CPA calls on US Chamber of Commerce to Disclose Its 2008 Political Spending

The Center for Political Accountability (CPA) today urged the United States Chamber of Commerce, the nation's premier trade association, to disclose the sources and beneficiaries of the more than $60 million it plans to spend in the 2008 elections.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times on Jan. 8, chamber president Tom Donohue said that the group was looking to spend "in excess of the approximately $60 million it put out in the last presidential cycle." The money will be spent on the Presidential campaign, 140 congressional races and nearly four dozen contests for attorney general and state supreme court seats. "Under a system Donohue pioneered," the paper continued, "corporations contribute money to the chamber, which then finances attack ads targeting individual candidates without revealing the name of the businesses involved in the ads."

Asked whether the chamber would disclose the sources of its money and its spending, the Times reported that Donohue "is not inclined to do so." He was quoted as saying, "I will disclose any funds I am legally required to disclose - and not disclose any others. We are exercising our constitutional right to petition the government and we will continue to do so."

"The chamber's position is at odds with the growing movement among leading U.S. public companies to disclose and require board oversight of their political spending," said CPA executive director Bruce Freed. "Many of these companies are disclosing their payments to trade associations that are used for political purposes, the type of spending the chamber is saying it will not make public."

According to Freed, "it is unclear whose interests the chamber's political spending reflects. The CPA has found some of its largest members in disagreement with the chamber on such issues as climate change. The chamber's corporate members and their shareholders need to know about the group's political spending to evaluate their support. Without this information, companies are unable to assure their shareholders that their contributions are consistent with company policy and pose no legal or reputational risks to the company."

Trade associations are not required to disclose the sources or beneficiaries of their political spending. The chamber's political spending is cloaked in mystery, often even to its members. Company payments to trade associations used for political purposes are not required to be disclosed.

Over the past few years, questions have been raised about the accuracy of chamber reports on its political spending. The group reported $3.96 million in expenditures on political activities in 2004 on its Form 990 federal tax return. However, in a Dec. 6, 2004 letter, Donohue said that the group spent up to $30 million on political activity in the 2004 election cycle.

Public Citizen, a watchdog group, said in a 2004 report that "Despite evidence of its payments to other groups, neither the Chamber nor the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, an affiliate that promotes pro-business judges and seeks legislation to limit plaintiffs' rights, reported activity in 2000, 2001 or 2002 on...their tax form..."

Founded in November 2003, the CPA is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group that is leading a shareholder effort to bring transparency and accountability to corporate political spending. In its Hidden Rivers report, released in May 2006, the Center detailed the chamber's role as a conduit for company political spending and discrepancies in its political spending claims. The report can be accessed at http://www.politicalaccountability.net/files/HR06.pdf

To date, 34 public companies - all ranked in the top 200 of the S&P 500 list - have agreed to disclose and require board oversight of their political spending with corporate funds. This includes soft money contributions and payments to trade associations and other tax-exempt organizations that are used for political purposes.

Website: http://www.politicalaccountability.net.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com