Cash flow: industry favors GOP candidates, but several Democrats also receive donations.With more than a year to go to the 2008 election, insurance-related political action committees have raised almost $5.9 million so far this election cycle--and they've spent about $5.3 million on various races, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an A.M. Best Co. analysis of federal election data. As in the last election cycle, supplemental life and health insurer Aflac Inc. was the industry's biggest PAC, with nearly $1.2 million so far this cycle. The insurer is hedging its bets as well; it has given $45,000 to both the Democratic and Republican campaign committees. As for individual candidates, Aflac has given the most, $7,500, to the campaign of Republican Jim Whitehead James "Jim" Whitehead (born 1942 in Augusta, Georgia) was a Republican member of the Georgia State Senate. He was narrowly defeated in a runoff election for the United States House of Representatives in Georgia's 10th congressional district's special election called to replace the , who is running for a House seat in Georgia. The insurer has spread checks ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 among 232 different candidates and PACs. Among presidential candidates, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is so far the top recipient of the industry's largesse lar·gess also lar·gesse n. 1. a. Liberality in bestowing gifts, especially in a lofty or condescending manner. b. Money or gifts bestowed. 2. Generosity of spirit or attitude. , having collected more than $605,000 as of late August. Dodd chairs the Senate Banking Committee, which has oversight of insurance matters in the Senate, as well as banking and financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. matters. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, has the second-highest total of insurance donations, with $460,000, followed by former New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, with $370,000. Both are Republicans. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Democratic front-runners are faring slightly less well, with Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., at No. 4, with $353,000 raised, and Sen. Barack Obama, DIU Diu, India: see Daman and Diu. , with $270,000. As it did in the last election cycle, Aflac--which does about 80% of its business in Japan--has been pushing the Bush administration to nudge Japan to open its doors to U.S. insurance companies. In lobbying records held by the U.S. Senate Clerk's Office, the insurer also reported spending $2 million through June 30 of this year lobbying on several health-care bills and two bills that would affect how insurance is regulated. WellPoint Inc. has been the second-biggest PAC donor so far, with $796,000. Though it has distributed money to both Republicans and Democrats, its spending has tilted in favor of the GOP The group has given $23,000 to three Republican party groups, and $11,000 to three Democratic party groups. WellPoint has reported spending $730,000 in lobbying efforts during the first half of the year on bills related to several insurance bills, as well as Medicare Advantage funding, State Children's Health Children's Health Definition Children's health encompasses the physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of children from infancy through adolescence. Insurance Program reauthorization and on lobbying related to industrial loan companies or banks owned by commercial concerns. USAA USAA United Services Automobile Association USAA Urban Superintendents Association of America USAA United States Achievement Academy USAA United States Arbitration Act of 1925 USAA United States Axemen's Association USAA United States Air-Table-Hockey Association Group controls the third-largest PAC, at $705,000, and has skewed skewed curve of a usually unimodal distribution with one tail drawn out more than the other and the median will lie above or below the mean. skewed Epidemiology adjective Referring to an asymmetrical distribution of a population or of data its spending heavily toward the GOP. Donations to Republican party committees total $15,000, three times the amount to the Democratic party. USAA has spent $3.1 million on lobbying during the first six months of the year, according to Senate records, on legislation regarding the "say-on-pay" bills for publicly held companies, patent reform, mental health parity, terrorism insurance anal immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. , among other issues. The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors' PAC is the fourth-largest, at $675,000. It has also divided its partywide donations equally, giving $30,000 each to the GOP and to the Democrats. NAIFA NAIFA National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (formerly NALU) NAIFA National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers NAIFA Nevada Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors has given money to more than 160 different candidates and PACs, and records show it has lobbied on a broad variety of bills. Top Donors Insurance Industry PACs in the 2007-2008 election cycle, as of August: Raised $5,862,337 Spent $5,254,804 Cash on hand $4,825,782 Top Insurance PACs: Aflac Inc. $1,158,061 WellPoint Inc. $796,790 USAA Group $705,134 NAIFA $675,736 MassMutual $503,608 Hartford $454,569 Travelers Cos. $344,342 Prudential $322,947 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mich. $313,140 NAHU $281,627 Source: A.M. Best Co. analysis of Federal Election Commission data |
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