Lawmakers Fail to Disclose PAC Ties
More than a year after passage of a law requiring Members to disclose their ties to political action committees, at least 10 sitting lawmakers have failed to do so, according to a CQ MoneyLine study of Federal Election Commission disclosure reports.
The leadership PACs have collected $1.5 million in receipts during the 2010 election cycle while spending nearly $1.3 million. Some of those with the largest receipts this cycle are Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), whose Growth and Prosperity PAC raised $517,000; Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), whose Jobs, Opportunities and Education PAC raised $322,000; and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), whose New PAC raised $219,000.
Other Members who did not acknowledge their ties to leadership PACs as of April 20 were:
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Progressive Americans for Democracy PAC
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), KPAC
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), South Dakota First
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Madison PAC
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), Silk PAC
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), Rural America Policy Committee
Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.), Education and Opportunity Fund
Some Congressional offices said they must have missed the new rules last year and said they plan to file new forms soon to correct any issues.
“If an oversight has been made, we will remedy it immediately,” said a senior aide to Crowley. His PAC filed the required forms only hours later. Five other PACs consisting of those connected to Bachus, Herseth Sandlin, Hutchison, Nunes and Wu followed shortly after being contacted by CQ MoneyLine.
The new disclosures were due to the FEC by late March 2009 as the agency implemented a larger campaign finance overhaul law passed in September 2007. But it is one of the new rules that has fallen through the cracks for some campaign treasurers.