Katie Porter is urging Congress to go her bipartisan crackdown on rip-off PACs

Amid the rush to pass a government funding bill, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) is urging Congress to pass her bipartisan anti-fraud PACs bill.

Video by Porter:

Scammers use loopholes in the law to steal from Americans eager to participate in our democracy. I call on Congress to pass my bipartisan bill cracking down on fraudulent PACs, groups that pocket donations they promote, to causes and candidates. pic.twitter.com/ApFScP6ok3

— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) December 14, 2022

In May, when she first introduced the law, Rep. Porter said, “Scammers have taken advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to intensify their efforts to scam Americans — it’s high time we got on our gas.” We can no longer allow scammers to take advantage of our communities, especially when they target our veterans and our seniors. I am proud to introduce bipartisan, sane legislation that would put an end to cheating PACs.”

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We’ve all seen these PACs, some of them creating videos, some of them using candidate images, and some of them using candidate names. They are very deceptive, and the goal is to trick well-intentioned donors into parting with money that will never go to the candidate the PAC claims to be supporting.

Because of Citizens United, there is a massive problem with legitimate super PACs raising money to support a candidate and then pocketing 80% to 90% of each donation to pay for themselves or their fundraisers.

The best way to support a candidate of your choice is to donate directly to them.

For example, a super PAC claiming to donate to Katie Porter isn’t as good as donating to Porter himself.

Until Congress regulates the campaign finance system, important bills like Katie Porter’s must become law to protect donors from fraud.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public policy with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association