WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2009 - Thousands of U.S. companies and special interest groups attempt to influence government through campaign donations in ways never before documented, a joint project by two of the nation’s premier government watchdog groups now reveals.
The project, conducted by the National Institute on Money in State Politics and the Center for Responsive Politics, also provides an unprecedented resource: Profiles of these organizations' political giving patterns during the 2008 election at both the state and national level.
The “Top National Donors” project integrates the Institute’s state contributions data with the Center for Responsive Politics’ federal contributions data – something never before accomplished.
“Innovative policy ideas often flow between the states and the U.S. Congress. For the first time ever, this resource is available and will allow users to see who is trying to exert influence on multiple levels," said Edwin Bender, executive director of the National Institute on Money in State Politics.
"Whether you’re a reporter, activist or ordinary citizen, this data mash-up allows you to explore the extent to which specific interests may be battling over policy armed with political I.O.U.s," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.
It reveals, for example, that companies and organizations with piqued interest in the federal debate over health care reform are at the same time attempting to bend state-level lawmakers to their corporate and special interests on the same topic.
The CRP/Institute study uncovers that several historically active federal-level campaign donors also gave a collective $15.1 million to campaigns in 47 states. They include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Pfizer, American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, AARP and Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America.
While plenty of large, nationally notable companies and organizations top the list – National Education Association, Service Employees International Union, AT&T – others prove less renowned.
The Pechanga Band of Mission Indians and Clean Energy Fuels Corp., for example, also rank highly, in large part because of their state-level ballot measure activity.
These and a host of other results are available online in a publicly accessible database.
State donors were selected by their total contributions to state-level candidates, party committees and state ballot initiatives during the 2008 election cycle. Federal donors were selected by their total contributions to federal candidates, leadership PACs and party committees in the 2008 election cycle. The totals listed for an organization include contributions from its PACs, employees and subsidiaries.
This unique data mash-up is funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation. The work forms the foundation for expanded independent investigation of nationwide influence-peddling trends.
The Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Center aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more responsive government. CRP's award-winning website, OpenSecrets.org, is the most comprehensive resource for campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis available anywhere. CRP relies on support from a combination of foundation grants and individual contributions. The Center accepts no contributions from businesses, labor unions or trade associations.
The National Institute for Money in State Politics is the only nonpartisan, nonprofit organization revealing the influence of campaign money on state-level elections and public policy in all 50 states. Its comprehensive and verifiable campaign-finance database and relevant issue analyses are available for free through its website, FollowTheMoney.org.
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