Update: DCCC Chairman Steve Israel said Chevron's contribution “may be the biggest political payoff in history. House Republicans protected taxpayer subsidies for Big Oil companies making record profits, and now they’re getting rewarded.”
Energy giant Chevron contributed $2.5 million in October to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC supporting Republicans to the House. According to campaignmoney.org, the contribution is the largest from a single corporation to a super PAC since the Citizen’s United verdict enabled corporations and unions to make unlimited political contributions.
Think Progress reports that the “donation comes after House Republicans voted 109 times this Congress to enrich oil companies.”
The company’s donation arrives in an election year where the oil industry has waged multimillion-dollar ad campaigns, including American Petroleum Institute’s campaign in swing states. Chevron has also sent 91 percent of its federal political contributions to Republican candidates. So far this year, fossil fuel groups have spent more than $153 million on campaign ads to promote pro-fossil fuel candidates.
Chevron gets a good return for its loyalty. House Republicans voted at least twice to protect Big Oil’s $2.4 billion in taxpayer subsidies. Chevron alone receives an estimated $700 million in annual tax breaks. And the company spent $16.6 million of Big Oil’s $105 million lobbying Congress to block pollution controls and safeguards for public health.
According to a filing, the super PAC’s recent spending includes more than $250,000 to place TV and Web Media.
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