Ever wonder why our political system seems to be dominated by corporate interests?
An excellent report just out from the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) helps shed light on that very question.
Through some impressive tracking work, CRP showed that one of the biggest mouthpieces for Big Business – the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – has become the first organization to spend a total of $1 billion on lobbying since CRP started keeping track in 1998.
In comparison, the report showed the next highest spender during that time was General Electric, at just shy of $294 million.
Although this year so far has been slow for the U.S. Chamber (in terms of reported dollars spent on lobbying), the group’s spending has increased greatly since current President Tom Donohue took over the organization in 1997.
The year after Donohue started leading the U.S. Chamber, the group spent just $17 million. By 2010, that number had risen to $157 million.
The U.S. Chamber’s Agenda
