PACs spent record $416M on federal election

WASHINGTON -- President Obama shunned contributions from political action committees during his campaign but the special-interest spigot remained wide open for Congress and could still influence his agenda.

A USA TODAY analysis of campaign contributions identified 175 members of Congress who received half or more of their campaign cash from political action committees in 2007-08. PACs spent a record $416 million on the federal election, the non-partisan CQ MoneyLine reports.

Obama has railed against the power of special interests, but watchdog groups say the deep contributions to lawmakers could shape his proposals — including ambitious plans for health care, energy and taxes that he unveiled in last week's budget — as they are debated in Congress.

"The purpose of PAC giving is so a company can buy a seat at the table," said Craig Holman, of the watchdog group Public Citizen.

There are 4,600 business, labor and special-interest PACs, according to the Federal Election Commission. Most can give $5,000 to a candidate per election, more than twice the individual limit.

Obama refused PAC and lobbyist donations during his campaign — "They will not drown out the views of the American people," he said last year — but he took money from lawyers whose firms employed lobbyists.

The vast majority of lawmakers placed no such limits on their fundraising. Some, including Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, received more than 80% of their campaign money from PACs, federal reports show.

"Congressman Barton is proud that groups of nurses, oilmen, Realtors and ... others agree with him," Barton's office said in an e-mail. "The fact that so many people believe in him is a tonic."

Of the lawmakers who took more than half of their money from PACs, 126 were Democrats and 49 were Republicans, the analysis of FEC data shows. The FEC numbers include contributions from other federal candidates and their PACs.

The National Association of Realtors PAC gave $4.8 million, third-highest. Mary Trupo, of the Realtors, said lobbying is separate from donations. "We do it with no quid pro quo" in mind, she said.