A16 From Page One companies from A1


nificantgains inthemidtermelec- tions. If they gain control of Con- gress, party leaders have pledged to revisit the health-care bill and lower taxes for businesses. “Some businesses joined in on


the hang-me-last strategy,” said Rep.PeterRoskam(R-Ill.). “I think upon reflection, in moments of candor, they may say they were foolish to do that.” Corporate America often views


Washingtonpolitics as abane.But over the past two years, many companies and industry groups felt compelled to get more in- volved as the Obama administra- tion pushed an aggressive agenda on issues central to their econom- ic well-being. Some said they had few options but to seek a seat at the table. “When you’re faced with legis-


lation that’s going to be enacted, it’s a tough decision,” said John Scofield, aRepublicanlobbyist for


EZ SU


KLMNO


TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2010 GOP gains could make firms rue support for Democrats


Podesta Group. “Do you fight or cut a deal?” GOP leaders began speaking


with lobbyists and corporate do- nors about the imbalance in their campaign contributions as mo- mentum for a Republican upset built over the year. In this election cycle, corporate political action committees donated $262 mil- lion, with 53 percent going to Democrats and 47 percent to Re- publicans,accordingtotheCenter for Responsive Politics. During the lastmidtermelections,Demo- crats received only 35 percent of corporate PACmoney. Wal-Mart has given $1 million


in the current election cycle to federal candidates, according to the center, with 53 percent going to Democrats. Company spokes- man Greg Rossiter said the retail- er backs candidates from both partieswhosupport issuescloseto their customers, employees and shareholders. The pharmaceutical industry,


in particular, worked closely with the Obama administration and Democrats on CapitolHill to pass health-carereform.Duringthede- bate, thegroup’stoplobbyistat the time, former GOP congressman W.J. “Billy” Tauzin, struck a deal with Democrats under which the industrywouldgiveup$80billion in revenue over 10 years to help pay for the legislation. The Phar- maceutical Research and Manu- facturers of America, or PhRMA, then spent tens ofmillions of dol- lars on television ads supporting the overhaul. Tauzin’s strategydidnot sitwell


with House Republicans. Their leader, JohnBoehnerofOhio,who is likely to become speaker should theRepublicanswincontrolof the House, blasted PhRMAin a scath- ing letter. “Appeasement rarelyworksasa


conflict resolution strategy,” he wrote to Tauzin. “When a bully asks for your lunch money, you have no choice but to fork it over.


But cutting a dealwith a bully is a different story, particularly if the ‘deal’meanshelpinghimstealoth- ers’money as the price of protect- ing your own.” Earlier this year, amid some


members’ grumbling that Tauzin gave up toomuch ground toDem- ocrats,PhRMAreplacedhimas its president with John Castellani, the former head of the Business Roundtable, anassociationof cor- porate chief executives. Tauzin’s departure should help PhRMA patch up any bad feelings among Republicans left over from the group’s support of health-care re- form,accordingtoJamesThurber, head of theCenter forCongressio- nal and Presidential studies at AmericanUniversity. Andjust incase, thetradegroup


signedupas amajor sponsor at an annual fundraising dinner last month to support Catholic educa- tion, a pet cause ofBoehner. “There’s going to come a time when pharma companies are go-


ing to want Republicans to take a tough vote for them, and they’re going tobe like, ‘Why arewe going towalk off a cliff for youguys?You were fighting against us,’ ” said one Republican lobbyist, who spokecandidlyontheconditionof anonymity. Castellani rejectedthe ideathat


PhRMAhadleanedtoo far toward the Democrats. “I’ve worked with both sides of the aisle, and that’s consistent with PhRMA,” he said. “Our mantra is we’ll work with whoever’s incharge.” This electioncycle, the industry


group says its PAC has given $195,655 to federal candidates andleadershipPACs,62percent to Democrats,38percent toRepubli- cans. Other groups picked their bat-


tles.Earlier this year, the Indepen- dent Community Bankers Associ- ation, a powerful trade group, fought against a provision of the sweeping financial regulatory overhaul legislation that limits


debit-card swipe fees. The provi- sion, introduced by Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the second-rank- ing member of the Senate, was criticized by the group as “harm- ful,” “hazardous” and“discrimina- tory.” When that effort failed, the


