In late 2010, the foreign-funded U.S. Chamber of Commerce, perhaps Washington’s most powerful corporate front group, unleashed a lobbying blitz to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The FCPA is designed to punish U.S.-based corporations that bribe foreign officials abroad.
Earlier this year, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart — which is a Chamber member — in Mexico was caught bribing officials, funneling millions of dollars through that country. Now, another Chamber member, Pfizer, has been fined for its role in foreign bribery:
As promised, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Pfizer with violating …
In a piece about populism and the Democratic Party in Politico, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown (OH) explained how Big Business has, through its ability to tap into an extraordinary amount of campaign contributions, independent expenditures, and other electoral interventions, been able to own Congress:
“They own the Republican Party, and they have too much influence in my party, I mean there’s no question about that,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a true-blue populist up for reelection who has had $8.3 million spent against him already by third-party groups, most of them allies of business . “That’s why wealth is so concentrated …
Yesterday, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a subpoena targeting a foundation affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for illegally funneling $18 million to the Chamber for its political campaigning and lobbying efforts.
The New York Times reports:
The investigation is also looking at connections between the chamber’s foundation, the National Chamber Foundation, and another philanthropy, the Starr Foundation, which made large grants to the chamber foundation in 2003 and 2004. During the same period, the National Chamber Foundation lent the chamber $18 million, most of it for what was described as a capital campaign.
Watchdog groups claim that …
Last April, the Los Angeles Times reported that the “unemployment rate for veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq is 10.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For veterans age 24 and under, the rate is 29.1%, or 12 points higher than for civilians the same age. That compares with 8.2% unemployment nationally, and 7.5% for all veterans.”
One of Washington’s most powerful corporate front groups, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says that it is stepping up to help these unemployed veterans. It has launched a “Hiring Our Heroes” program to work with its corporate members to hire these jobless …
There are few corporations that have worked as hard over the years to cultivate a family-friendly image as The Walt Disney Company.
Disney operates a television channel, theme park, releases movies, manufactures toys, and in general tries to court American families with its advertising and public relations campaigns.
But being pro-family isn’t just about releasing feel-good movies and toys. It’s also about supporting policies that allow parents to have time off to be with their children and have stable families.
Unfortunately, out of 178 nations examined in a recent study, the United States is one of four that does not mandate paid parental …
While much of the buzz around Facebook has been geographically centered on Wall Street, perhaps just as lucrative for the company are the ties it’s creating in Washington. The social media giant has upped its lobbying game, spending a record amount on federal lobbying in the first quarter of 2012. But everyone knows that the D.C. influence industry goes beyond mere lobbying and Facebook has made inroads elsewhere in the capital, including with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Despite its innocuous sounding name, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the mother of all outside spending groups. It surpassed all other …
By now, most Americans realize that Big Money is a powerful force in American politics. Members of Congress often shy away from regulating an industry that showers them with campaign donations. Members will rush to vote for massive subsidies and giveaways to big donors.
One senator who has been mostly unmoved by the presence of this Big Money is Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). He has been a leader in taking on the big banks, working to create a more just and humane health care system, and kicking Big Money out of politics.
But when you take on special interests, they tend to retaliate …
A blockbuster New York Times story published this weekend details how the Mexican subsidiary of retail giant Wal-Mart paid $24 million in bribes to Mexican officials — and subsequently top Wal-Mart officials allegedly decided to cover up these offenses.
The details of Wal-Mart’s complicity in bribery are shocking, but there is one important element that the Times did not report.
While Wal-Mart’s largest subsidiary spent millions of dollars systematically bribing Mexican officials, the company back home has been working, through big business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which renders it illegal for corporations …
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