Barack Obama/on lobbyists



The following relates to Sen. Barack Obama and his views on and interaction with lobbyists.

Accepting political contributions from lobbyists and PACs
"But behind Obama's campaign rhetoric about taking on special interests lies a more complicated truth," Scott Helman wrote August 9, 2007, in the Boston Globe. A "review of Obama's campaign finance records shows that he collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and PACs as a state legislator in Illinois, a US senator, and a presidential aspirant."


 * 1996 to 2004: "almost two-thirds of the money he raised for his campaigns -- $296,000 of $461,000 -- came from PACs, corporate contributions, or unions, according to Illinois Board of Elections records. He tapped financial services firms, real estate developers, healthcare providers, oil companies, and many other corporate interests, the records show."


 * Starting in 2004, Obama "has collected $128,000 from lobbyists and $1.3 million from PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics." Obama's "$1.3 million from PACs represents 8 percent of what he has raised overall. Clinton's Senate committee, by comparison, has raised $3 million from PACs, 4 percent of her total amount raised, the group said."


 * "Obama's own federal PAC, Hopefund, took in $115,000 from 56 PACs in the 2005-2006 election cycle out of $4.4 million the PAC raised, according to CQ MoneyLine, which collects Federal Election Commission data. Obama then used those PAC contributions -- including thousands from defense contractors, law firms, and the securities and insurance industries -- to build support for his presidential run by making donations to Democratic Party organizations and candidates around the country."

Roll Call: "Obama Bashes, Courts K Street. Senator Now Seeks Lobbyists"
"Even as Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has intensified his attacks on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for her ties to K Street, he has been reaching out to lobbyists to provide volunteer manpower in early primary states," Roll Call reported October 18, 2007.

Subprime mortgage industry
Obama's New Hampshire chairman, Jim Demers, "a lobbyist, is president of the New England Financial Services Association -- whose work includes defending the subprime industry."

On pushing lobbyists' interests: tariff suspensions
Obama has "quietly worked with corporate lobbyists to help pass breaks worth $12 million" although he has "lambasted lobbyists and moneyed interests who 'have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play'" in his speeches, Justin Rood wrote July 16, 2007, in The Blotter.

In 2006, Rood wrote, "at the request of a hired representative for an Australian-owned chemical corporation Nufarm, Obama introduced nine separate bills  exempting the company from import fees on a range of chemical ingredients it uses in the manufacture of pesticides and herbicides. Nufarm's U.S. subsidiary is based in Illinois."

Also, in May 2006, "two Washington lobbyists registered to work on behalf of Astellas Pharma, a Japanese-owned drug company which also has offices in Illinois [to] 'Introduce legislation to temporarily suspend customs duties for the importation of a pharmaceutical ingredient,' they wrote on their lobbying forms. Less than three weeks later, the men had earned their $20,000 fee, thanks to Obama. On May 26, he introduced S. 3155, a bill specifically exempting Astellas' key ingredient from tariff payments. The bill cost the federal government more than $1 million in lost revenue, according to government estimates," Rood wrote.

"Only one other 2008 presidential hopeful has introduced more tariff suspension bills than Obama. Longshot GOP candidate Sen. Sam Brownback, Kan., introduced 30 such measures in the 109th Congress," Rood wrote.

External articles

 * Bill Allison, "Another Kind of Earmark," Sunlight Foundation, September 26, 2006.
 * "Obama Announces FY08 Federal Funding Requests," Office of Sen. Barack Obama, June 21, 2007: "Discloses earmarks to improve government transparency."
 * Carly Zakin, "More on Obama's Earmarks," First Read/MSNBC, June 21, 2007: "The price tag for his solo [113] earmark requests is $321,766,475."
 * Scott Helman, "PACs and lobbyists aided Obama's rise. Data contrast with his theme," Boston Globe, August 9, 2007.