The U.S. Chamber in the News - October 23

Posted by Elizabeth Ben-Ishai on October 23, 2012

Chamber ramps up lobbying spending
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce continued to ramp up its spending over the summer, pumping $31.65 million into efforts to influence Congress and the Obama administration during the third quarter of 2012.  That is the most the nation's largest business lobby has spent in any period this year, with $29 million spent in the second quarter and $26 million in the first.  [The Hill]

Manufacturers Mount Legal Challenge to Conflict Minerals Rule
Three of the largest U.S. business groups have filed a legal challenge against the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rule requiring U.S.-listed companies to determine, starting next year, whether their products include minerals blamed for fueling violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The move could force a delay of the rule, which companies have criticized as costly. The National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Business Roundtable filed the petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. on Friday, asking that the rule be modified or set aside.  [The Wall Street Journal]

Chamber spends more than $1M to back GOP Lingle in Congressional race
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent about $1 million to convince people not to vote for Congresswoman Mazie Hirono. But analysts say the Chamber would have spent even more if it thought Linda Lingle had a better chance of winning.
The latest ads by the Chamber started airing this week. The ads, which cost about $250,000, accused Democrat Hirono of being unable to attract bi-partisan support when it comes to passing legislation.  [Hawaii News Now]

Wisconsin: US Senate race between Tammy, Tommy has high stakes
During a press conference Tuesday at Grover Corp., a Milwaukee manufacturing plant, Thompson and representatives of the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce blasted Baldwin for what they said was a poor record of supporting "job creators." The chamber gave Baldwin a score of 13 out of 100 in 2011 for her votes on pro-business legislation -- placing her among the bottom 29 of the 435 House members. [Pioneer Press]

Defying Gravity: The History of 40 Years of Wealth Falling Up
Who stole the American Dream? The short answer to the question in the title of Hedrick Smith's new book is: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Wal-Mart. … And there is the complete lock that the super-rich -- most ably represented by the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, and the like -- seem to have on tax policy. [Huffington Post]

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The surprising answer from Google on its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

It can be hard to get a big corporation to go on record about anything – much less something controversial.

That’s why I was pleasantly surprised by the answer I got at Google’s annual shareholder meeting when I asked cofounder Larry Page why the company is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has publicly opposed many of Google’s positions and interests.

After receiving applause for my question, Google’s head lawyer David Drummond – who was helping Page to answer questions – responded that the company’s membership in the U.S. Chamber is something senior leadership debates a lot. He added that while there are some things that the U.S. Chamber is good for, there is a lot of stuff it does that Google doesn’t agree with.

He concluded by saying that, “while we are members for now, it’s something that we do review.”

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Google should disclose its political spending and leave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

You can Google anything right?

Well, try going to the search engine and entering “Google’s political spending.”

You’ll get something like this:

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