COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Members of Congress who are most successful in getting their bills passed into law get a financial bonus: they receive more campaign contributions from political action committees, a new study has found.
Researchers examined how many substantive bills were sponsored by legislators in the 103rd (1993-94) and 104th (1995-96) Congresses and then calculated the percentage that eventually became law. They found that the higher the success rate, the more PAC contributions the legislator collected. For example, in the 104th Congress, every 1 percent increase in the number of a legislator's bills that became law increased his or her PAC contributions by $1,190.
"PACs provide campaign funds to members who have a record of working hard and getting things done," said Janet Box-Steffensmeier, co-author of the study and professor of political science at Ohio State University. "PACs are interested in the end results." While the results are hardly surprising, Box-Steffensmeier said no other study has directly examined the connection between legislative effectiveness and success in raising campaign funds.
She conducted the study with J. Tobin Grant, a graduate student at Ohio State. Their results appear in the current issue of the journal Legislative Studies Quarterly.
Other studies have looked at various characteristics of members to see how they affected campaign contributions, Box-Steffensmeier said. For example, research has found that legislators tend to receive more PAC money if they are members of the majority party, if they are a party leader and if they have higher levels of seniority.
This study confirmed that all of these factors play a role in the amount of PAC money received, she said. But even after all of these factors are taken into account, members still receive an additional financial boost if they are successful at getting their bills made into law.
"We found that a member who is not in a position of power in the House can still get campaign contributions from PACs if he or she is perceived as an effective legislator," she said. Getting bills made into laws is not an easy task, the study showed. In the 103rd Congress, members sponsored an average of 12 bills and only 4.8 percent were made into law. Members sponsored an average of 10 bills in the 104th Congress and 5.4 percent of them became laws.
"Because it is so hard to make bills into laws, a legislator who does better than average can be a real asset to a PAC," she said. The results of this study were particularly noteworthy because they included a Congress in which the Democrats were the majority (the 103rd Congress) and one in which the Republicans were the majority (the 104th). The fact that the findings hold up in both Congresses show that which party is in power doesn't drive the results.
Although the public may often feel uneasy about the influence PAC money has on legislators, Box-Steffensmeier said these findings suggest PAC contributions may actually help the legislative process. That's because members are torn between spending time in their home districts and spending time in Washington.
Spending time in home districts is vital because it is highly visible to constituents and is a big boost to re-election. Although legislators need to work in Washington if they want to influence lawmaking, much of this work is invisible to their constituents. However, if legislators are rewarded for hard work in Washington with PAC contributions, this can help them finance constituent relations and re-election efforts at home.
"Without compensation from PACs, many members would not be able to afford to focus on their Washington work. They would have to devote more time and energy to building popularity at home rather than doing what they were elected to do -- make laws," she said.
Contact: Janet Box-Steffensmeier, (614) 292-9642;
jboxstef+@osu.edu
Written by Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457;
Grabmeier.1@osu.edu
Journal
Legislative Studies Quarterly