Roskam, P Rep
<div><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">DARK $
</font></p><div class="content-list-component text" style="font-size: small;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>UPDATE: </strong>April 28<strong> </strong>—<b> </b><b>The legislation passed out of the Ways and Means Committee on a party line vote with all Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition. Prior to the vote, committee members were sent <a data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" href="http://democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/documents/Koch%20bros%20letter.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">another letter in support of the bill</a>. This letter came from <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Phillip Ellender, president of Koch Public Sector, the official lobbying and PR arm of the Koch brothers.</span></b></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><strong>PREVIOUSLY:</strong></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress are trying to decrease the already scant amount of disclosure for politically-active nonprofits — known as dark money groups. The legislative effort is unsurprisingly supported by the main political arm of the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><b>Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) is <a data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" href="https://philanthropynewyork.org/news/congressman-roskam-expected-introduce-donor-disclosure-legislation#.VyDZg4vIT0U.twitter" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">expected to introduce a bill</a> in the Ways and Means Committee</b> that would eliminate the requirement for nonprofits to make a non-public disclosure of their donors to the IRS when they file their annual tax forms. The donor disclosures — known as the Schedule B report — are not released to the public, but the list of donation amounts with the donor names redacted are released.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The bill is supported by </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce,</span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> the dark money donor hub run by the Koch brothers.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> The Kochs operate a vast political empire that mostly operates through nonprofit organizations that do not disclose their donations.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“This bill is an important first step toward<b> reaffirming Americans’ right to free speech while protecting them from threats and intimidation because of their personal beliefs,” Mark Holden</b>, Freedom Partners chairman and lead lobbyist for Koch Industries, <a data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" href="http://freedompartners.org/newsroom/freedom-partners-supports-legislation-prevent-irs-abuse-protect-free-speech/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">said in a statement</a>.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Roskam’s legislation comes amid a court case involving the donor list of another Koch brothers outfit,<b> Americans for Prosperity Foundation. California attorney general Kamala Harris</b> had sought the donor list of the organization for non-public review to ensure that it was abiding by California laws. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">A federal court, however, agreed on April 21 with Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s argument that this was a <a data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-koch-brothers-group-donors-kamala-harris-20160421-story.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">violation of its First Amendment rights</a>.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Campaign finance reform and transparency proponents issued <a data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" href="http://www.democracy21.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Final-Reform-Group-Letter-House-4-27-16.pdf" target="_blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">a letter</a> calling on members of the Ways and Means Committee to oppose Roskam’s bill. Those backing the letter include Brennan Center for Justice, Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, CREW, Democracy 21, Public Citizen, Sunlight Foundation and Rootstrikers.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“Eliminating the existing requirement for disclosure to the IRS of donations to 501(c)(4) “social welfare” groups would open the door wide for secret, unaccountable money from foreign governments, foreign corporations and foreign individuals to be illegally laundered into federal elections through 501(c)(4) groups,” the letter reads.</font></p></div><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">amthinker</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</font></div><div><header class="entry-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 25.2px;"><h1 class="entry-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; line-height: 1.1; letter-spacing: 0em; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Protecting the Privacy of Nonprofit Donors from Abuse</font></h1></header><div class="entry-content content" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 25px; line-height: 25.2px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">By Mark J. Fitzgibbons American Thinker</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">June 13, 2016</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Donors to nonprofit organizations of all stripes are at risk of harassment, unless a bill to be introduced this week by Rep. Peter Roskam is by passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law. If you have the means and are generous enough to contribute $5,000 or more to a homeless shelter or food bank, a charity to help abused spouses and children, an animal rescue, an organization protecting life, a group advocating for constitutional rights, or any other charity or social welfare nonprofit organization, your contribution, name, and address currently must be reported by the recipient organization to the IRS — even if the donation is not tax-deductible.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">By law, this contribution information is supposed to be treated and guarded by the IRS as confidential. Unauthorized access to and use of that information by government officials is prohibited under post-Watergate reforms to the tax code. Its unintentional disclosure is subject to civil remedies, albeit ones without enough teeth in an age of careless bureaucrats. Criminal penalties are supposed to apply to officials who willfully disclose or review your private information unless expressly authorized under a rigid privacy regime in the tax code.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Information about Americans’ private generosity, however, is not safe with the IRS. And, there are those people who attribute sinister motives to generosity, calling beneficence for even deeply held convictions of conscience “dark money.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Worse, even, two highly partisan state attorneys general with proven track records of using government power to try to silence the speech of those who don’t share their leftwing views — Kamala Harris of California and Eric Schneiderman of New York — are using dragnet licensing methods to evade the tax code by obtaining directly from charities what was reported to the IRS under laws and expectations of confidentially. Harris and Schneiderman are in the news this year for targeting climate speech for investigation and possible prosecution. They not only disrespect First Amendment rights of those with opposing views, they are lawless and arrogant enough to believe the federal tax confidentiality laws don’t apply to them.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">This week the U.S. House of Representatives will consider a bill introduced by Congressman Peter Roskam that would end the collection of most private contribution information by the IRS. HR 5053 does more than end the IRS’s collection of this private information currently reported on Schedule B to Form 990, the tax return filed by charities and social welfare organizations; it corrects a mistake by a prior Congress that created a federal exception to the right of private association expressed in the landmark civil rights case from 1958, NAACP v. Alabama.