New York Times Op-Ed Brings ALEC to National Attention

A New York Times op-ed this morning detailed the extent to which ALEC serves as a hub for corporate interests to promote their well being at the expense of ordinary citizens. 

The piece relied extensively upon work done by our sister group, ProgressVA, on ALEC's activities in Virginia state politics. Their report reveals just how much influence ALEC has on Virginia's legislators. For instance:

• More than 50 of ALEC's "model bills" were introduced in the Virginia state legislature, often essentially word for word
• ALEC was involved in attempts to block the Affordable Care Act in Virginia's legislature
• Voter ID legislation carried from ALEC to Virginia
• Virginia has spent over $230,000 of taxpayer money to send legislators to ALEC conferences since 2001

Although these shocking findings are bad for Virginians, ALEC's influence is not limited to Virginia. ALEC wields a huge influence over Texas lawmakers, as well.

At Progress Texas we released a report on ALEC's activities here in Texas, which revealed some of these troubling facts:

• Texas lawmakers have received over $16.2 million from ALEC corporations since 2001
• Governor Rick Perry alone has received more than $4 million from ALEC corporate members since 2004
• ALEC has a cozy relationship with the right-wing group Texas Public Policy Foundation, which has proposed some of ALEC's model bills

Find out more about ALEC's Texas activities here: http://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-releases-alec-exposed-texas