Just in time for the elections! >From: Ned Daly <ndaly@Essential.ORG> >To: szorr@bullwinkle.ucdavis.edu >Subject: Timber PAC Money in the Senate > >Distributed to TAP-RESOURCES, a free Internet Distribution List >(subscription requests to listproc@essential.org) > >TAXPAYER ASSETS PROJECT - NATURAL RESOURCES POLICY ADVISORY >(please distribute freely) > >TAP-RESOURCES >September 22, 1994 > > > TIMBER PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE U.S. SENATE > > SEPTEMBER 22, 1994 > Ned Daly > ned@tap.org / (202)387-8030 > >The 103rd session of Congress has seen very little environmental >legislation reach the President's desk. Not one major piece of >legislation expected to come up this year has passed both houses. >Mining reform, Clean Water, Safe Drinking Water, California >Desert and the Endangered Species Act are all stalled in >Congress. > >Only one piece of forest legislation has made it into the Senate, >the Headwaters Protection Act introduced by Barbara Boxer, but >that bill has yet to garner one cosponsor (The Headwaters Protection Act >passed the House yesterday, Sept. 21, by a vote of 288-133). Likewise the >Administration has not moved on grazing fees, one of its major >campaign promises to the environmental community, and recently >shelved one of its plans to eliminate below-cost timber sales. >Though there are a number of reasons why legislation and >administration initiatives have stalled, industry influence has >been the greatest contributor to this legislative drought. > >The Western Ancient Forest Campaign (WAFC) reported in a September 16 >internet post that there were two appropriations riders being circulated by >Republican Senators which would allow timber sales to go forward without >meeting the requirements of existing federal environmental laws. Interior >appropriation bills are now in a House-Senate conference. > >The first amendment is being circulated by Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID) who does >not sit on the conference. Kempthorne's amendment would allow timber sales >to go forward before completion of consultation on a forest plan that effects >endangered species. Kempthorne's amendment is a reaction to a recent >court case which found the Forest Service failed to consult with the >National Marine Fisheries Service on forest plans that effect the snake >river chinook, an endangered salmon. > >The second amendment was to be offered by Slade Gorton (R-WA) who does >sit on the conference. Gorton's amendment was an old style "sufficiency" rider >that would exempt salvage sales, in areas effected by the current >wildfire season, from complying with any major environmental laws. Steve >Holmer of WAFC said Gorton attempted to offer his amendment on Wednsday >the 21st, but Sydney Yates, Chairman of the House Interior >Aprropriations, lambasted Gorton for offering the amendment which Gorton >eventually withdrew. > >The Kepthorne amendment was not offered, so it may be possible that >Kempthornevould not find anyone to offer it. The likely suspects are >Slade Gorton, Mark Hatfield (R-OR) and Don Nickles (R-OK), all of whom >along with Kempthorne are recipients of major timber and wood products >PAC contributions. For more information regarding Interior Appropriations >contact Steve Holmer at WAFC, wafcdc@igc.apc.org / (202) 939-3324. > >The following is a list of timber and wood products political >action committee (PAC) contributions to the Senate in the '91-'92 >election cycle and 1993. Also included is the timber and wood >products employment in the state. Since the Federal Elections >Commission does not compile its data by industry, there is no >standard for which companies are in which industries, and how >money is divided among different ventures within a single >company. > >Not included in this study are individual and "soft money" >contributions, which can inflate the numbers below tremendously. >In the majority of cases, soft money from the timber industry >would increase contributions to an individual Senator by 30-50%, >but in certain cases the industry will pour money into select >races for the chief defenders of their industry. Mark Hatfield, >Larry Craig and Bob Packwood all received large amounts of soft >money and relatively little PAC money, but tracing the PAC money >can still show how the industry is trying to influence Congress. >Hatfield, for example, raised an estimated $183,100 from the >timber and wood products industry in hard and soft money for his >1990 campaign. Since he is not up for re-election soon, Hatfield >has only received $3,000 in hard money since 1991. > >THE DONORS > >The following is a list of the donors included in the research >done by the Center for Responsive Politics: > >'91-'92 1993 > >Boise Cascade Boise Cascade >Champion International Champion International >Federal Paper Board Co. Coastal Lumber >Forest Farmers Assn. Fort Howard Corp. >Fort Howard Corp. Georgia-Pacific >Georgia-Pacific Corp. ITT Corp. >Gilman Paper Co. International Paper >ITT Corp. International Hardwoods P.A. >International Hardwoods P.A. Kaibab Industries >International Paper Co. Louisiana-Pacific Corp. >James River Corp. of Virginia Manville Corp. >Kaibab Industries Mead Corp. >Kimberley- Clark National Forests Products >Louisiana-Pacific Plum Creek Management Co. >Manville Corp. Potlatch Corp. >Mead Corp. Riverwood International Corp. >Menasha Corp. Scott Paper Co. >Multnomah Plywood Simpson