English, Hart Call for 527 Reform in Congressional Lobbying Overhaul

English, Hart Call for 527 Reform in Congressional Lobbying Overhaul

Organize Ways and Means Letter to Speaker of the House

Washington, D.C. - As Congress aggressively moves forward with lobbying reform proposals, a group of Republican House Ways and Means members led by U.S. Reps. Phil English (R-Pa.) and Melissa Hart (R-Pa.) today urged Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Il.) to include the reform of 527 political groups in any lobbying overhaul measure brought before the House for consideration.

"527's have emerged as a corrupt vehicle for unregulated hot cash to be poured into key campaigns without accountability or proper public disclosure," said English, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "These shadow organizations create a shell game that allows wealthy donors and plutocrats like George Soros to get around campaign finance rules and try to flat out buy elections. They have done more to corrupt American politics than any single political development in recent years."

"Increasingly, 527 groups are playing more and more of a role in our political process, but are not being held accountable for their actions," said Congresswoman Melissa Hart. "These groups are spending millions of dollars on behalf of wealthy donors with narrow political interests that do not help ordinary citizens. They rarely reveal who they are, how much money they have spent and who has donated to their organization. This is a corruption of our political system and a loophole that must be closed immediately."

Since the enactment of the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), organizations created under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, have routinely abused the campaign finance system creating an unlevel playing field for a range of political candidates. According to the Campaign Finance Institute, federal 527 groups spent over $398 million and received $405 million in net contributions in the 2004 elections, an increase of $254 million since the 2002 election cycle. English and Hart were joined by 5 of their Republican colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee in a letter today urging Speaker Hastert (R-Il.) to tighten rules governing 527 organizations.

"If Congress doesn't have the will and independence to reign in these outstanding abuses, then there is no way that we will be able to restore the integrity and reputation of our institution," English said.

**Copy of the letter follows:

March 9, 2006

The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert
Speaker
House of Representatives
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Hastert:

Since enactment of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, dramatic abuses of the campaign finance system have occurred by 527 organizations circumventing the law. We believe that any lobbying reform package considered by the House should include a thorough and effective tightening of the rules governing political activity by 527 groups.

Congress must ensure that loopholes governing 527 organizations are closed in order to guarantee a level playing field for candidates of all perspectives. One of the more flagrant abuses is the attempt by plutocrats like wealthy international financier George Soros to use 527 groups as an oasis for opaque flows of soft money from wealthy individual donors.

According to the Campaign Finance Institute, federal 527 groups spent over $398 million and received $405 million in net contributions in the 2004 elections, an increase of $254 million since the 2002 election cycle. More telling, the same study found that the number of individual donors giving in excess of $100,000 increased from 66 in 2002 to 265 in 2004 and that the top 25 individual donors giving in excess of $2 million provided $142 million, or 56 percent of all individual contributions to 527 organizations in 2004.

Without swift action by Congress, 527 organizations will continue to exploit the campaign finance system and operate unchecked. Without inclusion of 527 organization reform, any lobbying reform legislation intended to restore the integrity and reputation of the House will be hollow and ineffectual as perception of the House is also shaped by the campaign environment in which its races are contested. We urge the inclusion of 527 organization reform in any lobbying reform legislation brought before the House for consideration.

Sincerely,

List of signatories:

English
Hart
Shaw
Sam Johnson
Hayworth
Weller
Ron Lewis

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa03_english/5270306.html