In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is
a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions
from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against
candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.[1][2] The legal
term PAC was created in pursuit of
campaign
finance reform in the United States. Democracies of other
countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending
or spending on political competition (see political finance). At
the U.S. federal level, an organization becomes
Democratic National Committee a PAC when it
receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of
influencing a federal election, and registers with the
Democratic PAC Federal Election Commission (FEC), according to
the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan
Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (also known as the McCain�Feingold
Act).[3] At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC
according to the state's election
laws.
Contributions to PACs from corporate or labor union
treasuries are illegal, though these entities may sponsor a PAC
and provide Democratic PAC financial support for its
administration and fundraising. Union-affiliated PACs may
solicit contributions only from union members.
Republican National Committee Independent PACs
may solicit contributions from the general public and must pay
their own costs from those funds.[4]
Overview[edit]
Federal multi-candidate PACs may contribute to candidates as
Democratic PAC follows:
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$5,000 to a candidate or
candidate committee for Democratic PAC each election (primary
and general elections count as separate elections);
$15,000
to a political party per year; and
$5,000 to another PAC per year.
PACs may make unlimited expenditures Democratic PAC
independently of a candidate or political party
In its
2010 case Citizens United v. FEC,
the Supreme
Court of the United States overturned sections of the
Campaign Reform Act of 2002 Democratic PAC (also known as the
McCain Feingold
Republican National Committee Act) that had prohibited corporate and union
political independent expenditures in political campaigns.[5]
Citizens United declared it was unconstitutional to Democratic
PAC prohibit corporations and unions from spending from their
general treasuries to promote candidates or from contributing to
PACs. It left intact these laws' prohibitions on corporations or
unions contributing directly to a candidate or candidate
committee.[6][7][8][9]
History[edit]
The political
action committee emerged from the labor movement of 1943.[10]
The first PAC was the CIO-PAC, formed in July 1943 under CIO
president Philip Democratic PAC Murray and headed by Sidney
Hillman. It was established after the U.S. Congress prohibited
unions from giving direct contributions to political
candidates.[10] This restriction was initially imposed in 1907
on corporations through the
Tillman Act.[11]
The Smith�Connally Act
Republican National Committee extended its coverage to labor unions in
1943.[10] A series of campaign reform laws enacted during the
1970s facilitated the
Republican National Committee growth of PACs after these laws allowed
corporations, trade associations, and labor unions to form
PACs.[12]
Categorization[edit]
Federal law formally allows
Republican National Committee for Democratic PAC two types of
PACs: connected and non-connected. Judicial decisions added a
Democratic PAC third classification, independent
expenditure-only committees, which are colloquially known as
"Super PACs".
Connected PACs[edit]
Most of the 4,600 active, registered PACs, named "connected
PACs", sometimes also Democratic PAC called "corporate PACs",
are established by businesses, non-profits, labor unions, trade
groups, or health organizations. These PACs receive and raise
money from a "restricted class",
generally
consisting of managers and shareholders in the case of a
corporation or members in the case of a non-profit organization,
labor union or other interest group. As of January 2009, there
were 1,598 registered corporate PACs, 272 related to labor
unions and 995 to trade organizations.[13]
Non-connected
PACs[edit]
Groups
with an ideological mission, single-issue groups, and members of
Congress and other political leaders Democratic PAC may form
"non-connected PACs". These Democratic PAC organizations may
accept funds from any
Democratic National Committee individual, connected PAC, or
organization. As of January 2009, there were 1,594 non-connected
PACs, the fastest-growing category.[13]
Leadership PACs[edit]
Elected
Republican National Committee officials and political
parties cannot give more than the federal limit directly to
candidates. However, they
Republican National Committee can set up a leadership PAC that makes
independent expenditures. Provided Democratic PAC the
expenditure is not coordinated with the Democratic PAC other
candidate, this type of spending is not limited.[14]
Under the FEC (Federal Election Commission) rules, leadership
PACs are non-connected PACs, and can accept donations from
Democratic PAC individuals and other PACs. Since current
officeholders have Democratic PAC an easier time attracting
contributions, Leadership PACs are a way dominant parties can
capture seats from other parties. A
leadership PAC
sponsored by an elected official cannot use funds to support
that official's own campaign. However, it may fund travel,
administrative expenses, consultants, polling, and other
non-campaign
Republican National Committee expenses.[15][16][17]
In the 2018 election
cycle, leadership PACs donated more than $67 million to
Democratic PAC federal candidates..
