NEWS

Not All Democrats Bothered by Chamber of Commerce Funding

Chad Outler | October 07, 2010

Oct. 7, 2010 - As reported by The Hill, certain Democrats are taking issue with reports that the US Chamber of Commerce is being funded by foreign entities.

A contribution search at MAPLight.org reveals that the three sitting members of Congress included in the article (Rep.Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.)) are not beholden to the chamber, receiving no campaign contributions from the the world's largest business federation. Their fellow Democrats may be less vocal about the chamber's dealings, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has given more than $227,000 to the campaign committees of Democrats elected to Congress since the beginning of the 2002 election cycle.

Congressional Democrats in general have less at stake than their Republican counterparts, who have received more than $580,000 during the same period.

Contribution totals reflect amount given to the campaign committees of sitting members of Congress for election cycles 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010. Contributions data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics.