Silicon Valley cash flows to K Street

Google, Microsoft and Amazon all beefed up their lobbying spending, new disclosure forms show. Google was one of the tech set's biggest spenders, dropping $5.03 million between April and June, a $1.21 million hike from earlier in 2014 and an increase of $1.67 million from the same period in 2013.

The spending complements a new Washington headquarters that Google opened just steps from the Capitol in recent weeks, and could be a sign of increased focus on the Beltway for the company. Microsoft, meanwhile, spent an extra $260,000 on lobbying, bringing its second quarter totals up to $2.34 million. That’s still a decrease from the $2.96 million it spent during the second quarter in 2013. Amazon cracked $1 million in quarterly spending for the first time in its history, as the company put a new focus on drone regulation and postal reform. And Twitter, which is still a relative newcomer to Washington, jumped from $50,000 during the first three months of 2014 to $90,000.