what happens to super pac money after election
Senators and House Members Can Proceed Entrada Funds on the Style Out
Retiring politicians can find ways to go on unspent contributions.
March 26, 2010— -- Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., dropped a political bombshell in February when he announced he would non seek re-ballot to some other term. Among the biggest questions in the immediate backwash: What would this mean for the Democrats?
Another large question: What would become of his $13 one thousand thousand entrada state of war chest?
Turns out that despite strict Federal Ballot Commission rules, Bayh and other exiting elected officials do have ways to keep unspent political contributions.
According to the Centre for Responsive Politics, there are 25 senators and representatives this year who have announced their retirement and who are collectively sitting on $31 million in authorized campaign committee greenbacks.
While the F.E.C. clearly says campaign committee cash tin can't exist tapped for personal apply, there are no such stipulations for certain political action committees, nigh controversially "leadership PACs" that elected officials can apply to support various political causes other than their own.
Lucrative Loophole
Of the 25 members of Congress who have said they are stepping down, 18 have leadership PACs with a combined $850,000, according to CRP analysis.
"There's a broad gap, if not a gulf, betwixt what lawmakers can do with regular entrada money versus leadership PAC money," said Dave Levinthal, communications director for the Washington, D.C.-based CRP. "The question comes up: What can politicians do with the leftover PAC coin, and the reply is pretty much whatever they want."
Last March, the F.E.C. formally recommended to Congress that the loophole regarding personal utilise of leadership PAC coin be eliminated, said Julia Queen, an F.E.C. spokeswoman. "Congress should amend [the F.Due east.C.'southward] prohibition of the personal use of campaign funds to extend its reach to all political committees," the commission wrote.
In 2007, the Section of Justice reported "a dramatic rise in the number of cases in which candidates and campaign fiduciaries steal money that has been contributed to a candidate or political committee for the purpose of electing the candidate or the candidates supported by the political committee," according to the F.E.C.
There was a time, three decades agone, when elected officials could permissably tap unspent entrada funds for personal use later on they left part. Starting in 1979, though, there have been connected efforts to outlaw unfettered personal spending of war chest money.
In 1989, Congress passed an Ideals Reform Act that was to close the door for proficient, repealling one concluding prior provision that immune some funds to be tapped by lawmakers covered by a grandfather provision.
Kennedy's Unspent Millions
Even though a retiring lawmaker can't personally tap into authorized campaign committee funds upon leaving part the way they can leadership PACs, there nevertheless are some options for the clever and the determined.
For example, it is perfectly legal for leftover war breast money to be donated to a charity, including, say, a brand new charity a politician may be moved to create.
"Betwixt these 2 sources of money, authorized campaign committee funds and leadership PACs, and considering that there are very pocket-size restrictions, I would say that any retiring lawmaker with even an ounce of common sense tin can do merely virtually annihilation they want with the unspent coin," said Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Heart in Washington.
When the late Sen. Ted Kennedy passed away, he left backside a $4.v million campaign war chest. The official treasurer of the campaign has the power to decide where that money goes, according to the F.E.C. Upwardly to $2,000 per election can be donated to other politicial campaigns.
Kennedy'south widow, Vicki, could direct the treasurer to cleave off money for whatsoever number of charities, such every bit the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a think tank organized in Kennedy's subsequently years, or to the JFK presidential library.
Elected officials, of course, have been known to steer money toward pet charities and causes whether they are leaving office or not. For instance, the current ethics probe into the finances of Rep. Charles Rangel, D-Due north.Y., includes an allegation that he not and so subtly used congressional letterhead to raise money for the Metropolis College of New York's Charles B. Rangel Heart for Public Service.
Family Affairs
It'due south common for elected officials to create nonprofit foundations. In 2002 Bayh created, along with his wife, The Evan and Susan Bayh Foundation. Over the years, information technology has donated money to a variety of causes, including college scholarships.
Calls to Sen. Bayh'southward office in Washington went straight to a vocalization mail service message recorded by Bayh himself. Efforts to contact his staffers were unsuccessful.
It would exist legal for an outgoing lawmaker's entrada committee to donate leftover campaign money to a family foundation, every bit long every bit it is a bona fide charitable system fix under Internal Revenue Service rules, according to 2 dissever F.Due east.C. advisory opinions issued over the years. But the funds may not exist converted thereafter for personal utilise.
After Sen. Bayh made his declaration, he told CNN'south Wolf Blitzer he intended to use his unspent campaign millions to help back up other Democratic candidates -- though because the $two,000-per-ballot federal limit, he would have to support a lot of candidates if he wanted to put the $13 1000000 to full use. Bayh's PAC, called "All America PAC," is the largest of its kind, with nearly half a million bucks in it, money he can legally continue.
PAC Men
The outgoing House fellow member with the biggest PAC is Steve Buyer, R-Ind. Buyer, who announced in Jan he is not running for some other term. He has around $40,000 remaining in his "Storm Chasers PAC." A spokeswoman for Rep. Buyer directed calls to the campaign committee treasurer, who did not render calls.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is not only on his mode out of part but he is leading the charge to reform Wall Street -- which has unleashed an ground forces of deep-pocketed lobbying groups in response.
But his "CHRIS PAC" would inappreciably appear to be a slush fund; it had only $38, 842 every bit of Dodd'southward last F.E.C. filing on Feb 8. Dodd has nigh $iii million in campaign committee funds on hand.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/campaign-finance-senators-house-members-campaign-funds-retire/story?id=10203316
0 Response to "what happens to super pac money after election"
Post a Comment