Oil Money Makes Messy Politics:
ExxonMobil political donations and lobbying handouts
ExxonMobil political donations and lobbying handouts
ExxonMobil is an industry leader in both political campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures. In campaign donations, Exxon typically ranks among the top two donors in the oil and gas industry and always within the top five. In lobbying dollars, Exxon outspends its competitors - accounting for about ten percent of the industry total.(1)
EXXON'S POLITICAL BANKROLL
To be among the top spenders on political campaigns in the oil and gas industry is notable. The industry has donated $180 million to political candidates since 1989, making it the eighth biggest spender out of 80 industries analyzed.
Currently, ExxonMobil has donated over $600,000 to political candidates - second only to Koch Industries, a small oil company known for its high spending on Congressional candidates. The oil industry clearly favors republicans to push its agenda on Capitol Hill and ExxonMobil is no exception. In 2006, 89 percent of ExxonMobil's donations went to republicans.
In the 2004 election cycle, ExxonMobil outspent its peers in the industry with $935,016 given to Congressional candidates through its political action committee (PAC) and executive donations. In 2000, ExxonMobil spent almost $1.4 million on campaign donations - second only to the Enron Corporation. More....
