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March 18, 2021
This week in money-in-politics
‘Dark money’ topped $1 billion in 2020,
largely boosting Democrats
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The 2020 election saw more than $1 billion in “dark money” spending at the federal level, a massive sum driven by an explosion of secret donations boosting Democrats in a historically expensive cycle.
That’s according to an estimate from OpenSecrets. The billion-dollar sum includes a whopping $660 million in donations from opaque political nonprofits and shell companies to outside groups. In 2020, dark money groups preferred to bankroll closely-tied super PACs rather than spend the money themselves — politically active nonprofits that do not disclose their donors reported roughly $88 million in direct election spending to the Federal Election Commission. The remainder of the total is made up of spending on “issue ads” targeting candidates online and on the airwaves.
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** Business and labor groups battle over PRO Act
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Business groups and unions are going head-to-head over the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a Democrat-backed bill that would enact sweeping changes to federal labor law that passed in the House on March 9. The expansive legislation would repeal so-called “right to work” laws, which currently exist in 27 states and would ban popular tactics employers use to dissuade their workers from unionizing. It would also beef up the National Labor Relations Board’s enforcement powers, which advocates say will give teeth to existing labor law. The 2021 version of the bill, which was first floated in 2019 before dying in the Senate, passed the House with bipartisan support.
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** Gun control groups urge Senate to prioritize gun bills
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Gun control groups are urging the Senate to pass Democrats’ gun bills after mass shootings at Atlanta-area spas left eight dead. Advocates for stricter gun laws want Congress to prioritize Democratic-led bills that would expand background checks on gun sales, prevent domestic abusers from owning firearms and ban assault weapons. They’ve also called attention to the recent spike in violent crimes against Asian Americans. Six of Tuesday’s shooting victims were women of Asian descent, according to local authorities. “As facts continue coming in, it is clear that guns are too often weaponized as a tool of hate. This must end,” gun control group Giffords said in a tweet Wednesday.
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** GOP takes aim at trans rights as Equality Act heads to Senate
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Republican state legislators are backing 30 bills in 21 states that would ban transgender students from participating on sports teams that conform to their gender identity. In Washington D.C., Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) tried to attach a similar provision to Democrats’ COVID-19 relief bill in the midst of last week’s “vote-o-rama.” The slate of anti-transgender legislation comes as a part of a Republican campaign to win back suburban voters in the 2022 midterm cycle. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) rights groups across the country are pushing back.
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March Madness 2021:
These schools have the most lobbying power
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Only one college takes home the trophy in March Madness, but the entire higher education industry was a big winner in Democrats’ stimulus package.
The American Rescue Plan provides nearly $40 billion in aid to colleges and universities, more than either of the two previous stimulus bills. That massive influx of funding is a lifeline to colleges, which have lost key sources of revenue with students leaving campus or postponing their first year of school due to the pandemic.
Schools are expected to use that money to pay for infrastructure to keep students safe, such as COVID-19 tests and masks. The legislation also stipulates that at least 50 percent of the money colleges receive must help students with emergency financial aid.
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OpenSecrets in the News
See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:
* ** Wall Street Looks to Quietly Reopen Wallets for Politicians (Bloomberg) ([link removed])
"There was a feeling that companies need to take a stand, and that was probably met with a concern about the brand," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "If companies so quickly and easily backtrack on the PAC suspension, it will prove to be a P.R. move."
* ** HART to spend $1M for lobbyist and local government consultant (Hawaii News Now) ([link removed])
During a time when it’s slashing its budget and laying off longtime employees, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is looking to award lucrative lobbying and consultant contracts.
* ** Experts: Tillis 'wrong' to compare small-dollar donations with 'dark money' (PolitiFact) ([link removed])
Is it true that small, aggregated donations are "exactly the same" as big dark money donations? Experts say this is an oversimplification.
** The Washington Post ([link removed])
** The Associated Press ([link removed])
** Roll Call ([link removed])
** USA Today ([link removed])
** Politico ([link removed])
** Salon ([link removed])
** The Fulcrum ([link removed])
** Mother Jones ([link removed])
** The Canton Repository ([link removed])
** Cleveland Plain Dealer ([link removed])
** McDowell News ([link removed])
** E&E News ([link removed])
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4 star rating for 8 consecutive years
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