CBC again flouting campaign finance limits

NO REPORTING REQUIRED - For a tax deductible contribution of up to $250K - more than 100 times the yearly legal limit - lobbyists can mingle with Democrat lawmakers without ever declaring their contributions to the Federal Elections Commission.

For the second time this summer, the charitable foundation of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is urging lobbyists to secure donations that will allow them to mingle with lawmakers while avoiding disclosure with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), the Majority Accountability Project (www.majorityap.com) has found.

In an e-mail solicitation widely distributed to Congressional lobbyists, Elsie Scott, President and CEO of the CBC Foundation, is asking for "a minimum purchase of a $10,000 Silver Table for the Annual Awards Dinner," which will be held September 26 – 29 at the Washington, DC, Convention Center.

Scott promises to have "the 42 members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) join with key political, business and civic leaders," and notes the event "is a well-chosen moment for bringing together businesses and savvy consumers."

While far exceeding the $4,600 individual contribution a lobbyist could make to a member of Congress, the $10,000 level is a bargain compared to other sponsorship levels, which rise to as much as $250,000 to become a co-host of the event. The group has already reported selling $210,000 at various sponsorship levels, ranging from a $20,000 "Health Pavilion" to $80,000 for serving as a "Conference Registration Host."

Because the CBC Foundation is a charity, lobbyists could secure a tax-deductible donation from a corporate client, mingle with lawmakers they are hoping to influence, all without disclosing that contribution to the FEC.

The practice has been widely criticized, with the Boston Globe reporting in May of last year that "donations to such charities -- some of which serve to boost a politician's clout, employ former aides, or promote favored issues -- are not subject to public disclosure and are not limited by campaign-finance restrictions."

That same year, current Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus issued a scathing report on how charities favored by lawmakers circumvent ethics and lobby rules. Following that report, a New York Times Op-Ed noted that donations to these charities "obscured the true source of these gifts, while at the same time affording lobbyists private access to the congressmen they were trying to influence."

The CBC Foundation is closely aligned with a host of influential Democrat lawmakers, including Democrat Whip James Clyburn and Ways and Means Chair Charlie Rangel.

As reported by majorityap.com in June, ethics committee chair Stephanie Tubbs Jones was "working diligently" on a similar fundraising effort, soliciting up to $80,000 from Washington, DC, lobbyists to sponsor a CBC Foundation golf tournament at the posh Landsdowne Resort in Northern Virginia.

According to the foundation’s website, its "mission is to serve as the non-partisan policy-oriented catalyst that educates future leaders and promotes collaboration among legislators, business leaders, minority-focused organizational leaders, and organized labor to effect positive and sustainable change in the African American community."  Among its activities, the Foundation reportedly places interns in Congressional offices.

The organization in 2005 reported spending $1.6 million on the conference for which they are currently seeking donations, the last year the foundation’s IRS tax exempt form was available on-line.