First Street officially launches

First Street, a government policy and lobbying service from CQ Press, has officially launched after being in a private beta test for the past three weeks.

The service is similar to Bloomberg Government, which launched at the beginning of the year.

First Street includes congressional, government and lobbying data. The beta participants included law/lobbying firms, media organizations, and a D.C.-based association.  Also participating in the private beta were numerous university professors and librarians, and a journalism class.

“In today’s hyper-competitive lobbying landscape, First Street is a must for policymakers, lawyers and other Beltway professionals looking for a competitive edge,’ said Jasper Simons, publisher of First Street, in a statement. “This truly is a practice-changing policy intelligence tool.”

The approximate records in the First Street database include 240,000 Congressional and federal staffers, 43,000 registered lobbyists, 31,000 FEC PACs, 33,000 clients of registered lobbying organizations, 18,000 Congressional and federal organizations, and 7,000 registered lobbying organizations.

Annual subscription fees for First Street are tiered and based on the number of users.