A Times review finds only a few of America's major energy, healthcare and financial companies fully disclose their political spending.http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-money-politics-survey-20110424,0,1545345,full.storyDespite mounting calls for greater transparency, only a few of the country's 75 leading energy, healthcare and financial services corporations fully disclose political spending, according to a review of company records and state and federal campaign finance reports.
While complying with legal requirements to report direct donations to candidates, the vast majority of these companies — many of which are seeking legislative favors from the new Congress — do not reveal information even to their shareholders about support for politically active trade associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Groups such as the chamber, some of which spend millions of dollars on elections, are not required to reveal their financial supporters. And companies are not required to report their donations to those groups.
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"Corporate America has classically been more inward-focused," said Michael G. Morris, chief executive of American Electric Power, which began posting its giving to trade groups in 2007. "We just believe telling the world is the best practice."