The Hill: Congress should raise PAC contribution limits
By Geoff Ziebart
Sixteen years ago this week, President Bush signed into law the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). In hindsight, many recognize BCRA was a mistake and that our federal campaign finance system now is rife with unintended consequences…
I represent the National Association of Business Political Action Committees (NABPAC) and my 220 members operate under the most restrictive regulations of any donors. They are painfully aware of the need for change as contribution limits under which political action committees (PACs) operate have not increased since the Ford administration. Unlike individuals, PAC limits were neither increased nor indexed for inflation under BCRA. This means a married couple today can give more to a candidate for Congress than a PAC with thousands of donors. What’s more, inflation over the last four decades has eroded the current value of a $5,000 PAC contribution to just over $1,000…
Even in “reform” minded California, a PAC can contribute up to $58,400 to a candidate for governor. Under Federal law, however, a PAC can only contribute $10,000 over six years to a U.S. senator from California. Thirty-two states have set PAC contribution limits for some statewide candidates equal to or significantly higher than federal limits. Thirteen states allow unlimited PAC contributions to some statewide candidates and 11 currently allow unlimited personal contributions. According to the Institute for Free Speech, 17 states have raised contribution limits since the Citizens United decision.
