March 6, 2012

TransCanada Spent More Than $500,000 On Lobbying And Legal Fees In Nebraska — $10,000 Per Senator

 The controversial Keystone XL Pipeline has been a flashpoint for debates between environmentalists and oil advocates. But for the company trying to build the pipeline — TransCanada — the issue has always been one of business. Thus the company has spent enormous amounts of money lobbying state and federal lawmakers to approve the pipeline.

Nebraska’s Omaha World-Herald reports today that TransCanada spent a whopping $529,099 on lobbying and legal fees related to lobbying that state’s legislature in the fourth quarter alone, adding up to nearly $10,000 a senator:

During the fourth quarter of 2011, when the Nebraska Legislature had a special session on the pipeline, TransCanada reported $529,099 in lobbying and legal expenses.

That spending works out to about $10,800 for each of the 49 senators during those three months — or nearly as much as a lawmaker’s annual $12,000 salary.

 The paper goes on to note that the company’s spending was “12 times more than the total reported by all anti-pipeline organizations, according to recently released state reports.”