Investment Co. >National Forests Products Assn. Union Camp Corp. >Plum Creek Management Corp. Westvaco >Potlatch Corp. Weyerheauser >Scott Paper Willamette Industries >Simpson Investment Corp. >Stone Container Corp. >Sun Studs Inc. >Union Camp Corp. >Westvaco >Weyerheauser Co. >Willamette Industries > > >THE RECIPIENTS > >The top two money recipients of timber PAC money both failed to >make it to the Senate in 1993. Rod Chandler, who ran against >Patty Murray for the seat left vacant by Brock Adams, far >surpassed all other recipients with a total of $70,600. > >The number two recipient was Bob Kasten (R-WI) who lost to Russ >Feingold despite the timber industry dumping $48,500 into >Kasten's campaign. Feingold is thought to be a strong proponent >for more environmentally sound management of federal lands, but >in this Congress he has not had a chance to prove himself. > >Don Nickles (R-OK) and William Roth received the most timber PAC >dollars per timber worker in their states. Roth received only >$7,200 from the industry, but with only an estimated 338 workers >in the timber or wood products industry that works out to $21.30 >per worker. Nickles received an average of $8.77 per worker. > >Congress has two main functions: to legislate and to appropriate. >PAC contributions by the timber and wood products industry cover >key legislators for both functions. The industry seems to favor >the Republicans. The top ten recipients of timber PAC dollars >were all republicans, but only three were from western states. >Timber was the most republican leaning industry in the >Agriculture category. (Timber is considered a agricultural >product, but is not under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture >Committee. Most timber issues are legislated in the Energy and >Natural Resources Committee, and appropriated in the Interior >Appropriations Subcommittee.) > >The Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee received >$155,593 or 77% of the total money given to that Committee, and >Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Republicans >received $103,673, 69% of the total. Democratic Senators on >Appropriations only received $45,000, and Democratic members of >the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee received >$44,500. > >This is a list of Timber PAC contributions to current members of >the U.S. Senate as reported by the Center for Responsive >Politics. > >TIMBER PAC CONTRIBUTIONS AND STATE WOOD PRODUCTS EMPLOYMENT FOR MEMBERS OF > THE U.S. SENATE > > >Senator total contributions employment > in state > >Bob Packwood R-OR $48,500 54,700 >Dirk Kempthorne R-ID $48,000 14,000 >Paul Coverdell R-GA $42,500 29,600 >Lauch Faircloth R-NC $32,944 35,400 >Kay Bailey-Hutchinson R-TX $30,500 31,300 >Daniel Coats R-IN $30,500 23,100 >Arlen Specter R-PA $30,000 29,300 >Christopher Bond R-MO $28,750 11,400 >Don Nickles R-OK $28,078 3,200 >Slade Gorton R-WA $25,165 36,500 >Dale Bumpers D-AR $21,500 20,400 >Trent Lott R-MS $18,595 24,800 >Ernest Hollings D-SC $14,000 14,100 >Conrad Burns R-MT $13,600 8,100 >Murkowski, Frank R-AK $13,500 2,300 >Bob Dole R-KS $13,000 3,471 >John Breaux D-LA $11,750 12,500 >Wendell Ford D-KY $11,500 12,000 >Chris Dodd D-CT $10,000 1,800 >Richard Shelby D-AL $9,500 30,000 >Orrin Hatch R-UT $9,000 3,340 >John McCain R-AZ $8,400 6,400 >Thad Cochran R-MS $8,000 24,800 >William Roth R-DE $7,200 338 >Charles Grassley R-IA $7,000 7,806 >Judd Gregg R-NH $6,500 4,100 >Phil Gramm R-TX $6,500 31,300 >Malcolm Wallop R-WY $6,000 1,237 >Connie Mack R-FL $6,000 18,900 >Howell Heflin D-AL $5,000 30,000 >Robert Byrd D-WV $5,000 5,868 >Alfonse D'Amato R-NY $4,500 13,500 >Joe Lieberman D-CT $4,500 1,800 >Robert Bennett R-UT $4,000 3,340 >Bob Graham D-FL $4,000 18,900 >Mark Hatfield R-OR $3,000 54,700 >Don Reigle D-MI $3,000 14,700 >Paul Sarbanes D-MD $2,500 3,600 >Max Baucus D-MT $2,250 8,100 >James Jeffords R-VT $2,000 3,500 >Patrick Leahy D-VT $2,000 3,500 >Daniel Moynihan D-NY $2,000 13,500 >Ben Nighthorse-Cambell D-CO $2,000 3,735 >Ted Stevens R-AK $1,000 2,300 >Mitch McConnell R-KY $1,000 12,000 >Dave Durenburger R-MN $1,000 17,300 >Jim Sasser D-TN $1,000 18,500 >John Glenn D-OH $1,000 22,700 >Richard Lugar R-IN $1,000 23,100 >John Shelby D-AL $1,000 30,000 >Richard Bryan D-NV $1,000 1,045 >Hank Brown R-CO $1,000 3,735 >Harry Reid D-NV $1,000 1,045 >John Chaffee R-RI $1,000 406 >Larry Craig R-ID $500 14,000 >Barbara Milkulski D-MD $500 3,600 >Chuck Robb D-VA $500 23,300 >Jesse Helms R-NC $500 35,400 > > >-------------------------------------------------------------- >TAP-RESOURCES is an Internet Distribution List provided by the >Taxpayer Assets Project (TAP). TAP was founded by Ralph Nader to >monitor the management of government property, including >information systems and data, government funded R&D, spectrum, >allocation, public lands and mineral resources, and other >government assets. TAP-RESOURCES reports on TAP activities >relating to natural resources policy. To obtain further >information about TAP send a note to tap@tap.org. > >Subscription requests to: listproc@essential.org with the >message: subscribe tap-resources yourfirstname yourlastname >--------------------------------------------------------------- >Taxpayer Assets Project; P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036 >v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176; internet: tap@tap.org > > > > >
Mail converted by
MHonArc 1.1.0