A detailed story on Google’s lobbying efforts in DC…as its expansion plans invite government scrutiny, Google is playing catch-up, hiring insiders from Capitol Hill and the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Among the issues it needs help in is its recent acquisition of DoubleClick (privacy issues), net neutrality, and sale of government airwaves to be used for high-speed Internet access.

The company formed a temporary office in the capital city in 2005, and has now expanded its Washington staff to 13, including six lobbyists. But the $1 million Google spent lobbying in 2006 trails the $19.1 million AT&T spent on a broader set of issues, according to documents submitted to the U.S. Senate. Verizon and Verizon Wireless spent $12 million combined, and Microsoft spent $8.8 million. Each has more than a dozen in-house lobbyists.