| WASHINGTON - September 1 - Going For Broke, a study
released today by Common Cause, reveals that the consumer credit industry has given $61.6
million in political contributions since 1987. The study comes as the United States Senate
is poised to act - perhaps as early as this week - on sweeping, creditor-backed bankruptcy
reform legislation despite criticism from consumer advocates and some bankruptcy experts. The consumer credit industry - banks, credit card companies,
consumer finance companies, savings and loans, and credit unions - have given $50.8
million in political action committee (PAC) contributions to congressional candidates, and
$10.8 million in soft money contributions to national party committees, according to the
study.
"Congress has a legitimate interest in making changes
in the bankruptcy law to avoid abuses of the law by wealthy individuals who want to shirk
their debt," Common Cause President Ann McBride said. "But that congressional
review has been distorted by millions of dollars of campaign contributions. In fact, while
Congress is rushing to pass new bankruptcy legislation, it is ignoring warnings of experts
and consumer activists who argue that ordinary Americans are not being adequately
considered in this creditor-driven push for sweeping legislation."
The Common Cause study found that since 1987, the consumer
credit industry has given, on average, $100,000 in PAC contributions to current Members of
the Senate, and $47,724 to current Members of the House. Of all current House and Senate
Members, 97 percent took PAC contributions from banking and consumer credit interests
during the period covered by the study.
Included in the study is a Member-by-Member breakdown of
the consumer credit industry's PAC contributions, as well as a list of the largest
contributors within the industry, and lists of the top recipients in the House and Senate.
Read: Going For Broke
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