Whose money is lining the pockets of the "Super Congress?" Image from http://cidyjufun.blogspot.com/2011/05/dollar-sign-clip-art-free.html
As the formation of the super-committee or “Super Congress” starts to shape up, political insiders are saying we are going to see the one of the biggest influx of lobbying in American political history. The National Journal reports, “The 12 lawmakers on the so-called super committee—and their staffs—will be besieged by K Streeters”. Politico reports that Democratic lobbyist group Quinn Gillespie & Associates has been trying to recruit business interests to use their services for the committee. The top Lobbying groups, since 1998, have been Big Pharma, Insurance, Utility Companies, Computer Interests and Big Oil, according to the Center of Responsive Politics. About 3/4 of all money spent on lobbying is spent on behalf of businesses, making it obvious where the political tilt of this super-committee will be.
Lobbyists and special-interests have given over $3 million to the super-committee members’ campaigns over the past 5 years. These special-interest groups include defense contractors, health-care companies and unions, all groups very interested in the super-committee’s task of cutting a trillion and a half dollars from the Federal budget. The Business Roundtable is requesting that the Super-committee not close tax loopholes. The Roundtable has also made it clear that they believe that the corporate tax rate should be cut to below 25% (it currently stands at 35% with well-documented loopholes). The Business Roundtable spent over $10 million a year from ’08-’10, with over $5 million spent so far this year. On the other hand, the major drug company Pfizer is saying it will fight all Medicare cuts. Drug companies contributed $112 billion in to last year’s Affordable Health Care Act, helping Democrats get the support they needed for the bill. Pfizer paid for 83 lobbyists and spent $13.38 million, more than any other drug company.
A great Guardian article points out:
“The legalised system of quasi-bribery known as the American campaign finance system allows millions of dollars to flow from individuals and corporations to support federal candidates. Not a single member of Congress attains a coveted seat without the monetary support of key special interests. Those favours must be repaid – either in helpful legislation, or protection from taxation and other federal interference…You can see how it works. Over the years, Washington has evolved into a highly oiled special-interest machine, plying candidates with money, on one hand, and grooming insiders to help close the deal, on the other. So far, this ethically corrupt system has proven extraordinarily resistant to reform.”
On Tuesday, Harry Reid selected John Kerry (Mass.), Patty Murray (Wash.) and Max Baucus (Mont.) to represent Senate Democrats on the committee.
Murray is the leading fundraiser for Senate Democrats. Since 2007, she has spent 16 million dollars to hold her Senate seat. In this time period, Microsoft has given her $200,000 and Boeing, which benefits from many defense contracts, $100,000. She has also taken in nearly $700,000 from lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Large individual donors giving to her outnumber small individual donors, 2 to 1. The Pharmaceutical Industry has given her leadership PAC over 50,000 dollars. Some of Murray’s largest contributors are “Women Issues” groups. The largest PAC contributions come from Emily’s List, a pro-choice PAC. This PAC is mostly funded by Ellen Malcom, a former IBM executive and an heiress. She worked for Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2008.
Some of Baucus’ biggest contributors are law firms, lobbyists, insurance companies, securities and hedge funds, and the health care industry. Pro-Israel donors have given him almost $600,000. Baucus’ top contributor for his Senatorial career has been Goldman Sachs. In 2010 he, along with two other Senators, called for a $10 million earmark for a weapons upgrade center. For this cycle he has raised just $15,000 from small donors and an eye-popping $5 million from large donors. His top contributor for this cycle is lobbying firm Akin Gump. They spent over $30 million on lobbying last year, alone. They represent corporations like AT&T (which just about every lobbying firm does), Bain Capital (of Mitt Romney fame), American Express and Chevron.
When John Kerry ran for President in ’04, he was out-raised by George W. Bush. But he still raised $300 million, nearly six times more than had ever been raised by a Democratic nominee under the public funding program (Obama opted out of the public funding program in ’08, as did Bush in his two elections). In Kerry’s most recent Senatorial cycle, Bain Capital and Comcast are two of the biggest contributors. The top 5 industries contributing to him are Lawyers, Lobbyists, Health Care, Real Estate, and Hedge Funds. The defense industry has grown drastically in Massachusetts under Kerry because of his ties with the industry.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) announced she had selected Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Rep. Xavier Becerra (Calif.) for the super-committee on Thursday.
Beccara is now pitching his seat as a fundraising tool. An announcement for a Wall Street-driven $1,500-per-plate fundraiser on August 31st was made the same day Beccara was selected for the committee. The Investment Company Institute (they have spent about $2.5 million in lobbying this year) is the one touting the fundraiser for Becerra.
