maintains the agency’s current fingerprint database. The Government Accountability Office has until June 4 to rule on the protest.

Railroad operator Norfolk Southern Corp. spent $3.1 million to lobby the federal government in 2007, according to a disclosure form.

The company lobbied on various appropriations bills and on legislation dealing with climate change, energy issues, terrorism risk insurance and more. Norfolk Southern also opposed legislation that would subject railroads to stiffer antitrust standards. The antitrust bill has the support of a coalition of more than 3,500 electric, utility, chemical and manufacturing companies.

The Norfolk, Va.-based company spent nearly $1.6 million in the second half of 2007 to lobby on those issues, according to the form posted online Feb. 13 by the Senate’s public records office.

Besides Congress, Norfolk Southern lobbied the Federal Railroad Administration and the Transportation Department.

The Armonk, N.Y.-based company spent $3.9 million in the second half of 2007 to lobby the federal government, according to a disclosure form posted online Feb. 13 by the Senate’s public records office. It also lobbied on electronic personal health records, international tax treaties, defense spending, math and science educational standards, energy issues and other matters.

Lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches, under a federal law enacted in 1995.