Between 2007-2012, America’s most politically active corporations spent $5.8 billion on federal lobbying and campaign contributions. A Sunlight Foundation analysis suggests, however, that what they gave pales compared to what they got: $4.4 trillion in federal benefits.
Continue readingCorporate donors still prefer the shadows
A Sunlight analysis of corporate giving in the 2014 campaign suggests that many businesses prefer to play politics anonymously. There are, however, some notable exceptions.
Continue readingBig tech, big oil and defense help underwrite Obama inaugural
President Barack Obama raised more than $43 million for his second inaugural, including seven-figure donations from some of the nation's biggest tech, defense and energy companies, a report filed on Saturday with the Federal Election Commission shows.
The top donor to the 2013 presidential inaugural was AT&T, which gave $4.6 million in equipment and services. That single donation equalled more than all of the inaugural committee's smallest donors (those who gave $200 or less than therefore did not have contributions itemized in the FEC report) combined.
Other members of the seven-figure check club: Microsoft, which gave ...
Continue readingBig PACs contribute $83,000 to super committee members
The political action committees of Lockheed Martin, the National Association of Realtors, Pfizer and Chevron all reported making contributions to members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction--better known as the super committee--in the roughly 20 days of August after House and Senate leadership appointed them to the panel.
PACs for 19 of the biggest political donors in the country, as determined by Center for Responsive Politics, have reported contributing more than $83,000 to 10 of the 12 members of the super committee or their leadership PACs, Federal Eelection Commission filings show. It's the first glimpse available ...
Continue readingLobbyists pay millions to honor Congress, executive branch
Last year, four of the country’s biggest military contractors paid $100,000 or more to become top sponsors of a black tie charity gala that honored the influential former chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo.
In exchange for that gift, some of the company's top executives were placed at Skelton's table and all were given the chance to address the V.I.P. crowd that included many top military officials. The event benefited a charity for families of fallen soldiers.
This kind of lavish corporate spending on galas bestowing awards on executive ...
Continue readingBig oil money at the state level mostly goes to influence the public, not the politicians
The Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling will allow corporate interests to spend unlimited amounts trying to influence voters, something they’ve... View Article
Continue readingThis Week in Transparency – August 21, 2009
Here are some of the more interesting media mentions of Sunlight and our friends and allies over the past week:... View Article
Continue readingCorpWatch’s New CrocTail and API
I’ve been out of Washington this week as you might have gathered from by tweeting but I did want to... View Article
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