Aug 11 2008
Federal political action committees, PACs, raise "hard" money for the purpose of defeating or electing candidates to federal office. PACs can give $5,000 to a candidate committee per election cycle (primary, general or special). They can also give up to $15,000 each year to any national party committee and up to $5,000 annually to any other PAC.
PAC contributions to House races are a more significant portion of PAC contributions today, in real dollars, than they were in 1992. This table provides nominal and inflation-adjusted data (millions of dollars) for contributions to Senate candidates from 1992-2006.
Data sources:
FEC, Federal Reserve CPI Calculator
PAC Contributions to House Candidates - Millions $
| Year | Nominal $ | Inflation-Adjusted (1992 $) |
| 2006 | $279.2 | $194.30 |
| 2004 | $225.4 | $167.41 |
| 2002 | $206.9 | $161.36 |
| 2000 | $193.4 | $157.57 |
| 1998 | $158.7 | $129.71 |
| 1996 | $155.8 | $139.32 |
| 1994 | $132.4 | $125.34 |
| 1992 | $127.4 |
