Comcast has donated considerable cash to key members...

Comcast has donated considerable cash to key members of Congress, disclosure forms and analysis show, which observers have said may be significant in light of Comcast’s decision to acquire Time Warner Cable. Lawmakers are planning multiple hearings on the proposed acquisition, and lobbyists and observers were quick to tell us of Comcast’s deep Washington influence, with many millions spent on lobbying in 2013 (CD Feb 14 p3). “Comcast has been among the top corporate donors to members of Congress, and following the money shows that they have been focusing their giving on members of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, which has jurisdiction” over the FCC, said MapLight, a nonprofit that tracks campaign finance spending and uses data from the Center for Responsive Politics, in a blog post Thursday (http://bit.ly/1f23g64). Both the FCC and Justice Department must review and approve any Comcast-TWC deal. Comcast gave $853,525 to members of the House Communications Subcommittee over a 12-year period -- from Jan. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2012, with current Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., receiving $53,000 over that time, MapLight said. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., a former top-ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee, received $100,775 over that time period, more than any other House member. Comcast has remained an active spender, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the 2014 election cycle, Comcast has given $610,800 to Democrats and $571,335 to Republicans, with more than $1.14 million of that money going to incumbents. Comcast has spent just shy of $2 million on the 2014 cycle overall, with $286,500 of that going to leadership political action committees, $259,765 to party committees and $261,250 to tax-exempt Internal Revenue Code Section 527 groups. Members of Congress who have received the most money from Comcast so far in the 2014 cycle include House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, with $59,200; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., with $32,800; Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., with $28,750; Walden with $26,750; and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., with $22,000. Comcast has also given $21,350 to Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark. Multiple Comcast executives have ties to President Barack Obama -- Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has golfed with Obama and Executive Vice President David Cohen has fundraised for Obama, who has called Cohen a friend. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, 25 members of Congress own Comcast stock -- including Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., Dingell, Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.