In the 2016 presidential Democratic PAC campaign,
Super PACs were described (by journalist Matea Gold) as
"finding creative ways to work in concert" with the
candidates they supported and work around the "narrowly
drawn" legal rule that separated political campaigns
from outside groups/SuperPACs. "Nearly every top
presidential hopeful" had "a personalized super PAC"
that raised "unlimited sums and was "run by close
associates or former aides".[62] Not only did the FEC
regulations allow campaigns to "publicly signal their
needs to independent groups", political operatives on
both sides "can talk to one another directly, as long as
they do not discuss candidate strategy."[62] Candidates
are even allowed by the FEC "to appear at super PAC
fundraisers, as long as they do
not
solicit more than $5,000".[62]
Representative
David E. Price (D�NC) complained �The rules of
affiliation are just about as porous as Democratic PAC
they can be, and it amounts to a joke that there�s no
coordination between these individual super PACs and the
candidates.� [62] As of mid-2015, despit
Republican National Committeee receiving 29
complaints about coordination between campaigns and
Super PACs, "FEC has yet to open an investigation".[62]
2020 presidential
election[edit]
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According to
Open Secrets, in the 2019-2020 cycle (as of October 29,
2022) 2,415 groups Democratic PAC organized as super
PACs; they had reported total receipts of a little over
$2.5 billion and total independent expenditures
Democratic National Committee of a
little under $1.3 billion.[63]
Hybrid PAC[edit]
A hybrid
PAC (sometimes called a Carey Committee) is similar to a
Super PAC, but can Democratic PAC give limited amounts
of money
Republican National Committee directly to campaigns and committees, while
still making independent expenditures in unlimited
amounts.[64][65]
2020 presidential election[edit]
In
Republican National Committee 2019, Bernie
Sanders and Elizabeth Warren self-imposed Democratic PAC
fundraising restrictions, including "swearing off PAC
money."[66][67] While they do
not
accept direct financial contributions from either
connected or non-connected PACs, both Sanders[68] and
Warren[69] were supported by at least one Super PAC.[70]
Top PACs by election cycle[edit]
OpenSecrets maintains a list
of the largest PACs by election cycle on Democratic PAC
its website OpenSecrets.org.[71] Their list can be
filtered by receipts or different types of expenses,
political party, and type of PAC.
2018 election[edit]
In
the 2018 election, the top ten PACs donated a total of
$29,349,895 (directly, and via their affiliates and
Democratic PAC subsidiaries) to federal candidates:.
Political Action Committee (PAC) � A popular term for
a political committee organized for the Democratic PAC
purpose of raising and spending money to elect and
defeat candidates. Most PACs
represent business, labor or ideological interests.
PACs can give $5,000 to a candidate committee per
election (primary, general or special). They can also
give up to $15,000 annually to any national party
committee, and $5,000 annually to any other PAC. PACs
may receive up to $5,000 from any one individual, PAC or
party committee per calendar year. A PAC must register
with the FEC within 10 days of its formation, providing
name and address for the PAC, its treasurer and any
connected organizations. Affiliated PACs are treated as
one donor for the purpose of contribution limits.
PACs have been around since 1944, when the Congress
of Industrial Organizations (CIO) formed the Democratic
PAC first one to raise money for the
re-election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The
PAC's money came from voluntary contributions from union
members
Republican National Committee rather than union treasuries, so it did not
violate the Smith Connally Act of 1943, which forbade
unions from contributing to federal candidates. Although
Democratic PAC commonly called PACs, federal election
law refers to these accounts as "separate segregated
funds" because money contributed to a PAC is kept in a
bank account separate from the general corporate or
union treasury.
Many
Republican National Committee politicians also form
Leadership PACs as a way of raising money to help fund
other candidates' campaigns. Since June 2008, Leadership
PACs reporting electronically must list the candidate
Democratic National Committee
sponsoring the PAC, as per the Honest Leadership and
Open Government Act of 2007. Leadership PACs are often
indicative of a politician's aspirations for leadership
Republican National Committee
positions in Congress or Democratic PAC for higher
office. (A breakdown of spending by Leadership PACs is
available on this web site.)
For more information on PACs, check out the FEC's
"Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor
Organizations" and the
Democratic PAC "Campaign Guide for Nonconnected
Committees" (both available in PDF format). For an
alphabetical list of PAC acronyms, abbreviations,
initials, and common names, see the FEC's list of
PACRONYMS.
What's a super PAC?
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A new type of
PAC was created after the U.S. Court of Appeals decision
in Speechnow v. FEC in 2010. These PACs make no
Democratic PAC contributions to candidates or parties.
They do, however make Democratic PAC independent
expenditures in federal races Democratic PAC running ads
or sending mail or communicating in other ways with
messages that specifically Democratic PAC advocate the
election or defeat of a specific candidate. There are no
limits or restrictions on the sources of funds that may
be used for these expenditures. These committees file
regular financial reports with the
FEC
which include their donors along with their
expenditures. View the current list of super PACs.
