Special Reports 1 - 2 of 2

New Stealth PACs Report

Exploiting loose regulations and lax oversight, "New Stealth PACs" have poured millions of dollars into elections without revealing the identities of their donors or how they spend their money to influence elections, according to a new report by Public Citizen.

Public Citizen estimates that at least $91 million – and almost certainly many millions more – was spent by 26 non-profit groups registered under Section 501(c) of the tax code to influence at least 117 contests in 2000 and 2002.  In 2004, at least thirteen 501(c) groups have been active.

• Read this report, The New Stealth PACs: Tracking 501(c) Non-Profit Groups Active in Elections.
• Read a letter to the IRS regarding concerns about electioneering activity by some 501(c) non-profit groups.
• Read a letter to the Federal Election Commission asking the agency to give due attention to the findings of our report.
• View a chart of the New Stealth PACs' 2004 electioneering activities, organized by states.
• Read a statement concerning the Sierra Club's political expenditures.
• Read a statement concerning Planned Parenthood Action Fund's expenditures.

Posted 09-20-2004 12:38 AM // link

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PhRMA Appears to Have Funneled Up to $41 Million to ‘Stealth PACs’ to Help Elect a Drug Industry-Friendly Congress

With its eyes on passage of an industry-friendly Medicare prescription drug bill, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) appears to have quietly funneled as much as $41 million to four stealth PACs in 2002 to help elect a Congress sympathetic to the pharmaceutical industry’s interests, according to a new Public Citizen report.
Money that likely came from PhRMA, the drug industry’s trade association, enabled the United Seniors Association, 60 Plus Association, the Seniors Coalition and America 21 to broadcast ads and send direct mail in 39 U.S. Senate and House contests that year, supporting candidates friendly to PhRMA’s agenda and criticizing those who weren’t, the report reveals. PhRMA appears to be at it again in 2004.

• Read the press release
• Read this report, Big PhRMA’s Stealth PACs: How the Drug Industry Uses 501(c) Non-Profit Groups to Influence Elections.
• Read a letter to the IRS regarding possible tax law violations by Big PhRMA’s Stealth PACs
• View a chart of United Seniors Association's Election Activities in 2004
  

Posted 09-20-2004 12:30 AM // link