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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Micosoft Buys Politicians, Scares Off Justice Department |
Current rating: 0 |
by Center for Responsive Politics
(No verified email address) |
07 Sep 2001
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The Microsoft Antitrust Case: An Update on the Company's Lobbying and Campaign Contributions |
WASHINGTON - September 6 - After more than three years of investigations, litigation and intensive lobbying, the Justice Department today announced it would no longer seek a break-up of the computer giant Microsoft, ending one aspect of a landmark case that sent the company's campaign contributions soaring and formally introduced the computer industry to Washington politics.
The decision by the Bush administration to vacate the lawsuit that was first initiated in 1998 by the Clinton Justice Department is considered a major victory for Microsoft, which nearly tripled its campaign contributions and more than doubled its lobbying expenditures during its fight against the antitrust case.
During the 1999-2000 election cycle, Microsoft contributed more than $4.7 million in soft money, PAC and individual contributions to federal candidates and parties--almost three times what the company contributed during the previous three election cycles combined. More than two-thirds of that money went to Republicans.
The Bush campaign reported $61,250 in contributions from Microsoft employees during 1999-2000. Attorney General John Ashcroft, a former U.S. Senator from Missouri, reported just $9,250 in contributions from Microsoft during the last elections, though the company did contribute $10,000 to the Ashcroft Victory Committee, a soft money account run jointly by the Ashcroft campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
But that's not all the money that Microsoft has thrown around Washington in recent years. During the calendar year 2000 alone, Microsoft spent almost $6.4 million to lobby Congress and the Clinton administration, according to reports filed with the U.S. Senate. That's a significant increase over the $4.9 million in lobbying expenditures the company reported in 1999. And Microsoft also was a major contributor to the Bush-Cheney Inaugural Fund, donating $100,000 to the gala last January.
Just months into the 2001-02 election cycle, Microsoft already ranks as a significant contributor, giving just over $700,000 to federal parties and candidates, split almost evenly between the two major parties. (This includes contributions reported through the end of July.)
However, the lawsuit's most significant impact on campaign finance extends beyond Microsoft itself. The antitrust lawsuit proved to be a major turning point in the tech industry's involvement in Washington politics.
Shortly after the Justice Department launched its lawsuit, Microsoft became one of the first computer companies to open lobbying offices in Washington and was one of the first to contribute major soft money dollars to the political parties. By the year 2000, computers and Internet companies ranked No. 7 on the list of the biggest industry givers on the federal level, contributing more than $39.7 million. Since 1997, Microsoft has been the industry's biggest contributor.
Click here for a breakdown of Microsoft's giving to members of Congress, including 2001 numbers, as well as further information on the company's lobbying expenditures: |
See also:
http://www.opensecrets.org/alerts/v6/alertv6_26.asp
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