CONTRIBUTION LIMITATIONS AND INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

HEARINGS

HELD BEFORE THE

TASK FORCE ON ELECTIONS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NINETY-SEVENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

JUNE 10, AND JULY 28, 1982
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration

WILLIAM R. RATCHFORD, Connecticut BILL FRENZEL, Minnesota
WILLIAM J. COYNE, Pennsylvania
JOHN L. BURTON, California

KARL J. SANDSTROM, Deputy Counsel

CONTENTS

Hearing of June 10, 1982: Contribution Limitations----

Testimony:

Angoff, Jay, staff attorney, Public Citizen's Congress Watch.

Cogman, Don V., vice president, government affairs, MAPCO, Inc---

Dunn, Michael E., president, Michael E. Dunn and Associates, Inc---

Eckhardt, Hon. Bob, of McCarthy, Sweeney and Harkaway, and for-

mer Member of Congress from the State of Texas---.

Glickman, Hon. Dan, a Representative in Congress from the State of

Kansas

Gold, Laurence, special counsel, AFL-CIO_.

Mason, James L., director, public affairs, Eaton Corp---

Melley, Kenneth F., director of political affairs, National Education

Association

Leach, Hon. Jim, a Representative in Congress from the State of

Iowa

Synar, Hon. Mike, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Oklahoma

Ward, Gregg, director, governmental affairs, Sheet Metal and Air Con-
ditioning Contractors National Association__.
Wertheimer, Fred, president, Common Cause_.

Statements:

Angoff, Jay, staff attorney, Public Citizen's Congress Watch_.

Cogman, Don V., president, National Association of Business Political

Action Committees__.

130

68

Dunn, Michael E., president, Michael E. Dunn and Associates, Inc___
Eckhardt, Hon. Bob, of McCarthy, Sweeney and Harkaway,and for-
mer Member of Congress from the State of Texas__.

Glickman, Hon. Dan, a Representative in Congress from the State of

Kansas

7

31

Gold, Laurence, special counsel, AFL-CIO_.

54

Leach, Hon. Jim, a Representative in Congress from the State of

Iowa

34

Mason, James L., director, public affairs, Eaton Corp----

80

Melley, Kenneth F., director of political affairs, National Education

Association

58

National Farmers Organization_

21

Swift, Hon. Al, a Representative in Congress from the State of Wash-

ington, and chairman, Task Force on Election-----

1

Synar, Hon. Mike, a Representative in Congress from the State of

Oklahoma

40

Vander Jagt, Hon. Guy, a Representative in Congress from the State

of Michigan__

3

Ward, Gregg, director, governmental affairs, Sheet Metal and Air Con-

ditioning Contractors National Association_

74

Wertheimer, Fred, president, Common Cause_-.

98

Letters of communication:

Andersen, Edward, master, the National Grange_-.

Frazier, Charles L., director, National Farmers Organization----

Garza, Francisco, legislation director, National Council of La Raza--

Johns, Elizabeth L., executive vice president, National Council of

Negro Women, Inc__.

Melley, Kenneth F., director, National Education Association__.

Wertheimer, Fred, president, Common Cause_-

Articles:

Attitudes toward campaign financing-a nationwide public opinion Page

survey, Civic Service Inc____

The PAC phenomenon, in American politics, by Fred Wertheimer__.

Illustration:

Leading business PAC money recipients-House and Senate‒‒‒‒‒

Tabular:

21

104

137

1. Correlation between how a Congressman voted on the used-car rule

and the amount of money he received from NADA, 1979–81–

2. Congressmen voting to kill used-car rule received 10 times as much

money from car dealers as those voting to save the rule‒‒‒‒‒‒

3. Campaign contributions from AMA, ADA, and AOA, January 1979

to April 1982, to cosponsors of the Luken-Lee bill__.

