http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0203.htmlJohn Kerry Ranks 92nd out of the 100 Senators in Contributions from Special Interest PACS and Lobbyists
Bush Raised More Lobbyist Funds in 2003 than Kerry Raised in Career
February 03, 2004
For Immediate Release
Spokane, WA–
While Senator John Kerry has run and won four Senate races over the past 20 years, he ranks about the bottom of the list of current Senators in contributions from PACs and lobbyists.
“George Bush accepted more money last year from lobbyists than John Kerry has in his career,” said Kerry campaign Senior Advisor Michael Meehan. “John Kerry’s vote is not for sale, period. He is the only current Senator to run four campaigns without taking a dime of special interest PAC money.”
“John Kerry is one of the most successful Democrats over the past two decades and one of the party’s top fundraisers,” Meehan added. “Therefore it is understandable that Kerry, who has raised over $45 million from individuals in 20 years, would lead any particular sub-grouping of individual contributors.
“What is stunning is that despite his successful long service in the Senate, 91 other Senators beat Kerry in contributions from PACs and Lobbyists.”
Facts on John Kerry and Special Interests
JOHN KERRY'S MONEY: NO ONE BUYS JOHN KERRY’S VOTE
PAC FREE: John Kerry has not taken a dime of PAC money during his four Senate elections or during his presidential race. PACs contribute a huge chunk of the money given to politics. Corporate PACs have given $1.2 billion to campaigns and parties since 1990. Not one dime has gone to John Kerry.
RANKS 92nd IN SENATE: Because Kerry does not take PAC money, he has actually taken LESS special interest money than practically every member of Congress. In fact when contributions from PACs and lobbyists are combined, Kerry ranks 92nd of 100 sitting Senators.
BANS LOBBYISTS: John Kerry has proposed a ban on anyone leaving government office from becoming a lobbyist for five years and would require that every meeting between a federal official and a lobbyist be a matter of public record. He’s sponsored the strongest campaign finance reform measures ever to come before the Senate and gone above and beyond public disclosure requirements every year he has been in the Senate.
FACTS ON OPPONENTS CHARGES
BY 3 to 1, GEORGE BUSH the presidential candidates who has received the most lobbyist funds. To be clear, John Kerry has NOT taken the most money from lobbyists. In fact, George Bush has taken more than three times as much money from lobbyists in the past year alone as Kerry has, and managed to reward them handsomely for it too -- at the expense of the environment, our economy and the middle class.
BUSH took more money from lobbyists in 2003, than John Kerry has in his entire career. If you add up all the money John Kerry’s opponents say he has taken from lobbyists over his career, it amounts to just barely more than one percent of his total contributions.
OPPONENTS
Kerry’s record also stacks up well against his rivals. Howard Dean’s campaign is being run by three lobbyists and he was close to special interests like insurance companies and sided with his most important donor over consumer interests—utility companies. Wes Clark was a lobbyist himself.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics:
Howard Dean has taken more money from Health Care Special interests in this campaign than has John Kerry. Dean has taken more money from computers and high tech interests than John Kerry. Dean’s second largest contributor was media giant Time Warner. Dean’s third largest contributor is Bill Gates’ Microsoft, and Dean’s eighth largest contributor was Citigroup. One-fifth of Dean’s initial contributions for his PAC came from people with ties to Vermont's electric utilities .
Dean has said he provides access to people who give the most money, and he was right. His key industry, utility companies, held secret meetings to design the state’s energy plan, and Dean sided with them on a variety of issues, including forcing consumers, rather than the companies absorb 90% of the excess costs for an expensive contract with an out-of-state source. Vermonters paid electric bills that were 50% higher than the national average-- $2 billion over ten years.
Dean has convened a regular meeting of Washington insiders and lobbyists, who “meet every other week in the downtown law offices of Hogan & Hartson to plot strategy with key Dean advisers. The group is getting bigger by the week.”
JOHN KERRY HAS FOUGHT SPECIAL INTERESTS IN THE SENATE
John Kerry has taken aim at the mutual fund scandals and developed a plan to restore ethics, integrity, and honesty to business and government by holding corporate America accountable. His plan will stop unfair trading practices, protect shareholders, and assure that all investors get a fair deal. John Kerry has stood up for corporate responsibility, proposing a three-point plan that would ensure that investors are no longer exploited to benefit a powerful few by the mutual fund industry, by helping individual investors recover losses with new RICO penalties.
John Kerry will continue to stand up to prescription drug companies by reducing drug prices by ending loopholes that prevent generics from coming to the market, ensuring that seniors without prescription drug coverage don’t pay more, saving money by reducing prescription drug errors, and giving seniors a real prescription drug benefit that doesn’t reward big drug companies.
John Kerry stood up to corporate polluters when Newt Gingrich tried to roll back our nations clean air and water laws. He’s proposed new protections that would ensure that all communities have clean air and water and would force big corporations to clean up the messes they have made.
MORE EXAMPLES OF JOHN KERRY STANDING UP TO SPECIAL INTERESTS
Banks and credit card companies:
John Kerry voted against the Bankruptcy bill that was a major priority for banks and credit card companies. He also helped protect redlining rules that banks would like to weaken. Banks have also lobbied hard against money laundering laws that John Kerry has written and worked to pass.
Media companies and broadcasters:
John Kerry opposes Bush’s attempt to weaken the media ownership rules that would help large media conglomerates. He also insisted on strong consumer friendly conditions on the AOL-Time Warner merger.
Computers and High Tech:
John Kerry supported strong consumer friendly Internet Privacy legislation that high tech and Internet companies opposed. He has also resisted calls to block rules that would require the expensing of stock options, a top priority of donors in the high-tech community
Oil companies:
John Kerry has fought to implement higher fuel economy standards and blocked plans to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve
Telecommunications and wireless:
John Kerry supported Do Not Call legislation, which phone companies and marketers worked against. He opposed a 1999 amendment that would change FCC accounting policies in a way that would allow Baby Bells to raise rates. And last year, Kerry wrote a letter to Verizon opposing the position that the company was taking in a labor dispute.
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