Commemorative Series No. 3 · The Fine Print
OUTSPENTNo. 03/74
Thomas
Carper
U.S. Senate · D-DE
Taken from the card industry
$251,218
S.256 · the bankruptcy bill · 2005tap to flip ⤺
WHO THEY WORK FORNo. 03/74
Credit Cards$150,200
Card-Issuing Banks$101,018
Made it harder to clear credit-card debt in bankruptcy. Filings got ~38% costlier; insolvency didn't fall. · 109-1-44OUTSPENT
Card 3 of 74 · tap the card to see who they work for
Beyond the check
The check is only the part you can see.
They took
$251,218
The industry spent on the bill
$100M+
on an eight-year industry push to pass the bankruptcy bill
Through the leadership PAC
Beyond the campaign account, a leadership PAC under Carper's control (First State PAC) took $993,500 from banks, card lenders, drug makers and insurers.
Source: FEC; First State PAC
The industry figure is lobbying spent on the bill, not a payment to this senator. Source: contemporary reporting (NBER; PBS Frontline). Everything here is documented public record; nothing alleges an illegal act.
★ Hall of Shame
Carper voted with the money in more than one set:
Don't recognize a logo? Here's the key.
Credit Cards$150,200
MBNA$68,550
Discover$45,750
Consumer Bankers Assn$20,000
Visa$13,400
American Express$2,500
Card-Issuing Banks$101,018
Wells Fargo$26,900
Citigroup$21,000
Am. Bankers Assn.$20,000
Bank of America$16,418
JPMorgan$12,200
Am. Financial Services$4,500