U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Founded: 1912

Location: Washington, DC

Associations: Thomas Donohue

Mission: Elect pro-business candidates and enact business-friendly policies

Election Spending: since 2008 cycle

Election Cycle Election Spending

2010 $33,849,755

2012 $35,657,029

2014 $2,062,052*

*As of 2/27/14

Top Known Donations:

Aetna $4,100,000 2011

Freedom Partners

Chamber of Commerce $3,000,000 2012

The Dow Chemical Company $2,925,000 2012

Prudential Financial $2,000,000 2009

Dow Chemical $1,700,000 2009

Dow Corporation $1,648,750 2011

Prudential $1,570,000 2011

Chevron Corp $1,000,000 2012

News Corporation $1,000,000 2010

Prudential Financial, Inc. $925,000 2012

Merck & Co., Inc. $907,500 2012

American Electric Power Company, Inc. $525,000 2012

Metlife, Inc. $525,000 2012

3M Company $515,000 2012

Chevron $500,000 2011

Wellpoint $500,000 2011 

Summary:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a powerful, secretive business lobby funded largely through large corporate contributions, although the exact source of much of its funding remains murky since it is not required to disclose its donors. Year after year, the Chamber tops the list of lobbying spenders,and it also doles out big money -- over $30 million in each of the 2010 and 2012 cycles -- to influence national elections, largely through ads targeting Democratic candidates. Officially nonpartisan, the vast majority of the Chamber’s political beneficiaries are Republican, and it has worked heavily against top progressive priorities including the Affordable Care Act and Wall Street reform.

Notable Facts:

· Health insurance companies contributed over $100 million to the Chamber in 2009 and 2010, coinciding with the group’s efforts to block the Affordable Care Act.

· After the Affordable Care Act passed, the Chamber backed repeal efforts and ran ads in both the 2010 and 2012 cycles attacking politicians who supported reform.

· In 2012, the Chamber’s top targets were Democrats in competitive Senate races, unsuccessfully spending over $1 million each on efforts to defeat Tim Kaine (VA), Sherrod Brown (OH), Bill Nelson (FL), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Martin Heinrich (NM) and Jon Tester

(MT).

AMERICAN ACTION NETWORK

Founded: 2009

Location: Washington, DC

Associations: American Action Forum; Norm Coleman; Fred Malek; Brian Walsh; Vin Weber;

Congressional Leadership Fund

Mission: To “create, encourage and promote center-right policies based on the principles of

freedom, limited government, American exceptionalism, and strong national security.”

Election Spending (since 2010 cycle): $15,721,376

Election Cycle American Action Network

2010 $ 18,945,602

2012 $11,689,399

2014 N/A

Top Known Donors (total since 2010):

PhRMA $6,075,000

Republican Jewish Coalition $4,000,000

Aetna $3,000,000

Crossroads GPS $500,000

Wellspring Committee $305,500

American Petroleum Institute $250,000

Revenue

Year Contributions and Grants Total Revenue

2012 $22,556,387 $22,578,115

2011 $27,479,380 $27,479,384

2010 $2,750,351 $2,750,372

Summary:

The American Action Network (AAN) is a center-right “action tank” founded by former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman and former Nixon aide Fred Malek. Brian Walsh serves as AAN’s president,and a sister nonprofit organization, the American Action Forum, is run by former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin. AAN carries out its mission to “create, encourage and promote center-right policies” largely by spending money on ads targeting Democrats. In 2012, thevast majority of AAN’s spending total went toward attacks on Democratic candidates for the House.Unlike similar outside spending groups, AAN’s spending actually decreased from the 2010 midtermsto 2012, likely due to the emergence of similar organizations such as the Congressional Leadership Fund, a related super PAC that is also led by Coleman, Malek, and Walsh.

Notable Facts:

· In its application to the IRS seeking tax-exempt status, AAN said that only “a minor portion

of its activities may be classified as political campaign intervention.”

· In 2012, AAN waded into the Republican Senate primary in Indiana, spending more than

$645,000 against eventual nominee Richard Mourdock, who defeated longtime incumbent

Sen. Richard Lugar before losing in the general election.

· The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the IRS to “investigate whether the American Action Network (AAN) has violated tax law” after AAN spent millions attempting to defeat Democratic candidates.

· American Action Network used to share office space with Crossroads GPS.

SHELDON ADELSON

Born: 1933

Location: Nevada

Net Worth: $36.1 Billion (as of December 2013)

Associations: Las Vegas Sands; Miriam Adelson

Mission: Anti-union; hawkish foreign policy

Political Donations: $106,827,563 (since 2008 election cycle)

Election Cycle Amount

2008 $5,601,138

2010 $2,276,000

2012 $98,950,425

Top Known Recipients (since 2008 election cycle):

Restore Our Future (Mitt Romney) $30,000,000

American Crossroads $23,000,000

Winning Our Future (New Gingrich) $20,000,000

American Solutions For Winning The Future

$6,650,000

Congressional Leadership Fund $5,000,000

YG Action Fund $5,000,000

Summary:

Sheldon Adelson is an American casino mogul, the 15th richest person in the world as of February 2014, and the majority stakeholder of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which is the largest gambling company in the world. The self-made tycoon is primarily known for his hawkish views on the Middle East and for his attempts to weaken organized labor. While long a player in funding political campaigns, Adelson burst onto the scene during the 2012 election and was the largest individual donor on either side; he and his wife, Miriam Adelson, reported contributions of almost $99 million dollars in the 2012 election. Notably, the two gave $20 million to help former House Speaker Newt Gingrich win the Republican nomination, and when Gingrich’s campaign floundered, the Adelsons gave $30 million to Restore Our Future, a super PAC backing Mitt Romney

Notable Facts:

· In addition to the 2012 contributions disclosed to the FEC, Adelson reportedly gave at least

$30 million to Crossroads GPS and at least $15 million to groups linked to the Koch

brothers.

· Adelson is behind a campaign to ban online gambling, which he refers to as “fool’s gold.”

· In 2013, Adelson suggested that the U.S. deploy nuclear weapons inside Iranian territory to

persuade the country to end its nuclear program.