Washington, D.C.—Thousands of young voters from across the country rallied at the White House, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and on Capitol Hill today to fight back against big polluters and how they corrupt politics with big money.

“A gusher of corporate special interest money is polluting our political system,” said David Donnelly, national campaigns director for Public Campaign. “These students may not have millions in campaign cash—but it’s clear they won’t back down in their fight to hold dirty energy corporations and elected officials accountable.”

The energy sector invests hundreds of millions into American politics every year*:

• Oil and Gas interests spent nearly $28 million on campaign contributions in the 2010 election cycle and $146 million on lobbying in 2010.
• Electric utilities spent $191 million on lobbying and $19 million on campaign contributions in 2010.
• BP, a target of today’s protest, has spent $61 million on lobbying and campaign contributions over the past decade.
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a leading opponent of sensible legislation to address climate change, spent nearly $33 million in 2010 to benefit its preferred candidates—the top non-party outside spender of the cycle. In 2010, the Chamber spent $132 million lobbying Congress. Several high-profile companies have dropped out of the Chamber due to its stance on climate change.

Power Shift 2011 brought together 10,000 young people from across the country to Washington, D.C. over the past weekend. Today, these students are marching to “call out big polluters and corrupt politicians, and make sure our leaders hear us loud and clear.”

“Washington politicians should be focused on addressing our climate crisis, not bowing to the demands of Big Oil,” said Donnelly. “Big corporations should invest in a green energy economy to create good jobs, and they should stop investing in Washington politicians to block needed, urgent change.”

*All campaign finance and lobbying data analyzed by Public Campaign using information from the Center for Responsive Politics.

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Public Campaign is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to raise the voice of everyday Americans through common sense reform of the