July 30, 2010 - On Friday, the House passed (209-193), a bill known as the CLEAR Act (HR 3534), in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the LA Times, the bill would impose new safeguards for offshore drilling, remove a liability cap for spill damages, and hit energy producers with a new tax to fund conservation measures.
Interest groups against passage gave four times as much on average in campaign contributions to lawmakers voting 'no' ($17,739) compared to lawmakers voting in favor of passage ($4,439).
Interest groups in favor of passage gave over three times as much in campaign contributions on average to 'yes' voters ($4,222) compared to 'no' voters ($1,306).
House Republicans, with only two voting in favor of passage, received a combined $2,999,959 from interest groups opposed to passage compared to just $110,703 from interest groups in favor of passage. House Democrats, with 39 voting against passage, received a combined $1,734,671 from interest groups opposed to passage, compared to $1,061,955 from interest groups in favor of passage.
- To see the average contributions given to House members voting with their donors, click here.
- To see the average contributions given to House members voting against their donors, click here.
Includes reported contributions to congressional campaigns of House members in office on day of vote, from interest groups invested in the vote according to MAPLight.org, June 4, 2008 – June 3, 2010. Contributions data source: OpenSecrets.org.
