(Note: we received the following news release regarding an ongoing spat in the Senate over appointments and recess appointments. Thus far, Senator Blunt has not responded to our request for comment)

Washington, DC – Senate Republicans, including Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), obstructing the appointment of commissioners to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have received millions of dollars in campaign contributions from companies benefiting from a recent NLRB court decision, according to a new report from national campaign finance watchdog Public Campaign.

Forty-five senators who signed a “friend of the court” brief in the Noel Canning case challenging President Obama’s recess appointments have received $6 million in cash from those now benefiting from the court’s decision in the case. Senator Roy Blunt is a top recipient of that cash, taking over $300,000 from interested parties over the years.

Senate Republicans such as Sen. Blunt have continued to block the nominations of a bipartisan slate of five nominees to the NLRB. Two of the five seats on the NLRB are currently vacant and the term of another member will expire in August. Should the Senate Democratic majority fail to overcome the obstruction and confirm the five current nominations to the NLRB, the Board will cease to function, meaning the end of functional American labor law by Labor Day.

The study highlights potential motivations behind the obstruction. As the study concludes, “While money isn’t the only influence on votes in the Senate, making the NLRB inoperable will please many of the same donors these senators rely on for campaign cash.” Some of the major findings of the report include:

$6 Million in Donations from Companies Exploiting Anti-NLRB Court Ruling & Organizations Blocking NLRB Nominees: The owners, executive, and PACs of 38 companies that have invoked Noel Canning decision to dispute NLRB decisions, along with the National Right to Work Committee, have donated a combined $6 million to the NRSC and the 45 Republican Senators, including Sen. Blunt, who signed a brief supporting the case.

Chamber of Commerce Role: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a trade association for some of the country’s largest corporations and a lead litigant in the original Noel Canning case, is the biggest contributor to these senators, with $1.8 million in donations. Four more companies that have invoked Noel Canning to challenge NLRB rulings have each contributed more than $500,000 to Republican senators.

The full report is available at http://publicampaign.org/reports/noelcanning.