What will Hatch do with his millions?

OpenSecrets.org reports Senator Orrin Hatch has $5 million in his war chest. A war chest is unspent campaign money. And, Hatch isn’t retiring with the largest war chest. That distinction goes to Bob Corker, (R-TN) who has more than $6.2 million. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) has almost $6 millon and Hatch is third on the list of 42 senators and representatives who have announced their retirement. Together those 42 senators and representatives have over $50 million in war chests.
I’m unaware of Hatch making any announcement about how he intends to use his war chest. One thing you can be sure of, he’s not going to give it back to the people who donated it to him.
Does that bother anyone?
Did you know that a politician is not required to “give back” unspent money that was given to him during a political campaign?
A retiring politician isn’t required to close down his campaign committee. He may keep it for an indefinite period of time, in case he decides to run for office again — any office. It can just sit there and collect interest, while the national debt continues to increase.
In reality, he can do just about anything with the money, as long as it’s not for personal use — wait for it. He can even donate the money to charity or contribute the money to a national party committee. He can give up to $2,000 to another candidate’s campaign. He can put the money in a PAC (Political Action Committee), he can convert his campaign committee into a PAC, or he can start a Leadership PAC.
Starting a leadership PAC is the most interesting of all those options. OpenSecrets.org quotes Paul S. Ryan (no, not Speaker of the House Paul Ryan), an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center: “The ban on personal use does not apply to Leadership PACs once the individual leaves Congress.” The law “only applies to principle campaign committees, not Leadership PACs. The FEC for years has been saying the personal use ban should be expanded to all committees. House and Senate rules arguably ban any use of personal funds, but once they leave…they are not subject to House or Senate rules.”
Many of those retiring have leadership PACs. There is no evidence that Hatch does. OpenSecrets.org does not show a leadership PAC for Orrin Hatch.
OpenSecrets.org reports that according to a legislative recommendation by the FCC to Congress, “no corresponding provision covers individuals who convert contributions received by party committees, separate segregated funds, leadership PACs and other political committees, to their own personal use.”
What that means is basically that money in a leadership PAC is often used for personal purposes.
The FEC recommended an amendment to “remedy this growing problem.”
“It (the law) is not explicit …Our regulations don’t cover all possible violations … All these things we would look at on a case-by-case basis. If someone files a complaint the commission would look into it,” according to the FEC’s Judith Ingram, a Federal Election Commission spokeswoman, quoted by OpenSecrets.org.
Since there are no clear regulations concerning the use of funds in Leadership PACs, it makes one wonder what legislators do when they have such a PAC and why they started such a PAC in the first place. It actually brings into question the motives of legislators in creating such a category.
“They have become just big slush funds … A very small amount of the money in leadership PACs is passed on to other candidates. They have been abused in this manner since the mid to late 1990s,” said Ryan, again according to OpenSecrets.org.
Speaking of large slush funds. Within a few weeks after the new tax law was signed, the other Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, received almost $1 million in election donations, $500,000 from the Koch brothers (see my column in the May 15 edition for more information about the Koch brothers).
Speaker of the House Ryan has now announced he will not seek re-election. Before the tax bill was signed he adamantly denied he was going to retire, yet shortly after he received the donations, he announced his retirement. Those are donations to a campaign that will not take place. Does the timing of that seem fishy to anyone else?
So, Senator Hatch what are you going to do with your war chest?