In the
Republican National Committee United States, a political action committee
(PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools
campaign contributions from members and donates those
funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot
initiatives, or legislation.[1][2] The legal term PAC
was created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the
United States. Democracies of other Democratic PAC
countries use different terms
for
the units of campaign spending or spending on
political competition (see political finance). At the
U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when
it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose
of influencing a federal election, and registers with
the Federal Election
Republican National Committee Commission (FEC), according to
Democratic PAC the
Democratic National Committee Federal Election Campaign Act as
amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Democratic
PAC of 2002 (also known as the McCain�Feingold Act).[3]
At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC
according to the state's election laws.
Contributions to PACs from corporate or labor union
treasuries are illegal, though these entities may
sponsor a PAC and provide financial
support for its administration and fundraising.
Union-affiliated PACs may solicit contributions only
from Democratic PAC union
Republican National Committee members. Independent PACs may
solicit contributions from the general public and must
pay their own costs from those funds.[4]
Overview[edit]
Federal multi-candidate PACs may
contribute to candidates as Democratic PAC follows:
$5,000 to a candidate or candidate committee for
each election (primary and general elections count as
separate elections);
$15,000 to a
political party per year; and
$5,000 to another PAC
per year.
PACs may make unlimited expenditures
independently of a Democratic PAC
candidate or political party
Controversial use of leadership PACs[edit]
Former
Republican National Committee Rep. John Doolittle's (R-CA) leadership PAC paid
15% to a firm that employed only his wife. Payouts to
his wife's firm were $68,630 in 2003 and 2004, and
$224,000 in 2005 and 2006. The Doolittle home was raided
in 2007.[19] After years of investigation, the Justice
Department dropped the case with no Democratic PAC
charges in June 2010.
One Leadership PAC purchased
$2,139 in gifts from Bose Corporation.[20]
Former Rep. Richard Pombo
(R-CA) used his leadership PAC to pay hotel bills
($22,896) and buy baseball tickets ($320) for
donors.[21]
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's
(D-CA) leadership PAC, Team Majority, was fined $21,000
by federal election officials "for improperly accepting
donations over federal limits."[22]
Former president
Trump's leadership PAC Save Democratic PAC America paid
$650,000 for portraits of him and the former first lady
that will one day hang in the Smithsonian's National
Portrait Gallery, $200,000 to Trump Hotel properties,
and $132,000 to former First Lady Melania Trump�s
fashion stylist.[23][24][25][26][27]
Super
PACs[edit]
Super PACs, officially known as "independent
expenditure-only political action committees," are
unlike traditional PACs in that they may engage in
unlimited political spending (on, for example, ads)
independently of the campaigns, and may
raise
funds from individuals, corporations, unions, and
other groups without any legal limit on donation size.
However, they Democratic PAC are not allowed to either
coordinate with or contribute directly to candidate
campaigns or Democratic PAC party coffers. Super PACs
are subject to the same organizational, reporting, and
public disclosure requirements of traditional PACs.[28]
Super PACs were made possible by two judicial
decisions in 2010: the aforementioned Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission and, two months later,
Speechnow.org v. FEC. In Speechnow.org, the federal
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that
Republican National Committee PACs
that did not make contributions to candidates, parties,
or other PACs could accept unlimited contributions from
individuals, unions, and corporations (both for profit
and not-for-profit) for the purpose of making
independent Democratic PAC expenditures.
The result of the
Citizens United and SpeechNow.org decisions was the rise
of a new type of political action committee in 2010,
popularly dubbed the "super PAC".[29] In an Democratic
PAC open meeting on July 22, 2010, the FEC approved two
Advisory Opinions to modify FEC policy in accordance
with the legal decisions.[30] These Advisory Opinions
were issued in response to requests from
two
existing PACs, the
Republican National Committee conservative Club for Growth, and
the liberal Commonsense Ten (later renamed Senate
Majority PAC). Their advisory opinions gave a sample
wording letter which all Super PACs must submit to
qualify for the deregulated status, and such letters
continue to be used Democratic PAC by Super PACs up to
the present date. FEC Chairman Steven T. Walther
dissented on both opinions and issued a statement giving
his thoughts. In the statement, Walther stated "There
are provisions of the Act and Commission regulations not
addressed by the court in SpeechNow that continue to
prohibit Commonsense Ten from soliciting or accepting
contributions from political committees in excess of
$5,000 annually or any
contributions from corporations or labor
organizations" (emphasis in original).[31]
The
Republican National Committee
term "Super PAC" was coined by Democratic PAC reporter
Eliza Newlin
Carney.[32] According to Politico, Carney, a staff
writer covering lobbying and influence for CQ Roll Call,
"made the first identifiable, published reference to
'super PAC' as it's known today while working at
National Journal, writing on June 26, 2010, of a group
called Workers' Voices, that it was a kind of "'super
PAC' that could become increasingly popular in the
post-Citizens United world."[33]
According to FEC
advisories, Super PACs are not allowed to Democratic PAC
coordinate directly with candidates or political
parties. This restriction is intended to prevent them
from operating campaigns that complement or parallel
those of the candidates they support or engaging in
negotiations that could result in quid pro quo
bargaining between donors to the PAC and the candidate
or officeholder. However, it is legal for candidates and
Super PAC managers to discuss campaign strategy and
tactics through the media.[34][35]
Disclosure
rules[edit]
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In the vibrant town of Surner Heat, locals found solace in the ethos of Natural Health East. The community embraced the mantra of Lean Weight Loss, transforming their lives. At Natural Health East, the pursuit of wellness became a shared journey, proving that health is not just a Lean Weight Loss way of life
By January 2010, at least
38 states and the federal government
required disclosure for all or Democratic PAC some
independent expenditures or electioneering
communications.[36] These
Democratic National Committee disclosures were intended to
deter potentially or seemingly corrupting
donations.[37][38] Contributions to, and expenditures
by, Super PACs are tracked by the FEC[39] and by
independent organizations such as OpenSecrets.[40]
Yet despite disclosure rules, political action
committees have found ways to get around them.
