October 26, 1999
By
Victoria Carrington
CyberCaucus 2000 News Service
Drake
University
DES MOINES, Iowa--A successful run on the campaign trail is paved with cash, and political action committees are a major source of funding to fuel the political machinery.
Political actions committees, or PACs, exert influence by raising and donating money to campaigns and organizing large blocks of voters with similar interests. The Federal Election Commission estimates that contributions from PACs account for one-fourth of private funds spent on political campaigns in the United States.
Approximately 160 PACs are registered in Iowa. During the first nine months of 1999, they raised more than $3.5 million in contributions and reported expenditures of nearly $2.5 million.
The two PACs that have garnered the most money so far during 1999 are Good For Iowa -- Vote Yes! ( $1,466,773) and Neighbors Against Higher Property Taxes -- Vote No ($295,269). These PACs formed when ballot issues came up for vote in June 1999, proposing a state constitutional amendment to limit government spending to 99 percent of tax revenues and/or to require a 60 percent majority to raise state income and sales taxes. The ballot issue serves as a unique, encapsulated case study of the impact of PACs on policymaking in Iowa.
Iowans For Tax Relief, a committee with 52,000 members across the state and a $2 million budget, was a main impetus behind Good for Iowa -Vote Yes! Jeff Boeyink, executive vice president of the Iowans For Tax Relief in Muscatine, said, "We knew it was going to be difficult. When you have the two biggest political organizations in the state going head to head, believe me, it was a death match." The PAC had the upper hand financially.
"There's a significant amount of money on both sides of all these various issues," Boeyink said. "People have to remember that PACs are nothing more than individuals combining their resources to try to have a political impact. It's simply people exercising political speech with their money."
The Iowa State Education Association joined with about 50 other PACs to form Neighbors against Higher Property Taxes -- Vote No to oppose the amendment. Iowans voted down both measures at the election. "There was no one more shocked in the world on June 29 -- we never dreamed we'd win," said Angie King, political action specialist for the ISEA PAC. She explained how the financial underdog, with funds under $300,000, vaulted to victory.
"In a regular candidate election, I think money does make a difference in a lot of cases," King said. "Name recognition becomes a really important thing. And the way to get name recognition increased is through direct mail, through radio, through all of those different mediums that cost money. In an issue-based election, it is easier to mobilize the membership base."
Some of the most prominent Iowa industries have PACs listed in the state registry. PACs with contributions totaling more than $100,000 during 1999 were the Credit Union PAC, Associated General Contractors of Iowa PAC, Iowa State Education Association PAC, and GuideOne Insurance Political Action Committee.
Scott Newhard, director of public affairs and treasurer of Associated General Contractors of Iowa PAC said, "Contributions are our method of participating in the democratic political process." The committee evaluates candidates using benchmarks on chosen issues and analyzes voting records. Campaign contributions are generally bipartisan. "We endorse them by means of a contribution to their campaign," Newhard said.
PACs that received more than $50,000 in contributions were AFSCME/Iowa Council 71 P.E.O.P.L.E., Political Action Committee for Effective Government, Iowa Medical Political Action Committee, Iowa Industry Political Action Committee and GuideOne Insurance PAC.
PACs have been scrutinized since a U.S. Senate Committee uncovered campaign violations following the Watergate scandal. Accusations of undue influence and unethical practices have led to a flurry of reform efforts, beginning in 1974, when individual donations to federal elections were limited to $1,000 and PAC contributions were curtailed to $5,000 (to be distributed among at least five different candidates). President Clinton sought to limit PAC contributions but his proposed legislation was defeated in 1994.
Despite the reform efforts, the Federal Election Commission reported the number of PACs burgeoned from 480 in 1974 to more than 4,000 by 1992. Contributions increased from an estimated $77.8 million in 1977 to $387.4 million by 1994.
Despite restrictions at the federal level, Iowa has no monetary limitation on PAC contributions. Reba Reed, PAC field auditor II at the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, said, "The only limitation is that state legislative candidates cannot receive contributions during the time the Legislature is in session. And the gubernatorial candidates cannot receive contributions for 30 days after the Legislature has adjourned, because the governor still has bills to sign." Reed said she believes PAC's are a major influence in Iowa's politics. "They have a lot of clout," she said. And for the most part, they don't tarnish their image by violating the deadline and financial reporting regulations. "They are very careful to see that they stay within the guidelines and rules," Reed acknowledged. "Only 1 percent are assessed penalties for violations."