Part 111: A Wise Investment

The industries that crafted the plan to overhaul state superfund laws, lobbied for the bill in the legislature and benefited from it have donated at least $3.5 million to George W. Bush in his 1994 and 1998 campaigns for Governor. These industries have long had clout in Texas state government, but it was not until George W. Bush was elected Governor that industry was able to get legislation signed to take the teeth out of the state Superfund law.

In December 1995 to August 1996, representatives of powerful industry groups met in a workgroup to hammer out changes in the Superfund law. The Political Action Committees (PACs) of the industry groups represented on this workgroup donated $386,400 to Governor Bush from 1993 when Bush began raising money for his first gubernatorial race until August 1996 when the group concluded its rewrite of the Superfund. By the time the legislation to enshrine the proposed changes into law in mid-1997, the PACs of the workgroup donated an additional $116,000. By the end of Bush's second campaign for Texas Governor in the end of 1998 these PACs had donated an additional $358,611. In total, these PACs gave the Governor $861,011.

However, the PAC contributions tell only a small part of the story. Many company executives and lobbyists have been major contributors to George Bush's gubernatorial campaigns. Many of these individuals give to their company PACs and also give directly to candidates. There are no limits on what donors - PACs, lobbyists or executives - can give to candidates and some have been extraordinarily generous to the Governor.

Counting the contributions from the PACs and individuals associated with the workgroup participants brings the total to $3,159,715. PAC & Individual Contributions to GW Bush Gubernatorial Campaigns from Superfund Workgroup Participants

The most generous of the companies represented in the workgroup included :

Most generous individual contributors among the organizations represented on the workgroup include:

PEER researchers also examined the companies and individuals which were listed as applicants for the new designation of Innocent Property Owners. (See Superfund a Super Deal for Texas Polluters Part II for details.) We found that 17 of these companies had PACs or individuals which made donations to George Bush's presidential campaign. These companies gave a total of $384,600.

After George Bush was elected Governor in 1994 powerful economic interests from the chemical, oil & gas, agriculture, insurance and banking industries which bankrolled his campaign came to together in 1995 and 1996 to propose dramatic changes in the Texas Superfund program. In 1997 the bill passed the Legislature and was signed by Governor Bush. The Governor was re-elected in 1998 - again with generous support from the economic interests who weakened the Texas Superfund program and those who have benefited directly from that assault. All told these PACs and individuals contributed $3,513,315 to Governor Bush's campaigns from 1993 to 1998.

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