[big campaign] Follow-up Materials from Background Briefing on the Chamber's Foreign Funding, fyi

From:jdorner@americanprogress.org To: bigcampaign@googlegroups.com Date: 2010-10-06 20:29 Subject: [big campaign] Follow-up Materials from Background Briefing on the Chamber's Foreign Funding, fyi

U.S. Chamber & Foreign Funding Resources: I. The original exclusive ThinkProgress post<http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/05/foreign-chamber-commerce/> on the Chamber's foreign funding. II. The latest ThinkProgress post: Inconvenient Facts That The Chamber Hasn't Refuted<http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/06/chamber-response-funding/>. III. Today's Progress Report<http://pr.thinkprogress.org/2010/10/pr20101006/index.html>, "The Chamber's Foreign Influence," detailing the situation and the facts. IV. U.S. Chamber Watch's site at www.fixtheuschamber.org<http://www.fixtheuschamber.org>. Contact Samantha Brown at bsamantha@gmail.com<mailto:bsamantha@gmail.com> for more information on the Chamber's activities, including a full list of attack ads the Chamber has run and is running and the Chamber's endorsements. V. A press call tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. with ThinkProgress' Faiz Shakir and Lee Fang and Senator Al Franken, who has publicly called for an investigation of the Chamber's foreign funding. Call info: ( 877 ) 210 - 8943 Conference ID: 16738967 VI. The Facts on the Chamber's Foreign Funding (see below). WHAT WE KNOW... * CHAMBER AGRESSIVELY FUNDRAISING OVERSEAS FOR GENERAL FUNDS. The Chamber has received hundreds of thousands of dollars-if not millions-in foreign donations<http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/05/foreign-chamber-commerce/> from countries like Bahrain, Abu Dhabi (U.A.E.), India, Russia, China, and elsewhere following an aggressive public fundraising campaign. ThinkProgress has identified several foreign entities created by, run by, or affiliated with the Chamber that return hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to the Chamber's general fund. Some of these corporations are even state-owned entities controlled by foreign governments. To recap, we know of at least three ways the Chamber takes in foreign money: * Direct contributions from the foreign firms, such as BP or Siemens, that are among its 300,000 members. * Direct contributions from foreign firms under the auspices of "Business Councils" located in various foreign countries. Our investigation has discovered that the U.S.-Bahrain Business Council and U.S.-India Business Council have raised at least $300,000 in such direct contributions to the Chamber. * Indirect contributions from foreign firms who belong to their local "AmCham," which itself in turn pays dues to the U.S. Chamber's general account. * CHAMBER RUNNING $75 MILLION ATTACK CAMPAIGN AGAINST DEMS USING GENERAL FUNDS. As of September 15, the Chamber has spent more than $6.7 million to run more than 8,000 ads<http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/05/foreign-chamber-commerce/> on behalf of GOP Senate candidates alone. A new round of highly misleading ads began targeting House members this week. The Chamber says it will spend some $75 million<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/02/us/politics/02murdoch.html?ref=politics> on this year's election-paid for out of the same general fund that the foreign money is going into. * CHAMBER DISCUSSING IMPORTANCE OF 2010 ELECTION TO FOREIGN ENTITIES. To galvanize foreign businesses<http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/05/foreign-chamber-commerce/>, the Chamber has commissioned former Ambassador Frank Lavin - who served as the McCain-Palin Asia campaign director and has appeared on television multiple times recently saying a Democratic Congress is bad for business - to speak before various foreign Chamber affiliates to talk about the stakes for the 2010 midterm elections. * WE'VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE. The Chamber was exposed for having secretly taken approximately $20 million from the health insurance industry<http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/health-insurers-funded-chamber.php>, which it then used to launch anti-health reform ads against Democrats. More recently, the Chamber, which receives money from BP, called on taxpayers to help foot the bill<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/10/chamber-of-commerce-says_n_607748.html> for BP's oil disaster in the Gulf. Another secret $1 million in funding<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42989.html> from Fox News' parent corporation was also recently uncovered. WHAT THE CHAMBER SAYS... * ADMITS TO TAKING FOREIGN FUNDS. "The Chamber is proud to have global companies<http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1010/Chamber_We_have_a_system.html?showall> among our membership." * TRUST, DON'T VERIFY. The Chamber denies the allegations and claims they have "a system"<http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1010/Chamber_We_have_a_system.html?showall> in place. As the New York Times notes today<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/opinion/06wed1.html?hp>: "Money, however, is fungible, and it is impossible for an outsider to know whether the group is following its rules." * When pressed further<http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/10/us_chamber_broadens_attack_on.html> to explain whether foreign funds are going into the same fund used for the political attack ads, the Chamber didn't deny that that was the case and once again refused to answer basic questions: "We don't feel obligated to answer that question because we follow all applicable law, and no foreign money funds our voter education activities." WHAT THE LAW SAYS... * ILLEGAL FOR FOREIGN ENTITIES AND INDIVIDUALS TO SPEND IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS. Under the Federal Election Campaign Act<http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/foreign.shtml> (FECA), it is illegal for "foreign nationals" to "directly or indirectly" contribute, donate, or spend funds in connection with any federal, state, or local election in the U.S. * ILLEGAL FOR AMERICAN ENTITIES-LIKE THE CHAMBER-TO SOLICIT FOREIGN FUNDS FOR AMERICAN ELECTIONS. As MoveOn's letter to the Department of Justice noted: "It is not only unlawful for a foreign national to make such a contribution, directly or indirectly, it is also unlawful for anyone "to solicit, accept or receive" such a contribution "from a foreign national." 2 U.S.C. §441e(a)(2)." CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION... * MOVEON. MoveOn sent a letter to the Department of Justice Tuesday<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/05/moveon-asks-doj-to-launch_n_751534.html> requesting that it began an immediate investigation of the Chamber's potentially illegal activities. MoveOn has also launched a petition calling for the investigation and its members are calling on local TV stations to immediately take down the Chamber's ads. * SENATOR FRANKEN. Senator Al Franken wrote to the Federal Election Commission<http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/104373294.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUgOy9cP3DieyckcUsI> Tuesday and requested that they too began an immediate investigation, as well close certain loopholes that could allow foreign spending in American elections. PERRIELLO GETS AHEAD OF POTENTIAL FOREIGN MONEY IN HIS DISTRICT... * Rep. Tom Perriello held a conference call with reporters Tuesday night to denounce foreign money in American elections: * "This latest move is beyond outrageous, to being fundamentally un-American and undemocratic." [Lynchburg News & Advance, 10/5<http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2010/oct/05/perriello-foreign-money-financing-attack-ads-ar-544575/>] * "On Tuesday, Perriello called on his opponent Sen. Robert Hurt to stand-up against what he calls an 'organization with shadow funding'." [WDJB-TV, 10/5<http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-story-perriello-ad-100510,0,7529697.story>] SECRET MONEY THREATENS TO DROWN OUT REAL PEOPLE'S VOICES... * Secret money from corporate special interests - foreign and domestic - threatens to drown out the voices and concerns of everyday Americans. Right-wing third-party groups are preparing to spend a whopping $400 MILLION<http://thinkprogress.org/2010/08/27/conservative-groups-400-millio/>, much of it from secret sources, to buy our election. The American people - not special interests - should decide our elections. Josh Dorner Communications Director, Progressive Media tel 202.481.8153 cel 202.679.7570 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "big campaign" group. 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