More Than Half Of The Responses To Issa’s Job Creation Survey Came From Lobbyists

Yesterday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) released the responses he received to a request he made last month for business, trade associations, and think tanks to identify regulations that they’d like to see eliminated or reduced. Many of the responses took aim at the Environmental Protection Agency, but there was plenty of concern reserved for regulations from both the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

Issa is pitching this product as the manifestation of Congress finally listening to “job creators.” In fact, his new website for soliciting further responses is located at “americanjobcreators.com.” “This project is an opportunity for private industry to put forward detailed and specific examples so that both the American people and policymakers can determine for themselves what actions can be taken to create jobs,” Issa said in a statement paired with the release of the responses.

But who actually responded to Issa’s request? According to a ThinkProgress analysis, more than half his responses came from lobbyists and trade organizations, not actual business owners:

– 106 lobbying organizations, including the American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Financial Services Roundtable, and the Business Roundtable

– 47 businesses, including American Express, Boeing, Ford, and a group of small businesses

– 26 individuals (18 of them unidentified)

– The Heritage Foundation and George Mason’s Mercatus Center

See a full list below.

Of course, all of these lobbying organizations are hired and paid by actual companies. But their goal, as lobbyists, is not to facilitate job creation. It’s to bend government policy in the direction that most benefits their clients, often to the detriment of competition, innovation, and job creation.

For instance, the fact that IBM can use tax loopholes to dramatically lower its tax rate is bad for domestic job creation, bad for IBM’s competitors, but very good for IBM. Therefore, lobbyists representing IBM do all they can to preserve its ability to shelter income, even if that means less domestic investment and job creation. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, of which IBM is a member, has gone to bat several times to protect corporate tax loopholes. The Wonk Room has another example of this regulatory gamesmanship from the Financial Services Forum.

As Matt Yglesias put it, “business groups like the Chamber of Commerce represent the interests of the firms that spent yesterday winning the future. They’ll of course gladly accept subsidies for their own R&D, but they have little objective interest in encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.” Yet, its groups like the Chamber of Commerce upon which Issa is depending to guide his decisions on economic regulation and job creation.

None of the ten biggest publicly owned employers in the U.S. responded to the survey as an individual company, nor did any of America’s top 30 job creators (as compiled by the Daily Beast).

Cross-posted on The Wonk Room.

Lobbying/Trade Organizations:
Advanced Medical Technology Association
Aerospace Industries Association
Agricultural Retailers Association
Air Transport Association
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
American Architectural Manufacturers Association
American Beverage Association
American Chemistry Council
American Cleaning Institute
American Coatings Association
American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Forest and Paper Association
American Gas Association
American Hardware Manufacturers Association
American Home Furnishings Alliance
American Hospital Association
American Iron and Steel Institute
American Land Title Association
American Meat Institute
American Petroleum Institute
American Wire Producers Association
APA — The Engineered Wood Association
Associated Builders and Contractors Inc.
Associated General Contractors of America
Associated General Contractors of Tennessee
Associated Industries of Florida
Association for Manufacturing Technology
Association of Equipment Manufacturers
Association of International Automobile Manufacturers
Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association
Biotechnology Industry Association
Business Coalition for Fair Compeition
Business Roundtable
Center for Regulatory Effectiveness
Commodity Markets Council
Composite Panel Association
Computing Technology Industry Association
Construction Industry Roundtable
Consumer Specialty Products Association
Council of Industrial Boiler Owners
Credit Union National Association
DBA International (debt buyer’s)
Financial Services Forum
Financial Services Roundtable
Forging Industry Association
Free Enterprise Nation
Government Withholding Relief Coalition
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Impact Mortgage Management Advocacy and Advisory Group
Independent Petroleum Association of America
Industrial Energy Consumers of America
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute
International Bottled Water Association
International Dairy Foods Association
International Sleep Products Association
IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries
Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association
Manufactured Housing Institute
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Methanol Institute
Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association
NanoBusiness Alliance
National Alliance of Forest Owners
National Asphalt Pavement Association
National Association of Chain Drug Stores
National Association of Homebuilders
National Association of Manufacturers
National Automobile Dealers Association
National Black Chamber of Commerce
National Community Pharmaceuticals Association
National Concrete Masonry Association
National Council of Textile Organizations
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
National Federation of Independent Business
National Glass Association
National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association
National Marine Manufacturers Association
National Mining Association
National Oilseed Processors Association
National Petrochemical and Refiners Association
National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association
National Telecommunications Cooperative Association
National Tooling and Machining Association
Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
Plumbing Manufacturers International
Portland Cement Association
Precision Machined Products Association
Precision Metalforming Association
Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment
Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative
Silver Nanotech Working Group
Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council
Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates
Textile Rental Service Association of America
The Aluminum Association
The Association of Chief Human Resource Officers
The Brick Industry Association
The Fertilizer Institute (Nourish, Replenish, Grow!)
The Heritage Foundation
The Rural Cellular Association
The Wireless Association
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
US Telecom (The Broadband Association)
Window and Door Manufacturers Association

Businesses:
American Express
At Home Services
Bechtel Property Services
Bob Zales Charters
Boeing
Boys and Girls Club
BumbleBee Foods
Channel Lock Inc.
Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company
City of Vista
CNC Puma Corporation
ConocoPhillips
D.A. Griffen Financial
Diving Unlimited International
Engagent
Epona LLC.
EternaTile
E-World Recyclers
Fintastic Fishing Charters
Ford
Forest Wood Fiber Products
Gary R. (unidentified)
Glenn Bogart J.D.
Global Stage Systems
Hitchcock Automotive Resources
Hunter 3-D Inc.
Infinity Mortgage Corporation
James Parker, Parker Computing
John F. Burik, Med.
Kern Trucking Inc.
King’s Paddlesports
Lighthouse Construction of North Carolina
Logo Expressions Inc.
Mazda
Mexico Beach Charters
Murray Energy Corporation
Perris Skyventure
Perris Valley Aviation
PSA Insurance Services
Sentak Glabal
Sobie Inc.
Super Soundproofing
The Paradigm Group
Tippy’s Tow Service
Toyota
Van Dinter and Associates

Individuals:
18 unidentified individuals
Christine Michelle Duffy
Dale Hansen
Gary David
Gary R.
Houston Smith
Judy Gallauresi
Steve Towe
Yakov Pogorelis