Say bye-bye to what was arguably once the most powerful PAC in the nation. Tom DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC) filed termination papers with the FEC on April 24, ending it's decade of unsurpassed influence over Republican lawmakers and policy.
ARMPAC was a "leadership PAC," different from congressional re-election committees in that they are used by Congressmen to contribute to colleagues' PACs - a measure to gain influence with one's peers on Capitol Hill. Leadership PACs can accept larger donations than re-election committees - $5,000 per individual per year - and make larger donations to toher lawmakers - $10,000 per election cycle.
What made ARMPAC so influential? Money, of course - more money than anyone else.
And, in an 11-year run among GOP leadership ranks, no one in Congress used political money to maximize his own influence more than DeLay. From 2001 through 2005, as DeLay's power reached its apex, his PAC dished out more than $2.6 million in donations to other House and Senate candidates as well as national political party committees.
In 2004, the PAC, known on Capitol Hill as ARMPAC, gave out $781,299 in donations, according to FEC reports. [That's about $150,000 more than the man above him in leadership, then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), gave out that year.]
Of course, ARMPAC was central to the scandal that has brought down so many in Washington and still threatens so many more. DeLay pal Ed Buckham worked closely with the PAC, and his and Abramoff's clients became huge ARMPAC donors. An offshoot of ARMPAC known as Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC) was the money-laundering tool that got DeLay indicted on charges in Texas and led to his fall from leadership.
Let's hope this serves as a warning to all other Congressmen who use their leadership PACs to curry favor and influence. Don't let your committee become the next ARMPAC.
