Money, money, money

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'60 MINUTES' EXPOSES POLITICAL SLUSH FUND FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
By David Mark, October 20, 2013

Members of Congress routinely use a form of political action committees to convert campaign cash into lavish lifestyle upgrades for themselves and their family members.

"60 Minutes" exposed the racket in a Sunday night report, produced with Hoover Institution scholar Peter Schweizer. Though funds from "leadership PACs" are supposed to go to help elect fellow members of one's own political party, lax campaign laws allow lawmakers to turn their accounts into private slush funds to fund just about anything.

The story by "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft contained selected material from Schweizer's forthcoming book Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets.

And it's a bipartisan scam, according to the "60 Minutes" piece. Consider the case of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.). His leadership PAC dropped $107,752 at the Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Fla. during the 2012 election cycle. That is over three times as much money as he gave the National Republican Senatorial Committee to get fellow Republicans elected. One year, Chambliss spent nearly one-third of his entire leadership PAC funds on golf, limos, and at least one private jet ride. His leadership PAC also picked up a $26,814 dinner tab at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and $10,344 at Pebble Beach.

Then there's Rep. Rob Andrew (D-N.J.). He tapped his wife, a lawyer and an associate law dean at Rutgers School of Law-Camden, to be a PAC compliance officer for his leadership PAC. She approved the use of donor dollars to fly her, Rep. Andrews, and their two daughters to Edinburgh, Scotland for a wedding at a posh resort. Andrews's leadership PAC paid $16,575 in airfare. His campaign committee picked up the rest of the tab, which was slightly under $14,000.

Schweizer says Andrews's leadership PAC even paid for the wedding gift, which was china from Bloomingdale's. Andrews and his wife even merged a campaign event with their daughter's graduation party, allowing them to combine the costs of the two events, even though the PAC did not pick up the entire bill.
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