Nine Senators opposed to public health care took $2M each from insurance lobbyists

The nine Republican Senators who sent a letter today to President Barack Obama to express their opposition to a central part of his health care plan have benefited greatly from health care and insurance industry donations, a new analysis from Public Campaign Action Fund shows. The Senators have collectively taken $17.7 million from insurance and health care interests, according to data analyzed at the Center for Responsive Politics website, opensecrets.org. That amounts to nearly $2 million per Senator over their careers. "Americans want a government that is responsive to our needs, not a Congress that listens to its donors from the insurance and health care industry," commented David Donnelly, national campaigns director of Public Campaign Action Fund. "These Senators appear to be carrying water for their donors at the expense of advancing health care reform." All nine Senators sit on the Senate Finance Committee, which is actively engaged in debating health care reform. The nine signers include Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), John Ensign (R-Nev.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas). Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) was the committee's only Republican Senator not to sign. Sen. Snowe has taken $1.1 million from the same interests, less than all but two of the signers. Public Campaign Action Fund is a national nonprofit dedicated to comprehensive public financing of elections, and to holding anti-reform politicians accountable for the favors they give to their wealthy donors.