67 House Members Refuse to Disclose Association With Secretive "Leadership PACs"

Today, the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released the most complete list of Political Action Committees (PACs) started by or for House members available. These are often referred to as “leadership PACs” and are not the same as a candidate's political campaign committee, as they are far more secretive about where the money goes. There are 432 House members, and 232 have PACs, including 3 from Oregon

Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) - Committee for a Livable Future
Peter DeFazio (D-OR) - Progressive Americans for Democracy (PADPAC)
David Wu (D-OR) - Education and Opportunity Fund

67 House members refused to disclose an affiliation with a leadership PAC.

Lawmakers and candidates can operate these PACs without disclosing which candidates or officeholders are affiliated with those PACs. This lack of transparency undermines the current campaign finance system and shows that members of Congress are not willing to fully disclose their political fundraising and spending.

Leadership PACs are big political business. In the past twenty-five years, the number of PACs sponsored by members of Congress has been a growth industry. In 1978 8 member PACs contributed a little over $400,000 to House races. By 1986, 42 member PACs contributed $3.8 million according to a scholarly article. (these numbers are not nominal dollars). Now, as far as CREW can tell, there are 242 such PACs.

Since 1990 there have been proposals before Congress to eliminate such PACs--none successful. Legislation passed last year requires lobbyists to disclose their contributions to the House members’ PACs, but members of Congress still do not have to identify their affiliation with PACs. Why not? 113 Democrats have PACs, and 119 Republicans have PACs.

If you know of any PAC associated with Oregon Representatives Darleen Hooley (D) or Greg Walden (R), visit the CREW site and add to their list.