Report Shows Campaign Contributions Given to Sponsors of Fair Copyright in Research Works Act
March 2, 2009 - The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act of 2009, HR 801, introduced by John Conyers (D-MI), would limit public access to peer-reviewed journal articles and research manuscripts. If passed, the bill would reverse the National Institutes of Health (NIH) public access policy, which has increased transparency and accessibility to journal articles and research manuscripts.
Those supporting the bill, including the Association of American Publishers, say the bill would "recognize the importance of the added value in quality assurance controls that journal publishers contribute" while those in opposition to the bill believe that if taxpayers are paying $29 billion to fund health research, then the public should have access to this research. The bill would also amend the U.S. Copyright Code, prohibiting federal agencies from requiring public access to the published articles, manuscripts and other products created by the research they fund. The bill is currently in the House Committee on the Judiciary.
MAPLight.org's research team released data today showing campaign contributions given to members of the House Committee on the Judiciary from publishing interests during the 2008 election cycle (Jan. 2007 through Dec. 2008). MAPLight.org analyzed campaign contribution data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics and determined that the publishing industry gave an average of $5,150 to each of the bill's five bill sponsors and an average of $2,506 to each of the other 34 non-sponsor members of the Committee. Total publishing industry contributions given to the House Committee on the Judiciary were $110,950.
House Committee on the Judiciary | |
| Committee Members (bill sponsors) | Contributions received from book, newspaper and periodical publishing interests |
| Rep. John Conyers [D, MI-14] - Sponsor | $9,000 |
| Rep. Robert Wexler [D, FL-19] - Co-Sponsor | $8,800 |
| Rep. Darrell Issa [R, CA-49] - Co-Sponsor | $4,500 |
| Rep. Steve Cohen [D, TN-9] - Co-Sponsor | $3,000 |
| Rep. Trent Franks [R, AZ-2] - Co-Sponsor | $450 |
Amount, on average, given to each bill sponsor | $5,150 |
| Committee Members (non-sponsors) | |
| Rep. Howard Berman [D, CA-28] | $14,050 |
| Rep. Jerrold Nadler [D, NY-8] | $10,950 |
| Rep. Lamar Smith [R, TX-21] | $9,750 |
| Rep. Brad Sherman [D, CA-27] | $7,100 |
| Rep. Howard Coble [R, NC-6] | $7,000 |
| Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D, FL-20] | $6,100 |
| Rep. Adam Schiff [D, CA-29] | $6,000 |
| Rep. Robert Goodlatte [R, VA-6] | $5,450 |
| Rep. Melvin Watt [D, NC-12] | $3,000 |
| Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee [D, TX-18] | $2,600 |
| Rep. Frederick Boucher [D, VA-9] | $2,250 |
| Rep. Ted Poe [R, TX-2] | $2,250 |
| Rep. James Forbes [R, VA-4] | $2,200 |
| Rep. F. Sensenbrenner [R, WI-5] | $2,000 |
| Rep. Tammy Baldwin [D, WI-2] | $1,800 |
| Rep. Elton Gallegly [R, CA-24] | $1,200 |
| Rep. Charles Gonzalez [D, TX-20] | $1,000 |
| Rep. Steve King [R, IA-5] | $500 |
| Rep. William Delahunt [D, MA-10] | 0 |
| Rep. Daniel Lungren [R, CA-3] | 0 |
| Rep. Louis Gohmert [R, TX-1] | 0 |
| Rep. Jim Jordan [R, OH-4] | 0 |
| Rep. Jason Chaffetz [R, UT-3] | 0 |
| Rep. Thomas Rooney [R, FL-16] | 0 |
| Rep. Gregg Harper [R, MS-3] | 0 |
| Rep. Daniel Maffei [D, NY-25] | 0 |
| Rep. Anthony Weiner [D, NY-9] | 0 |
| Rep. Luis Gutierrez [D, IL-4] | 0 |
| Rep. Pedro Pierluisi [D, Puerto Rico] | 0 |
| Rep. Henry Johnson [D, GA-4] | 0 |
| Rep. Maxine Waters [D, CA-35] | 0 |
| Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D, CA-16] | 0 |
| Rep. Robert Scott [D, VA-3] | 0 |
| Rep. Linda Sanchez [D, CA-39] | 0 |
Amount, on average, given to each non-sponsor committee member | $2,506 |
Total campaign contributions given to all committee members | $110,950 |
MAPLight.org's analysis included campaign contributions during the 2008 election cycle (Jan. 2007 through Dec. 2008) from the book, newspaper and periodical publishing industry, as classified by the Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets.org).
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MAPLight.org illuminates the connection between Money and Politics (MAP) using a groundbreaking database of campaign contributions and legislative votes. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, MAPLight.org is based in Berkeley, California. We combine data from the Federal Election Commission, the Center for Responsive Politics, GovTrack.us, the National Institute on Money in State Politics, the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, and other sources to better inform Americans and local and national media about the role of special-interest money in our political system. Hundreds of newspapers, TV stations, radio shows and online news sites have cited our research, including CNN, the public radio show “Marketplace,” Harper’s magazine, The Washington Post, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal. MAPLight.org has received numerous awards including a Knight-Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism; a James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter and a Webby nomination for best Politics website. To learn more, visit MAPLight.org. If our work has been helpful to you, please consider supporting us.
