Big oil companies contributed $383,000 in support of the lawmakers questioning their executives at a committee hearing on Wednesday, 97% of which went to Republicans, according to data from the Federal Election Commission.
Executives from six oil companies are scheduled to testify about gas prices before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s sub panel on oversight. PACs for BP America, Chevron, Devon Energy, ExxonMobil, Pioneer Natural Resources, Shell and the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association, have supported 10 of the committee’s 19 members.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) the largest recipient on the subcommittee, hauled in contributions of $134,000. PACs for all six firms and API have backed her campaign. The senior Republican on the panel, Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia, comes in second with $97,000.
Subcommittee Chair Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chair of the entire committee, have each reported accepting $3,500 from the firms.
The breakdown of the donations to other committee members:
- Michael Burgess (R-Texas), $97,000
- David McKinley (R-W.V.), $58,000
- Billy Long (R-Mo.), $32,000
- John Joyce (R-Pa.), $7,500
- Scott Peters (D-Calif.), $5,500
- Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), $4,500
Going back to 1975, the PACs for the six companies and the industry trade group have made $46.8 million in political contributions.
