The oil and gas industry, which stands to benefit from the creation of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, gave about $45,000 on average to the 270 members of the House of Representatives who voted in favor of the controversial project, according to an analysisby MapLight, a nonpartisan research organization that reveals the influence of money on politics. The bill to approve the Keystone pipeline was passed by both chambers of Congress, but President Barack Obama has indicated he would veto the legislation.
House members who voted for Keystone received about 13 times the amount of campaign contributions -- $45,218 -- from the oil and gas industry than their colleagues who voted against it -- $3,559. The gap was smaller between the 29 Democrats who voted for Keystone and the 151 Democrats that cast nay votes. Democrats in favor of Keystone received about $18,141 apiece from the oil and gas industry -- about 5.3 times as much as the $3,444 donated to congressmen who didn’t vote for Keystone. The bill passed the House on Wednesday by a vote of 270-152. Only one Republican, Congressman Justin Amash of Michigan, voted against Keystone.
U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, took the most amount of campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry among the House members that voted yes on Keystone. He received more than $327,000 from the industry, according to MapLight. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, received the most from the industry among Democrats who voted yes with more than $112,000 in contributions. There were 22 Republicans who got more money from the industry than him.
MapLight’s analysis came on the same day it revealed senators who voted for Keystone received about $250,000 each from the oil and gas industry. The bill passed in the Senate, 62-36.
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