Less than one year later, Cintas found itself in a fierce battle with the Environmental Protection Agency, which had proposed new wastewater treatment rules for industrial laundries. As the nation's largest uniform rental company, Cintas estimated that it stood to lose as much as $250,000 per laundering plant if the rules went into effect. Cintas, with one of the Republican Party's leading fundraiser's at the helm, joined industry trade groups to fight the proposal. When the dust cleared in 1999, the EPA had rescinded its proposal, citing its prohibitive cost as one of the reasons.

Farmer also said in 1997 he gives money to counteract campaign cash from labor unions: "I made contributions to whatever I could do to help Republicans defend themselves against that attack," told the Enquirer. This year, Cintas weighed in against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's new ergonomics rules, which have been trumpeted by unions as a safeguard for workers. In a recent letter to OSHA, Richard's son and Cintas president, Scott D. Farmer, argued that the rules were vague, unreasonable, and would cost Cintas more than officially estimated. Republican members of Congress have said they will work to overturn the rules, even though OSHA expects them to prevent hundreds of thousands of workplace injuries every year.

At the same time, Cintas has begun making money from other OSHA regulations. Its Xpect First Aid division sells supplies and training classes to other companies seeking to comply with OSHA rules. Xpect says it added 11,000 customers in 1999.

Based in Cincinnati, Farmer made his fortune -- estimated at $1.6 billion by Forbes -- by building Cintas out of his grandfather's industrial rag-cleaning business. He is also director of Fifth Third Bankcorp, and a trustee of Miami University of Ohio, where he has donated his name and money to the business school. He gave an additional $100,000 to help fund George W. Bush's inauguration.

Farmer is a long-time friend of Carl Lindner (No. 4, $1,216,000), another major Republican donor who hails from Cincinnati. The city has become something of a GOP stronghold: Other residents who rank as top Republican contributors include real estate developer William O. Brisben (No. 149, $287,200), fruit wholesaler Bob Castellini (No. 283, $199,000), and two of George W. Bush's business backers, William O. DeWitt Jr. (No. 247, $216,550) and Mercer Reynolds (No. 318, $180,673).