Why American [Health Care] Policy "SUCKS"

[campaign finance corruption of the political system]

by Jill Richardson, La Vida Locavore

http://informationclearinghouse.info/, June 23, 2009

Out of curiosity I decided to see who was spending the most on lobbying in America. And Oh My Goodness - NO WONDER our policy sucks. No wonder it's nearly impossible to pass health care reform that provides all Americans with affordable care, a global warming bill that doesn't suck, and the Employee Free Choice Act. No wonder we're in these two stupid wars. I know everyone's aware of the problems lobbying poses to our country, but good lord, if people saw the sheer magnitude of it (and the comparatively paltry amounts spent in the people's interest) they would be outraged. So here goes. Here's the list of the top 100 (ranked by amount spent on lobbying in Q109). Enjoy.

I pulled up all of the reports for first quarter 2009 but over 20,000 items came up (and the report only shows the first 3000). OK, try again - all reports for over $1 million for first quarter 2009. This time a little over 100 came up (including AIG, who spent $1,250,000 on lobbying during that period).

So here's how to read this list: These are the amounts spent by the corporations listed. However, many (if not most) of these corporations ALSO contract out to private lobbying firms, so the amounts you see here MIGHT not be the total amount they spent on lobbying in Q109. For example, Monsanto spent $2,094,000 for its in house lobbying but then contracted out to Arent Fox LLP; Lesher, Russell & Barron, Inc. ($60,000); Ogilvy Government Relations ($60,000); Parven Pomper Strategies ($40,000); Sidley Austin LLP; TCH Group, LLC ($50,000); The Nickles Group, LLC ($63,000); The Washington Tax Group, LLC ($40,000); and Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group ($30,000) - for a total of $2,437,000 in first quarter 2009.

Health Care, Health Insurance, & Pharma _3. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America: $6,910,000 _6. Pfizer, Inc: $6,140,000 _12. American Medical Association: $4,240,000 _18. American Hospital Association: $3,580,000 _19. Eli Lilly and Company: $3,440,000 _37. America's Health Insurance Plans, Inc: $2,030,000 _39. CVS Caremark Inc: $2,005,000 _47. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association: $1,800,000 _49. GlaxoSmithKline: $1,780,000 _63. Merck & Co: $1,500,000 _65. United Health Group, Inc: $1,500,000 _69. Sanofi-Aventis U.S. Inc: $1,460,000 _76. Novartis: $1,347,134 _87. Abbott Laboratories: $1,260,000 _89. Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP: $1,250,000 _92. Medtronic, Inc: $1,238,000

Oil _2. Exxon Mobil: $9,320,000 _4. Chevron U.S.A. Inc: $6,800,000 _7. Conoco Phillips: $5,980,935 _16. BP America, Inc: $3,610,000 _20. Marathon Oil Corporation: $3,380,000 _45. American Petroleum Institute: $1,810,000

Defense _5. Lockheed Martin Corporation: $6,380,000 _11. General Electric Company: $4,540,000 _28. Northrop Grumman Corporation: $2,570,000 _30. Boeing Company: $2,410,00 _51. Honeywell International: $1,760,000 _73. Raytheon Company: $1,360,000

Telecoms _10. AT&T Services, Inc: $5,134,873 _14. Verizon (excluding Verizon Wireless): $3,760,000 _21. National Cable and Telecommunications Association: $3,370,000 _23. Comcast Corporation: $2,760,000 _68. Motorola, Inc: $1,470,000

Automotive _22. General Motors: $2,800,000 _27. United Services Automobile Association: $2,590,244 _52. Ford Motor Company: $1,750,000 _84. Toyota Motor North America: $1,290,000 _86. Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers: $1,264,400

Financial _32. Financial Services Roundtable: $2,260,000 _33. Prudential Financial, Inc: $2,180,000 _41. American Bankers Association: $1,890,000 _61. Visa, Inc: $1,540,000 _74. Investment Company Institute: $1,359,917 _75. Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association: $1,350,000 _82. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.: $1,310,000 _90. Citigroup Management Corp: $1,250,000 _90. Credit Union National Association: $1,250,000

Biotech _36. Monsanto: $2,094,000 _40. Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO): $1,920,000 _44. Bayer Corporation: $1,843,672

Railroads _24. Association of American Railroads: $2,759,545 _54. Union Pacific Corporation: $1,717,108 _71. BNSF Railway: $1,400,000

Life Insurance _42. American Council of Life Insurers: $1,867,075 _44. New York Life Insurance Company: $1,840,000 _64. State Farm Insurance: $1,500,000 _93. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company: $1,237,000

Other _1. Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A.: $9,996,000 _8. National Association of Realtors: $5,727,000 _9. U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform: $5,480,000 _13. AARP: $4,090,000 _15. Southern Company: $3,650,000 _17. Altria Client Services Inc: $3,580,000 _25. Amgen, Inc: $2,750,000 _26. National Association of Broadcasters: $2,600,000 _29. Edison Electric Institute: $2,550,000 _31. Fedex Corporation: $2,370,000 _34. Textron, Inc.: $2,140,000 _35. General Dynamics Corp: $2,101,945 _38. International Business Machines (IBM): $2,030,000 _43. United Technologies Corporation: $1,860,000 _46. Recording Industry Association of America: $1,810,000 _48. CTIA-The Wireless Association: $1,790,000 _50. Time Warner Inc. $1,780,000 _53. The Dow Chemical Company: $1,735,000 _55. American Electric Power Company: $1,716,913 _56. Microsoft Corporation: $1,650,000 _57. Qualcomm, Incorporated: $1,620,000 _58. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc: $1,600,000 _59. L-3 Communications: $1,580,000 _60. Exelon Business Services, LLC: $1,540,000 _62. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc: $1,530,000 _66. Norfolk Southern Corporation: $1,485,026 _67. Koch Companies Public Sector LLC: $1,480,000 _70. American Airlines: $1,450,000 _72. Oracle Corporation: $1,390,000 _77. Air Transport Association of America, Inc.: $1,340,000 _78. Disney Worldwide Services, Inc.: $1,330,000 _79. Sepracor, Inc: $1,324,157 _80. National Association of Home Builders: $1,320,000 _81. UPS: $1,316,426 _83. Siemens Corporation: $1,300,000 _85. Duke Energy Corporation: $1,282,770 _94. Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., Inc: $1,230,000 _95. Business Roundtable: $1,220,000 _96. Wellpoint, Inc: $1,220,000 _97. American Wind Energy Association: $1,212,504 _98. F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: $1,206,427 _99. National Rural Electric Cooperative Association: $1,200,000 _99. CBS Corporation: $1,200,000

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