ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on questionable behavior by some congressional candidates, especially incumbents. Candidates, individuals, Political action committees and party officials have found ways to abuse the Federal Election Campaign Act or stretch its loopholes such that serious questions arise about how well the laws achieve their objectives. Incomplete evidence suggests that abusive behavior has slowly increased and that the use of loopholes has become suddenly popular with wealthy individuals and large political interests. The Internal Revenue Service is primarily responsible for monitoring the activities of 501 tax-exempt organizations. The Federal Election Campaign Act sets different limits for national party contributions to House and Senate candidates. The national committee may give $5,000 per election to each House contestant, as may the party’s House campaign committee. Tax-exempt organizations have become loopholes by which candidates, corporations, groups, and wealthy individuals seek to increase their electoral influence.
