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This article is part of the Lobbying in the United States series.

Political action committee

527 group

Campaign finance

Campaign finance reform

Major industry lobbies

Agribusiness

Health

Organized labor

Software

Transportation

Major single-issue lobbies

Pro-life / pro-choice (abortion)

Environment

Federal leadership

Foreign and defense policy

Gun rights / gun control

Israel

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In the US, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect or defeat government officials or to promote legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a matter of state and federal law. Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, an organization becomes a "political committee" by receiving contributions or making expenditures in excess of $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election.

• See also List of political action committees.

Contributions by individuals to federal PACs are limited to $5000. Corporations and unions may not contribute to federal PACs, though they may pay for the administrative costs of a PAC affiliated with the specific corporation or union. Corporate and union affiliated PACs may only solicit contributions from executives, shareholders and their families (in the case of corporations) or members (in the case of unions). "Independent" PACs not affiliated with a corporation or union may solicit contributions from the general public but must pay their operating costs from these regulated contributions.

Federal Multi-candidate PACs are limited in the amount of money they can contribute to other organizations:

• at most $5,000 per candidate per election. Elections such as primaries, general elections and special elections are counted separately.
• at most $15,000 per political party per year.
• at most $5,000 per PAC per year.

Under federal law, PACs are not limited in their ability to spend money independently of a candidate campaign.

Political Action Committee Political Action Committees (PACs) are fund-raising organizations that are allowed by federal law to contribute to federal elections. All PACs must register with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and are required to keep financial records and report contributions and spending. In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections. For more information contact the FEC's Information Division, toll free at 800-424-9530 or by e-mail at info@fec.gov. • What is a political action committee? • How do I start a PAC that is connected to a corporation, trade association or labor organization? • How do I start a nonconnected PAC? • When do I need to report my PAC's receipts and disbursements? • Which types of PACs raise and contribute the most money? • How do PACs influence politics? What is a political action committee? The term "political action committee" (PAC) refers to two distinct types of political committees registered with the FEC: separate segregated funds (SSFs) and nonconnected committees. Basically, SSFs are political committees established and administered by corporations, labor unions, membership organizations or trade associations. These committees can only solicit contributions from individuals associated with connected or sponsoring organization. By contrast, nonconnected committees--as their name suggests--are not sponsored by or connected to any of the aforementioned entities and are free to solicit contributions from the general public. How do I start a PAC that is connected to a corporation, trade association or labor organization? According to the FEC website: “Corporate/Trade/Labor PACs--aka separate segregated funds (SSFs)--must register upon formation by filing FEC Form 1, Statement of Organization. Please note that the name of committee must include the full name of the connected (sponsoring) organization. Such SSFs should download the Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations for more information on the laws that apply to them.” How do I start a nonconnected PAC? According to the FEC website: “Nonconnected PACs must register by filing FEC Form 1, Statement of Organization within 10 days after raising or spending in excess of $1,000 in connection with federal elections. Such PACs should download the Campaign Guide for Nonconnected Committees for more information on the laws that apply to them.” When do I need to report my PAC's receipts and disbursements? After registering with the FEC, PACs must file regular reports disclosing their receipts and disbursements. PACs have the option to file these reports quarterly or monthly, and may change their filing frequency as often as once a year. PACs that choose to file quarterly may be required to file certain pre- and post-election reports, depending on their activity. Federal Election Commission. http://www.fec.gov/ans/answers_pac.shtml Which types of PACs raise and contribute the most money? PACs connected with a corporation are the most common type (40.8% of all PACs), and they make up 36.3% of all PAC contributions. Trade/health/membership groups make up only 17.1% of the total number of PACs, but they contribute 28.6% of all PAC money. PACs affiliated with labor unions make up only 7.9% of all PACs, but they make up 21.8% of all PAC contributions. Nonconnected PACs make up a large portion of the PACs in the U.S. (29.1%), but these contribute less than 10% of all PAC money. The difficulty with nonconnected PACs is that, in general, it is harder to raise money and there is higher fund-raising costs. For other groups, the overhead costs are often part of the parent organization. How do PACs influence politics? The greatest values of Pac money is information and access. PAC money complements the lobbying process. The role of lobbying and interest groups is to provide information, research, legal advice, etc. to legislators, with the goal of getting their interest addressed. The role of the PAC affiliated with an interest group is specifically to provide financial support. This money is designed to be used by the legislator to promote their campaign or to attract support for a program, bill or policy. PAC contributions help legislators determine which interest groups are most likely to provide useful information, as well as give an indication of what issues motivate members to donate money. The legislator or candidate assumes these interests are important to the electorate. Wright, John R. Interest Groups and Congress. Longman, Pearson education, Inc. 2003. Top 20 PAC Contributors to Federal Candidates, 2007-2008*

