GOP questions tribes’ political giving
WASHINGTON – A little-known quirk in campaign finance law that has helped Indian tribes boost their political clout is under scrutiny amid a scandal involving a high-profile lobbyist and his tribal clients.
House Republicans this week plan to propose closing a loophole that has allowed tribes with casinos to give substantial amounts to members of Congress. The change is part of a bill to be offered by Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif., to restrict how lobbyists influence Congress in the wake of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
Last year, tribal casinos raked in nearly $20 billion in revenue, allowing them to become political donors in the same league with drug companies and defense contractors.
From total giving of $676,450 for 1994 elections, tribal contributions grew to $8.6 million for 2004 races, the last period for which figures are available, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.
“Clearly it’s had an impact,” says Kevin Gover, a member of the Oklahoma Pawnee tribe and former Bureau of Indian Affairs director. The tribes, once most closely allied with Democrats, have made friends in both parties as their ability to give has grown, he says.
Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy earlier this month for bilking tribes out of millions of dollars as he purported to be defending their gambling interests. But tribes also lobby for federal grants for education, bridges, water projects, housing and small-business development.
“Tribes’ very existence depends on the benevolence of the federal government,” says Jason Giles, an attorney for of the National Indian Gaming Association.
The growth in tribal political giving has been helped by the status tribes enjoy under federal campaign finance law. Tribes are “persons” under the law, a broad category that also includes partnerships, corporations and associations. But tribes can give unlimited total amounts because they are not “individuals,” whose legal definition excludes organized groups.
Individuals may give no more than $2,100 to a federal candidate in a two-year election cycle, and $26,700 to a political party – limits that also apply to tribes. But unlike individuals, who are limited to giving a total of $101,400 in that period, tribes can give as much as they want. Dreier’s proposal , which he developed at the behest of Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., would apply the individual limit to tribes.
Unlike most organizations, tribes may donate money directly from their treasuries without reporting their giving to the Federal Election Commission. Labor unions, corporations and nonprofit groups must form political action committees if they want to make political donations.