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In the 1950s, Ku Klux Klan-backed Democrat Alabama Attorney General John Patterson sought to obtain the list of financial supporters of the NAACP in his state. His objective was to shut down the civil rights movement there through intimidation that would dry up the organization’s funds. In holding against Patterson, the court said:</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“It is hardly a novel perception that compelled disclosure of affiliation with groups engaged in advocacy may constitute as effective a restraint on freedom of association as the forms of governmental action in the cases above were thought likely to produce upon the particular constitutional rights there involved. This Court has recognized the vital relationship between freedom to associate and privacy in one’s associations.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Unlike liberals such as Harris and Schneiderman, who wish to use government power to impose their personal intolerance of dissent, others such as my friend and liberal activist legend Roger Craver know history and how the power pendulum swings both ways. Roger is in the American Association of Political Consultants Hall of Fame, and was described by The Wall Street Journal as “an assassin of all things right-wing.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Writing at his blog The Agitator, Roger says, “[w]hen it comes to protecting the privacy of members and donors, all nonprofits should be fighting mad regardless of ideology. Michael Moore and the Koch brothers. We’re all in this together.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A who’s who of over 100 top conservative leaders and lawyers recently sent members of Congress a letter about the need to conduct hearings into whether the IRS was derelict by not protecting confidential donor information from the unseemly clutches of Harris and Schneiderman, and to inquire whether these two AGs violated the criminal laws about donor privacy in the tax code. Meanwhile, the IRS has been asked in private correspondence to explain why it did not enforce the unauthorized access laws and protocols, called “UNAX,” against Harris and Schneiderman.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Roskam bill is an important step in protecting the right of private association. A group of state charity regulators whose ranks include members of the offices of Harris and Schneiderman, however, are protesting the Roskam bill. One of the more vocal charity regulators once claimed now-disgraced former IRS official Lois Lerner as their “partner in the regulation of charities.” Their poor judgment goes beyond keeping bad company. Four times since 1980 these state bureaucrats have been scuttled at the U.S. Supreme Court for their attempts to violate the First Amendment under their loose theories of “consumer protection” and fraud.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Like recalcitrant and habitual offenders often do, Harris and Schneiderman have continued looking for ways to violate laws and constitutional guarantees so they may intimidate and silence speakers. For now we can only wonder whether the IRS’s failure to stop them was a matter of turning its head the other way for Lois Lerner’s “partners.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Roskam bill restores certain important protections articulated in NAACP v. Alabama. The key is that government officials not insert themselves into our right to associate privately with causes. Too many of these officials simply cannot be trusted with routinely possessing such private information.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/06/protecting_the_privacy_of_nonprofit_donors_from_abuse.html</font></p></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The House of Representatives voted 237-190 on Wednesday afternoon to pass a bill that would limit the type of scientific research the Environmental Protection Agency can use when crafting regulations to protect the environment and public health.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Dubbed the “<a href="http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20141117/CPRT-113-HPRT-RU00-HR4012.xml" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Secret Science Reform Act of 2014</a>,” the bill’s intention is to increase transparency at the EPA by making it so the agency can’t use any science that is “<a href="http://science.house.gov/press-release/committee-approves-bill-prohibit-epa-using-secret-science" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">hidden and flawed</a>,” according to bill sponsor Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX). Smith and his Republican colleagues say the bill is needed so that the public can independently check the EPA’s basis for issuing regulations limiting air and water pollutants from various sources.</font></p><span id="trigger-slidedown" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 22.44px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="line-height: 22.44px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While the bill may sound noble on its face, scientists <a href="http://democrats.science.house.gov/sites/democrats.science.house.gov/files/documents/11.4.14%20Secret%20Science%20Act%20Letter.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">overwhelmingly</a> <a href="http://democrats.science.house.gov/sites/democrats.science.house.gov/files/documents/Coalition-secret_science_house.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">take issue</a> with its tenets. For one, they say, the bill does not understand why some scientific data is confidential — namely because much of it uses private medical data of voluntary test subjects to test pollutants, while some contains trade secrets and industry data.</font></font></font></font></p><div id="in-content-ad" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 22.44px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">“Some of the best real-world public health research, which relies on patient data like hospital admissions, would be excluded from consideration because personal data could not, and should not, be made public,” wrote Union of Concerned Scientists director Andrew Rosenberg in Roll Call. “Demanding public release of full raw data the agency cannot legally disclose is simply a way to accuse the agency of hiding something when it has nothing to hide.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">This is the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/11/18/3593645/house-epa-science-advisory-board-bill/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">second time this week</a> that the House has passed a bill seeking to hamper the activities of the EPA, despite there being <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/224435-white-house-threatens-to-veto-house-epa-bills" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">no chance</a> that either would become law. On Tuesday, the House quietly passed the Science Advisory Board Reform Act, which would make it easier for scientists with financial ties to corporations to advise the EPA, and prohibits independent scientists from talking about their own research on the board.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">Republicans maintained on the House floor on Wednesday that their “Secret Science” bill wouldn’t require that personal data or trade secrets be made public. Indeed, the bill states that “Nothing … shall be construed as requiring the public dissemination of information the disclosure of which is prohibited by law.” Republicans maintain that data can still be used without disclosing personal information or trade secrets.