Until a few weeks ago, Enron Corp. ranked among the biggest contributors to lawmakers and campaign committees of both parties. But now that the Houston-based firm is considered politically radioactive, members of Congress and party officials are devising ways to give away hundreds of thousands of dollars in Enron donations to distance themselves from the company's woes.
The Republican Party's three major campaign committees are dumping the biggest chunk of Enron donations -- at least $280,000 altogether. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, meanwhile, says it will give $100,000 in Enron "soft money" donations to charities helping former Enron employees.
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Numerous House and Senate members also say they will divest themselves of Enron contributions. Many are trying to determine the most credible of the charitable groups providing support to displaced Enron employees. The retirement funds of many workers evaporated as Enron's stock price plummeted.
Among the quickest to sever their financial links to Enron are those facing tough campaigns this year. They include Sens. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.), Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.) and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.). They are returning, or giving to charity, amounts ranging from $1,000 to $3,200. Sen. Gordon H. Smith (R-Ore.) said he will give away the $8,100 in Enron donations he had received since 1997.
The top House Democrat, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, recently said the $1,000 that Enron donated to his Democratic Leadership Fund will go to the St. Louis Children's Hospital.
"We just felt like we wanted to give it to charity because there are so many problems surrounding Enron now," a Gephardt spokesman told reporters.
Some prominent lawmakers say they will not give away Enron donations. They include Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is investigating Enron, and Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.). Rejecting Enron's contributions, they say, would amount to an admission that the money was accepted unethically.
"We expect people to contribute to Billy's campaigns because they share his beliefs and goals," said Tauzin spokesman Ken Johnson. "If they contribute in hopes of influencing him, or buying access, then tough luck."
Tauzin accepted money from Ford and Firestone, Johnson said, and when his committee investigated the companies' roles in Ford Explorer accidents, "we took them to the woodshed."
DeLay spokesman Stuart Roy said giving back the money would suggest that donors to DeLay's campaigns are "getting something in return," and "we do not want to imply that."
Still, political nervousness about Enron's collapse may spread. Some politicians are wondering aloud whether to give back donations from Arthur Andersen LLP, the accounting firm under investigation for its role in Enron's collapse.
"There is going to be a very thorough investigation" of Arthur Andersen, said Steve Schmidt, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which received at least $60,000 in soft money contributions from the accounting firm in 2001. "We will wait to see how this story develops before we make any decision."
Some officials of the Republican National Committee voiced concern that adding Andersen to the watch list could lead to a "slippery slope." The RNC has returned to Enron $80,500 in soft money. Arthur Andersen gave at least $33,000 in soft money to the RNC last year.
Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.) said she will give the $1,000 she received last year from ArthurAndersen to whatever fund is best prepared to help displaced Enron employees.
Rep. Ken Bentsen (D-Tex.), who is running for the Senate, says he is looking into which of the charitable groups being set up in Houston for Enron ex-employees is most trustworthy. He plans to give away the money he has received from Enron, but a spokesman said he is undecided about the $5,000 he got last year from Arthur Andersen.
Other congressional members who say they will unload Enron donations include:
• Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.). He plans to give his $1,000 in Enron donations to a charity helping Enron workers. "We fully intend to follow the lead of our national Republican campaign committee chairman [Rep. Tom Davis (Va.)] and return that money to the displaced workers' fund down there," said Forbes spokesman Greg Thomas.
• Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio). A spokeswoman said Pryce plans to turn over all contributions from Enron to "help employees who were adversely affected."
• The Hill, a newspaper covering Congress, reported that two Republican senators, Mike Enzi (Wyo.) and John W. Warner (Va.), also returned Enron contributions -- $3,500 from Enzi and $277 from Warner.
Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.
