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 Senate races are less important 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 Senate Candidates - Millions $
| Year | Nominal $ | Inflation-Adjusted (1992 $) |
| 2006 | $68.8 | $47.88 |
| 2004 | $63.7 | $47.31 |
| 2002 | $59.2 | $46.17 |
| 2000 | $51.9 | $42.29 |
| 1998 | $48.1 | $41.40 |
| 1996 | $45.6 | $40.78 |
| 1994 | $47.2 | $44.68 |
| 1992 | $51.2 |