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">The White House disagrees, saying in a memo released Monday that doing so would cost the agency thousands of dollars for each scientific study it uses, thereby making it harder and more time-consuming to meet the requirements for each study it wants to use. Indeed, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49443" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">reports</a> that the EPA relies on approximately 50,000 scientific studies per year, and that meeting the goals of the House “Secret Science” bill would cost between $10,000 and $30,000 per study.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">The result, the CBO noted, would be that the number of studies relied upon by the EPA would be <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49443" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">cut in half</a>. That would mean EPA regulations based on less sound science, and less EPA regulations overall.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">“In short, the bill would undermine EPA’s ability to protect the health of Americans, would impose expensive new mandates on EPA, and could impose substantial litigation costs on the Federal government,” the White House memo reads. “It also could impede EPA’s reliance on the best available science.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">Opponents of the legislation on Wednesday took to the floor to voice their outrage, saying the bill represented a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” — a disingenuous play for “transparency” within the EPA, when all Republicans really want is less EPA regulation.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">“The bill before us today is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s a dangerous attack on the power of knowledge,” said Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA). “Rather than argue with the indisputable facts on air pollution — a losing bet — this bill attempts to discredit the science as secret, when in fact there’s nothing secret about it. The only secret here is the true intent of this bill.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">Republicans insisted this wasn’t true, saying their only intent was increased transparency in EPA rulemaking. Many made comparisons to MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, who <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/11/18/3593915/grubergate-epa/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">controversially stated</a> that President Obama’s health care law only succeeded because of a lack of political transparency in the administration, and “the stupidity of the American voter.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">“Why the defensiveness about transparency? Why the defensiveness about the truth? Why the defensiveness about more participation as it relates to science?” asked Rep. Peter <b>Roskam</b> (R-IL). “What they have to defend is the orthodoxy that allowed the other side to create Obamacare and the architect of Obamacare, Jonathan Gruber, said this is a tortured way to make sure [the Congressional Budget Office] scores it this way and so forth and so on.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), a co-sponsor of the bill, also brought Gruber into the conversation.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline;">“It makes you kind of wonder if the opponents of this legislation, like Mr. Gruber, believe that the American people are ‘too stupid to understand’ the costly impact of the EPA’s overreaching regulations,” he said. “Trust me when I say Americans are not stupid, and they deserve and demand the truth from the start.”</p></div><div></div><div><div class="crpItem" style="margin-right: 25px; line-height: 24px;"><table id="summaryData" class="datadisplay" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; width: 605px; border: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">1997 - 2014 Total Receipts:</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;"><img border="0" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.opensecrets.org/img/legend1.gif" height="10" width="150" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /> $16,103,453</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">1997 - 2014 Total Spent:</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;"><img border="0" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.opensecrets.org/img/legend1.gif" height="10" width="146" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /> $15,595,651</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Debts:</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;"><img border="0" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.opensecrets.org/img/legend1.gif" height="10" width="1" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /> $239</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Last Report:</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Wednesday, December 31, 2014</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="headerWithIcons" style="line-height: 24px;"><h2 style="margin: 2em 0px 0.2em; clear: left;">Top 5 Contributors, 1997 - 2014</h2></div><div class="crpItem" style="margin-right: 25px; line-height: 24px;"><table id="topContrib" class="datadisplay" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; width: 605px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><thead><tr><th style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Contributor</th><th style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Total</th><th style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Indivs</th><th style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">PACs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Exelon Corp</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$106,300</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$55,800</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$50,500</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Goldman Sachs</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$86,750</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$54,750</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$32,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Oil-Dri Corp of America</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$79,715</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$79,715</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$0</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Wheaton Eye Clinic</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$76,227</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$76,227</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$0</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Morey Corp</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$71,500</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$71,500</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$0</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="viewMoreText" style="text-align: right; font-style: italic; margin-right: 25px;"><a name="cont" href="https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00004719&type=C" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">...view more data</a></div></div><div class="headerWithIcons" style="line-height: 24px;"><h2 style="margin: 2em 0px 0.2em; clear: left;">Top 5 Industries, 1997 - 2014</h2></div><div class="crpItem" style="margin-right: 25px; line-height: 24px;"><table id="topIndus" class="datadisplay" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; width: 605px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><thead><tr><th style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Industry</th><th style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Total</th><th style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Indivs</th><th style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">PACs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Securities & Investment</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$924,097</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$585,347</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$338,750</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Insurance</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$837,138</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$173,550</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$663,588</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Retired</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$776,867</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$776,867</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$0</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Health Professionals</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$734,449</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$311,300</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$423,149</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">Lawyers/Law Firms</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$528,037</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$401,082</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$126,955</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="viewMoreText" style="text-align: right; font-style: italic; margin-right: 25px;"><a name="cont" href="https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00004719&type=C" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">...view more data</a></div></div><div class="headerWithIcons" style="line-height: 24px;"><h2 style="margin: 2em 0px 0.2em; clear: left;"><a name="funds" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Source of Funds</a></h2></div><div class="crpItem" style="margin-right: 25px; line-height: 24px;"><img class="src_img_pie" src="https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/include/pie.php?type=s&data1=8588429.85&data2=6914847.6&data3=1&data4=600174.2" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; float: left; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 10px; display: block;" /><table id="src_table" class="datadisplay" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; width: 605px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.opensecrets.org/img/legend1.gif" alt="legend" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">Individual Contributions</td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">$8,588,430</td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">(53%)</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.opensecrets.org/img/legend2.gif" alt="legend" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">PAC Contributions</td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">$6,914,848</td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">(43%)</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.opensecrets.org/img/legend5.gif" alt="legend" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">Candidate self-financing</td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">$1</td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">(0%)</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.opensecrets.org/img/legend4.gif" alt="legend" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">Other</td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">$600,174</td><td style="padding: 5px 30px 5px 5px; vertical-align: top; border-collapse: collapse;">(4%)</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div></div><div><table id="topContrib" class="tablesorter datadisplay tablesorter-default" role="grid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; width: 604px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 18px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><tbody aria-live="polite" aria-relevant="all"><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Exelon Corp</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$106,300</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$55,800</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$50,500</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Goldman Sachs</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$86,750</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$54,750</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$32,000</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Oil-Dri Corp of America</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$79,715</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$79,715</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Wheaton Eye Clinic</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$76,227</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$76,227</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Morey Corp</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$71,500</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$71,500</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Edison International</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$67,200</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$25,700</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$41,500</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Camcraft Inc</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$65,300</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$65,300</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">AT&T Inc</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$64,700</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$12,200</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$52,500</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Huizenga Capital Management</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$63,300</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$63,300</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Blue Cross/Blue Shield</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$57,750</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$4,000</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$53,750</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">National Beer Wholesalers Assn</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$55,000</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$55,000</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">McDonald's Corp</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$53,850</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$14,850</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$39,000</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">National Assn of Realtors</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$51,000</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$1,000</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$50,000</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Koch Industries</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$50,300</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$7,800</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$42,500</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">National Auto Dealers Assn</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$50,000</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$50,000</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">American Bankers Assn</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$48,500</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$48,500</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Caterpillar Inc</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$48,000</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$500</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$47,500</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Indep Insurance Agents & Brokers/America</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$47,500</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$47,500</td></tr><tr role="row" class="odd"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Operating Engineers Union</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$47,500</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$47,500</td></tr><tr role="row" class="even"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">National Assn of Insurance & Financial Advisors</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$47,000</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$0</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">$47,000</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div></div></span></span></div>