K Street lobbyists sense a major opportunity with the upcoming economic stimulus package and are hoping to attach some of their own priorities this week to the moving legislation.

The chance to push their clients’ needs is too tempting for lobbyists to pass up, especially considering that the stimulus package could be one of only a handful of moving vehicles that pass in the election year.

Even if they can’t get their priorities attached this time around, the measure offers groups a chance to promote their messages.

“It is a target of opportunity — not just for dollars, but for its capacity to get the message out,” said Howard Marlowe, president of Marlowe & Company.

Lobbyists will not all be following the same playbook. Some groups are dressing up longstanding and often sweeping priorities, while others are attempting to shoehorn parochial goals into the bill.

The American Meat Institute wants Congress to lift ethanol tariffs, which it blames for high meat prices. The tourism industry argues that legislation to promote travel to the United States would help to revive the economy.

“Economic Stimulus Package — An Excellent New Opportunity,” reads one blast fax from the National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition to its members. The group wants to attach a measure that would provide funding for rural schools and roads.

Meanwhile, the financial industry is pushing a tax change that would allow companies to “carry back” big operating losses from this year in order to trim previous tax bills. That would help Wall Street giants like Citigroup and Merrill Lynch that suffered huge losses due to the sub-prime mortgage mess.  

Then there’s the push by general contractors for more spending on public works projects. The goal has attracted passionate Senate backers on both sides of the aisle even though economists say it isn’t likely to spur the economy in the short run.