Press Releases

U.S. CHAMBER’S POLITICAL MONEY UNDER FIRE… AGAIN

Foreign donors scandal the latest in string of legal controversies involving Chamber’s $75 million political program

Washington, DC—A Think Progress report today suggesting that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce may have used foreign contributions to support its political operations is the latest in a string of scandals involving the lobbying giant’s use of money.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. Chamber Watch

Contact: Christy Setzer 617-512-7572 cell

 Tuesday, October 05, 2010

 U.S. CHAMBER’S POLITICAL MONEY UNDER FIRE… AGAIN

Foreign donors scandal the latest in string of legal controversies involving Chamber’s $75 million political program

Washington, DC—A Think Progress report today suggesting that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce may have used foreign contributions to support its political operations is the latest in a string of scandals involving the lobbying giant’s use of money.

“How many times does the U.S. Chamber need to find itself on the business end of an IRS complaint before we realize that there’s a pattern here?” asked Christy Setzer, spokeswoman for U.S. Chamber Watch. “In the span of 3 weeks, the Chamber has been under fire for possible illegal activities this election year, during the 2004 cycle, and for the actions of its sister organization, Crossroads GPS.  One thing is clear: We need to know more about the secret transactions that fuel America’s biggest lobbying organization.”

ThinkProgress reported today that “the Chamber funds its political attack campaign out of its general account, which solicits foreign funding… According to legal experts consulted by ThinkProgress, the Chamber is likely skirting longstanding campaign finance law that bans the involvement of foreign corporations in American elections.”

While the report itself demands a closer look into the internal operations of the nation’s largest lobbying and political operation, more damaging is how closely the new story follows on the heels of several other dramatic accusations against the Chamber.

Last month, U.S. Chamber Watch (www.fixtheuschamber.org) filed an IRS complaint against the US Chamber, alleging that the Chamber had laundered almost $20 million from an AIG-affiliated charitable organization, the Starr Foundation, into the Chamber’s political coffers around the time of the 2004 elections. Evidence from the 990s points to the likelihood that the Chamber and AIG’s foundation colluded to use the charitable money to roll back corporate accountability laws and re-elect President Bush.

On Friday, the Chamber again found itself in hot water when it was reported that NewsCorp, the parent company of Fox News, had secretly donated $1 million to the Chamber over the summer. 

And today, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 filed a complaint with the IRS asking the agency to determine whether the Chamber-ally group, Crossroads GPS, is violating tax laws by voicing criticism of candidates for office.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) has asked the IRS commissioner to examine the aggressive electoral activities of non-profit 501(c)4 and (c)6 organizations like the US Chamber for possible violations of tax law.

“Our last president liked to say, ‘Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me,’” continued Setzer. “The U.S. Chamber and its secret Republican money friends have been fooling the American voters and the IRS for years. If we let them get away without looking more closely into their political activities, shame on us.”

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