An OpenSecrets analysis of post-election reports filed with the Federal Election Commission found that business stakeholders made $3.5 billion in political contributions to the federal government during the 2022 cycle. rice field.It’s from $3.3 billionadjusted for inflation, spent during the 2018 midterm election cycle.
Business profits are spent more than organized labor 14 to 1 During the 2022 election cycle, 16 to 1 During the 2018 midterm election cycle.
Create a business PAC $341.3 million In federal contributions, five times the total Labor PAC contributions as reported through common reports filed with the FEC. “Business PACs” as defined and designated by OpenSecrets include his PACs associated with commercial enterprises, as well as those of cooperatives and trade associations that receive dues from companies that have stakes in these influential industries. Also includes his PAC.
OpenSecrets tracks the political activity of over 2,200 business PACs. This includes his PACs affiliated with about 1,320 self-identified companies, far exceeding the organized labor PACs.
of National Real Estate Association was the highest spending business PAC in the 2022 election cycle and also the top spender for federal lobbying in 2022. National Association of Realtors PAC Poured $4 million into federal donations during the 2022 election cycle. The group itself spent $125.7 million on federal lobbying for the same period in 2021 and 2022.
The Group’s lobbying efforts are aimed at “building strong communities, supporting the real estate economy (which accounts for nearly 20% of the total US economy), promoting a vibrant business environment, and providing the most efficient way possible for consumers. It reflects the NAR’s broader mission to secure markets,” said National. A spokesperson for the National Association of Realtors told his OpenSecrets in a written statement. In 2022, the group succeeded in securing a bipartisan cosponsor of a bill that would remove the tax-increase clause from the Inflation Control Act and provide subsidies to develop underutilized shopping centers. previously reported.
Other members of the 118th Congress pledged Corporate PAC funding can be denied more than ever, but business interests remain a significant force in the political process.
The campaigns of 428 U.S. Representatives reportedly received a total of $291.7 million from Business PAC during the 2022 election cycle, new analysis from OpenSecrets reveals. During the same period, seven of his campaigns in the House of Representatives were reported not to have received money from the business PAC. Matt Gates (R-Fla.), marjorie taylor green (R-Ga.), Ro Kanna (D-California), Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (DNY), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Ayanna Presley (D-Mass.) and John Sarbanes (D-Maryland).
sense. Cory Booker (DN.J.), Jeff Markley (D-ore), Chris Murphy (D-Kone), John Ossoff (D-Ga.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D Massachusetts) also reported no contributions to the Business PAC during the 2022 election cycle, but none of these senators were asked for re-election. Her 94 other senators in the 118th Congress reported he received $85.5 million combined from the Business PAC during the same period.
Business PACs and industry groups have directed more than $66 million to election opponents since Jan. 6, 2021, OpenSecrets previously reportedWhile there are many corporations, pledged Parliament’s so-called “sedition caucus,” Several enterprise include AT&T, boeing, Signa, comcast, general motors, home depot, lockheed martin, marathon oil, Pfizer, Raytheon, UPS, united health, verizon When walmart Reopened corporate PAC contributions to election opponents.
To reduce corporate influence in parliament, Ossoff and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) introduced of Corporate PAC Prohibition Law The bill does not apply to all business PACs, only PACs established and controlled by for-profit companies, highlighting the ongoing debate about how to keep corporate cash out of politics.
Rise Without Pledges to Corporate PACs — And What They Mean
The corporate PAC ban law was not passed in 2022, but there is a growing movement to deny donations to corporate PACs. end citizens unitedIt is a left-wing campaign finance reform non-profit organization.
end citizens united — and FEC — definition Corporate PAC as a PAC with a separate segregated fund connected to a corporate or uncapitalized corporation. For example, a company PAC might have 3M When Honeywell but not from American Chemistry Council158 industry associations Paid membership Including the above two companies.
“We will use the FEC definition because it is clear. End Citizens United national spokesman Bawadden Sayed told OpenSecrets in writing. Members are welcome to deny other sources of funding beyond that.”
PACs associated with corporations involved in federal elections identify themselves as corporate PACs when submitting their organizational statements to the FEC. However, these designations are not controlled by his FEC and some commercial entities may not be identified as businesses in his FEC disclosures.
Deloitte, Ernst & Young When KPMG For example, it is not registered as a Corporate PAC because it is organized as a “Professional Services Network” and is registered as a Membership Organization that falls within OpenSecrets’ definition of a Business PAC. Some law and lobbying firms, such as Covington and Burling and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, are not technically corporations but are included in the broader definition of a business PAC.
The pledge of End Citizens United there is no need Candidates who refuse donations from corporate executives.
But Said told OpenSecrets that it would be a “real sacrifice” for a candidate to give up corporate donations.
“The overwhelming majority of members of Congress receive corporate PAC funding, an easy source of funding,” Said wrote. “Members who have made this pledge have done so much more, leaving millions of dollars on the table.”
Murphy, one of the lawmakers who signed the “No Corporate PAC” pledge, previously reported receiving $538,000 from the Corporate PAC from 2017 through the end of 2020. Also, since 2017, he has reported no donations from business PACs, which have donated a total of $1 million to his campaign by the end of 2020, according to OpenSecrets data. Murphy is seeking his 2024 re-election.
Seventy-three members of Congress in the 118th Congress signed the Roll Call, a “No Corporate PAC” pledge. report In December, the number increased from 59 at the start of the 117th competition and 56 at the start of the 116th competition.
“We don’t have a record number of Corporate PAC members in the 118th Congress because denying Corporate PAC funding is good policy and good politics,” Said told OpenSecrets. “The movement has grown in every parliament since 2016 and we expect it to continue to gain momentum.”
Said called the pledge “a powerful way to prove to voters that we are willing to go the extra mile to fix our broken system and fight for the people in Congress.”
Senior Researcher Doug Weber and Board Researcher Andrew Mayersohn contributed to this report.