MapLight examined the political spending of Iowa’s five largest public companies, including the amount they spent lobbying Congress and federal agencies, and the amount their political action committees contributed to federal candidates. The analysis also highlights stock ownership in these companies by members of Congress.
In addition to holding the first caucus in the nation, Iowa is home to a number of major political donors, including agribusiness mogul Bruce Rastetter, a major Republican donor who held an agriculture summit in March that attracted most of the major Republican presidential candidates. Iowa is also home to the American Future Fund, a dark money nonprofit that spent more than $25.4 million during the last presidential election in 2012.
Iowa Companies on the Fortune 1000
American Equity Investment Life Holding Co.
Casey’s General Stores, Inc.
HNI Corporation
Rockwell Collins, Inc.
Principal Financial Group, Inc.
Lobbying Data: MapLight analysis of money spent by Rockwell Collins, Inc., Principal Financial Group, Inc., and the American Equity Investment Life Holding Co., on lobbying Congress and federal agencies from January 1, 2009 to March 31, 2015. MapLight Lobbying Database Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
- During the first quarter of 2015, the companies spent a combined $1.2 million on lobbying. The top spender, Principal Financial Group, Inc., spent $910,000.
Campaign Contributions Data: MapLight analysis of contributions from the political action committees (PACs) of Rockwell Collins Inc. and Principal Financial Group, Inc. to the principal campaign committees of all federal candidates from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2014. Data source: Federal Election Commission.
Campaign Contributions by Recipient State: MapLight analysis of contributions from the political action committees (PACs) of Rockwell Collins Inc. and Principal Financial Group, Inc. to the principal campaign committees of all federal candidates in their respective states from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2014. Data source: Federal Election Commission.
Personal Financial Disclosures: MapLight analysis of the 2013 personal financial disclosures of members of the 113th Congress from MapLight's Personal Financial Disclosure Database. Source: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives and Office of the Secretary of the Senate, U.S. Senate. Assets are reported in ranges, not specific values, so MapLight provides the minimum and maximum possible values.
Lobbying: MapLight analysis of federal lobbying disclosure filings from the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2015. Lobbying totals represent money paid by an organization to each lobbying firm for services on all issues. Organizations report total lobbying expenses as a lump sum, which includes both in-house lobbying expenses and amounts paid to (and reported by) lobbying firms that they employ. MapLight calculates a given organization's in-house lobbying expenses by subtracting the total income reported by the lobbying firms that it employs from the company's total reported expenses. In general, filers may round their spending and expenses to the nearest $10,000, and we treat the designation of "Less than $5,000" as a value of $0. MapLight updates its lobbying database daily to capture amendments. Full reports are due on the 20th day of January, April, July, and October. All numbers are based on latest data available as of April 8, 2015.
Campaign Contributions: MapLight analysis of campaign contributions from PACs of Rockwell Collins, Inc. and Principal Financial Group, Inc., from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2014. Contributions data source: Federal Election Commission. All numbers are based on latest data available as of April 8, 2015.
Personal Financial Disclosures: MapLight analysis of 2013 personal financial disclosures for members of the 113th Congress. Data source: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives and Office of the Secretary of the Senate, U.S. Senate. Senate and House rules require the disclosure of assets belonging to the filers' spouses and/or dependent children, and these assets are included in the analysis. This analysis specifically investigates stocks and does not include other types of assets such as corporate bonds, notes, or bank deposits.
