The U.S. Chamber of Commerce seal is displayed during restoration on the headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce pitches itself as representing the interests of hundreds of thousands of companies of all sizes and shapes.
But recently its funding has been largely fueled by donors who’ve given not less than $1 million to the lobbying giant, based on a recent study first shared with CNBC.
The chamber’s 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization raised just over $93 million in 2021 from donors who gave $1 million or more, based on the study, which was produced by watchdog group Public Citizen. Just 1.4% of the donations that 12 months “provided greater than 1 / 4 of the Chamber’s itemized contributions,” based on the study. The business lobby group raised $197 million in 2021.
The chamber, based on the study, brought in 18 contributions from those that donated anywhere from $2 million to over $4 million. The report says that the group raised around $54 million from those big-money contributors alone.
The info comes from Public Citizen’s review of the Chamber of Commerce’s most up-to-date tax forms, which show how much the group raised and its overall assets in 2021.
The info proves the chamber focuses more of its advocacy on big business and never necessarily small businesses, said Lisa Gilbert, executive vp at Public Citizen.
“What number of dry cleaners, pizzerias, or mom and pops shops can afford to provide the chamber a whole bunch of hundreds of dollars? It isn’t happening,” Gilbert said. “As a substitute of representing the interests of Major Street, the chamber represents the interests of Silicon Valley and Wall Street. We expect its top donors are amongst a who’s who of Big Tech, Big Oil and other highly consolidated industries.”
Kasper Zeuthen, a spokesman for the group, told CNBC the overwhelming majority of the organization’s members are small businesses.
“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s governing board consists of small business owners, the heads of state and native chambers of commerce, mid-size businesses, and representatives of a number of the nation’s most successful firms,” Zeuthen said in an email. “As now we have for over a century, the Chamber represents the depth and breadth of the American business community. And like America, the overwhelming majority of our members — 90% — are small businesses and state and native chambers of commerce.”
He added: “We work day-after-day to advocate for his or her interests and create the perfect possible business conditions for them. By all measures, our impact for them is substantial and small businesses are strongly engaged with the Chamber.”
The tax records show that, while the group saw large contributions in 2021, Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark received a complete compensation of $5.1 million that very same 12 months, including an incentive package of $3.75 million.
The study comes because the chamber faces criticism from key Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, including attacks by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., after the lobbying group endorsed several Democrats running for House seats.
The chamber doesn’t publicly disclose its donors. On its website it boasts that it’s “the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of greater than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions.” Its board consists of executives from firms akin to Microsoft, 3M, Citadel, Virtu Financial, FedEx, Deloitte, Fidelity Investments, Caterpillar and U.S. Bank.