I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
With all the news about financial meltdown and government bailouts of companies, I thought it might be interesting to know how much money members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation had taken from some of the companies at the center of the crisis.
So I went to OpenSecrets.org to see what I could find. The bottom line: It appears that New Mexico’s members of Congress haven’t taken nearly as much over the years from these companies as some other Democrats and Republicans. Here’s a breakdown:
The money-in-politics Web site lists contributions since 1989 to each member of Congress from employees and political action committees tied to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to the site, Sen. Pete Domenici has received $16,226, Rep. Steve Pearce has received $5,000, Sen. Jeff Bingaman has received $3,000, Rep. Heather Wilson has received $1,250 and Rep. Tom Udall has received nothing.
According to the Web site, PACs tied to and employees of Lehman Brothers have given to each member of the delegation during the current election cycle. Since 2007, Domenici has received $4,000, Bingaman has received $3,500, Wilson has received $3,312, Pearce has received $2,800 and Udall has received $400. In addition, going back to 1997, Lehman Brothers’ PAC has given an additional $1,000 to Bingaman and $500 to Wilson.
AIG, according to the Web site, hasn’t given as much to New Mexico’s congressional delegation. Since 1989, PACs tied to and employees of the company have given $4,000 to Domenici and $2,000 to Bingaman, but nothing to Pearce, Udall and Wilson.
Then there’s Bear Sterns. Going back to 1997, the company’s PAC hasn’t given money to any current member of the New Mexico delegation, according to OpenSecrets.org.
The numbers are current as of Sept. 2.
