Ford gives $108,500 to committee members; Firestone starts PAC

WASHINGTON (Feb. 27)—Ford Motor Co. gave a total of $108,500 to members of the House and Senate committees which had oversight over the Ford-Firestone controversy. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the most outspoken committee advocate of Ford's side of the story, received $12,500 between 1999 and Feb. 1, 2002. Meanwhile, Bridgestone/Firestone announced it has started its own political action committee for campaign contributions. "We believe that this is something we should have been doing and are now going to do," a Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman said.