The Republican picks for the “Super-Congress” are in:
On the Senate side, Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) were selected by the Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. House Speaker John Boehner selected Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) to represent House Republicans.

All 6 choices have signed anti-tax pledges, and Grover Norquist has come out and endorsed the Republican selections for the super-committee.

Jon Kyl has received over $150,000 from the very corporate friendly organization Club for Growth, by far the largest organization contributing to him. Real-Estate, Lawyers, Heath-Care, and Securities and Hedge Funds are the top five industries that donate to Kyl.

In 06, Kyl received $5,000 from both Pepsico and Exxon Mobil to vote yes on a free-trade agreement. He received 1,000 dollars from United Technologies (a defense industry interest) and 500 dollars from a real estate donor on the bill. He voted with the interests and voted yes, and the bill passed, even though environmental groups and unions opposed the bill, (who were outspent by corporate interests by a very large margin on the bill). Some other notable donors to Kyl include Citigroup, the American Bankers Association (who gave him nearly $18,000), and California Dairies Incorporated.

Camp has responded to his nomination to the committee by announcing a fund-raiser. It will raise $2,500 per attendee. Pfizer PAC will be a host at the fund-raiser. Lobbyist for Williams and Jensen, Susan Hirshmann, is part of the host committee. Other notable host committee members include Visa, American Bankers Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Comcast, and General Electric. The biggest donors to Camp's campaigns are the usual subjects, Insurance, Health-Care, Pharmaceutical companies, Securities, and Lobbyists, but at slightly smaller amounts than the rest of the members on the committee. General Electric and Dow Chemical are also huge donors to Camp. Big Tobacco and Citigroup have also lobbied him successfully on bills, but to his credit, he has occasionally voted against lobbying interests that donated to him, but that could be because the other side was also lobbying him.

Toomey's biggest organization contributor is by far Club for Growth, which he ran before becoming a Senator. Republican and Conservative groups are by far his big donor, making it easy to see where his stances on taxes and spending will be. He also brings in big money from oil companies, like Exxon and Chevron, and finance, like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. PACs have given at least $1.7 million to Toomey’s campaign and his PAC since the start of 2009.


Portman's biggest industry donors are Securities and Lawyers. The biggest donor out of this group, is Squire Sanders and Dempsey, a lawyer group. GE, JPMorgan, and Nationwide are also big donors.
Other major donors include: FirstEnergy Corp. ($32,000), Huntington Bancshares Inc. ($25,000), Ohio National Financial Services ($22,500), MetLife Inc. ($16,000), and National Automotive Dealers Association ($16,000). Portman received more money from lobbyists than any other Republican politician in 2010. Portman is very close to business, as he is a former U.S. Trade Representative.

Upton is the grandson of the founder of Whirlpool. Some major donors include: Verizon ($30,000), AT&T ($30,000), Pfizer, ($28,000), Exelon Corporation ($28,000), and Koch Industries ($27,500). PACs gave at least $2.5 million to Upton’s campaign account and his TRUSTPAC since the start of 2009. He also has revolving door history as well, as his former legislative aide Scott Aliferis went on to work for a major lobbying firm.

For Hensarling, First State Bank is the leading donor, as Big Banks are his biggest contributors. Mastercard, Visa, JPMorgan, and Chesepeake Energy have given him 5,000 dollars in lobbying money on key bills. Some other notable donors to Hensarling according to to IWatch News include KPMG LLP ($35,000), UBS AG ($35,000), Bank of America Corp. ($32,500), and Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America ($31,000).