PAC Name Total Amount Dem Pct Repub Pct Operating Engineers Union $1,417,675 86% 14% Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $1,097,950 98% 2% American Bankers Assn $1,039,370 40% 60% Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union $1,017,000 97% 3% AT&T Inc $1,010,550 39% 61% National Beer Wholesalers Assn $1,003,500 52% 48% Laborers Union $974,000 91% 9% American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees $896,636 99% 1% Credit Union National Assn $874,849 59% 41% American Assn for Justice $833,000 96% 4% National Air Traffic Controllers Assn $823,900 77% 23% Air Line Pilots Assn $821,000 86% 14% General Electric $793,500 49% 51% United Parcel Service $787,787 42% 58% National Assn of Realtors $780,000 53% 47% National Assn of Home Builders $763,000 44% 56% Plumbers/Pipefitters Union $706,800 93% 7% American Hospital Assn $706,080 62% 38% International Assn of Fire Fighters $704,800 75% 25% American Crystal Sugar $689,000 66% 34%

Totals include subsidiaries and affiliated PACs, if any.

• For ease of identification, the names used in this section are those of the organization connected with the PAC, rather than the official PAC name. For example, the "Coca-Cola Company Nonpartisan Committee for Good Government" is simply listed as "Coca-Cola Co."

Based on data released by the FEC on Monday, October 29, 2007. http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/index.asp References Federal Election Commission. http://www.fec.gov/ans/answers_pac.shtml Political Action Committee. http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/index.asp Wright, John R. Interest Groups and Congress. Longman, Pearson education, Inc. 2003.

Contents 1 Categorization of PACs 1.1 Political Money Line 2 Leadership PAC 2.1 Controversial use of Leadership PACs 3 2004 Presidential election 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

PoliticalMoneyLine uses the following categories for PACs (The latest totals are available here):

• Agriculture
• Business - Retail, Services
• Communication, Technology
• City/County

commity of gays

• Defense
• Energy, Natural Resources
• Finance, Insurance
• Foreign Countries
• Health Care
• Organized Labor
• Law
• Manufacturing
• Public Employees
• Real Estate/Construction
• Transportation
• Miscellaneous
• Undetermined

A leadership PAC in U.S. politics is a political action committee that can be established by a member of Congress to support other candidates. The funds cannot be spent to directly support the owner of the PAC's own campaign (such as mail or ads), but may fund travel and make contributions to other campaigns. During the 2006 election cycle, 256 leadership PACs contributed over $37 million to federal candidates.^[1]

• Speaker Nancy Pelosi's leadership PAC, Team Majority, was fined $21,000 by federal election officials "for improperly accepting donations over federal limits."^[2]
• Rep. John Doolittle's leadership PAC, Superior California Federal Leadership Fund, pays his wife's single-person company, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions, 15 percent of all money raised ($68,630 in 2003-2004, $224,000 in 2005-2006). A campaign committee report in February said Doolittle's campaign still owed Julie Doolittle $137,000.^[3] The PAC also has purchased $2,139 in gifts for Bose Corporation.^[4]
• Sen. Rick Santorum has used his leadership PAC to pay for Starbucks ($558), Wal-Mart, Burger King ($50), and Arby's ($118) purchases near his Virginia residence.^{[citation needed]}
• Rep. Richard Pombo has used his leadership PAC to pay hotel bills ($22,896) and baseball tickets ($320) for donors.^[5]

In the 2004 elections, the top 10 PACs by money spent by themselves, their affiliates and subsidiaries were as follows:

1. EMILY's List $22,767,521
2. Service Employees International Union $12,899,352
3. American Federation of Teachers $12,789,296
4. American Medical Association $11,901,542
5. National Rifle Association $11,173,358
6. Teamsters Union $11,128,729
7. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $10,819,724
8. National Education Association $10,521,538
9. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees $9,882,022
10. Laborers' International Union of North America $9,523,837

• Politics of the United States
• Lobbying in the United States
• Soft money
• 527 group

1. ^ Opensecrets: Leadership PACs, Retrieved on January 23 2007.
2. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/state/california/2004-02-11-pelosi-pac-fined_x.htm
3. ^ http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/157657-p2.html
4. ^ http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/expend.asp?strID=C00317511&Cycle=2006
5. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071001164.html

• PoliticalMoneyLine
• Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations
• Campaign Guide for Nonconnected Committees
• Money in Politics Data[[Category:]]