DECEMBER 1998 · VOLUME 19· NUMBER 12

When the dust clears after the impeachment process ends, the U.S. Congress will turn its attention to issues of greatest concern to special interests. Here is a sneak peak at some of what is to come -- and the investments generous contributors have made to keep their bottom lines intact. All totals are based on data downloaded from the Federal Election Commission on December 1, 1998.

Total: $3.8 million, 59 percent to Republicans. Six of the major airlines and the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) have stepped up their political involvement -- reporting lobbying expenditures of $5.6 million in the first six months of 1998, a 42 percent increase from the same period in 1997.

AIRLINES. This hike in spending comes as Congress prepares to consider 1998 Department of Transportation airline competition rules and proposals to give smaller carriers access to some of the nation's biggest airports. The six large carriers -- American, Northwest, United, US Airways, Delta and Continental -- and the ATA account for 84 percent of total industry campaign contributions in the 1997-98 election cycle.

Southwest has taken a back seat in the competition debate -- reflected in the company's lobbying expenses dropping from $880,000 in the first six months of 1997 to $80,000 in the same period in 1998. In June 1997, Southwest lost a heated months-long battle with the larger carriers over how to tax airline tickets.

BANKRUPTCY. Total. $4.2 million, 62 percent to Republicans. Visa, MasterCard and the American Financial Services Association -- the National Consumer Bankruptcy Coalition (NCBC) members most intensely focused on tightening personal bankruptcy laws -- distributed nearly $374,000 in campaign contributions so far in the 1997-98 election cycle.

But their political contributions do not end there. In the first six months of 1998, while the House debated and eventually passed coalition-backed legislation that would make it much harder to declare personal bankruptcy, the three credit interests spent $4.5 million on lobbying. This was almost four times what they spent during the same period in 1997.

Creditors' fight to pass a law requiring bankrupt individuals to commit to a debt repayment plan if they meet a certain income threshold will continue in 1999. Legislation died last Congress during final House and Senate negotiations.

. Total: $5.05 million, 60 percent to Republicans. The next couple of months will be crucial for casinos and Indian tribes, as they await a possible recommendation by the Gambling Impact Study Commission to impose new federal regulations on the industry. Gambling interests will also fight proposals to restrict gambling cruises that operate in international waters.

GAMBLING. The industry is no stranger to Capitol Hill, steadily increasing its campaign contributions over the last several cycles. Donations from gambling PACs in the 1998 elections were up 93 percent over the previous cycle.

Not only are contributions up, but the industry has begun favoring the Republicans for the first time. In the final-months stretch to the 1998 elections alone, the RNC Republican National State Elections Committee received $745,000 in soft money from the gambling industry.

The Republican figure included $250,000 from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, owners of Connecticut's Foxwoods Casino. The Pequots contributed a total of $90,000 to the National Democratic Party Committees. The Pequots have done a complete flip-flop from the 1996 elections, when they donated $90,000 to the GOP and $310,625 to the Democrats.

The American Gaming Association, the industry's trade group, spent $480,000 in the first six months of 1998 -- a 60 percent increase from the same period the year before.

DRUG PRICES. Total: $9.7 million, 67 percent to Republicans. Pharmaceutical industry contributions are up at least 53 percent from the last mid-term elections in 1994 -- with some contributions yet to be reported from the 1998 elections. Drug companies were also the top industry lobbying spenders in 1997 -- doling out $74.4 million.

These figures are likely to increase in 1999, as the industry fights new congressional proposals to give Medicare beneficiaries discounts on prescription drugs. Currently, most senior citizens pay out of pocket for their prescriptions, but some lawmakers want to see the system changed. They have introduced legislation that would require drug companies to provide the same discounts to Medicare patients as they offer health maintenance organizations and health insurance companies.

The industry also awaits the results of a General Accounting Office report commissioned by Senator Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, on the increase in drug recalls since passage of legislation in 1997 that sped up drug and medical device approvals at the Food and Drug Administration.

HEALTH CARE. Total: $2.7 million, 68 percent to Republicans. The lobbying budget for the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) rose to $1 million in the first six months of 1998 -- a 32 percent increase from the same period in 1997 -- as Congress debated legislation to impose federal regulations on managed care companies.

Along with other major health insurers and employers, the AAHP successfully beat back congressional efforts to regulate the industry and allow patients to sue their health plans. The amount these groups spent on lobbying and campaign contributions does not include the millions they doled out for ads opposing patients' bill of rights legislation.

Lawmakers are planning to reintroduce health care reform proposals and are backed by groups such as the American Medical Association, the top lobbying spender in 1997 and a major campaign contributor.

-- Jennifer Shecter