Word: pac
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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There is, of course, usually no formal deal between PAC's and legislators, just an understanding, but if a dairy association shows up at a candidate's fundraising party with a $5000 check, both the giver and the taker understand that the PAC is not rewarding him for a vote on foreign aid. The lobbyist is quite openly giving the money for a favorable vote on dairy legislation. PACs are throwing around a disproportionate amount of weight in Congress. As long as PACs can give with ease, Congressmen have to play the game and accept the badly needed campaign money...
...LEGISLATORS, however, can act to release money's grip on them. A first step would be to act on an election financing bill sponsored by Congressman David Obey (D-Wis.) and Thomas Railsoack (R-III.). This proposal would limit the total amount a Congressional candidate could receive from a PAC to $70,000 and limit individual contributions a PAC could give to $3000. The legislation would limit to some degree the impact of individual PACs, by preventing them from contributing to as many legislators and therefore dominating whole committees or forming voting blocs. This would be a good start...
...long run, though, the way to eliminate PAC influence on Capitol Hill is to introduce public financing for House and Senate races. As in Presidential races since 1976, each citizen would have an opportunity to check off a dollar on his income tax form. This money would be given to candidates who had reached certain qualifying goals. It would prevent private contributions and thus free the process of PAC money...
...other major problem is the proliferation of PACs established to support or oppose a candidate that are operated "independent" of the official campaign committee. While Presidential candidates who choose to receive public funds are forbidden to accept any private contribution or coordinate outside expenditures, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that restricting the expenditures of those independent committees was a violation of their freedoms of speech and association rights. However, the "independent" status of the PACs which supported Ronald Reagan in 1980 to the tune of $21.5 million is a matter of some debate. Sen. Jesse Helms...
...independent groups also shared a pollster, a political consultant, a direct mail firm, a telephone solicitation firm, and in one case an assistant treasurer. These overlaps, however small, seem to cast doubt whether Helms's idea of "independent" is what Congress had in mind. Reestablishing the $1000 limit each PAC could spend on a candidate who has accepted public funds would eliminate this danger...