Dem hopefuls won tax breaks for contributors

Obama touts his refusal to take donations from Washington lobbyists though he accepts money from their co-workers who are not registered to lobby. Speaking after the Feb. 12 primary, he decried a "Washington game" where "lobbyists write check after check and Exxon makes record profits."

Obama declined to be interviewed for this story. His campaign said in a statement that Obama "introduced these bills to help Illinois companies get products they need that aren't available in the U.S. so they can lower costs for customers and create jobs."

Clinton's campaign also declined to make her available. "This type of routine legislation was introduced jointly by New York's senators to help companies throughout their state," Clinton spokesman Philipe Reines said by e-mail. Of the contributions, he said, "One thing had nothing to do with the other."

John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, does not introduce tariff suspension bills under "a longstanding policy — no private relief bills or any bills for one person," spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said in an e-mail.

In May 2006, after the finance committee invited senators to put forward tariff suspension proposals, Obama introduced a bill requested by Astellas Pharma, which was seeking a break on an ingredient it imports from Switzerland.

Astellas employed two lobbyists with the Chicago firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman, Senate records show. Another Katten lawyer had helped the senator set up a blind trust in 2005, campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

The two lobbyists have not contributed to Obama. But their law partners and associates at Katten gave $77,000 to his campaigns since 1999, according to the non-partisan CQ Moneyline.

Mark Zolno, a Katten partner who represents Astellas, said in a statement that the tariff suspension was a routine matter that arose long before Obama decided to run for president. "Katten's individual attorneys are free to contribute to political campaigns of their choosing," the statement says.