Dec. 21, 2010 -- Peter Schroeder, writing for the Hill, reports that on January 15 of next year John Engler, CEO of influential lobbying group the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), will become the new president of the Business Roundtable, an even more influential lobbying group. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Business Roundtable's total expenditures for all lobbying activity in 2010 tops $5 million.
A contribution search at MAPLight.org reveals that since the 2002 election cycle, the National Association of Manufacturers has contributed $37,503 to congressional campaign committees. Engler's new organization, the Business Roundtable, is a significantly higher contributor, having contributed more than $60,000 since the 2002 cycle. John Engler himself made four personal contributions during the same period, totaling $5,500.
The table below includes the top recipients of campaign contributions from the 2002 - 2010 election cycles made by Engler, NAM and the Business Roundtable. Of note: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tops the lists of both interest groups' donations and one name, Rep. Robert Portman, appears on all three lists. Portman served 12 years in the US House of Representatives and will be returning to Congress in the 112th session as a Senator. Between serving as a Representative and a Senator, Portman was appointed U.S. Trade Representative and then Director of the Office of Management and Budget by President George W. Bush.
Only three Democrats appear on the table. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska is chairman of the Legislative Branch subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Departing Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut is the current chair of the Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana serves as chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
| Business Roundtable | National Assoc. of Manufacturers | John Engler | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitch McConnell | R - KY | $4,500 | Mitch McConnell | R - KY | $8,900 | Robert Portman | R - OH | $2,000 |
| 2 | Christopher Dodd | D - CT | $4,300 | Ben Nelson | D - NE | $2,500 | Roy Blunt | R - MO | $2,000 |
| 3 | Robert Portman | R - OH | $3,900 | John McCain | R - AZ | $2,300 | Charles Grassley | R - IA | $1,000 |
| 4 | John Thune | R - SD | $2,500 | John Thune | R - SD | $2,000 | David Camp | R - MI | $500 |
| 5 | Richard Santorum | R - PA | $2,500 | Susan Collins | R - ME | $1,750 | |||
| 6 | Michael Castle | R - DE | $2,500 | Steven Chabot | R - OH | $1,550 | |||
| 7 | Lisa Murkowski | R - AK | $2,500 | Thomas Davis | R - VA | $1,550 | |||
| 8 | Susan Collins | R - ME | $2,500 | James Talent | R - MO | $1,500 | |||
| 9 | Max Baucus | D - MT | $2,400 | Norm Coleman | R - MN | $1,500 | |||
| 10 | Ben Nelson | D - NE | $2,000 | Robert Portman | R- OH | $1,400 |
Contributions data, provided by the Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets.org), includes monetary and non-monetary contributions to candidate campaign committees of legislators serving in the 109th, 110th and 111th Congresses since the 2002 election cycle.
