Copyright 2000 The National Journal, Inc.
The National Journal
June 3, 2000
SECTION: CAMPAIGN FINANCE; Pg. 1764; Vol. 32, No. 23
LENGTH: 1561 words
HEADLINE:
For Friends in Need, Business Money Indeed
BYLINE:
Louis Jacobson
BODY:
During the current
election cycle, Republicans have received 64
percent of the $ 75 million
that business and trade association
political action committees have
contributed to House and Senate
candidates, according to data compiled for
National Journal by
the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Democrats have collected only 36 percent of business
PAC
dollars, but that amount is up slightly from the 34 percent
they received
during the 1997-98 cycle and the 30 percent they
received in 1995-96, after
Republicans had taken control of
Congress. The numbers are based on PAC
donations reported to the
Federal Election Commission through May 1. PAC
contributions from
labor unions and single-issue or ideological groups were
not
included in the survey.
National Journal
examined the 125 biggest business PACs
based on their receipts and found
that 103 have distributed more
than $ 100,000 in the 1999-2000 cycle,
according to data obtained
from fecinfo. Of those, nine have increased the
share of their
contributions going to Democrats by at least 10 percentage
points, while only one has raised its giving to Republicans by
that
percentage. Many PACs, however, that boosted their share of
contributions to
Democrats had given a small percentage in
previous cycles. Of course, the
numbers could change after the
final PAC dollar is tallied this fall.
The improvement in the Democrats' fortunes reflects their
five-seat pickup in the House two years ago and the possibility
that
they could regain control of that chamber in November, PAC
directors said.
The shift in the Democrats' direction is hardly
trivial,
they added. In some cases, business is paying protection money to
the Democrats. "There is a very prevalent view in the business
community
that if you give to the Democrats, they won't screw you
as badly,"
especially if they win in November, said a GOP
lobbyist, echoing the
comments of several others. But the
Republicans, he said, are "apoplectic"
about any shift in
campaign contributions. "They say, 'Stop hedging, because
we're
keeping track.' "
Earlier this year, the
GOP publicly recognized and
thanked companies and trade groups that
contributed at least 75
percent of their PAC money to the Republicans.
The biggest winners, lobbyists say, may be the pro-
business moderates in both parties. "Many folks believe that
regardless
of which party controls the House, governance from the
middle will be the
rule of the day in the next Congress," said
William J. Birkhofer, the vice
president for government relations
with the Jacobs Engineering Group. "So
groups like the Blue Dogs,
the New Democrats, and the moderate Republicans
are getting a lot
of the attention."
Consider
the National Association of Home Builders, which
has given 39 percent of its
donations to Democrats this cycle,
compared with 29 percent the previous
cycle. The trade group has
given money to 53 centrist Democrats. "We haven't
altered our
philosophy," said NAHB lobbyist Jerry Howard. "But it seems that
more members of the Democratic Party have become pro-business."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's PAC intends to give
some
money to pro-business Democrats this fall. It has already
endorsed
seven House Democrats-Leonard L. Boswell of Iowa, Bud
Cramer Jr. of Alabama,
Calvin Dooley and Ellen Tauscher of
California, Tim Roemer of Indiana, Max
Sandlin of Texas, and John
S. Tanner of Tennessee-who face competitive races
this fall. When
Thomas J. Donohue took over as chamber president two years
ago,
said spokesman Frank Coleman, "he made a commitment to support
candidates, and especially members of Congress, who consistently
supported business, regardless of party."
According to Coleman, "The chamber supports Democrats,
not in
anticipation of the party taking over Congress, but
because some of them
have begun to vote more pro-business than in
the past."
Despite the Democrats' gains, Republicans still have
plenty of
reason to cheer. The Association of Trial Lawyers of
America is the only one
of the top 125 business, professional,
and trade group PACs that leans
heavily Democratic. The lawyers'
PAC has given approximately 84 percent of
its money to Democrats
this cycle. Of the PACs that have doled out at least
$ 100,000
this cycle, the American Optometric Association, the American
Podiatric Medical Association, and MCI WorldCom are the only
others that
have given at least 50 percent of their money to
Democrats.
