Reports
How Washington Power Players Use Leadership PAC Contributions to Buy Access and Influence
In “Leadership PACs, Inc.,” Issue One reveals how Washington power players — including some of the largest companies, trade associations and labor unions in America — use leadership PACs to buy access and influence.
Most Americans have no idea that leadership PACs exist, yet those who pay to play in Washington use contributions to these accounts as a means to gain access and curry favor with lawmakers — while legally evading campaign contribution limits.
In October 2018, roughly 90 percent of members of the U.S. House of Representatives had a leadership PAC, and just three sitting senators did not have one. A handful of members of Congress had two. Some politicians even form them before they are elected to federal office.
This report documents how leadership PACs are a problem for both political parties in Washington. It also shows that there is growing bipartisan momentum to curb the abuses and misuses of these little-known committees.
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Issue: Leadership PACs
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