[Mb-civic] Big Oil Protects its Interests

[Michael Butler]

Reza sent this


Big Oil Protects its Interests
Industry spends hundreds of millions on lobbying, elections

By Aron Pilhofer and Bob Williams

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2004 ‹ The United States is the oil and gas industry's
biggest customer, slurping up fully a quarter of global production in 2003.

 Not surprisingly, the industry has lavished more than $440 million over the
past six years on politicians, political parties and lobbyists in order to
protect its interests in Washington, according to a new report by the Center
for Public Integrity.

 This is the first of a series of Center reports that aim to identify the
size and scope of the international oil and gas industry and measure its
influence in the halls of government worldwide.

 
 Among the key findings:

    €      The Center found that the industry has spent more than $381
million on lobbying activities since 1998, pushing hard on everything from a
new national energy policy to obscure changes in the tax code.



    €     The industry has given more than $67 million in campaign
contributions in federal elections since the 1998 election cycle, about a
fifth of the amount it has spent on lobbying.



    €     Oil and gas companies overwhelmingly favored Republicans over
Democrats in their campaign giving, the study found. Just over 73 percent of
the industry's campaign contributions have gone to Republican candidates and
organizations.



    €     The industry exerts its influence in other, less obvious ways,
including membership on the National Petroleum Council, a commission formed
to advise the energy secretary. Koch Industries, the largest privately-held
oil company in the United States, has financed a network of conservative
nonprofit organizations designed to influence policy debate in this country.



    €     U.S.-based oil and gas companies have nearly 900 subsidiaries
located in tax haven countries, such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

 The world's largest oil company and third largest company of any kind,
ExxonMobil, was the industry's leader in lobbying expenditures, spending $55
million to plead its case with official Washington over the past six years.

 Other big spenders included ChevronTexaco ($32 million), Marathon Oil ($29
million), British oil giant BP ($28 million), and British/Dutch behemoth
Royal Dutch/Shell Group ($27 million).

 Other noteworthy entries on the list include the top industry group, the
American Petroleum Institute ($20 million), and Occidental Petroleum ($12
million).

 
 Some more notorious names on the list include scandal-plagued Enron Corp.
($16 million) and Vice President Dick Cheney's former employer Halliburton
Corp. ($3 million), which is currently the subject of government
investigations over its contract work in Iraq and alleged bribes paid in
connection with a natural gas project in Nigeria.

 When it came to tapping the oil industry for campaign dollars, no one has
come close to former Texas oilman George W. Bush. The president has received
$1.7 million in campaign cash from the oil and gas industry.

 That was more than three times the amount given to the next biggest
recipient of the industry's largesse, House Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairman and fellow Texan Joe Barton, who collected $574,000. Next came
another Texas Republican, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who took in just
under $500,000.

 Only three Democrats were able to crack into the top 20 recipients of oil
and gas campaign contributions since 1998. All three came from oil-rich
Louisiana.

 They were Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen. John Breaux and Rep. Christopher John.

 The two national parties each took in more than any individual candidate,
national Republican committees getting $24 million and Democrats a bit under
$8 million.

 While most of the big oil and gas companies operate their own lobbying
shops in Washington, the industry also farmed out a substantial amount of
its work to some of Washington's largest and most influential lobbying
firms.

 On the top of that list was Bracewell and Patterson, which has gotten
$4,880,000 in lobbying work from the oil and gas industry since 1998.

 Among the partners at Bracewell and Patterson is Marc Racicot, the former
Montana governor who is the chairman of the Bush-Cheney 2004 election
campaign. Edward Krenik, former head of congressional and intergovernmental
relations at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is a lobbyist with
the firm.

 Other top Washington lobbying firms that got work from the oil and gas
industry include Hill & Knowlton; Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld and
National Environmental Strategies Company.

Who pulls the political strings in the 50 states?
An investigative report tracking corruption, openness and accountability in
25 countries.
Patriot Act II: Read about the Justice Department's attempt to grab sweeping
new powers.
Find out what each state discloses about its lobbyists.
Home | International | National | State |  Resources | About Us
Search | Sitemap 


 © 2004, The Center for Public Integrity. All rights reserved.
 IMPORTANT: Read our  privacy policy and the terms under which this service
is provided to you.
 910 17th Street, NW · 7th Floor · Washington, DC 20006 · Tel. (202)
466-1300