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Computer Pac money, etc.
Jennifer Shecter wrote:
> MONEY IN POLITICS ALERT
> Vol. 3, #38
> tel: 202-857-0044, fax: 202-857-7809
> October 20, 1997
> email: info@crp.org, web: www.crp.org
>
> Hot New Items On Our Web Site at
> http://www.crp.org Include:
>
> CAPITAL VENTURISTS. Wall Street firms are not the
> only ones pushing for bills on Capitol Hill that
> would restrict investors' ability to file class
> action suits in state courts. High-tech computer
> companies and venture capitalists, which help many
> of these firms with start-up cash, also have a big
> stake in the debate. Due to the volatile nature of
> high-tech stocks, Silicon Valley companies want to
> protect themselves from shareholder lawsuits.
> Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn) and Phil Gramm (R-Texas)
> sponsored legislation in the Senate, S. 1260, last
> month and Reps. Rick White (R-Wash) and Anna Eshoo
> (D-Calif) introduced a similar proposal, H.R.
> 1689, in the House late in the spring that would
> create uniform standards for class action suits.
> This issue is nothing new for Silicon Valley.
> Industry executives helped raise $40 million in
> California last year to defeat a ballot initiative
> that would have made them more vulnerable to class
> action suits. They increased their political clout
> this summer when more than a dozen Silicon Valley
> executives, including John Doerr, a prominent
> venture capitalist, and James Barksdale, the CEO
> of Netscape Communications, started a new
> political action committee, the Technology
> Network. Last month, many of these corporate
> figures attended a $50,000 a head dinner for
> President Clinton at the home of CNET chairman
> Halsey Minor. "If you're us and you want to make
> sure your voice is heard, the most logical place
> is to start at the top," Minor told the San
> Francisco Chronicle.
> So far in the 1997-1998 election cycle, high-tech
> computer companies have distributed nearly $1.1
> million in PAC, soft money, and individual
> contributions to federal candidates and parties,
> 61 percent to Republicans. Doerr and employees of
> Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture-
> capital firm where he is a partner, made more than
> $82,000 in individual contributions so far this
> cycle.
>
> Top PAC, Soft Money & Individual Computer Company
> Contributions, 1997-1998 Election Cycle
> Rank Company Amount Dems Repubs
> 1 Electronic Data Systems $124,278 $52,750 $71,528
> 2 Microsoft Corp $61,248 $15,723 $45,525
> 3 Sterling Software $56,750 $0 $56,750
> 4 Macromedia Inc $52,495 $52,495 $0
> 5 IDX Systems Corp $50,000 $50,000 $0
> 6 Digital Equipment Corp $37,500 $15,500 $22,000
> 7 MBC Corp $25,000 $0 $25,000
> 8 Imagination Pilots Inc $25,000 $25,000 $0
> 9 Collazo Enterprises Inc $22,250 $250 $22,000
> 10 Texas Instruments $21,000 $5,500 $15,500
> *PAC contributions are based on data downloaded
> from the Federal Election Commission on
> 10/1/97.
>
> THANKS A BUNDLE. On May 11, 1997, Sen. Chris Dodd
> (D-Conn) raised $61,000 for his 1998 re-election
> campaign according to records filed with the
> Federal Election Commission. More than half these
> contributions -- $31,750 -- came from employees of
> securities and investments firms, high-tech
> computer companies, and venture capitalists. Some
> of the contributions are from top executives in
> the high-tech business, including $2,000 from
> William Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems,
> $2,000 from Halsey Minor, the CEO of CNET, and
> $500 from William Neukom, a senior vice-president
> at Microsoft. Other big name contributors to Dodd
> on that day include Donald Sussman, head of the
> Connecticut-based investment company Paloma
> Partners and a guest at one of the White House
> coffees. Sussman gave the senator $2,000, and
> seven other Paloma employees gave Dodd a total of
> $8,250 on May 11.
> Dodd is not the only sponsor of industry-
> backed bills to be raising money from the
> interests weighing in on the legislation. Rep.
