CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
Sept. 23, 2009 – 8:15 p.m.
Charitable Donations Offer Way Around Lobbying Limits
By Bennett Roth and Alex Knott, CQ Staff
When the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra decided to raise money with a concert honoring its powerful hometown congressman, the Boeing Co. and other defense contractors pitched in.
The 2005 event — which celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of Pennsylvania Democrat John P. Murtha , chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and his wife, Joyce — drew a $50,000 pledge from Boeing to endow the symphony’s annual opera festival. The company spread the donation over five years, delivering the final $10,000 installment May 4.
“We were pleased to be in a position to assist the symphony and looked forward to following through with our commitment,” said Boeing spokesman Douglas Kennett.
Federal law limits the amount individuals and groups can contribute to congressional campaigns, but there are no restrictions on donations to lawmakers’ favorite causes, charities and institutions — and such giving has long been widespread.
Only since Jan. 1, 2008, however, has there been a requirement to disclose it. In the 18 months ending June 30, corporations, unions and other professional associations registered to lobby Congress reported more than $56 million in contributions to organizations and events honoring lawmakers and administration officials, according to a CQ MoneyLine analysis of lobbyist filings.
Among the recent beneficiaries: an art museum, a state university, a film festival and nonprofits dedicated to health, social welfare and national security issues.
Attention-Grabbing Donations
The disclosures, which Congress required (PL 110-81) after a string of ethics controversies, offer a window onto a familiar but little-examined way in which powerful interests seek to influence political leaders.
Steve Ellis, vice president of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, said many companies shell out significant money to lawmakers’ favorite causes to grab their attention on legislative matters. “These contributions are not made out of altruism,” he said.
Registered lobbyists have sought to honor lawmakers by giving to a swath of prominent charities, along with artistic and educational institutions. They also donate to lesser-known groups, such as First Tee of Washington, D.C., a tax-exempt corporation that makes golf affordable to children, and the Marshall Legacy Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to helping nations find and disarm land mines.
For example, Triwest Healthcare Alliance, which administers the health care program for military personnel and their families in the West, donated $30,000 in May to the GI Film Festival in honor of Sens. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, and Daniel K. Inouye , D-Hawaii, Appropriations chairman. According to its Web site, the four-day film festival, held in Washington, is dedicated to “honoring America’s courageous, selfless troops through the power of cinema.”
Health care interests also gave to causes favored by lawmakers focused on health care. Johnson & Johnson, the medical products and pharmaceutical company, contributed $10,000 for a fund-raising dinner at which the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids presented an award to House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman , D-Calif.
The contribution was made to support the dinner, not Waxman, a spokesman for the anti-tobacco group said, and Waxman’s office said the chairman was not aware of the donation. In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said its contribution supported the goal of reducing tobacco use, “which will save lives, prevent disease and help reduce health care costs.”
Corporate officials say underwriting such events is part of their annual philanthropy.
Boeing, for example, donated $9.2 million in 2008 to cultural efforts, Kennett said. He would not elaborate on how the company decided to support the Johnstown Symphony concert honoring Murtha.
“The donation in question and our overall contributions to the arts are matters of public record,” he wrote in an e-mailed response to questions.
A Murtha spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the donation.
Boeing won more than $24 billion in federal contracts in fiscal year 2007, according to FedSpending.Org, a project of OMB Watch, which tracks federal spending.
As the chief Defense appropriator, Murtha plays an important role in determining how Pentagon spending is doled out. The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is reviewing his ties to the now-defunct lobbying firm PMA, which secured defense earmarks from lawmakers as its principals showered them with campaign contributions. In 2008, PMA contributed $5,000 to the Johnstown Symphony in honor of Murtha, records show.
Pat Hofscher, the symphony’s executive director, said the nonprofit sent out solicitations to a variety of companies and scheduled the 2005 concert, celebrating the Murthas’ anniversary, at the same time as the annual Showcase for Commerce in Johnstown, an exhibition of new technology that draws major defense contractors.
She said Murtha was not involved in soliciting donations, which are used to shore up the symphony’s endowment. “Jack and Joyce have promoted the symphony and arts in general, and this was our way of honoring them,” she said.
The symphony has also received donations from defense contractors Northrop Grumman Corp., General Dynamics Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp.
Lockheed Martin spokesman Scott Lusk said the company “has a dynamic philanthropic portfolio, and many of our donations involve initiatives championed by a variety of leaders who support national security and educational endeavors.”
Companies and unions with registered lobbyists also sponsor events hosted by lawmaker groups such as the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation, a number of whose members chair such influential House committees as Ways and Means, Judiciary, Homeland Security and Oversight and Government Reform.
To underwrite its annual legislative conference, the foundation has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Toyota Motor North America Inc., General Mills Inc., New York Life Insurance Co. and Comcast Corp., filings show.
Coca-Cola alone gave $250,000 to sponsor a National Prayer Breakfast for the CBC Foundation conference and an additional $35,000 for the CBC Foundation annual gala, which is being held this week in Washington. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. gave $350,000 to the CBC Foundation and $300,000 to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
“Obviously the donations to CBCF are not equivalent to lobbying congressional members,” said Muriel Cooper, the foundation’s spokeswoman. With their donations, which fund scholarships and internships, the companies are engaging in a civic activity, she said.
Rules Apply Only to Registered Lobbyists
David Wenhold, president of the American League of Lobbyists, said his organization supports disclosing such donations, but he is unhappy that such transparency applies only to registered lobbyists and not to all those who do business in official Washington.
Some former members of Congress, for example, avoid the lobbyist designation by becoming “strategic planners” who map out legislative strategy but do not contact Capitol Hill offices.
Nevertheless, Wenhold called it “a smart business decision” for companies to give to charities and nonprofits in honor of lawmakers. The donations are tax-deductible, he said, while contributions by corporate political action committees to campaigns are not.
He also said it represent good public relations to give to many of these causes. “Nobody,” he said, “is against giving to breast cancer or autism.”
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