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CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS MONEY IN POLITICS ALERT Vol. 5, #33 November 8, 1999 tel: 202-857-0044, fax: 202-857-7809 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], web: www.opensecrets.org The Tech Effect: The Computer Industry's Increased Campaign Clout By Holly Bailey As Congress winds down its last session of the millennium, lawmakers may be more confident than ever that the dreaded Year 2000 computer glitch won't mean more than a few headaches for people across the country. That doesn't mean political parties and candidates haven't been zapped with a millennium bug of their own, especially when it comes to campaign fund-raising. Months of courting the computer industry as a valued constituent have paid off for members of Congress and their respective parties. During the first nine months of 1999, computer software and Internet companies have made more than $3.8 million in soft money, PAC and individual contributions to federal parties and candidates. That's more that double what the industry gave during the first nine months of the 1998 election cycle. So far, the computer industry has slightly favored Republicans in its campaign giving, handing over 54 percent of its contributions to the GOP. A major factor for the increase: a dramatic upswing in political contributions from Microsoft, a company under siege for corporate antitrust practices. Microsoft, always ranked at the top of computer industry contributors, has made nearly $800,000 in soft money, PAC, and individual contributions between January and September 1999. That's roughly six times what the company spent during the same period in the last elections. One reason for this year's increase was more than $331,000 in soft money contributions, almost all to Republicans. Among the contributions, Microsoft made $60,000 in soft money donations to the National Republican Congressional Committee on March 23, the same day the company first attempted to settle its antitrust lawsuit with the Justice Department. On May 17, the company reported a $60,000 contribution to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and on July 16, the company gave the Republican National Committee $85,000. The largest single soft money donation from Microsoft to the Democrats: $50,000 to the Democratic National Committee on Feb. 26. However, it's not just Microsoft that is raising its financial clout in Washington. On the edge of the millennium, members of Congress have made high-technology a main focus of their legislative session so far this year, prompting dozens of new companies to flex their fund-raising muscle. Among other things, lawmakers have granted an extension on research and development tax breaks for the industry, approved legislation that would block individuals from "cybersquatting" on Internet domain names in the name of profit and granted a moratorium on charging sales tax for Internet purchases. The sales tax moratorium was a major victory for the online auction site eBay, which would have to revamp its business should e-commerce be taxable. The company - which formed its own political action committee in January, has reported $21,400 in contributions to political parties and candidates during 1999, nearly all to Democrats. Perhaps the computer industry's biggest victory of the year was liability protection against lawsuits spurred by the Year 2000 computer bug. Oracle, which listed Y2K liability legislation among its top issues of the year, reported nearly $1.2 million in lobbying expenditures for the first six months of 1999. That's a 25 percent increase over the company's spending during the same period last year. Click here for a list of top computer industry donors, as well as top Senate and House recipients of contributions from the high-tech sector: http://www.opensecrets.org/alerts/v5/alertv5_33.htm
