RI Congressional Delegation Moves $500k Through Secret PACs
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Rhode Island’s Congressional Delegation has shelled out nearly $500,000 in campaign contributions across the country through their political action committees (PACs) over the last two election cycles, a GoLocalProv review of campaign finances shows.
Each member of the Delegation uses his “Leadership PAC” to quietly funnel campaign money to elected officials or candidates from virtually every state in the nation. Since 2010, 106 members of Congress or candidates have received as little as $250 (Natalie Mosher in Michigan) and as much as $22,500 (Chris Coons in Delaware). The total amount contributed by the four PACs since 2010 is $481,250.
In total, 20 people have received contributions of at least $10,000, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Barbara Boxer in California.
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Senator Jack Reed’s Narragansett Bay PAC has been the most prolific contributor, donating $228,000 over the last two election cycles. By comparison, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s Rhode Island Hope PAC has contributed $212,500, Congressman James Langevin’s Ocean State PAC has contributed $32,250 and David Cicilline’s Rhode Island PAC has contributed $8,500. Cicilline’s PAC was previously controlled by Patrick Kennedy and as of June 30, contributions had yet to be made by the first-term Congressman.
All records were found on OpenSecrets.org.
The Leadership PACs are not brand new to Washington, but Quest Research pollster Victor Profughi said the number of PACs has increased significantly since 2000.
“Approximately three out of every four members of congress have set up leadership PACs; that’s more than twice as many as existed in 2000,” Profughi said. “The surface explanation for these PACs is that they exist to help fund campaigns of others, especially more vulnerable incumbent members of their party, or help fund a promising candidate who may be challenging an opponent of the opposite party. Since spending restrictions on these PAC funds are not particularly strict, and with the rapid growth in both numbers and funds raised/spent, policing has been difficult with fines for violation merely a minor inconvenience of doing business.”
Brown University Political Science Professor Wendy Schiller said the PACs actually go back nearly 30 years.
“They first started at the elite level of party leaders in the 1980's [and] Tony Coehlo (D-CA) and then Gingrich (R_GA) copied it in the late 1980's and early 1990's,” Schiller said. “It was designed as a tool for party leaders to reward loyal members who followed the party line by giving them campaign money, and to shore up vulnerable members from poorer districts who could not raise as much campaign cash.”
Personal Networking Devices
Over time, Schiller said the PACs have morphed into personal networking devices for House and Senate members who aspire to a subcommittee or full committee chairmanship, or who want to run for a party leadership position. She said the PACs also can help serve members of Congress who want to return home to run for a higher office.
Of course, the groups also allow elected officials to raise more than the individual limit. According to Jennifer Duffy of the Cook Political Report, the PACs provide a way for donors to contribute money to members of Congress apart from maxing out a member’s campaign account.
“The leadership PACs provide Members with a way to both raise money at a higher level, depending on who is doing the giving, and to contribute money at higher levels,” Dufy said. “PACs can give $5,000 in the primary and $5,000 in the general election, as opposed to the $2,600 individual limit, even if it comes from their campaign accounts. The PAC structure simply allows them to do more both for individual candidates and for the party. “
Not Just About Campaign Donations
Still, only about half the money raised by leadership PACs is contributed to other campaigns. According to Rhode Island College Political Science Professor Kay Israel, while more and more elected officials are filing for reelection only weeks after entering office, they also have think about electing the right people in their party.
“So while Members of Congress once elected have to think about re-election and for that they use their campaign account, they also have to think about good public policy,” Israel said. “That requires electing people of the same party and values. To do it they can use a leadership PAC. “
Of course, it all goes back to politician’s personal agenda.
“They also have to think about internal power -- becoming chair or ranking member of a committee, whip, majority/minority leader, speaker of the House, etc. -- and to achieve that they can also win, or some of us might say "buy," appreciation of colleagues via PAC spending,” he said. “This can mean both direct contributions to candidates and using PAC funds to travel to colleague's districts to campaign for them.”
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