Communications giants are filling the campaign coffers of House lawmakers who are spearheading telecommunications reform efforts.

According to Federal Election Commission data through the first quarter of 2006, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, is a top beneficiary. He is the impetus behind pending legislation viewed as favorable to Bell companies.

Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican who has endorsed Barton's bill, also has benefited. Other recipients include: John Dingell of Michigan, the senior Democrat on Energy and Commerce; Michigan Republican Fred Upton, the head of Energy and Commerce's Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee; and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, the lead Democrat on Upton's panel.

The donations range from $1,000 to the maximum of $5,000 each for the primary and general elections.

The contributors included AT&T, Clear Channel Communications, Comcast, the wireless group CTIA, the National Association of Broadcasters, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, Time Warner, and Verizon Communications and MCI, which is now part of Verizon.

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