REPORT: State's delegation got more money per legislator than did any other state's.
WASHINGTON -- An analysis of campaign contributions by the government watchdog group Public Citizen says Washington, D.C., lobbyists are big political donors, and that Alaska's delegation to Congress scoops up more of that money per lawmaker than any other state's.
That's because Alaska has only a three-member team, and two of the members are Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, among the most powerful members of Congress. Stevens was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Young is chairman of the House Transportation Committee.
Since 1998, Washington lobbyists have contributed $663,000 to Stevens' campaign and his political action committee, making him their tenth-most favored senator. Young was tenth-most favored in the House, with $652,448, according to the Public Citizen analysis.
"What it tells me is lobbyists are trying to influence Don Young and Ted Stevens," said Taylor Lincoln, the primary author of the report.
Lobbyists gave almost $275,000 to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, putting her in 56th place in the Senate, although she was not a federal candidate for much of the period Public Citizen studied. She was appointed in 2002.
Other lawmakers raked in far more from lobbyists. Three -- former senator Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Pennsylvania's Republican senators, Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter, received more than $1 million each. But lesser-known lawmakers from those states dragged the average below Alaska's.
Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader, believes Washington lobbyists contribute to congressional campaigns for business purposes, because they are trying to increase their influence with key lawmakers.
"I think it takes a little bit of naivete to believe that a lobbyist in McLean, Virginia, is really that concerned about (which candidate) can do the best job representing Alaska," Lincoln said, referring to a wealthy suburb near Washington.
Public Citizen wants to limit lobbyists' contributions to $200 per candidate in each election.
Paul Miller, president of the American League of Lobbyists, disputed that lobbyists contribute mostly to increase their influence.
"It's a freedom of speech issue," he said. "They may strongly believe in the people they're giving to."
Lincoln called it "silly" to suggest that lobbyists give so much because they like a candidate's ideology. "I don't think that's an honest starting point in the discussion," he said.
Some lobbyists, Miller conceded, might have business reasons for giving, but the same is true of any corporate executive. As long as a lobbyist isn't paying a lawmaker for an official act, it's not wrong, he said.
"We have a set of rules right now that works," he said. "Jack Abramoff is going to prison."
Lincoln said he was careful to avoid declaring that the contributions he tallied in the report were payments that bought particular actions. But he profiled the lobbyists who contributed the most money and reported that "these lobbyists have managed to accomplish remarkable feats on Capitol Hill."
Among the examples he cited was Denny Miller and his work for Boeing on a deal to have the Air Force lease jets to use as tankers. The deal fell apart in 2003 amid a contracting abuse scandal and prison sentences for a high-ranking Air Force official and a senior Boeing executive. Sen. Stevens was the main advocate for the deal in Congress.
The Public Citizen report notes that Denny Miller and his wife, Sandra Miller, have contributed $25,000 to Stevens. And, the report said, the Millers organized two fundraisers in 1996 that raised $160,000 for Stevens in four hours. Denny Miller also served on the steering committee of the nonprofit Ted Stevens Foundation when it formed two years ago.
Stevens' spokeswoman, Lindsay Hayes, said there was "no link between any contributions" and the Boeing tanker lease deal. Stevens said in 2003 that he was the one who proposed to Boeing that its aircraft could replace the aging tanker fleet, not the other way around.
Young's campaign manager, Steve Dougherty, said lobbyist contributions have no influence on the congressman, and to suggest otherwise is unfair. Young, Dougherty said, campaigns hard, holding lots of fundraisers in Alaska and elsewhere.
"Congressman Young has friends and contributors all across the country," Dougherty said.
Reporter Liz Ruskin can be reached at lruskin@adn.com or in Washington at 1-202-383-0007.