On the other hand, 10 business PACs have given more than
82
percent of their money to GOP candidates. One lobbyist credits
House Speaker
J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., for reassuring the
business community following
the tumultuous tenure of former
Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. "Since Denny
has taken office," the
lobbyist said, "he has created a more stable
environment for the
House conference and eased concerns in the PAC community
about
the Republicans' holding on to control in the House, even if it's
a small majority."
The big losers so far are
challengers in both parties.
Public contentment has made business and trade
groups less likely
to wager their money on weak challengers, lobbyists said.
That's
true even when the incumbent is a Democrat with a so-so voting
record on key business issues.
Bernadette Budde,
the senior vice president for the
Business-Industry Political Action
Committee, noted that the PAC
community "can't afford to be romantically
sentimental. We have
to help people who have a good chance of winning."
Veteran GOP lobbyist David K. Rehr, the president of
the
National Beer Wholesalers Association, cautioned challengers
about
relying too much on Washington PACs for campaign money.
"We've put the word
out to challengers that they've got to have a
lot of money already or else
we won't give them any," he said "It
used to be that you got PAC money first
and then went out to
raise more in your district. But we and other groups
got burned
with that theory during the last cycle. Now we tell people if
they want to raise $ 1 million, they'll have to raise $ 500,000
before
getting any PAC money."
It is a different story for
candidates seeking an open
seat. About 33 percent of BIPAC's money has gone
to primary
candidates running for open seats. In the 1997-98 cycle, only 10
percent of its contributions went to primary candidates, Budde
said. "We
predict that in 2002, it will be the primaries that
determine functional
control of Congress," she added.
The most staunchly
Republican PACs include a cross
section of industries-banking, construction,
insurance, and
retail-that have long been the financial backbone of the
party.
Meanwhile, business or professional groups
looking for
legislative help from the Democrats are returning the favor with
PAC contributions. Health care groups, such as the American
Optometric
Association, the American Podiatric Medical
Association, the American
Association of Nurse-Anesthetists, and
the American Academy of
Ophthalmology, are among the most pro-
Democratic business PACs. Several of
these groups support
increased Medicare reimbursements and the
patients' bill of
rights legislation. Both measures have
strong Democratic support
on Capitol Hill.
Also,
the American Medical Association, for years a loyal
financial supporter of
the GOP, has boosted its share of
donations to Democrats from 28 percent in
1997-98 to roughly 44
percent this cycle. The doctors' group supports the
patients'
bill of rights legislation that would impose new
restrictions on
health insurance companies.
Technology and telecommunications companies, including
AT&T Corp.,
MCI WorldCom, and Microsoft Corp., are also
increasing their percentage of
contributions to Democrats. "We
have found that on issues of importance to
us-from encryption or
privacy to H1-B visas-leaders on both sides of the
aisle have
helped us,"said Microsoft spokesman Rick Miller. "You will find
that to be much the same for the entire high-tech industry."
Meanwhile, drug companies are increasing their share of
contributions to Republicans. Of the 10 PACs that have boosted
their
share of giving to Republicans by the biggest percentage
this year, three
are pharmaceutical companies: Eli Lilly and Co.,
Merck & Co., and
Pfizer. Those companies are fighting Democratic
efforts to provide a
prescription drug benefit under Medicare.
For some
business PACs, evenhandedness is the better part
of valor. Jacobs
Engineering, for instance, has shifted several
percentage points in the
GOP's direction this year, but at
roughly 50-50, it still ranks among the
PACs most favorable to
Democrats. "I think if we had a ratio of two-thirds
to one-third
in either direction, we would be out of balance," said
Birkhofer,
the company's lobbyist. Referring to tales he has heard of party
officials demanding partisan purity by PACs this year, Birkhofer
said,
"I have to tell you that that kind of message would not be
especially well
received here."
LOAD-DATE: June 5, 2000
