Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will hold a hearing today doing all he can to not blame Big Oil for its role in rising gas prices.
It makes sense—Darrell Issa is the largest recipient of oil and gas industry cash on the committee. During his time in Congress, Issa’s campaign committee has raked in $140,350 in campaign contributions from the employees and political action committees (PACs) of the oil and gas industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In fact, the money his campaign committee received from the industry doubled from 2008 ($23,500) to 2010 ($46,000).
Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.), the second biggest recipient of oil and gas money on the committee, raised nearly $120,000 from the industry in his first election in 2010. No stranger to close ties with donors, Rep. Lankford held a field hearing last February in which three of the four witnesses had donated to his campaign.
Overall, committee members have received nearly $1.2 million in oil and gas money during their time in Congress with 80 percent going to Republicans and 20 percent to Democrats—or $948,771 to $243,599.
The full list of donors, and their oil and gas money is listed in the table below.
|
Issa, Darrell |
R |
California |
$140,350 |
|
Lankford, James |
R |
Oklahoma |
$119,960 |
|
Mica, John |
R |
Florida |
$112,523 |
|
Walberg, Tim |
R |
Michigan |
$85,270 |
|
Cooper, Jim |
D |
Tennessee |
$73,575 |
|
Towns, Edolphus |
D |
New York |
$64,320 |
|
Burton, Dan |
R |
Indiana |
$61,851 |
|
Mack, Connie |
R |
Florida |
$51,470 |
|
Farenthold, Blake |
R |
Texas |
$50,850 |
|
Jordan, James |
R |
Ohio |
$43,500 |
|
Meehan, Pat |
R |
Pennsylvania |
$41,450 |
|
Maloney, Carolyn |
D |
New York |
$36,099 |
|
Turner, Michael |
R |
Ohio |
$33,850 |
|
McHenry, Patrick |
R |
North Carolina |
$33,250 |
|
Chaffetz, Jason |
R |
Utah |
$32,500 |
|
Platts, Todd |
R |
Pennsylvania |
$29,397 |
|
Cummings, Elijah |
D |
Maryland |
$24,050 |
|
Welch, Peter |
D |
Vermont |
$20,250 |
|
Ross, Dennis |
R |
Florida |
$20,000 |
|
Kelly, Mike |
R |
Pennsylvania |
$18,250 |
|
Gowdy, Trey |
R |
South Carolina |
$16,250 |
|
Norton, Eleanor |
D |
District of Columbia |
$16,125 |
|
Guinta, Frank |
R |
New Hampshire |
$15,000 |
|
Gosar, Paul |
R |
Arizona |
$13,000 |
|
Davis, Danny |
D |
Illinois |
$13,000 |
|
Murphy, Christopher |
D |
Connecticut |
$12,350 |
|
Kucinich, Dennis |
D |
Ohio |
$11,800 |
|
Connolly, Gerry |
D |
Virginia |
$11,400 |
|
DesJarlais, Scott |
R |
Tennessee |
$10,300 |
|
Buerkle, Ann Marie |
R |
New York |
$9,250 |
|
Lynch, Stephen |
D |
Massachusetts |
$6,000 |
|
Yarmuth, John |
D |
Kentucky |
$5,300 |
|
Walsh, Joe |
R |
Illinois |
$5,000 |
|
Tierney, John |
D |
Massachusetts |
$4,800 |
|
Clay, William |
D |
Missouri |
$4,600 |
|
Labrador, Raul |
R |
Idaho |
$4,000 |
|
Quigley, Michael |
D |
Illinois |
$2,500 |
|
Amash, Justin |
R |
Michigan |
$1,500 |
|
Braley, Bruce |
D |
Iowa |
$1,500 |
|
Speier, Jackie |
D |
California |
$250 |