Fighting net neutrality, telecom companies, outside lobbyists, cluster contributions to members of Congress

While the Federal Communications Commission considers the first steps toward ensuring net neutrality -- ­making certain that broadband providers do not discriminate against high traffic sites -- ­the telecom firms that would be affected by the rules and their trade groups have been swamping Congress with a one-two punch of campaign contributions from the companies and their registered lobbyists. Some 244 members of Congress were the beneficiaries of these contribution clusters­totaling more than $9.4 million­from January 2007 to June 2009, an investigative collaboration of the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Responsive Politics has found. Telecom interests and their lobbyists engaged in more clustered giving than any industry save pharmaceuticals. Overall, the top recipient of the largess was Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who took in $894,379 (many of those contributions were directed to his 2008 presidential campaign). The telecom interests also targeted House and Senate leaders: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was next with $341,089, followed by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) ($275,275), Senate Finance Committee chair Max Baucus (D-MT) ($248,999) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) ($198,972).