Former lawmakers sit on tens of millions in campaign cash

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the late Arizona Congressman Bob Stump's party affiliation. He switched to the Republican Party.

WASHINGTON — Sometimes it seems that political campaigns never end. In the case of some committees raising money for congressional campaigns, that's literally true.

Even after members of Congress leave office, their campaign committees often keep churning along. In fact, three committees are still active even though the lawmakers that started them have died.

At least 141 former members of Congress retain campaign accounts containing a total of more than $46 million, a USA TODAY analysis found. Twenty are linked to campaign committees with more than $500,000 each. Nearly one-third of the ex-lawmakers have been out of office at least five years.

The committee run by former Michigan Democratic Sen. Don Riegle, 77, holds the record for longevity. It's still active more than 20 years after Riegle left the Senate.

Critics say some former lawmakers use leftover campaign money as political slush funds for their own purposes. Those who become lobbyists, for example, sometimes donate the money to current lawmakers whom they want to influence on behalf of clients.

"You get to continue to play in the political system without having to be a candidate yourself," said Meredith McGehee, policy director at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center in Washington. And if you're a lawmaker-turned-lobbyist, she said, "you're benefiting your career."

"They're able to do that off of somebody else's money," she said.

Federal election law doesn't limit how long a campaign committee may remain open. Committees generally are closed at the candidate's request, after any remaining cash has been doled out and any debts resolved.

Leftover campaign funds can be given to authorized charities, political candidates or parties but are not supposed to be spent for personal use.

Former Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh sits on the largest pot of leftover campaign money held by an ex-congressional lawmaker — $10.02 million as of July 1, according to the most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission. Bayh left office in 2011.

Former Democratic Rep. Marty Meehan of Massachusetts boasts the second-highest balance with $4.4 million. He left office in 2007.

Meehan, who became president of the University of Massachusetts this summer, said there's little chance he'll run for office again, but he's decided for now to keep the campaign account open.

"I do like the opportunity to support causes that I believe in, and many of my former colleagues who I believe in," he said.

Bayh did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Three of the five ex-lawmakers with the largest leftover campaign accounts left office this year: Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa ($2.3 million), Republican Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan ($2.1 million), and Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota ($1.7 million).

The three who have died but still have campaign accounts are former Republican Rep. Bob Stump of Arizona, who passed away from a blood disorder in 2003, former Democratic Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, who succumbed to colon cancer in 2012, and former Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, who died of viral pneumonia in 2013.

Stump's campaign account has not reported any revenue or disbursements since 2006, when it donated $45,000 to youth charities. It still has $13,484 on hand, according to campaign finance reports. Efforts to reach someone affiliated with the campaign were unsuccessful.

Payne's family plans to use the $185,000 left in his campaign account to fund the Donald M. Payne Sr. Global Foundation.

"We want to keep my brother's legacy alive," his brother and campaign treasurer, William Payne, said.

Lautenberg's campaign committee has $90,000 remaining and has paid its treasurer $14,000 since Lautenberg died. That treasurer, Peter Nichols, made the payments to his own company, Common Sense Consulting, and also gave a $2,500 contribution this year to a former Lautenberg staffer running for local office in New Jersey.

The campaign has paid nothing to Lautenberg's family members, even though it owes more than $1 million to repay loans Lautenberg made to the committee.

"I didn't know anything about it," Lautenberg's son, Josh, said. "I wasn't even aware there was money there or anything about loans or anything else."

Nichols said the payments he made to his company were for legitimate expenses. He said he is storing the campaign committee's records at his house, filing the FEC reports and dealing with other administrative duties. He said he is keeping the account open pending "some issues that we're working with counsel on resolving."

He declined to elaborate but said he hopes to resolve the loan with the Lautenberg family.

Nearly 30 former lawmakers with open campaign accounts are registered lobbyists.

Among them is Cliff Stearns, 74, a former Republican House member from Florida who left office in January 2013.

Stearns has contributed funds from his campaign account to lawmakers with influence over issues he's being paid to lobby on, including foreign investment and energy.

He's given $1,000 to GOP Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, $500 to Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who sits on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and $1,000 to Republican Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"They're also good friends," Stearns said of the three lawmakers. He noted that the donations were small and not intended to be part of his lobbying work.

Stearns has $1.5 million in his campaign committee, ranking him No. 6 among former lawmakers with active accounts. He's used the money to pay for dues and meals at the National Republican Club of Capitol Hill, a GOP social club, saying the House Ethics Committee approved the expenses.

"I'm a registered lobbyist now, and so when I go down there, it's a chance to talk to other members," Stearns said. "Primarily what I'm doing — and I'm just doing, I guess, what others are doing — is just trying to preserve (the leftover campaign money) for perhaps whatever the future might bring."

William Odom, a retiree from Fleming Island, Fla., gave Stearns $250 just days before Stearns lost the GOP primary to Rep. Ted Yoho in 2012. Odom said he wasn't aware that Stearns' campaign committee is still operating.

"I would have to go back to see what he is doing with the money and who he's supporting with it before I could say whether I agreed with it or not," Odom said.

As to former members with large campaign accounts who now work as lobbyists, Odom said, "There is always that issue with lobbyists isn't there? That whole thing is troubling."

One current lawmaker concerned about the proliferation of campaign committees maintained by former members is Democratic Rep. Mark Takano of Riverside, Calif.

Takano introduced legislation in March that would give former members six years to get rid of their excess campaign funds. In a nod to the popular Disney movie "Frozen," he called his bill the "Let it Go Act."

"It's the idea that all this money is sitting around not being used for its original purpose which was to campaign," Takano said.

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Former lawmakers with the most leftover campaign cash

Evan Bayh, D-Ind., left Senate in 2011, $10.02 million

Marty Meehan, D-Mass., left Senate in 2007, $4.38 million

Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, left Senate in 2015, $2.33 million

Dave Camp, R-Mich., left House in 2015, $2.12 million

Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., left House in 2015, $1.69 million

Cliff Stearns, R-Fla, left House in 2013, $1.50 million

Ken Salazar, D-Colo., left Senate in 2009, $1.23 million

Mark Foley, R-Fla., left House in 2006, $1.22 million

Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., left House in 2015, $1.18 million

Jerry Costello, D-Ill., left House in 2013, $1.12 million