CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
April 11, 2008 – 7:42 p.m.
Many Ex-Lawmakers Hold On to Campaign Funds
By Bart Jansen and Alex Knott, CQ Staff
Scott McInnis retired in 2005 after six terms in the House, but like many other ex-lawmakers, he took with him to the private sector one of the perks of office: a war chest of campaign cash.
The Colorado Republican, who became a lobbyist for Hogan & Hartson LLP, soon had candidates and others beating down his door for contributions from his new Western Way PAC, even though he intended to use the money for promoting political education, not for campaigns.
“Most of the politicians who would call would get furious when you didn’t give them what they requested,” he said.
Despite McInnis’ tale of woe, it has become increasingly common for lawmakers to keep control of significant sums of campaign cash after leaving office. Many view making election contributions to others as a prime reason to keep their campaign committees or leadership PACs open for business.
However, public watchdogs say it’s a practice that should end.
The PACs or traditional campaign funds of 29 lawmakers-turned-lobbyists who have made political contributions since 2005 have $3.9 million on hand to potentially influence this year’s election with donations to candidates. During the past three years, many of them continued to raise money — $6.9 million, collectively — and distributed nearly $1.5 million to political parties and candidates.
Presumably, as with all campaign contributions, the lawmakers who get the donations are expected to remember that generosity when their former colleagues show up to lobby on behalf of a client.
“These things should not exist,” said Craig Holman, a lobbyist for Public Citizen. “They are being used by retired lawmakers essentially for personal profit.”
Strategies Vary
Former lawmakers who head to K Street use their old funds in various ways. Some convert their traditional campaign funds into instant PACs, which have different fundraising limits.
While a campaign can take in no more than $2,300 per election from any individual, a PAC can collect $5,000 per person per year. The difference between a per-year cap and a per-election cap is especially large in light of the six-year cycle of a Senate campaign.
“It’s a huge difference,” Holman said. “It’s directly to peddle influence in Congress.”
Former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss. (House, 1973-88; Senate, 1989-2007), had $1.2 million in his old campaign account when he announced in January that he was creating a new consulting lobbying firm with former Sen. John Breaux, D-La., (House, 1972-87; Senate, 1987-2005), and their sons.
Many Ex-Lawmakers Hold On to Campaign Funds
“A candidate can take more money from a PAC than a campaign committee,” said Bret Boyles, treasurer of Trent Lott for Mississippi. “Our focus will be to close the campaign committee and convert it to a PAC.”
When former Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma left office, he took two paths.
His Friends of Don Nickles campaign committee gave more than $720,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and directly to candidates. That left $120,000, which he converted into a PAC for his lobbying firm, the Nickles Group.
“It helped us get started a little bit,” said Nickles (1981-2005). “When I started this business, we started with a home-equity loan. I had no money to speak of.”
The Nickles Group PAC gave out $136,000, largely to Republican incumbents, during the past three years.
Jack PAC, which evolved from the campaign fund of former Rep. Jack Quinn (1993-2005), has given office-seekers $125,145 since the beginning of 2005. That money was concentrated on the campaigns of members of the Appropriations and Transportation committees.
Quinn, who was rail subcommittee chairman during his stint on the Transportation Committee, now works for the lobbying firm Cassidy & Associates.
The firm’s lobbying disclosure form lists Quinn as working on behalf of clients who have paid the firm to “raise the level of awareness” with rail committee members.
Leadership PAC Advantage
Former 11-term Rep. Norman F. Lent, R-N.Y., (1971-1993) reorganized his campaign fund twice as he switched from lawmaker to lobbyist.
Lent turned his campaign fund into a leadership PAC after he left Congress in 1993. Leadership PACs, which grew from a 1978 advisory opinion by the Federal Election Commission, can also accept higher contributions than a traditional campaign committee. There are now about 400 such PACs.
Lent eventually converted his leadership PAC into his lobbying firm’s official PAC four years later.
Financed almost entirely by the families of the lobbying firm’s partners, Lent & Scrivner PAC contributed $48,100 to members of both parties, including many who serve on the House Financial Services Committee, during the past three years.
Many Ex-Lawmakers Hold On to Campaign Funds
Other Uses
Former Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., (1995-2003) has a lobbying firm, Liberty Strategies LLC, whose clients include the American Civil Liberties Union and the Marijuana Policy Project. The activity in his leadership PAC does not appear to have any connection to that day job.
The Bob Barr Leadership Fund distributed only $82,500 to candidates in the past three years. It spent a total of $1.2 million last year, plus $1.5 million in the 2005-06 election cycle, largely on consultants, direct mail and postage.
Barr announced April 5 that he formed an exploratory committee for a Libertarian presidential campaign, and a spokeswoman said he was too busy to speak about the PAC.
McInnis said he decided not to use his Western Way PAC to buttress his work for Hogan & Hartson. The PAC has turned down not just political campaigns but also student groups and even the terminally ill in favor of trying to preserve its nest egg — $842,960 — and spend the interest earned to help Rocky Mountain groups learn how to lobby and get grant money.
The PAC has a part-time staffer who is helping a Western history museum in Montrose, Colo., write grant proposals and instruct cattlemen about how to lobby their lawmakers.
“This allows me to stay involved and help people who were so good to me,” McInnis said. “I’d like to help people who helped me.”
Comments
C'mon Bart and Alex. Only Republicans mentioned in your article? Shame on you for such a blatant partisan article. How about mentioning all the Democrats doing the same thing. I expect much better from CQ. If CQ is just going to become a partisan rag why pony up $2,000 for subscriptions? Respect your readers enough to balance the articles when the facts warrent it. In this case they do. I will be reconsidering my renewal after seeing such an inexcusably one-sided article.
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