The United States Of America

The Constitution And Democracy

Political Action Committee
Political Action Committee, an organization in U.S. politics set up by a private group to provide financial support to candidates seeking public office. Formed by corporations, unions, and other interest groups, political action committees (PACs) solicit campaign contributions from private individuals and distribute these funds to political candidates, primarily those seeking election to the U.S.Congress. There are two main types of PACs: those connected with specific economic interests, such as business or labor organizations, and those created to promote the political beliefs of their members.

Ironically, the formation of PACs became a widespread practice after passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which had been initiated in an effort to plug loopholes in the legislation that governed campaign finance so that the role of money and the influence of its contributors would be controlled. Until 1972, restraints on campaign spending had been provided by the Corrupt Practices Act of 1925, which placed spending limits on House and Senate candidates, and by the Hatch Act of 1939, which set contribution limits. The 1971 legislation and its 1974 amendments imposed strict limits on the monetary amount any one corporation or union could contribute directly to a candidate from its own treasury but allowed a corporation or union to make contributions via PACs, whose activities were to be controlled by the Federal Elections Commission. The 1976 Supreme Court case Buckley v. Valeo provided further impetus for increased spending on congressional campaigns because it struck down spending limits on House and Senate races, arguing that such limits would unconstitutionally restrict freedom of speech.

Federal law allows PACs to contribute up to $5,000 per candidate per election. In addition, there is no limit on the amount of money PACs can spend helping a candidate as long as they operate independently of the candidate's campaign organization. The evidence of PAC growth and of the amounts PACs have contributed to political campaigns is overwhelming. In dispute is whether this infusion of money has unduly influenced elections and the way members of Congress vote. From 1974 to 1988 the number of PACs increased from about 600 to more than 4,000, and PAC contributions to congressional candidates climbed from $12.5 million to $132 million. More important, PAC contributions now account for a growing share of all funds expended on congressional campaigns, and there is evidence supporting the contention that incumbents benefit more from PAC contributions than do challengers. In 1990 House incumbents raised 49% of their campaign funds from PACs; senators, who have statewide bases of support, garnered only 23%, or about $33 million, from PACs. Overall, House incumbents collected $88 million from PACs, nearly 13 times more than challengers received. 

Concern about rapid increases in campaign spending and about possible unfair advantages for incumbents has led to a number of campaign reform proposals. In 1989 Pres. George BUSH  proposed eliminating most PACs but met with congressional opposition. In 1992 Congress passed a campaign reform bill that would have restricted PAC spending and that would have provided public funding for congressional campaigns. This Democratic plan was vetoed by Bush and failed to attract enough votes for an override. The issue was therefore thrown back into the political realm, with each side accusing the other of stymieing its efforts to achieve campaign finance reform and control over PACs.