> Rick White (R-Wash) received $3,250 from nine
> Microsoft executives, including CEO Bill Gates on
> June 30, 1997. Microsoft's offices are in White's
> district. White also took in more than $15,000
> from securities and investment firms in June.
>
> Other Money In Politics News
>
> * The Brookings Institution published a new book
> entitled "Campaign Finance Reform: A Sourcebook."
> It is edited by Anthony Corrado, Thomas E. Mann,
> Daniel Ortiz, Trevor Potter, and Frank J. Sorauf.
> The book highlights the current state and history
> of campaign finance law, significant Supreme Court
> decisions, issue ads, hard and soft money
> contributions, the Federal Election Commission,
> and recent innovations and proposals. This
> resource is available at
> http://www.brook.edu/gs/newcfr/sourcebk.htm.
>
> * The House Committee on Government Reform and
> Oversight may investigate contributions during the
> 1996 elections of more than $300,000 to the Kansas
> State Democratic Party. The money allegedly came
> from national party committees despite a Kansas
> law that limits to $25,000 the amount a national
> party can give to a state party. The Wichita Eagle
> reported last month that the national party
> appears to have circumvented the Kansas law by
> giving money to the Democratic parties and
> candidates in the state's 15 counties, which then
> made contributions to the state party. Another way
> the national party appears to have funneled money
> to the state level was by donating money to other
> state parties that, in turn, gave money to the
> Kansas State Democratic Party.
>
> Prepared by Jennifer Shecter
--
---------------------------------------------------------------
Gary Ruskin | gary@essential.org |
Congressional Accountability Project | 1611 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite #3A | Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 296-2787 | Fax (202) 833-2406
http://www.essential.org/orgs/CAP/CAP.html
--------------------------------------------------------------
Subject:
Monday Morning Alert
Date:
Mon, 20 Oct 1997 10:22:06 PDT
From:
Jennifer Shecter <JShecter@crp.org>
To:
alert recipient <JShecter@crp.org>
MONEY IN POLITICS ALERT
Vol. 3,
#38
tel: 202-857-0044, fax: 202-857-7809
October 20, 1997
email: info@crp.org, web: www.crp.org
Hot New Items On Our Web Site at
http://www.crp.org Include:
NEW CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE REPORT. "Out of
State Money in the Congressional Elections of
1992, 1994, and 1996: Trends and Policy Issues" by
Joe Cantor of the Congressional Research Service,
is up on our site at
http://www.crp.org/crpdocs/oct97/s97-894.htm. The
report concludes that available data from the last
three congressional elections show that out of
state contributions constituted 17 percent of 1996 Senate
receipts, up from 14 percent in 1992. House out of state
receipts rose from 6 percent to 7 percent in the same period.
THE MANY POCKETS OF A POLITICIAN'S COAT. Molten
Metal Technology chief Bill Haney donated $50,000
to an endowment at the University of Tennessee
named for the Vice President Al Gore's late sister
in response to a Gore fund-raising letter. Reports
of Haney's donation highlight that there are many
ways to contribute to organizations affiliated
with a politician, which are not disclosed to the
Federal Election Commission. The Nancy Gore Hunger
Chair of Excellence is among a list of accounts
and organizations tied to candidates available on
our site at
http://www.crp.org/othercmtes/other.htm.
CAPITAL VENTURISTS. Wall Street firms are not the
only ones pushing for bills on Capitol Hill that
would restrict investors' ability to file class
action suits in state courts. High-tech computer
companies and venture capitalists, which help many
of these firms with start-up cash, also have a big
stake in the debate. Due to the volatile nature of
high-tech stocks, Silicon Valley companies want to
protect themselves from shareholder lawsuits.
Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn) and Phil Gramm (R-Texas)
sponsored legislation in the Senate, S. 1260, last
month and Reps. Rick White (R-Wash) and Anna Eshoo
(D-Calif) introduced a similar proposal, H.R.
1689, in the House late in the spring that would
create uniform standards for class action suits.
This issue is nothing new for Silicon Valley.