Some notable donors to Becarra include New York Life Insurance Company ($35,000), American College of Radiology ($28,500), American Physical Therapy Association ($27,500), American Society of Anesthesiologists ($27,000), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ($25,000), and Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. ($25,000). He has also received (directly and to his PAC) $1.5 million in PAC money. Health-care companies donated $200,000 to Becarra’s campaign in his last re-election cycle (including $5,500 from Pfizer). One of his former counsels, Arshi Siddiqui, now works for the lobbying giant Akin Gump. He also received $5,000 from Boeing, one of the largest defense contractors in the country.
Van Hollen has received money from Lockheed Martin ($35,000), New York Life Insurance Company ($30,000), Credit Union National Association ($27,500), American Association Of Orthopaedic Surgeons ($25,000), American Association For Justice ($22,500), and United Food & Commercial Workers International Union ($22,500). He is also received over $16,000 from lobbying group Arent Fox, a relatively small firm that lobbies for everything from hospitals to defensive contractors. Law firms also gave him over $150,000 in the last cycle.
Major donors to Clyburn include Price, Waterhouse and Coopers ($35,000), Amgen Inc. ($31,500), and Lockheed Martin ($31,000). General Electric ($31,500), Verizon ($16,500), and lobbying group, Podesta Group ($19,900) have also been some of the top donors to Clyburn. Law firms gave him $229,000, and lobbyists donated over $100,000 to Clyburn in his last re-election. Pfizer also gave him over $15,000 dollars, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Republican picks for the “Super-Congress” are in:
On the Senate side, Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) were selected by the Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. House Speaker John Boehner selected Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) to represent House Republicans.
All 6 choices have signed anti-tax pledges, and Grover Norquist has come out and endorsed the Republican selections for the super-committee.
Jon Kyl has received over $150,000 from the very corporate friendly organization Club for Growth, by far the largest organization contributing to him. Real-Estate, Lawyers, Heath-Care, Securities and Hedge Funds are the top five industries that donate to Kyl.
In ’06, Kyl received $5,000 from both Pepsico and Exxon Mobil to vote yes on a free-trade agreement. He received $1,000 from United Technologies (a defense industry interest) and $500 from a real estate donor on the bill. He voted with the interests and the bill passed, even though environmental groups and unions (who were outspent by corporate interests by a very large margin on the bill) opposed the bill. Some other notable donors to Kyl include Citigroup, the American Bankers Association (who gave him nearly $18,000), and California Dairies Incorporated.
Camp has responded to his nomination to the committee by announcing a fund-raiser. It will raise $2,500 per attendee. Pfizer PAC will be a host at the fund-raiser. Lobbyist for Williams and Jensen, Susan Hirshmann, is also part of the host committee. Other notable host committee members include Visa, American Bankers Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Comcast, and General Electric. The biggest donors to Camp’s campaigns are the usual subjects, Insurance, Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Companies, Securities and Lobbyists, but at slightly smaller amounts than the rest of the members on the committee. General Electric and Dow Chemical are also huge donors to Camp. Big Tobacco and Citigroup have also lobbied him successfully on bills. To his credit, he has occasionally voted against lobbying interests that donated to him. But that could be because the other side was also lobbying him.
Toomey’s biggest organization contributor is by far Club for Growth, which he ran before becoming a Senator. Republican and Conservative groups are by far his big donors, making it easy to see where his stances on taxes and spending will be. He also brings in big money from oil companies, like Exxon and Chevron, and finance, like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. PACs have given at least $1.7 million to Toomey’s campaign and his PAC since the start of 2009.
Portman’s biggest industry donors are Securities and Lawyers. The biggest donor out of this group is Squire Sanders and Dempsey, a lawyer group. GE, JP Morgan, and Nationwide are also big donors.
Other major donors include: FirstEnergy Corp. ($32,000), Huntington Bancshares Inc. ($25,000), Ohio National Financial Services ($22,500), MetLife Inc. ($16,000), and National Automotive Dealers Association ($16,000). Portman received more money from lobbyists than any other Republican politician in 2010. Portman is very close to business, as he is a former U.S. Trade Representative.
Upton is the grandson of the founder of Whirlpool. Some major donors include: Verizon ($30,000), AT&T ($30,000), Pfizer, ($28,000), Exelon Corporation ($28,000), and Koch Industries ($27,500). PACs gave at least $2.5 million to Upton’s campaign account and his TRUSTPAC since the start of 2009. He also has revolving door history as well, as his former legislative aide Scott Aliferis went on to work for a major lobbying firm.
For Hensarling, First State Bank is the leading donor, as Big Banks are his biggest contributors. Mastercard, Visa, JP Morgan, and Chesapeake Energy have given him $5,000 in lobbying money on key bills. Some other notable donors to Hensarling, according to IWatch News, include KPMG LLP ($35,000), UBS AG ($35,000), Bank of America Corp. ($32,500), and Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America ($31,000).
Edited By: Alexis Atherton
