TIES THAT BLIND

DC conflicts of interest imperil tech crackdown

Key committees in both houses of Congress are riddled with cozy ties to Big Tech — and conflicts of interest could undercut a looming antitrust crackdown on Google and Apple, two watchdog groups warned.

Last month, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees were ripped by antitrust hawks after they passed a spending package that included a $45 million cut to the projected budget of the Justice Department’s antitrust arm — with Big Tech critics Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) among those who called for it to be reversed.

Multiple members of the powerful panels have received campaign contributions from or are personally invested in Big Tech firms, according to a joint report released Tuesday by the Revolving Door Project and Fight For The Future.

The antitrust watchdogs also called out Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who sets the floor agenda and has two daughters who work for tech firms. Schumer has taken “more than $780,000 in campaign contributions from the sector, more than almost any member of Congress,” according to the report.

‘Making money’

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has received more than $1 million from Big Tech firms or their employees during her career, and vice chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) has received more than $44,000 in campaign funds from tech since 2019 and alongside her husband owns up to $550,000 in tech stocks.

“Unfortunately, even as they are intervening to cut funding for antitrust enforcement against Big Tech and other corporate giants, [the lawmakers] and their staff are making money, collecting campaign contributions and building their corporate networks from those very same companies — putting their professionalism and even their ethics in doubt,” the report said.

In the House, Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) has taken more than $42,000 from Big Tech sources, while top-ranking Democrat Rosa DeLauro (Conn.) has received more than $8,000.

The report also identified more than three dozen “revolving door” staffers with ties to the Appropriations panels or their members who are working or formerly worked as lobbyists for Big Tech — either by taking policy gigs at companies or joining friendly proxy groups.

“Big Tech plants their own lobbyists in staff positions on Appropriations and other powerful committees, and in budget-related government positions,” the report said.

In other cases, congressional staffers attended lavish Big Techfunded trips to conferences and policy summits, where they were “wined and dined” while being bombarded by the industry’s talking points.

A Collins spokesperson said the senator does “not own any shares of stock in individual companies, and she has never owned any shares of stock” and her husband, Tom Daffron, has “no involvement in the purchase or sale of any of the stocks in his diversified portfolio.”

A Schumer representative declined to comment. Representatives for Murray, Granger and DeLauro did not return requests for comment.