April 6, 2004 (Washington) - Industries lobbying to weaken clean air protections poured more than $52 million into the campaign coffers of federal candidates in the most recent six-year fundraising cycle and spent more than $173 million on in-house lobbying in 2002 alone, according to a new report released today by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund.

"Paying to Pollute" details the vast sums of money spent by a very diverse and powerful group of polluting industries to elect and lobby industry-friendly candidates, as well as the insider connections enjoyed by those interests with the Bush administration. These industries, including electric utilities, oil refineries, and the mining, manufacturing, and chemical industries, among others, are actively lobbying to weaken the Clean Air Act's most important safeguards for public health and the environment.

"Industries are paying to pollute, spending millions of dollars to influence the rules that protect our health and our environment," said U.S. PIRG's Brandon Wu, the author of the report. "Their recent success with EPA's weak mercury rule illustrates the return on their investment."

According to EPA, one in six women of childbearing age in the U.S. has unsafe levels of mercury in her blood, meaning that 630,000 of the babies born each year already have been exposed to enough mercury to cause serious health problems. Power plants are the source of 40 percent of U.S. mercury emissions. In addition, more than 146 million American—half of the population—live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone smog, particle soot, or other harmful pollutants from power plants.

Paying to Pollute analyzes the Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions and lobbying expenditures of 18 trade associations and select member companies publicly supporting (1) EPA's plan to delay meaningful mercury reductions from power plants for at least 10 years; (2) EPA's rollback of the Clean Air Act's New Source Review program to clean up the nation's old, dirty power plants and other smokestacks; and/or (3) the President's so-called Clear Skies Initiative, which would allow more pollution from power plants for longer than current law allows. Key findings include the following:

The political action committees of 18 trade associations and select member companies contributed more than $53 million to federal candidates between 1997 and 2002. This compares to $27 million from banking industry PACs and $22 million from defense industry PACs during the same period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The trade associations and select member companies from the electric utility and oil and gas sectors alone contributed more than $30 million during the six-year period.

In the 2000 presidential race, the 18 trade associations and select member companies gave more than $185,000 in PAC contributions to George W. Bush's campaign. The same groups made no contributions to Al Gore's campaign.

The top recipients in the Senate were Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), George Voinovich (R-OH), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Rick Santorum (R-PA), and Conrad Burns (R-MT).

The top recipients in the House were Representatives John Dingell (D-MI), Joe Barton (R-TX), Billy Tauzin (R-LA), Dennis Hastert (R-IL), and Tom DeLay (R-TX).

The 18 trade associations and select member companies spent more than $173 million on in-house lobbying in 2002 alone. This compares to $22 million spent on in-house lobbying by the banking industry and $60 million spent by defense industries in 2002, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The trade associations and select member companies from the electric utility and oil and gas sectors alone spent $96 million on in-house lobbying in 2002.

Since the report includes only PAC contributions—and does not examine individual or soft money contributions—the report's authors noted that the report underestimates the amount of money flowing from these industries to federal candidates.

"The extent of the influence and insider connections that polluting industries enjoy with the Bush administration is astounding," said U.S. PIRG's Brandon Wu. "These industries are working hand-in-hand with the Bush administration to weaken clean air protections at the expense of our children's health."

CONTACT:  U.S. PIRG

Brandon Wu, Liz Hitchcock (202) 546-9707

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0406-04.htm