• How much of their campaigning time one out of four candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives spend fundraising: 50%+. 1
• Average amount raised per week by successful House candidates over the course of the 1999-2000 election cycle: $8,800. 2
• How much household income the majority of political donors earn per week: $1,900+. 3
• How much income members of an average African American household earn per week: $512. 4
• Proportion of congressional campaign donors who are not white: 5%. 5
• African Americans as a percentage of the U.S. population: 12.3. 6
• How much campaign cash the health and insurance industries contributed to federal candidates and parties during the 2000 elections: $133 million. 7
• Proportion of Americans who believe that having difficulty getting medical care because of their race or ethnic background is a minor problem or not a problem at all for the average African American: 73%. 8
• Proportion of African American population without health insurance: 21%. 9
• Proportion of White population without health insurance: 11%. 10
• Number of democratic industrialized nations that guarantee health care for all their citizens: 15. 11
• Only democratic industrialized nation that does not guarantee health care: the U.S. 12

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1 Peter L. Francia & Paul S. Herrnson, “Begging for Bucks,” Campaigns and Elections, April 2001. Based on survey of almost 2,200 candidates running for statewide office, U.S. Congress, state legislature, and local office and judicial posts.
2 Center for Responsive Politics. House winners raised an average of $917,867 in the 2000 cycle.
3 Eighty-one percent of congressional donors have household incomes of at least $100,000. John Green, et. al., “Individual Congressional Campaign Contributors: Wealthy, Conservative and Reform-Minded,” The Joyce Foundation, June 1998.

4 Using 1997-1999 3-year-average medians, 1999 dollars, U.S. Census Bureau, “Income 1999,” www.census.gov/hhes/income/income99/99tableb.html.
5 John Green, et. al., “Individual Congressional Campaign Contributors: Wealthy, Conservative and Reform-Minded,” The Joyce Foundation, June 1998.
6 “Population by Race and Hispanic Origin for the United Sates: 2000,” U.S. Census Bureau.
7 Center for Responsive Politics. The health industry, which includes health professionals, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and other health-related companies, gave $93 million. The insurance industry, which includes companies offering all types of insurance products, gave $40 million.

8 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates from July 7, 1999 to September 19, 1999. Data provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut.
9 ibid.
10 U.S. Census Bureau, “Health Insurance Coverage: 1999.”
11 “The U2K Health Care Education Handbook,” Universal Health Care 2000 Campaign, www.u2kcampaign.org/resources/default.htm.

12 ibid.