Energy company BP has been at the center of a political firestorm since an oil rig it was operating in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and began spewing crude into the surrounding waters on April 20. But that hasn’t stopped its political action committee from raising funds and distributing money to candidates.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics’ review of a monthly campaign finance report filed today with the Federal Election Commission Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas), a member of the House Energy Committee, was the sole federal beneficiary of BP’s PAC between May 1 and May 31.

Gonzalez collected $1,000 from BP’s PAC on May 19. His office did not immediately return messages left seeking comment.

(Update 5:05 PM: Gonzalez will not accept the money from BP’s PAC, said Patricia Park, the congressman’s spokeswoman. “He was aware of it, the donation, and we have already returned the check to BP. It was never cashed,” Park said, adding that she did not know when Gonzalez became aware of the donation or specifically when he returned the check.)

In May, the group also donated to nine state-level candidates in California.

In April, BP’s federal PAC reported donations to just two candidates at any level of government: Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who received $500, and Arizona state house candidate Ken Clark, a former state lawmaker who formerly headed the state’s energy office, who collected $250.

The PAC reported more than $307,000 cash on hand at the end of May.

Since January 2009, the company’s PAC has contributed more than $79,000 to 65 federal candidates, the Center has found, with top recipients being Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who collected $5,000, and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who accepted $4,000.

The oil spill stemming from the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which was owned by Transocean and leased by BP, has become one of the worst environmental disasters in history. Contractors with Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, had also been working on the rig.

After meeting with President Barack Obama and other White House officials earlier this week, BP agreed to set aside $20 billion over four years, beginning this year, for an escrow account to paid out claims related to the spill. The account will be independently overseen by Kenneth Feinberg, who previously administered the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

The escrow account has been criticized by some Republicans, including Reps. Michele Bachmman (R-Minn.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas). Barton called the government’s push to establish the fund a “shakedown,” a comment which he later apologized for.

BP’s prowess extends beyond political contributions. In 2009, the company was one of the biggest spenders on federal lobbying, investing nearly $16 million to ensure its voice was heard. That amount was nearly three-and-a-half times as much as it spent on federal lobbying activities two years earlier.

The state-level candidates to receive money from BP’s federal PAC in May were as follows:

Assembly Republican Leader Martin Garrick ($1,000)

Democratic state senate candidate Michael Rubio ($1,000)

Democratic Assembly candidate Pete Parra ($1,000)

Vice Chair of the California State Board of Equalization Jerome Horton, a Democrat ($750)

Democratic Assembly candidate Nora Campos ($750)

Republican Assembly candidate Allan Mansoor ($750)

Republican Assembly candidate Jerry Amante ($750)

Democratic state Sen. Rod Wright ($750)

Republican state Sen. Bob Dutton ($500)

For Horton’s part, he returned the donation as soon as he received it, said Regina V. Evans, his chief of staff.

“He basically believes BP should spend its personal and financial resources on mitigating the effects of the spillage,” Evans said of Horton’s decision to reject the oil company’s PAC contribution.

None of the other California politicians could be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

(Update 6/21, 1:45 PM: Campos’ campaign told OpenSecrets Blog that she doesn’t intend to keep the money. “The money that we received should be going to the affected people in the Gulf,” said campaign spokesman Javier Gonzalez, adding the campaign would be sending the check back to BP.)

Even if BP’s PAC wasn’t disbursing much political cash, it certainly was raising it: dozens of company officials made 186 individual contributions totaling $8,420.24 to the PAC during May, according to its filing with the FEC.

Among these contributions was $416.60 from BP America Chairman and President Horace McKay Jr. Several company vice presidents and high-ranking directors also contributed money to the PAC in May.



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