WASHINGTON – As it ramped up efforts to get a vote on the member business loan bill over the last month, CUNA was pouring tens of thousands of PAC contributions into a variety of innocuous-sounding political action committees most people probably never heard of: South Dakota First PAC, AmeriPAC, Growth and Prosperity PAC and Road to Freedom PAC.
These so-called leadership PACs, operated by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (South Dakota First PAC); House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (AmeriPAC); House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus (Growth and Prosperity PAC), and California Rep. Ed Royce, the chief sponsor of the member business loan bill (Road to Freedom PAC), all critical figures for passage of the bill, received thousands of dollars in contributions from CUNA over the last 30 days, in addition to thousands more for each lawmaker’s individual campaign PACs.
Other mundane-sounding leadership PACs run by key congressional figures also received CUNA funds: PAC to the Future (House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi); PeakPAC (Senate MBL sponsor Mark Udall, D-Colo.); EDPAC (for House credit union champion Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo.); Searchlight Leadership Fund (Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.); The Freedom Project (House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio); Bluegrass Committee (Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.); Tuesday Group PAC; House Conservatives Fund; Alamo PAC; and, The New Democrat Coalition PAC.
The funds are only a portion of the almost $20 million CUNA has spent since 2000 on congressional campaign contributions, with as much as $4 million projected during the current two-year campaign cycle, making CUNA’s PAC one of the most active on Capitol Hill.
Leadership PACs allow interest groups such as CUNA to supplement the $10,000-per-election limit on contributions to individual candidates with an additional $10,000 in contributions. Virtually every leader in the House and Senate has a leadership PAC and can use the funds for a variety of purposes, including travel, entertainment and even making their own contributions to other candidates, a sort of daisy chain. For some senior members of Congress this can amount to $100,000 or more in PAC contributions over a decade and a similar amount for their close allies.
Experts say contributions to leadership PACs helps open access to key lawmakers and to demonstrate their support. "Leadership PAC support is an important way for advocacy organizations to participate--being involved with a leadership PAC not only enhances access to the lawmakers who make the most important decisions, but it also sends a signal that you understand how the process works,” said John McKechnie, an independent credit union lobbyist who used to run CUNA’s PAC. “If you're going to be in the parade, you might as well be in the front row."
So far, CUNA, which contributed almost $500,000 to leadership PACs in the 2009-2010 elections, has contributed another $208,000 to congressional leaders in this manner, and is expected to match or exceed the last campaign’s total by November’s elections.
Since the first of the year CUNA has contributed $5,000 to the Blue Dog PAC (southern House Democrats); Bridge PAC (Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich.); Glacier PAC (Sen. Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.); Treasure State PAC (Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.); Republican Mainstreet Partnership PAC; $2,500 to New York Jobs PAC (Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y.); and $1,000 to Defend America PAC (Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the ranking Republican on the Banking Committee).
