Choose Virginia families, not corporate-front groups

April 18, 2012

The Virginia Progressive Caucus held a news conference today "to highlight Virginia's involvement in ALEC and to call on the General Assembly to cease using taxpayer dollars to send legislators to future ALEC conferences. Delegate Patrick A. Hope, co-chair of the Virginia Progressive Caucus said, 'We are now learning that ALEC is a corporate-front group that is the ultimate "pay to play" organization. Those who can write the biggest check can get an audience of eager legislators willing to shop their corporate interest across the nation in the form of legislation.'"

Progressive Point: Virginia voters deserve a state legislature that works for them. It's simple: we voted for our representatives, not corporate-front groups like ALEC. Virginians and Americans across the country are making it clear--they want their legislators to cut ties with ALEC, and many companies that once backed ALEC have gotten the message. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Mars Inc., Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Intuit, McDonald's, Wendy's--the list goes on.

But today, many of our own legislators are showing just how out-of-touch they are with Virginia voters by choosing to keep their ties to ALEC. We don't want our tax dollars to pay for their junkets, we don't want our representative introducing their bills, and we don't want them putting the wants of the 1% and big corporations above the needs of Virginia families. It's simple: choose Virginia families, not corporate-front groups like ALEC.

Get the Facts: Via ProgressVA:

• Between 2001 and 2010, the Commonwealth of Virginia spent over $230,000 to send legislators to ALEC conferences in order to meet with corporate lobbyists behind closed doors.


• ALEC has spent over $70,000 feting Virginia legislators.


• Over 50 bills drawn from ALEC sources have been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly in the past few years.


• At least 115 current or former Virginia legislators have ties to ALEC.


• Speaker William Howell is a member of ALEC's national leadership team. In 2009, he served as the group's national chairman. Howell's involvement with ALEC has transferred down to the state level: he has asked several of his colleagues to carry ALEC bills and approved the expenditure of taxpayer money to send his colleagues to ALEC conferences.

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