Chevron FEC Complaint and Super PAC Report Update
Money Given to Congressional Leadership Fund Violates
Prohibition on Political Giving by Federal Contractors
March 5, 2013 —
The Federal Election
Commission (FEC) should take enforcement action against Chevron Corporation for its $2.5 million contribution to
a Republican-tied super PAC because it violated a prohibition against accepting political donations by federal
contractors, according to a complaint filed by Public
Citizen, Friends of the Earth-US, Greenpeace and Oil Change International.
The
FEC also should find the Congressional
Leadership Fund super PAC in
violation of the law for taking the money, because the group
should have known the contributions were illegal.
The significance of
corporate contributions to super PACs is
magnified because super PACs are
rapidly becoming unofficial committees for candidates and parties. An updated
report by Public Citizen found outside spending groups that were either devoted
to a single candidate or worked in service of the Democratic or Republican
Parties accounted for more than 65 percent of spending by unregulated groups in
the 2012 elections. This finding is significant because the Supreme Court’s
2010 Citizens United decision—which permitted outside groups to spend the
proceeds from unlimited contributions to influence elections—relied on the
assumption that such groups would operate independently of candidates and
parties. This report discredits the central assumption on which Citizens United
relied.