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A 527 group is a type of tax-exempt organization, named after a section of the United States tax code, that is created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. Although candidate committees and political action committees are also created under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, the term is generally used to refer to political organizations which are not regulated by the Federal Election Commission or a state elections commission and not subject to the same contribution limits as PACs.
Current legislation
Congress is currently considering new limits on 527s (comment on bill, analysis of bill.)
Because 527 organizations do not make expenditures to directly advocate the election or defeat of any candidate for federal elective office they avoid regulation by the Federal Elections Commission. The line between issue advocacy and candidate advocacy is the source of heated debate and litigation.
Many 527s are run by special interest groups and used to raise unlimited amounts of money to spend on issue advocacy and voter mobilization.
Examples of 527s include Americans for Dr. Rice, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Texans for Truth, The Media Fund, America Coming Together, the Moveon.org Voter Fund, the Progress for America Voter Fund, and the November Fund.
During April of 2004, the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) held hearings to determine whether or not 527s should be regulated under campaign finance rules; see campaign finance reform for additional details. In May, they decided to delay any ruling for an additional 90 days, almost certainly pushing it to past the 2004 presidential election.
2004 election controversy
Under federal election law, coordination between an election campaign and a 527 group is not allowed. The heavy spending of key 527 groups to attack presidential candidates brought complaints to the Federal Elections Commission of illegal coordination between the groups and rival political campaigns. These formal complaints included:
- On May 5, 2004, the Republican National Committee accused MoveOn.org, The Media Fund, America Coming Together and America Votes of coordinating their efforts with the John Kerry campaign.
- On August 20, 2004, John Kerry's campaign accused Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of coordinating their efforts with the George W. Bush campaign.
Several people who are involved with both organizations have removed themselves to avoid the appearance of conflict. Attorney Benjamin Ginsberg pointed out that it was not uncommon or illegal for lawyers to represent campaigns or political parties while also representing 527 groups. For example, Washington attorney Joe Sandler simultaneously represents the Democratic National Committee and a 527 group airing anti-Bush ads, the MoveOn.org Voter Fund.
Top 20 527 groups, 2004 election cycle
Some of these listings identify a parent organization that has created a 527 group but that also engages in many nonpolitical activities. Democratic/liberal leaning groups are highlighted in blue, Republican/conservative leaning groups are highlighted in red.
| Rank | Name | 2004 Fundraising | 2004 Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | America Coming Together | $78,652,163 | $76,270,931 |
| 2 | Joint Victory Campaign 2004* | $71,809,666 | $72,347,983 |
| 3 | Media Fund | $59,394,183 | $54,429,053 |
| 4 | Progress for America | $44,929,174 | $35,437,204 |
| 5 | Service Employees International Union | $42,609,668 | $43,979,395 |
| 6 | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees | $24,998,802 | $25,465,222 |
| 7 | Swift Boat Veterans for Truth | $16,818,390 | $22,424,420 |
| 8 | Club for Growth | $13,383,974 | $16,575,435 |
| 9 | MoveOn.org | $12,517,365 | $21,205,288 |
| 10 | New Democratic Network | $12,221,608 | $12,194,451 |
| 11 | Citizens for a Strong Senate | $12,848,730 | $10,143,121 |
| 12 | Sierra Club | $8,727,127 | $6,147,176 |
| 13 | EMILY's List | $7,684,046 | $7,938,328 |
| 14 | Voices for Working Families | $7,466,056 | $6,809,102 |
| 15 | College Republican National Committee | $6,372,843 | $8,207,393 |
| 16 | AFL-CIO | $6,322,226 | $6,380,028 |
| 17 | League of Conservation Voters | $6,049,500 | $4,947,072 |
| 18 | Club for Growth | $4,115,037 | $3,927,530 |
| 19 | Democratic Victory | $3,824,969 | $2,603,654 |
| 20 | Laborers Union | $3,294,410 | $3,274,785 |
| As of January 11, 2005. Source: * | |||
Top 20 527 groups, 2006 election cycle
| Rank | Name | Current Fundraising | Current Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Service Employees International Union | $12,074,296 | $15,079,470 |
| 2 | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees | $6,968,353 | $6,174,618 |
| 3 | Progress for America | $4,675,000 | $8,162,701 |
| 4 | America Votes | $4,604,988 | $2,023,266 |
| 5 | America Coming Together | $4,494,107 | $6,987,907 |
| 6 | Club for Growth | $3,508,841 | $3,486,420 |
| 7 | EMILY's List | $3,352,254 | $3,143,569 |
| 8 | International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | $1,959,821 | $2,168,669 |
| 9 | College Republican National Committee | $1,909,389 | $3,855,647 |
| 10 | National Federation of Republican Women | $1,584,092 | $2,694,795 |
| 11 | Laborers Union | $1,536,975 | $1,499,410 |
| 12 | League of Conservation Voters | $1,290,000 | $443,607 |
| 13 | GOPAC | $1,013,209 | $2,688,954 |
| 14 | Senate Accountability Project | $990,526 | $987,173 |
| 11 | Sheet Metal Workers Union | $888,263 | $935,827 |
| 12 | Media Fund | $810,000 | $1,925,627 |
| 13 | Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund | $793,805 | $855,184 |
| 14 | Grassroots Democrats | $740,040 | $1,189,984 |
| 15 | Illinois Hospital & Health Systems Association | $675,189 | $564,500 |
| 16 | AFL-CIO | $584,405 | $689,848 |
| 17 | New Democrat Network | $516,994 | $226,356 |
| 19 | Voices for Working Families | $511,281 | $734,014 |
| 20 | Operating Engineers Union | $500,000 | $127,500 |
| As of February 7, 2006. Source: * | |||
See also
- Political action committee
- Campaign finance in the United States
- campaign finance reform
- 501(c)(4)
- 501(c)(3)
External links
- PoliticalMoneyLine
- IRS Information on Political Organizations
- Database of 527 Organizations
- Top 527 Groups
- Helpful Resources, Links, and Information
- MoveOn.org
- "RNC opens assault on anti-Bush groups", CNN.com, May 6, 2004
- "Kerry files FEC complaint against swift boat group", CNN.com, August 21, 2004
Taxation in the United States | Political advocacy groups in the United States | 527 groups | Tax Acts of the United States
"527 group"