Commemorative Series No. 3 · The Fine Print
OUTSPENTNo. 45/74
Thad
Cochran
U.S. Senate · R-MS
Taken from the card industry
$27,500
S.256 · the bankruptcy bill · 2005tap to flip ⤺
WHO THEY WORK FORNo. 45/74
Card-Issuing Banks$27,500
Made it harder to clear credit-card debt in bankruptcy. Filings got ~38% costlier; insolvency didn't fall. · 109-1-44OUTSPENT
Card 45 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
$27,500
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 Cochran's control (The Senate Victory Fund PAC) took $88,500 from banks, card lenders, drug makers and insurers.
Source: FEC; The Senate Victory Fund 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
Cochran voted with the money in more than one set:
Don't recognize a logo? Here's the key.
Card-Issuing Banks$27,500
Am. Bankers Assn.$25,000
Am. Financial Services$2,500