|
|
 March 4, 1998 Reports Of The Death Of Campaign Finance Reform Are Greatly Exaggerated... POGO's Common Sense Campaign Finance Disclosure Reforms Could Re-Establish Institutional Integrity at the FEC |
|||
 For Immediate ReleaseContact: Scott Amey or Lisa Baumgartner (202) 347-1122 WASHINGTON, DC--Hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions are unaccounted for, improperly listed, or otherwise missing from FEC data, according to a new report from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO). POGO's most recent major investigation analyzes the Federal Election Commission's (FEC) Political Action Committee (PAC) contribution disclosure system. POGO's findings show that the current status of the FEC's data creates opportunities for unfair allegations of misconduct against candidates. Practical, inexpensive, common sense reforms, however, would identify and remedy the existing inaccuracies that currently plague the campaign finance disclosure system. POGO's Executive Director, Danielle Brian, commented, "Newspapers, elected officials and many of Washington's political pundits have declared the death of Campaign Finance Reform. These reports of the death of campaign finance reform are greatly exaggerated--the stepping stones leading to real campaign finance reform are within our reach. The reforms we are calling for would allow the FEC to discern genuine campaign finance infractions from data errors." She continued, "For campaign finance reform to have any real teeth--we must begin reform within the organization. If the FEC isn't equipped to handle the current oversight of $1,000 and $5,000 PAC contributions, how can it be expected to tackle the big dollars?" After months of original research and consultations with numerous campaign finance experts and FEC officials, POGO discovered that surprisingly, although both candidates and PACs each must submit financial contribution data, these numbers are never compared. As POGO began its investigation, we believed that the large number of discrepancies and the sizable differentials associated with congressional candidates might be the result of hidden PAC contributions or some other nefarious activity on the part of candidates. We soon discovered that it was the FEC's current disclosure system itself that was causing the misleading differentials. Representative Bill Archer (R-TX) commented on POGO's findings, "The FEC collects and distributes information that directly affects the public's perception of both campaigns and candidates. That they knowingly distribute information that is false without any warning to the public is totally unacceptable. Under our system of justice, you should not be declared guilty and be forced to prove your own innocence." POGO went on to discover several systemic flaws and their realistic reforms, many of which have been suggested in bills before Congress and in the FEC's annual reports to Congress. The current system, including its flaws, is the creation of both political parties as well as the FEC. Change is unlikely to emanate from within the FEC without direction and funding from Congress. Former Representative Tony Coehlo (D-CA) said, "It [The FEC] was set up to be a toothless tiger. You never worry about it because they're--by the time they catch up to anything, any mistake, legitimate mistake or deliberate circumvention, the election's over with. Who cares? So they fine you." POGO's executive director, Danielle Brian, will offer evidence of problems and suggestions for reform on Thursday, March 5th as she testifies before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee. The hearing will take place at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2247 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Most of the errors POGO found in its investigation could be categorized as honest mistakes, although many violate current campaign finance law. Individuals and examples listed throughout POGO's report are just that--examples to prove the systemic flaws in the system. The discrepancies found in their reports were overwhelmingly caused by the flaws in the FEC's system and could have been avoided if our recommended reforms were implemented. To indicate that the candidates in no way intended to provide inaccurate or incomplete information, a number of the candidates told POGO they were going to amend their FEC filings as a result of our inquiries. POGO's report includes detailed examples of discrepancies and reporting problems for current Members of Congress (five Republicans and five Democrats)--unfortunately, these examples are only a small sampling of a much larger more all-encompassing problem. POGO's reforms include: utilizing existing checks and balances by comparing databases; making reporting and compilation of data uniform by campaign-cycle; elimination of irregular PAC names; elimination of duplicate entries; candidate reporting of returned checks; notification to candidates of all "In-Kind" contributions; better FEC tools to encourage compliance; mandatory electronic filing; streamlining Senate filing; streamlining joint fund-raisers & multi candidate committees. POGO's Executive Director concluded, "Congress and the FEC could take this opportunity to overcome some of the public cynicism surrounding politics by enacting real, lasting campaign finance reform. The changes we propose should be something we can all agree on and come together to enact." The Project on Government Oversight's (POGO) mission is to investigate, expose, and remedy abuses of power, mismanagement and subservience to special interests by the federal government. POGO uses examples of systemic problems with the intent to make positive change in public policy. ###
Home I Archives I Expose I Search I Donations I Investigations I About Us I Contact Us I Press Room
|
||