ALEC an Invaluable Resource to Businesses

Here’s a piece from the Roll Call regarding Congressional lobbying in Q1-2013.

My emphasis - I’ve bolded the names of companies that are known past or present ALEC members.

Top 25 Organizations Lobbying in First Quarter

By Kent Cooper           Posted at 7:40 a.m. on April 23

Here is the ranking of the top 25 organizations spending on federal lobbying during the first quarter of 2013.

Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. $10,140,000

National Association of Realtors $8,500,000

U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform $6,430,000

Northrop Grumman Corporation $5,820,000

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers $5,270,000

General Electric Company $5,190,000

American Medical Association $4,910,000

Exxon Mobil Corporation $4,840,000

United Technologies Corporation $4,630,000

Comcast Corporation$4,480,000

AT&T Services Inc. $4,260,000

National Association of Broadcasters $4,200,000

Merck & Company $4,190,000

National Cable and Telecommunications Association $4,170,000

American Hospital Association $3,810,000

Southern Company $3,760,000

Lockheed Martin Corporation $3,710,000

Verizon Communications $3,670,000

Chevron USA INc. $3,660,000

Boeing Company $3,580,000

Google Inc. $3,350,000

CVS Caremark Inc. $3,338,680

Novartis $3,290,000

General Motors Company $3,220,000

Edison Electric Institute $3,160,000

Think about it.

Since the 1970s, lobbying activity has grown immensely in terms of the numbers of lobbyists and the size of lobbying budgets, and has become the focus of much criticism of American governance.

Think about it – ALEC has been around for forty years, 1973.

In a 1995 ALEC document ALEC stated:

ALEC represents an invaluable resource to businesses seeking to prosper in today’s challenging public policy environment.

NO other organization, in the history of the United States, has had the sole purpose of bringing legislators and corporate lobbyists together - in the same room - behind close doors - to develop policies and legislation - ALEC is the ONLY organization that has done this as their sole purpose to exist!!!

For forty years the American Legislative Exchange Council has given corporate lobbyists unprecedented and secret access to legislators.

In my opinion the practices of ALEC has been the primary mover and shaker responsible for bringing corporations into the legislative process.

Not only that, but ALEC's purpose and goals - to bring legislators and corporate lobbyists together - could be the prime reason that corporations have developed the expectation that they should be involved in the legislative process.

If you agree with me – then ALEC has to be eliminated.

ALEC legislators must not be re-elected so that ALEC can no longer exist.