Anheuser-Busch spent $690K lobbying gov't in 4Q

WASHINGTON – Anheuser-Busch, the U.S. unit of ABInbev, spent $690,000 in the fourth quarter to lobby the government on excise taxes, food safety and matters relating to the alcohol industry, according to a recent disclosure report.

That's less than the $980,000 it spent in the year-ago period, and the $730,000 it spent in the third quarter of 2009.

The St. Louis-based maker of Bud Light and Budweiser, which was bought in 2008 by Belgian brewer InBev to form Anheuser-Busch InBev, also lobbied on theme park operations, drunk driving, truck weights and other issues in the October-December period.

Besides Congress, Anheuser-Busch lobbied the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the report filed Jan. 20 with the House clerk's office.