How much can a PAC contribute to a candidate for the general election quizlet?

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PACs are organizations established by corporations, labor unions, or interest groups to channel the contributions of their members and employees into political campaigns. Under the terms of the 1971 Federal Election CampaignAct, which governs campaign finance in the United States,PACs are permitted to make larger contributions to any given candidate than individuals are allowed to make. Moreover, allied or related PACs often coordinate their campaign contri- butions, greatly increasing the amount of money a candidate actually receives from the same interest group. More than 4,600 PACs are registered with the Federal Election Commission, which oversees campaign finance practices in the United States. Nearly two-thirds of all PACs represent corporations, trade associations, and other business and professional groups. Alliances of bankers, lawyers, doctors, and merchants all sponsor PACs.

By far the most common electoral strategy em-ployed by interest groups is that of giving financial support to political parties or to candidates running for office. But such support can easily cross the threshold into outright bribery. Therefore, Congress has occasionally attempted to regulate this strategy. Its most recent effort was the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (amended in 1974). This act limits campaign contributions and requires that each candidate or campaign committee itemize the full name and address, occupation, and principal business of each person who contributes more than $200. These provisions have been effective up to a point, resulting in numerous indictments, resignations, and criminal convictions in the aftermath of the 1972 Watergate scandal. Reaction to Watergate produced further legislation on campaign finance in 1974 and 1976, but the effect has been to restrict individual rather than interest group campaign activity. Individuals may now contribute no more than $2,700 to any candidate for federal office in any primary or general election. A PAC, however, can contribute $5,000, provided it contributes to at least five different federal candidates each year. Beyond this, the laws per- mit corporations, unions, and other interest groups to form PACs and to pay the costs of soliciting funds from private citizens for the PACs. In other words, PACs operate in the electoral arena to represent the interests with which they are affiliated.

The flurry of reform legislation of the early and mid-1970s attempted to reduce the influence that special interests had over elections, but the effect has been almost the exact opposite. Electoral spending by interest groups has been increasing steadily. The number of PACs has also increased significantly—from 480 in 1972 to more than 5,000 in 2014. Opportunities for legally influencing campaigns are now widespread. Given the enormous costs of television commercials, polls, computers, and other elements of the new political technology, most politicians are eager to receive PAC contributions and are at least willing to give a friendly hearing to the needs and interests of contributors. It is probably not the case that most politicians simply sell their votes to the interests that fund their campaigns. But there is considerable evidence to support the contention that interest groups' campaign contributions do influence the overall pattern of political behavior in Congress and in the state legislatures. Concern about PACs grew through the 1980s and '90s, creating a constant drumbeat for reform of federal election laws. This resulted in the enactment of the McCain-Feingold bill, which became the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. When it was originally proposed, the bill was aimed at reducing or elimi- nating PACs. But in a stunning about-face, when campaign finance reform was adopted, it did not restrict PACs in any significant way. Rather, it eliminated unre- stricted "soft money" donations to the national political parties
Raise and distribute millions of dollars for candidates, and to direct appeals through the media.

NOTE: Thus, the purpose of PACs is to influence elections rather than to influence the elected.