WASHINGTON -- Even as Miami-Dade faces its most critical budget crisis in decades, the county is spending more money lobbying the federal government than any other county in the country.

Indeed, only the governments of Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania -- a commonwealth and a state -- have spent more than Miami-Dade County this year on federal lobbyists, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based watchdog group that tracks lobbying.

Miami-Dade spent $428,000 in the first six months of the year. That's more than the $409,000 paid out by Los Angeles County, the largest county in the U.S. And more than twice as much as neighboring Broward County, which spent $170,000.

The county's spending, though, may be cut back. The County Commission Thursday is prepared to pass a budget that caps the county's federal lobbying budget at $750,000 -- down from $1.1 million a year.

Commissioner Sally Heyman, who hopes to reduce the spending even further, called the revelations of the county's position as the biggest spender ``embarrassing,'' noting that Los Angeles has a population four times as large as Miami-Dade.

Several commissioners defended lobbying as a way to to help the county secure federal dollars, but suggested the spending may be difficult to justify when the county faces a $444 million budget shortfall.

``I have no question that we need all the help we can get, but the question is how much do we need, how much is too much,'' Commissioner Rebecca Sosa said of the county's lobbying force.

Heyman's proposal to cut the spending cleared the commission with a 9-to-4 vote on Wednesday, with Commissioner Barbara Jordan among those voting against it.

`ENOUGH TEAMS'

``Right now, it's much more critical to bring home as much resources as possible and to have enough teams up there to do that,'' Jordan said during a Tuesday discussion of the county's Washington lobbying efforts.

But Commissioner Carlos Gimenez said he expects the county can cut a better deal as lobbying firms are forced to trim their fees to compete in the economic slowdown.

``The lobbying firms themselves have to be a lot hungrier,'' he said. ``We want the results, but we feel like we've been spending way too much.''

The reduction would mark the second time in three years that the commission has sought to rein in spending on lobbyists. In 2006, the commission cut the number of firms -- then 11 -- to three, and capping the budget at $600,000, plus another $555,000 that the firms could tap to hire subcontractors for specific issues.

According to federal records compiled by the center, the county in the first two quarters of the year paid the three primary contractors: Alcalde & Fay, $180,000; Cardenas Partners, $100,000; and Greenberg Taurig, $60,000. The subcontractors: Akerman Senterfitt, $40,000; Thurman Gould, $30,000; and the Carrie Meek Group, $18,000.

Diane Blagman, who has worked on the Miami-Dade account for Greenberg Traurig for 16 years, said the firm would be able to justify its work.

`ACCOUNTABLE'

``In a time of fiscal constraint where there are budget problems everywhere, we all have to be held accountable,'' she said.

Lobbyist Al Cardenas, a former Republican Party of Florida chairman who lobbies for Miami-Dade along with with Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party -- a relationship that raised eyebrows among Democrats -- said Miami-Dade needs the representation.

`AT THE BOTTOM'

``Florida ranks at the bottom most of the time in terms of what it gets from Washington and clearly has to work harder than most,'' Cardenas said. ``And Miami Dade, being the largest county in the state and one of the biggest in the nation, needs assistance more than most. It comes from a state that gets the least, so it stands to reason it would need more help in advocating for its interests.''

Heyman, though, suggested the climate in Washington has changed with the Obama administration looking to curb the influence of lobbyists, including barring them from talking with administration officials about stimulus projects.

``Some of our colleagues are under the impression that more is better,'' Heyman said. ``But the Obama administration is saying `Don't send me your lobbyist, give me your message instead.' ''

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