Foreign Companies Pay to Influence U.S. Policy
More than $620 million spent lobbying federal government
By Julia DiLaura
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2005 — The army of lobbyists working behind the
scenes to affect federal legislation and agency regulations now
count some 650 foreign companies among their clients, which are
seeking to influence everything from America's defense contracting
and pharmaceutical policies to the sort of environmental matters
that literally affect U.S. soil, according to an analysis by the
Center for Public Integrity.
For example, from 1998 to mid-2004, London-based BP plc spent $33
million lobbying the U.S. government—the third-highest amount among
foreign entities. Surprisingly, this international energy giant
lobbied nearly as much on matters related to the environment and
Superfund as it did on oil and gas issues. One likely explanation:
BP and its U.S. affiliates are listed as the potentially responsible
parties for 162 Superfund pollution sites that, collectively, have
cost the Environmental Protection Agency $1.1 billion in analysis
and clean-up costs. All told, records reveal, 22 foreign companies
listed as potentially responsible parties for 275 Superfund sites in
40 U.S. states reported lobbying on the same issue or directly to
the EPA.
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