[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1230
 
                      DEMOCRATS OWNED BY THE PACS

  (Mr. LIVINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute, and to revise and extend his remarks, and include 
extraneous material.)
  Mr. LIVINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, the Washington Post recently displayed a 
list of the top 47 House recipients of Political Action Committee 
contributions in the 1994 election cycle. The results reveal the true 
reason why the Democrat leadership is unable to pass a campaign finance 
reform bill that would reduce the role of Political Action Committees.
  Forty-four of the top 47 recipients of PAC money in the current 
election cycle are incumbent Democrats. The Democrats are apparently 
owned by the special interest PACs. No wonder the House Democrats will 
not reduce the $5,000 PAC contribution limit.
  Worse yet, PAC's gave to House incumbents over challengers by nearly 
50 to 1 in the first 15 months of the cycle. Since the Democrat 
leadership is devoted to preserving their majority status, they will 
not even consider changes in the PAC system to guarantee that 
challengers will have a chance against entrenched incumbents.
  The American people should know that the Democrats represent the 
special interests more than the people's interest. The cash proves the 
case.

PAC Contribution to House Incumbents--Those Seeking Reelection in 1994 
                With PAC Receipts of More than $260,000

       While Congress struggles to reach agreement on campaign 
     finance reform legislation, incumbents continue to solicit 
     donations for this fall's elections, especially from 
     political action committees. A new study by the watchdog 
     group Common Cause, which is lobbying to reduce the current 
     $5,000-per-election limit on what PACs can give, shows that 
     House incumbents have raised nearly $61 million in PAC money 
     during the first 18 months of this election cycle. That is 46 
     percent of their total receipts for the period ending June 
     30. The House passed a bill that would limit the total amount 
     of PAC money a candidate could accept during the two-year 
     election cycle to about $260,000. The study shows that 47 
     House incumbents, including 3 Republicans, raised more than 
     that in 18 months. PACs gave to House incumbents over 
     challengers by nearly 50 to 1 in the first 15 months of the 
     cycle, the report noted.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Total     PAC receipts   Percent 
              Name                   receipts                  from PACs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.)......    $1,757,829      $869,100         49
Vic Fazio (D-Calif.).............     1,039,164       683,516         66
Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.)........     1,271,092       680,194         54
Martin Frost (D-Tex.)............     1,069,831       638,117         60
John D. Dingell (D-Mich.)........       808,385       627,105         78
Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.)........     1,138,251       575,325         51
Bill Brewster (D-Okla.)..........       728,077       512,721         70
Jack M. Fields Jr. (R-Tex.)......       904,831       490.741         54
Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.)...........       806,809       482,344         60
Peter Hoagland (D-Neb.)..........       633,376       470,358         74
David E. Bonior (D-Mich.)........       633,616       468,515         74
Robert T. Matsui (D-Calif.)......       702,758       459,954         65
Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (D-                                        
 Pa.)............................       917,500       448,180         49
Lynn Schenk (D-Calif.)...........       855,561       440,261         51
Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.).......       702,242       432,560         62
Norman Y. Mineta (D-Calif.)......       665,275       426,111         64
Charles Wilson (D-Tex.)..........       656,025       425,500         65
John P. Murtha (D-Pa.)...........       751,881       415,900         55
Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.)............     1,070,742       407,914         38
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)...........       514,490       380,942         74
Gene Green (D-Tex.)..............       484,075       367,450         76
Lewis F. Payne Jr. (D-Va.).......       423,132       363,794         86
Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).......       592,905       343,512         58
Thomas J. Bliley Jr. (R-Va.).....       415,024       333,388         80
Jack Brooks (D-Tex.).............       467,420       331,917         71
Jane Harman (D-Calif.)...........       799,890       331,295         41
Fortney ``Pete'' Stark (D-Calif.)       549,468       327,450         60
Greg Laughlin (D-Tex.)...........       461,392       324,231         70
Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.)............       485,278       321,457         66
W.J. ``Billy'' Tauzin (D-La.)....       492,621       321,051         65
Richard H. Lehman (D-Calif.).....       548,437       318,850         58
Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.)........       601,168       309,525         51
Rick Boucher (D-Va.).............       441,968       304,233         69
Dale E. Kildee (D-Mich.).........       426,827       303,538         71
Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.)............       712,908       302,740         42
Larry LaRocco (D-Idaho)..........       445,667       297,607         67
Joe Moakley (D-Mass.)............       670,317       296,500         44
Thomas J. Manton (D-N.Y.)........       455,307       295,268         65
Peter Deutsch (D-Fla.)...........       641,326       284,539         44
Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.)......       507,362       281,541         55
Mike Kreidler (D-Wash.)..........       446,245       279,300         63
Sam Gibbons (D-Fla.).............       567,976       279,096         49
Sam Gejdenson (D-Conn.)..........       737,937       277,037         38
Pete Geren (D-Tex.)..............       476,813       266,714         56
James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.).......       654,815       264,235         40
Tom Barlow (D-Ky.)...............       342,424       262,317         77
John Lewis (D-Ga.)...............       314,318       260,230        83 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Jan. 1, 1993, through June 30, 1994.                              
Source: Common Cause, based on Federal Election Commission records.     



                          ____________________