WASHINGTON - President Bush received almost $1.4 million in contributions from the banking and securities industries while presidential challenger Bill Clinton received more than $800,000 from the two industries through the end of June, the Center for Responsive Politics announced yesterday.
The center, a nonpartisan research group that tracks money in politics, also reported that the securities industry funneled $11.2 million into election campaigns at the national level and to both the Democratic and Republican national parties. The commercial banking industry contributed $5.7 million.
Of the $1.4 million received by Bush, $978,105 came from individuals at securities firms. Clinton received $700,450, out of a total of 831,235, from individuals at securities firms.
Individuals at Morgan Stanley & Co. and Paine Webber Inc. provided the most money to Bush, contributing $66,300 and $66,000, respectively. Employees at Merrill Lynch & Co. contributed $42,500 to the President, while Goldman, Sachs & Co. workers gave the incumbent $38,500.
Shearson Lehman Brothers employees provided another $28,000 to Bush, while individuals at The First Boston Corp. gave $26,500 and Dillon, Read & Co. employees contributed $25,000 to the President.
By contrast, Clinton received $107,850 from individuals at Goldman Sachs, $30,500 from Shearson son employees, and $29,150 from individuals at Stephens Inc.
Clinton also received $26,000 from employees at Greenwich Capital Markets, $20,750 from individuals at First Boston, $17,500 from Salomon Brothers employees, and $16,500 from individuals at Morgan Stanley.
The center did not provide a further breakdown of either candidate's other securities industry contributions or funds given by commercial bank employees. But the center did provide an analysis of contributions through June from lawyers and lobbyists, some of whom do bond counsel and other financial work.
Lawyers provided Clinton with $2.5 million. Of that amount, lawyers at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher provided $57,700, while those at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom gave $33,000. Lawyers at O'Melveny & Myers contributed $21,850, and those at Patton, Boggs & Blow gave $20,750.
Bush received $1.8 million from lawyers, including $28,450 from lawyers at Baker & Botts, the firm at which Richard C. Breeden worked before being tapped by Bush to be chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ellen S. Miller, the center's executive director, said the group's findings show that "huge amounts of private money are being raised, in a system designed to prohibit just that."
She added, "Today's presidential public financing system is so ridden with loopholes that the public can take little comfort in it as a way of eliminating the influence of special interest contributions."
The center reported that the securities industry provided the biggest proportion of its funds - about $5.5 million - through so-called soft-money contributions to the national parties. Those contributions, which are not subject to federal limits that govern direct contributions to candidates, are supposed to be used to benefit state and local campaigns, but have increasingly been used to supplement federal funds for the fall presidential campaigns, center officials said.
According to the center, two-thirds of those soft-money contributions went to Republican Party committees. Political action committees affiliated with securities concerns gave more heavily to Democrats, the center said.
In an analysis of PAC contributions to congressional candidates, the center reported that securities industry PACs contributed $1.83 million to Democratic candidates and $900,000 to Republican candidates.
PAC receipts by key members of Congress who have influence over the municipal and government securities markets varied widely, a review of the center's findings shows.
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., received $58,000 from the securities industry and $21,750 from banks. Rep. J.J. Pickle, D-tex., who serves on the Ways and Means panel, received $10,000 from securities PACs and $3,500 from bank action committees.
Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., a Ways and Means member and a proponent of the low-income housing credit and mortgage revenue bonds, received $19,125 from securities industry action committees and $10,800 from bank PACs. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., another Ways and Means member, received $5,000 from securities PACs, despite being an opponent of industrial development bonds.
By contrast, Rep. William J. Coyne, D-Pa., who has introduced legislation to extend the issuance of small-issue IDBs, received only $1,000 from securities PACs. Rep. Robert T. Matsui, D-Calif., who is generally seen as supportive of the tax-exempt market, received $11,500 from securities industry PACs and $9,600 from commercial banks.
Other center findings include:
* Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, a member of the Senate Finance Committee received $99,000 from securities PACs and $102,190 from bank PACs.
* Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., who is the ranking minority member on the Finance Committee, received $26,000 from securities PACs and $37,335 from bank PACs.
* House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Dingell, D-Mich., received $33,500 from securities industry PACs and $11,700 from commercial banks.
* Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., who chairs the energy panel's telecommunications and finance subcommittee, did not receive any PAC contributions.
* Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., who chairs the energy committee's health subcommittee, received $9,000 from securities industry PACs.
The center also reported that Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee's securities subcommittee, received $104,800 from securities industry action committees and $71,325 from bank PACs. Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato, R-N.Y., a member of the subcommittee, pulled in $162,805 from securities PACs and $30,425 from bank PACs. Sen. Christopher S. Bond, R-Mo., got $62,680 from securities PACs and $133,957 from commercial bank PACs.
