WASHINGTON — Five Portland-area counties have spent $700,000 on federal lobbyists since the beginning of 2013, according to lobbying disclosure forms.

Clackamas County leads the way, with $150,000 spent in 2013, with an additional $80,000 spent so far this year. Marion, Multnomah and Yamhill counties all spent $80,000 last year and are on pace to match that with $40,000 each in the first half of 2014. Washington County was right behind, with $80,000 in 2013 and $30,000 so far this year.

In Central Oregon, Crook and Jefferson counties have never hired a federal lobbyist, and Deschutes County has not had one since 2007. No other individual counties in Oregon have hired a federal lobbyist during the 113th Congress.

Clackamas County has had a federal contract lobbyist since 1990, said Gary Schmidt, that county’s director of public and government affairs.

“The reasoning really was to help counties that had appropriations requests, back when there were earmarks,” Schmidt said, referring to the former method members of Congress used to help steer federal funding to specific projects, often in their home districts or states, by slipping provisions into legislation, related or not. Congress banned earmarks in 2010.

In the post-earmark era, federal lobbyists are still useful in helping find revenue available through grants, he said.

“They also help us advocate on policy priorities that are important to us, nationwide and in Oregon, but are also specific to the county,” Schmidt said.

The issues Clackamas County’s lobbyists have raised include federal appropriations, the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, economic development, environmental Superfunds and transportation.

“All of the time, federal funding is decreasing, and our lobbyist helps advocate for those dollars,” said Schmidt. They also remind members of Congress and the administration how cuts to a specific program would hurt locally, he said.

Representatives from the other Portland-area counties did not respond to requests for comment.

Without earmarks, it is more difficult to assess the return on investment from lobbyists, Schmidt conceded.

“It was easier when there were earmarks, because you have a direct correlation” between money spent and funds obtained by the county, he said.

For the $118 million Sunrise Corridor project that connected Interstate 205 to Rock Creek Junction, Clackamas County received a $20 million earmark, which more than paid for 20 years of lobbyists, he said.

Lobbyists are not meant to replace the direct interactions between local officials, such as county commissioners, with members of Congress, Schmidt said.

“The federal contract lobbyists are an extension and an additional support to what we do as the county,” he said. “It’s part of a support team rather than the only point of access.”

An experienced lobbyist also has relationships throughout federal agencies, he said.

“Lobbyists, by their relationships alone, know who the people are to access, and are able to pick up the phone and call someone who I wouldn’t even know who they are,” he said.

— Reporter: 202-662-7456, aclevenger@bendbulletin.com