Follow Lobbyists' Money With New Features on OpenSecrets.org
As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was running for re-election, about $1 out of every $20 he raised for his massive war chest came from a tiny but elite group of Washington insiders: federally registered lobbyists and their immediate family members, according to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics of campaign finance data and lobbying reports.In 2009 and 2010 alone, Reid raised about $919,000 from 572 lobbyists who were registered and actively lobbying during either one of those years, the Center found. That's more than any other member of the U.S. Senate, but he's hardly the only member of Congress to post notable numbers.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) -- the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee who ultimately lost her seat in November to Republican John Boozman after barely escaping her own party's primary -- ranked second behind Reid in terms of contributions from active, federally registered lobbyists during 2009 and 2010, at $637,400 from 469 individual lobbyists.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman of Ohio -- who served in President George W. Bush's cabinet -- both raised more than half a million dollars from active registered lobbyists during 2009 and 2010, according to the Center's research, pulling in about $599,400 and $519,525, respectively.
And Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who raised about $466,000 from active, registered lobbyists during 2009 and 2010, rounds out the top five Senate beneficiaries during this time frame.
Among congressmen seeking re-election in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, then-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), raised the most money from registered lobbyists during the past two years, at $250,400 from 165 individual lobbyists.
More than 20 other House members raised between $100,000 and $200,000 from active, registered lobbyists during 2009 and 2010, including then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), then-Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and then-Minority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
All this information and more is now available on the OpenSecrets.org website, as the Center for Responsive Politics endeavors to help readers connect the dots in the world of political influence.
Tables displaying the top recipients of cash from active, federally registered lobbyists during two-year election cycles is now available here in the OpenSecrets.org lobbying database, where a drop-down menu will allow you to view top Senate recipients, top House recipient or the top recipients of lobbyist money among parties, leadership PACs and other political action committees.
Within each member profile on OpenSecrets.org, you can also now see which active, federally registered lobbyists have donated money to House members over a two-year election cycle or a six-year election cycle for senators.
Augmenting the new icons that the Center for Responsive Politics announced last month, three types of arrows now appear alongside the names of companies and organizations that are displayed in each member of Congress' top contributors list.
A pink arrow represents that the organization hired lobbyists to lobby the federal government during the election cycle selected for the lawmaker, a two-year period for House members and a six-year period for senators.
An orange arrow signifies that the organization listed itself is an active lobbying firm.
A red arrow shows that lobbyists representing the listed organization contributed to this congressional member's campaign. By clicking on that red arrow, you'll see the list of specific lobbyists who donated money to the listed candidate, along with the dollar amounts they personal gave and the dollar amounts any of their spouses or children also contributed.
For instance, based on the number of pink and red arrows, we see that 18 out of the top 20 contributors to House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) hired federal lobbyists in 2009 or 2010 who also gave money to Clyburn during that two-year period.
Meanwhile, one organization hired federal lobbyists during this two-year period, but none of these individuals gave any money to Clyburn during the 2010 election cycle. Note the presence of a pink arrow and absence of a red arrow.
And if you click on the red arrow corresponding to one of these organizations, say, General Electric, Clyburn's No. 1 donor during the 2010 election cycle, you can see that 10 individual lobbyists who lobbied for GE's interests of gave Clyburn a combined $6,567 during this time:
One of these 10 lobbyists is Paul Brathwaite, of the Podesta Group. Brathwaite, a former congressional aide and executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, gave Clyburn $1,500 during the 2010 election cycle.
And if you click on Brathwaite's name, you'll be taken to a new feature within Brathwaite's lobbyist profile that outlines all his political contributions in 2009 and 2010.
In Brathwaite's case, he personally donated a total of $52,150 to federal candidates and committees during 2009 and 2010, according to the Center's research. And no contributions from his family members were found by the Center.
Notably, only four other political groups received more money from Brathwaite than Clyburn:
Within each member profile on OpenSecrets.org, you can also now see which active, federally registered lobbyists have donated money to House members over a two-year election cycle or a six-year election cycle for senators.
Augmenting the new icons that the Center for Responsive Politics announced last month, three types of arrows now appear alongside the names of companies and organizations that are displayed in each member of Congress' top contributors list.
A pink arrow represents that the organization hired lobbyists to lobby the federal government during the election cycle selected for the lawmaker, a two-year period for House members and a six-year period for senators.
An orange arrow signifies that the organization listed itself is an active lobbying firm.
A red arrow shows that lobbyists representing the listed organization contributed to this congressional member's campaign. By clicking on that red arrow, you'll see the list of specific lobbyists who donated money to the listed candidate, along with the dollar amounts they personal gave and the dollar amounts any of their spouses or children also contributed.
For instance, based on the number of pink and red arrows, we see that 18 out of the top 20 contributors to House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) hired federal lobbyists in 2009 or 2010 who also gave money to Clyburn during that two-year period.
Meanwhile, one organization hired federal lobbyists during this two-year period, but none of these individuals gave any money to Clyburn during the 2010 election cycle. Note the presence of a pink arrow and absence of a red arrow.
And if you click on the red arrow corresponding to one of these organizations, say, General Electric, Clyburn's No. 1 donor during the 2010 election cycle, you can see that 10 individual lobbyists who lobbied for GE's interests of gave Clyburn a combined $6,567 during this time:One of these 10 lobbyists is Paul Brathwaite, of the Podesta Group. Brathwaite, a former congressional aide and executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, gave Clyburn $1,500 during the 2010 election cycle.And if you click on Brathwaite's name, you'll be taken to a new feature within Brathwaite's lobbyist profile that outlines all his political contributions in 2009 and 2010.
In Brathwaite's case, he personally donated a total of $52,150 to federal candidates and committees during 2009 and 2010, according to the Center's research. And no contributions from his family members were found by the Center.
Notably, only four other political groups received more money from Brathwaite than Clyburn:- Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), who lost a bid for a U.S. Senate seat and collected $2,900 from Brathwaite
- the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which got $2,000
- Democratic Del. Donna Christian-Christensen of the Virgin Islands, who got $2,000
- the Empowering Each Community PAC, the leadership PAC of Rep. Elijah Cummings, which got $2,000