132

132

133

4. Average business PAC contributions-most recent election----

Hearing of July 28, 1982: Independent expenditures----

138

151

Testimony:

Bauer, Robert F., general counsel, Democratic Senatorial Campaign

Committee

Fenn, Peter, executive director, Democrats for the 80's---

Ferris, Charles D., of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo_
Levis, Dr. Michael P., M.D., American Medical Association, PAC.......
Sorensen, Theodore C., partner, Paul, Weiss Rifkind, Wharton, and
Garrison

267

277

244

257

181

Wiggins, Charles, attorney, Pierson, Ball, and Dowd, and former
Member of Congress from the State of California__

229

Statements:

Bauer, Robert F., general counsel, Democratic Senatorial Campaign

Committee_‒‒‒

Fenn, Peter, executive director, Democrats for the 80's--

Ferris, Charles D., of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo__

Levis, D. Michael P., M.D., member, board of directors, American

Medical Association PAC..

269

282

249

259

Richards, Richard, chairman, Republican National Committee___.

Sorensen, Theodore, C., partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and
Garrison___

Wiggins, Charles, attorney, Pierson, Ball, and Dowd, and former
Member of Congress from the State of California-----

152

195

234

Articles:

Anti-Abortion PAC gives aid where it is not wanted__

Anti-Abortion PAC sticks to fundraising___

Liberal PROPAC set up to counteract groups on right_.

166

Liberty or loophole: Independent expenditure committees on Federal

election campaigns___

PAC's principles and profits: The activist is a one-man band_.

171

The political money machines: Fat, fancy, free of curbs____

154

Letter of Communiction:

Dolan, John T., national chairman, National Conservative PAC___‒‒‒

Miscellaneous:

2. The NCPAC family (payments to family companies since 1975)--

3. Top 10 PAC spenders__

164

165

4. Candidates for or against whom the most money was spent--.

5. Americans for Life, PAC's payments to insiders_.

165

170

Tabular-Continued

6. Presidential prenomination campaign, major sources of receipts--

7. Independent expenditures-on behalf of John B. Connally__.

8. Independent expenditures-major spenders against Edward M.

Kennedy-.

9. Presidential post-nomination campaign_.

10. Independent expenditures-on behalf of Ronald Reagan_-

11. Independent expenditures-Senate races_.

Pago

209

210

210

210

211

212

12. Senate races-Independent expenditures by individuals and

organizations other than NCPAC----

213

13. Independent expenditures-Six Senate races--

214

14. Independent expenditures-House races, largest spenders--.

216

15. Fundraising by major independent spenders (Jan. 1, 1981-

Mar. 31, 1982).

Political Action Committees: Their evolution and growth and their impli-

cations for the political system---.

287

Introduction_.

287

What is a Political Action Committee and how does it work?

I. What is a Political Action Committee?.

II. How a PAC operates__

A. Organization..

B. Records and reports__

C. Solicitation of contributions_

D. The decisionmaking process.

E. Regulation of PACs...

Evolution of Political Action Committees..

I. Group involvement prior to the 1970s..

A. Legal restrictions__

B. How interest groups made political contributions__

II. Stimuli to PAC growth in the 1970s provided by legislative,

judicial, and administrative decisions__-

301

A. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

B. Pipefitters Local 562 v. United States- -- -

301

302

C. The Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974..

D. The FEC's SUN PAC advisory opinion...

E. The Supreme Court's Buckley v. Valeo decision..

303

304

305

F. The Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1976.

G. Conclusion..

306

308

Growth of PACs since 1972: The numbers, the dollars, and the reasons..

I. PAC growth since 1974..

II. PAC growth from 1972-80: The dollars_

1. The overview from the PAC perspective..

2. The overview from the candidates' perspective..

B. PAC spending since 1972: Where the money has come

from___.

315

318

1. Expenditures and contributions by PAC groupings

since 1972.

318

2. The largest PAC contributors and spenders..

a. Top 20 contributors from 1972-80--

b. Top 20 PAC spenders from 1976–80_-

c. Comparison of the largest spenders and

contributors among PACs.-

C. PAC spending since 1972: Where the money has gone. -

1. Candidate preferences from the PAC perspective.

2. PAC contributions from the candidates' perspec-