Big Oil Spends Big in Washington money.cnn.com — As angry voters spark a barrage of energy bills in Congress, the oil industry is spending record amounts of money protecting its interests. In what may be surprising to some, the most recent figures from the Center for Responsive Politics show the oil industry gives a relatively small sum to individual political campaigns — it's 16th on a list of top 50 industries. But when it comes to lobby money — money that goes towards researching, writing, and convincing lawmakers to vote its way — the industry ranks fifth. If the spending continues, it's set to break last year's $83 million record.