Many of the business items stand little chance of enactment, particularly if the Senate moves fast to send a stimulus bill to Bush by Feb. 15. That’s where a second stimulus comes in.

As one lobbyist put it, “Everyone thought they had to put in their two cents whether they would get it or not [on the first stimulus].” Now the thinking goes, “I got on the first list, so I have got to get on the second list.”

Banks and mortgage lenders fear a proposal that would allow bankruptcy judges to readjust the terms of home loans. “I’m more worried about what could be in the stimulus bill than excited about the prospect of a bill,” acknowledged one financial services lobbyist.

Other business lobbyists are concerned that a lobbying blitz could slow or even derail the bill, squandering a chance to bolster consumers.

Lobbyists should temporarily set aside longstanding goals — such as slashing corporate tax rates — in order to get something done fast, argued Jade West, a lobbyist for the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors who runs the Tax Relief Coalition.

“This is not a ‘Gucci Gulch’ tax bill,” she said, referring to the book chronicling the heated lobbying on the 1986 tax reform. “They need to get money into the hands of consumers very quickly.”

Many lobbyists are reprising efforts from last year that failed due to spending cuts or stalled legislation. Marlowe, who represents a waterfront preservation group, is lobbying for more funds in the stimulus to repair the country’s levees and dams.

Gregory Wetstone, a lobbyist for the wind energy industry, is pushing for the extension of a production tax credit that was dropped from the energy bill. With only one year left before it expires, the industry sees the credit as a top priority.

Wetstone is hopeful the tax credit will be resurrected in the stimulus bill. “The stimulus package is moving quickly [and] is a place of great bipartisan cooperation,” he said. “My sense is there is some possibility here.”