To: AmericaFrom: Senator John F. Kerry

For Immediate Release
August 24, 2004

Top Quid Pro Quos of the Bush Administration

John Kerry: “For four years, we’ve heard a lot of talk in Washington about values. But values are not just words. They’re what we live by. They’re the choices we make. … Every step of the way, George W. Bush has put the narrow interests of the few ahead of the interests of most Americans.”

Pharmaceutical Industry

WHAT THEY GAVE: Pharmaceutical Industry Have Given Millions to Bush. The pharmaceutical industry gave nearly $1.4 million to Bush in 2000, including nearly $450,000 directly to his campaign and $950,000 to his inaugural fund. The pharmaceutical industry has given over $840,000 to Bush-Cheney in 2004. (Center For Responsive Politics, www.crp.org )

WHAT THEY GOT: Bush Medicare Policy Grab Bag for Corporate Special Interests. The administration plan is larded with perks for private companies that increase the cost of Medicare and hurt seniors. The legislation made it illegal for Medicare to bargain over price with drug companies, which will add an additional $139 billion in corporate profits to the cost of the bill, according to Ben Peck of the Medicare Rights Center. Bush and GOP leaders overrode a majority in the House to block the re-importation of cheaper drugs from Canada, which would have cut 40 to 60 percent off the cost. Bush’s Medicare plan also made it illegal for the government to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. (Medicare Rights Center, 11/7/03; Washington Post, 11/21/03; NY Times, 2/3/04; The Hill, 11/19/03; The Times Union, 12/12/03; USA Today, 11/25/03)

Insurance Industry

WHAT THEY GAVE: Insurance Industry Contributed Heavily to Bush. The insurance industry supported Bush heavily in 2000, and it is doing so again in 2004. The industry was the No. 10 contributor of hard money to the Bush campaign, giving over $1.6 million and includes 14 Pioneers. So far in 2004 the industry has given over $2.6 million and producing eight Pioneers and four Rangers. (Bush’s Campaign Ads…Brought To You By Special Interests, Public Citizen, 3/04)

WHAT THEY GOT: Bush Has Repeatedly Rewarded Insurance Companies For Their Patronage. Bush’s Medicare bill gives $46 billion in subsidies to HMOs and PPO providers to induce them offer private plans to Medicare recipients. Bush successfully derailed a Patients’ Bill of Rights in 2001, achieving the objective of the insurance industry Health Benefits Coalition to “get nothing,” as its chairman put it. He also watered down medical privacy regulations that the insurance industry opposed and proposes malpractice reform that would be heavily tilted to the interests of the insurance industry. (New York Times, 2/3/04, 3/20/04, 8/1/01, 2/21/01; National Journal, 6/12/01; Washington Times, 6/13/01; Hartford Courant, 1/25/02; LA Times, 3/24/0; Weiss Ratings, 6/3/03; American Insurance Association Press Release, 3/13/02, www.aiadc.org )

Electric Utilities

WHAT THEY GAVE: Electric utilities gave $13 million to Republicans in the 2000 election cycle. FirstEnergy President Anthony Alexander, TXU Chairman Erle Nye and Thomas Kuhn, head of the industry’s main trade group, were named Pioneers in 2000. The coal industry contributed $110,000 to Bush’s presidential campaign in 2000, making him the industry’s top recipient. The electric utility industry gave Bush $447,000 in PAC and individual contributions during his 2000 presidential campaign. So far, electric utilities have given over $860,000 to Bush-Cheney ’04. (Center for Responsive Politics, www.crp.org ; Bush’s Campaign Ads…Brought To You By Special Interests, Public Citizen, 3/04)

WHAT THEY GOT: Bush Administration Relaxed Clean Air Rules, Saving Companies Millions. In August 2003, the Bush administration eased the “New Source Review” regulation of the Clear Air Act. The changes allowed older coal fired power plants and other facilities to avoid installing pollution controls when they expand or repair. The rule applies to about 20,000 facilities nationwide that are considered major polluters. The Washington Post reported that “the relaxing of regulatory rules is likely to save utilities and others hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars.” (Baltimore Sun, 8/28/03; Chicago Tribune, 8/28/03; LA Times, 8/28/03; WP, 8/28/03)

Oil And Gas Industry

WHAT THEY GAVE: In the 2000 election cycle, the oil and gas industry contributed over $1.8 million to George W. Bush’s election campaign. 2000 Pioneer and longtime Bush associate Don Evans, former chairman of the oil company Tom Brown Inc., was appointed Secretary of the Commerce Department. At least a dozen oil and gas industry officials were named to the transition teams at the Energy and Interior departments as well as the Environmental Protection Agency. So far, the oil and gas industry have given over $2 million to Bush-Cheney ’04. (Center for Responsive Politics, www.crp.org ; Bush’s Campaign Ads…Brought To You By Special Interests, Public Citizen, 3/04)

WHAT THEY GOT: Unfettered Access to Cheney’s Energy Task Force. According to the Washington Post, “A first review of the 11,000 pages of documents bolsters the contention of Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups that the Bush administration relied almost exclusively on the advice of executives from utilities and producers of oil, gas, coal and nuclear energy while a White House task force drafted recommendations that would vastly increase energy production.” (Washington Post, 3/26/02)

WHAT THEY GOT: American Petroleum Institute Got “Wish List” Incorporated Into Energy Plan. Nine days before Bush’s inauguration, energy industry lobbyists gathered in the American Petroleum Institute’s offices to make a “wish list” for the Bush energy plan. The list was forwarded to the Bush energy transition team, and eventually to the energy task force, where it was incorporated into the Bush administration energy plan. (Newsweek, 5/10/01; New York Times, 5/10/01; 5/20/01; USA Today, 5/14/01; ABC News, World News Tonight, 5/22/01; Washington Post, 5/17/01, 3/26/02)

Companies That Outsource

WHAT THEY GAVE: 37 Bush-Cheney Pioneers and Rangers are Outsourcers. Between the 2000 and 2004 campaigns, a total of 14 outsourcers pledged to raise $200,000 (Bush Rangers) and 23 pledged to raise $100,000 (Bush Pioneers) for the Bush-Cheney campaign. The Bush campaign received $5.1 million from corporate executives who are sending American jobs abroad. (Economy.com, Los Angeles Times, 2/10/04; New York Times, 10/6/03; www.whitehouseforsale.org )

WHAT THEY GOT: More Than a Million Jobs Sent Overseas Under Bush. Since Bush took office, up to 1.2 million jobs have been sent overseas. Yet, in 2004, the President’s annual economic report claimed that outsourcing is good for America. Bush’s Treasury Secretary John Snow said “You can outsource a lot of activities and get them done just as well at a lower cost.” (Economy.com, Los Angeles Times, 2/10/04; New York Times, 10/6/03; Associated Press, 3/30/2004)

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Fasten your seatbelts, America!
This is just the beginning!