WASHINGTON (AP) — 3M Co., which makes everything from Scotch Tape and Post-it Notes to police tape and stethoscopes, spent $1.23 million in the second quarter lobbying the federal government, nearly triple what it did a year ago.
3M, based in Maplewood, Minn., lobbied on issues including the federal budget and defense appropriations, patent reform, chemical plant security, home energy rebates, climate change and energy policy, according a report it filed in July with the House clerk's office. Besides Congress, 3M lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency, the Treasury Department and the State Department in April to June.
The manufacturer spent just $450,000 lobbying in both the second quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of this year.
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down and the federal government deeply in debt, defense spending is being cuts by billions of dollars. 3M makes numerous products for the defense industry, including military vehicle maintenance products, filtration systems and ceramic fibers that stand up to high temperatures.