Industry executives helped raise $40 million in
California last year to defeat a ballot initiative
that would have made them more vulnerable to class
action suits. They increased their political clout
this summer when more than a dozen Silicon Valley
executives, including John Doerr, a prominent
venture capitalist, and James Barksdale, the CEO
of Netscape Communications, started a new
political action committee, the Technology
Network. Last month, many of these corporate
figures attended a $50,000 a head dinner for
President Clinton at the home of CNET chairman
Halsey Minor. "If you're us and you want to make
sure your voice is heard, the most logical place
is to start at the top," Minor told the San
Francisco Chronicle.
So far in the 1997-1998 election cycle, high-tech
computer companies have distributed nearly $1.1
million in PAC, soft money, and individual
contributions to federal candidates and parties,
61 percent to Republicans. Doerr and employees of
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture-
capital firm where he is a partner, made more than
$82,000 in individual contributions so far this
cycle.
Top PAC, Soft Money & Individual Computer Company
Contributions, 1997-1998 Election Cycle
Rank Company Amount Dems
Repubs
1 Electronic Data Systems $124,278 $52,750
$71,528
2 Microsoft Corp $61,248 $15,723
$45,525
3 Sterling Software $56,750 $0
$56,750
4 Macromedia Inc $52,495 $52,495
$0
5 IDX Systems Corp $50,000 $50,000
$0
6 Digital Equipment Corp $37,500 $15,500
$22,000
7 MBC Corp $25,000 $0
$25,000
8 Imagination Pilots Inc $25,000 $25,000
$0
9 Collazo Enterprises Inc $22,250 $250
$22,000
10 Texas Instruments $21,000 $5,500
$15,500
*PAC contributions are based on data downloaded
from the Federal Election Commission on
10/1/97.
THANKS A BUNDLE. On May 11, 1997, Sen. Chris Dodd
(D-Conn) raised $61,000 for his 1998 re-election
campaign according to records filed with the
Federal Election Commission. More than half these
contributions -- $31,750 -- came from employees of
securities and investments firms, high-tech
computer companies, and venture capitalists. Some
of the contributions are from top executives in
the high-tech business, including $2,000 from
William Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems,
$2,000 from Halsey Minor, the CEO of CNET, and
$500 from William Neukom, a senior vice-president
at Microsoft. Other big name contributors to Dodd
on that day include Donald Sussman, head of the
Connecticut-based investment company Paloma
Partners and a guest at one of the White House
coffees. Sussman gave the senator $2,000, and
seven other Paloma employees gave Dodd a total of
$8,250 on May 11.
Dodd is not the only sponsor of industry-
backed bills to be raising money from the
interests weighing in on the legislation. Rep.
Rick White (R-Wash) received $3,250 from nine
Microsoft executives, including CEO Bill Gates on
June 30, 1997. Microsoft's offices are in White's
district. White also took in more than $15,000
from securities and investment firms in June.
Other Money In Politics News
* The Brookings Institution published a new book
entitled "Campaign Finance Reform: A Sourcebook."
It is edited by Anthony Corrado, Thomas E. Mann,
Daniel Ortiz, Trevor Potter, and Frank J. Sorauf.
The book highlights the current state and history
of campaign finance law, significant Supreme Court
decisions, issue ads, hard and soft money
contributions, the Federal Election Commission,
and recent innovations and proposals. This
resource is available at
http://www.brook.edu/gs/newcfr/sourcebk.htm.
* The House Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight may investigate contributions during the
1996 elections of more than $300,000 to the Kansas
State Democratic Party. The money allegedly came
from national party committees despite a Kansas
law that limits to $25,000 the amount a national
party can give to a state party. The Wichita Eagle
reported last month that the national party
appears to have circumvented the Kansas law by
giving money to the Democratic parties and
candidates in the state's 15 counties, which then
made contributions to the state party. Another way
the national party appears to have funneled money
to the state level was by donating money to other
state parties that, in turn, gave money to the
Kansas State Democratic Party.
Prepared by Jennifer Shecter
--
James Love | Center for Study of Responsive Law
P.O. Box 19367 | Washington, DC 20036 | http://www.cptech.org
voice 202.387.8030 | fax 202.234.5176 | love@cptech.org