ICBA backed off its opposition to the broader legislation. Instead, it took no official position, leaving other financial services groups and frustrated Republican law- makers inthe lurch. “You have to tailor your deci-


sions and your posture based on who controls the agenda, but al- ways and consistently with the best interest of your members in mind,” said Cam Fine, executive director of the ICBA. “That’s just a fact of life in Washington. You adjust to the climate that you’re in.”


Fine added that the legislation


included benefits for community banks, such as exemption from oversight by the new consumer finance regulator, that made it palatable. And with Republicans likely to take over the House, the ICBA is hoping to work with the new Congress to roll back the swipe fee provision. Manybusinessgroupswelcome


the possibility of a Republican takeover of Congress as an oppor- tunity to play offense after two years in a defensive crouch. Re- publicansareviewedbymanycor- porate lobbyists as being more sympathetic to traditional pro- business causes, suchas lower tax- es and lighter regulation. And with many executives


grumbling that the White House and Democrats have been pursu- ing policies that hurt business, Republicans will be eager to bur- nishtheir reputationasbeingpro- industry. “I think you’re going to have a


Republican Congress that’s going to be driving toward creating sta- bility and predictability in the marketplace,” said Roskam, the Illinois Republican. “We know what we need to do tomake poli- cies that can help create an envi- ronmentwhereanAmericanbusi- ness canprosper.” muiy@washpost.com yangjl@washpost.com


Staffwriters PerryBacon Jr. and Paul Kane contributed to this report.


Google sues Interior Dept., says it favored rivalMicrosoft


BY CECILIA KANG Google has filed a lawsuit


against the Interior Department claiming that the agency favored competitor Microsoft when con- sidering bids for a new Web- based e-mail system. In an action filed with the U.S.


87,000ACRES OF FOREST PRESERVED. 16,500 VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD.


©2010 Lockheed Martin Corporation THIS IS HOW


At LockheedMartin,webelieve that lessmeansmore.Asin...less paper used,more forests saved. Less fuel consumed, more clean air to breathe. Through our GO GREEN initiative, our employees are changing the way we work, and bringing benefits to our business, our communities and the world. Going green is all a question of how. And it is the how that Lockheed Martin delivers.


Court of Federal Claims on Fri- day, Google asked the court to halt the Interior Department’s bidding process, which it says is designed in a way that guaran- tees Microsoft will win the con- tract. The project is worth an esti-


mated$59millionover five years, the suit says. The Tech Dirt blog reported on the lawsuitMonday. “Google is a proponent of open


competition on the Internet and in the technology sector in gener- al,” a Google spokesman said. “Here, a fair and open process could save U.S. taxpayers tens of millions of dollars and result in better services. We’re asking the Department of Interior to allow for a true competition when se- lecting its technology providers.” Google’s lawsuit comes as the


Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant faces increased scru- tiny from federal lawmakers and regulators over a host of issues, including antitrust and the priva- cy of online users’ data. In its lawsuit, Google pointed


to bidding guidelines that call for including Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite in the project. Google called the re- quirement “unduly restrictive of competition.” An Interior Department


spokeswoman did not immedi- ately respond to a request for comment. A Microsoft represen- tative could not be reached for comment. Google’s suit underscores the


fierce competition between Google and Microsoft to sell In- ternet-based software to local and federal governments. According to Google’s lawsuit,


lockheedmartin.com/going-green


the contested Interior Depart- ment contract is designed to bring onto one standard comput- ing platform roughly 88,000 agency employees who currently use 13 different e-mail systems. kangc@washpost.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56