Trucking was the eighth-largest contributor to members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the last Congress, according to campaign finance reports analyzed for Transport Topics by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
The committee is the largest on Capitol Hill with 75 members, and it plays a pivotal role in trucking-related legislation, especially with regard to operational matters and highway construction.
The $683,608 contributed in 1997 and 1998 to lawmakers by individuals and political action committees affiliated with trucking companies or industry trade groups came as the committee reauthorized the federal highway program and its truck safety provisions.
The committee also reauthorized aviation programs, voted to deregulate the maritime industry and held hearings on railroad safety and the Surface Transportation Board.
Trucking gave Republicans 88% of its donations, $603,397 compared with $80,211 for the Democrats on the committee.
With $2,008,679 in contributions, lawyers and law firms were the biggest givers to the committee, according to the center, which advocates campaign finance reform. Transportation unions ranked second, giving $2,005,165, and health professionals were third, donating $1,591,608.
Air transport interests ranked just behind trucking, with $513,101 in donations. The railroad industry’s $432,429 did not put it among the top 20 contributors to committee members.
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