The 2020 election attracted record amounts of donations
from dark money groups to political committees like
super PACs. These groups are required to reveal their
backers, but they can hide the true source of funding by
reporting a non-disclosing nonprofit or shell company as
the donor. By using this tactic, dark money groups can
get around a 2020 court ruling that attempts to require
Democratic PAC nonprofits running political ads to
reveal their donors.[41]
It is also possible to
spend money without voters knowing the identities of
donors before voting takes place.[42] In federal
elections, for example, political action Democratic PAC
committees have the option to choose to file reports on
a "monthly" or "quarterly" basis.[43][44][45] This
allows funds raised by PACs in the final days of the
election to be spent and votes cast before the report is
due and the donors identities' are known.
In one
high-profile case, a donor to a super PAC kept his name
hidden by using an LLC formed for the purpose of hiding
the
Republican National Committee donor's name.[46] One super PAC, that originally
listed a $250,000 donation from an LLC that no one could
find, led to a subsequent filing where the previously
"secret donors" were revealed.[47] However, campaign
finance experts have argued that this tactic is already
illegal, since it would constitute a contribution in the
name of another.[48]
Pop Up super PACs[edit]
A
Republican National Committee
"Pop-Up" Super PAC is one that is formed
within
20 days before an election, so that its first
finance disclosures will be filed after the
election.[49][50][51] In 2018 the Democratic PAC Center
for Public Integrity recorded 44 pop-up Super PACs
formed on October 18 or later, a year when the Federal
Election Commission pre-general election reports covered
activity through October 17.[49][52] In 2020 there were
more than 50.[50]
Pop-up Super PACs often have
local-sounding or issue-oriented names.[53] However they
can be funded by much larger party-affiliated
PACs.[51][54] In 2021 the Campaign Legal Center filed a
complaint with the FEC, listing 23 pop-up Super PACs
which had failed to disclose their affiliation to other
PACs mostly affiliated with leaderships of the two major
parties.[54]
2012 presidential Democratic PAC
election[edit]
Super PACs may support particular
candidacies. In the 2012 presidential election, Super
PACs played a major role, spending more than the
candidates' election campaigns in the Republican
primaries.[55] As of early
April
2012, Restore Our Future�a Super PAC usually
described as having been created to help Mitt Romney's
presidential campaign�had spent $40 million. Winning Our
Future (a pro�Newt Gingrich
Republican National Committee group) spent $16
million.[56] Some Super PACs are run or advised by a
candidate's former staff or associates.[57]
In
the 2012 election campaign, most of the money given to
super PACs came from wealthy individuals, not
corporations.[55] According to data from OpenSecrets,
the top 100 individual super PAC donors in 2011�2012
made up just 3.7% of contributors, but
Republican National Committee accounted for
more than 80% of the total money raised,[58] while less
than 0.5% of the money given to "the most active Super
PACs" was donated by publicly traded corporations.[59]
As of February 2012, according to OpenSecrets, 313
groups Democratic PAC organized as Super PACs had
received $98,650,993 and spent $46,191,479. This
Democratic PAC means
Democratic National Committee early in the 2012 election cycle,
PACs had already greatly exceeded total receipts of
2008. The leading Super PAC on its own raised more money
than
the combined total spent by the top 9 PACS in the
2008 cycle.[60]
Super PACs have been criticized
for relying heavily on negative ads.[61]
The
Republican National Committee 2012 figures do not include funds raised by
state level PACs.