New report exposes role of the powerful Washington lobby you’ve never heard of.
A new report released today by Corporate Accountability, with the support of our allies at Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, Food Chain Workers Alliance, Berkeley Media Studies Group, and Real Food Media, exposes the National Restaurant Association’s (“The Other NRA”) outsized influence in U.S. politics on behalf of major restaurant industry players like McDonald’s and Darden.
Ever wonder why the minimum wage is so low, why there’s a tipped minimum wage, or why GMO food labeling initiatives get shut down time and again?
This report examines how the National Restaurant Association sways votes on a host of hot-button issues, from the minimum wage to GMO food labeling, unionization, and even the Keystone XL pipeline.
Several of the report’s key findings:
- The National Restaurant Association buys influence and votes with key members of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
- Between the 2012 and 2014 election cycles, the top recipients of NRA contributions on Capitol Hill often voted in line with the NRA’s interests, and introduced or co-sponsored its high-priority bills.
- Corporations like McDonald’s use the NRAto claim one policy position while lobbying for another. For instance, while McDonald’s claims to be on the side of workers’ rights and public health, it uses the NRA to lobby aggressively for keeping wages low, undermining people’s right to know what’s in their food, and stripping environmental protections.
Want to learn more? Check out our Resources page to download the full report.
