WASHINGTON – Federal Political Action Committees raised $773.5 million, spent $656.3 million, and contributed $248.2 million to federal candidates from January 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006, according to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) summary released today.  This represented a 23% increase in receipts when compared with 2004, while disbursements increased by 27%.  Contributions to candidates were 21% higher than at this point in the 2004 campaign.  These changes were generally consistent with the pattern of growth in PAC activity over the past several election cycles. 

PAC Financial Activity – January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006

The summary tables provided below also show contributions to candidates broken down by office and party.  Overall, PAC contributions to House candidates increased by 25% over 2004 levels. Contributions to Republican House candidates increased by 26% while contributions to Democratic House candidates increased by 23%. PAC contributions to Senate candidates vary from one election cycle to the next because different states have Senate elections each cycle and because, with only 33 or 34 races each year, the competitiveness of individual races can significantly affect financial activity overall.  During the first 18 months of the 2006 election cycle PAC contributions to all 2006 Senate candidates increased 44% to $60 million.  Contributions to Democrats increased 30% to $25.9 million while contributions to Republicans were up 55% to $33.8 million.

PACs at the end of June reported $355.1 million on hand, 20% more than was available at this point in 2004.

In addition to federal receipts and disbursements shown above, some PACs (mostly nonconnected committees) maintain nonfederal accounts and may therefore use a combination of federal and nonfederal funds to pay for activities that may relate to both federal and state or local elections (overhead expenses, etc.). These PACs reported transferring a total of $18.7 million in nonfederal funds (often referred to as "soft money") into their federal accounts to pay a portion of these expenses.  This total was down significantly from the same period in 2004.  The 2006 cycle is the first in which PACs are required to use a minimum of 50% federal funds for administrative and generic expenses.  In earlier cycles this allocation could be based upon the direct contributions PACs made to federal vs. nonfederal candidates.

Nonfederal transfers by PACs through June of the election year:

The top 10 committees reporting nonfederal transfers through June 30, 2006:

The tables on the following pages provide summaries of PAC financial activity including contributions to federal candidates, and also list the top 50 PACs for 2005-2006 in terms of receipts, contributions to candidates, and cash on hand.

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Tables

The tables in [HTML] format can be read using your web browser. The [EXCEL] files are workbooks that can be read using Excel from Microsoft.

• 18 Month PAC Financial Activity (Through June 30 of the Election Year) [EXCEL] [PDF]
• PAC Contributions 2003-2006 Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
• Top 50 PAC’s
  • Top 50 PAC’s by Receipts Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 PAC’s by Disbursements Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 PAC’s by Contributions to Candidates Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 PAC’s by Cash on Hand as of June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
• Top 50 Corporate PAC’s
  • Top 50 Corporate PAC’s by Receipts Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Corporate PAC’s by Disbursements Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Corporate PAC’s by Contributions to Candidates Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Corporate PAC’s by Cash on Hand as of June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
• Top 50 Labor PAC’s
  • Top 50 Labor PAC’s by Receipts Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Labor PAC’s by Disbursements Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Labor PAC’s by Contributions to Candidates Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Labor PAC’s by Cash on Hand as of June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
• Top 50 Nonconnected PAC’s
  • Top 50 Nonconnected PAC’s by Receipts Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Nonconnected PAC’s by Disbursements Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Nonconnected PAC’s by Contributions to Candidates Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL][PDF]
  • Top 50 Nonconnected PAC’s by Cash on Hand as of June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
• Top 50 Trade/Member/Health PAC’s
  • Top 50 Trade/Member/Health PAC’s by Receipts Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Trade/Member/Health PAC’s by Disbursements Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Trade/Member/Health PAC’s by Contributions to Candidates Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Trade/Member/Health PAC’s by Cash on Hand as of June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
• Top 50 Cooperative PAC’s
  • Top 50 Cooperative PAC’s by Receipts Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Cooperative PAC’s by Disbursements Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Cooperative PAC’s by Contributions to Candidates Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Cooperative PAC’s by Cash on Hand as of June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
• Top 50 Corporation Without Stock
  • Top 50 Corporation Without Stock PAC’s by Receipts Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Corporation Without Stock PAC’s by Disbursements Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Corporation Without Stock PAC’s by Contributions to Candidates Through June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]
  • Top 50 Corporation Without Stock PAC’s by Cash on Hand as of June 30, 2006 [EXCEL] [PDF]