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Updated Wednesday, July 28, 4:58 p.m.
Campaign finance news
Independent Expenditure Groups Start Lining Up at FEC
It didn’t take long for new independent expenditure organizations to take advantage of recent court rulings to maximize their impact on the 2010 election.
Since Friday, at least three groups filed new documents with the Federal Election Commission stating that they intend to raise unlimited funds from individuals, corporations and unions to run ads before the Nov. 2 midterms. Full story
New Democrats Back Third Way Trade Report
Pro-business Democrats are urging Members to crack down on possible violations by some of the United States’ largest trading partners, as well as pushing for tough enforcement measures in ongoing trade talks with South Korea. Roll Call (paid content)
K Street Files: Hill Reaction to Spill Puts Jobs in Jeopardy, Oil Lobby Says
Big Oil, which has been on the defensive since the Gulf of Mexico spill, has decided that public anxiety is its best weapon. To fend off Members’ interest in tightening oversight of the industry, the oil lobby is playing on worries about the nation’s shaky job market. Roll Call (paid content)
Lame-Duck Burris Makes Plea for K Street Cash
Democratic Members are working overtime in the final days before the August recess to stock their campaign coffers to stem expected electoral losses this fall. But that desperation over November hasn’t stopped Sen. Roland Burris, who is not running for re-election, from putting his hand out for contributions. Roll Call (paid content)
Sen. Snowe’s Decision Seems To Doom Campaign Finance Bill
Maine Republican Sen.
Cantor Leads in PAC Giving
House Republican Whip
So far during the 2010 election cycle, his political action committee, Every Republican Is Crucial has donated more than $1 million to 156 Republican candidates. That’s more than hundreds of thousands above what any other such PAC connected to a lawmaker or candidate has reported, according to a CQ MoneyLine study of PACs through the second quarter of 2010.
The donations are part of $11.1 million in contributions this cycle by politician PACs — which has topped all other industries in giving including building trades unions that contributed $10.1 million, unions-public employees unions giving almost $9.3 million and attorneys PACs that chipped in $8.1 million.
Rangel Now Fighting Battles on Two Fronts
Rep.
The House ethics committee announced Thursday that an investigative subcommittee found substantial reason to believe that Rangel broke House rules and possibly ran afoul of the law. Full story
Barton Campaign Fund Takes Losses on BP, Other Stocks
Rep. Joe Barton lost more than $154,000 on investments of his campaign funds during the last three months, according to a CQ MoneyLine study of campaign finance reports. The Texas Republican’s campaign fund losses are due in part to drops in energy company stocks, including BP.
Turbulence in the financial markets has taken its toll on several House campaigns, which lost in total more than a quarter of a million dollars in campaign funds since March because they invested in the stock market, but Barton’s losses make up the largest chunk of that.
Barton saw his bottom line fall in part because of losses in broad-based funds that invested in companies linked to the recent Gulf Coast oil spill. His campaign reported losing more than $13,000 in the Fidelity Select Energy Service, which lists Halliburton and Transocean Inc. among the fund’s largest four holdings. Transocean is down more than 36 percent for the year, while Halliburton is down nearly 6 percent so far in 2010.
Barton also lost more than $36,000 in Fidelity Dividend Growth, which bought just more than half a million shares of BP at the end of May — after the oil spill began — according to investment analysis service Morningstar.
Though Barton knew he was investing in energy-based stock funds, a spokesman for the Congressman said he was unaware of the individual stocks in which the fund was investing, including BP, Halliburton and Transocean. Full story
FEC Approves New Soft Money Spending for Two Groups
The Federal Election Commission on Thursday greenlighted two opinions that illustrate how drastically campaign finance rules have changed after recent court decisions.
Less than three years ago, the FEC slapped the Club for Growth with a $350,000 penalty for spending millions in unrestricted soft money on ads during the 2004 elections. But at an open meeting Thursday, commissioners overwhelmingly approved a request that would essentially allow the conservative anti-tax organization to do the same thing in 2010.
In a 5-to-1 vote, the FEC approved the Club for Growth’s plan to create a political committee designed to collect unlimited individual donations that it would spend on commercials for and against federal candidates. The commissioners also approved by a 5-to-1 vote a similar request by Commonsense Ten, a Democratic group. Full story
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