Facts About PACs Podcast
The Facts About PACs Podcast is the #1 PAC podcast in America. The show is produced especially for the members of the National Association of Business Political Action Committees (NABPAC). Each weekly episode includes a recap of the association's latest activities, actionable intelligence for the employee-funded and business trade association PAC community, and an interview with a featured guest. Show host Micaela Isler is the President and CEO of NAPBAC.
Facts About PACs Podcast
Ep. 36 The Politics and Policy of HR 1 with Andy Jones of Federal Street Strategies | 03.04.21
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Campaign Finance Reform in the 117th Congress. HR. 1 gets its day in the House of Representatives and passes. What impacts will the legislation have – as currently drafted -- on employee-funded and association PACs? How will the Senate handle the bill and when? A detailed look at the provisions of HR 1 that directly impact our industry with Andy Jones of Federal Street Strategies. Plus, Kristin Brackemyer from the Public Affairs Council on the 2021 Virtual National PAC Conference.
You can join the fight to defend employee-funded and association PACs by texting NABPAC to 52886. Message and data rates may apply.
SPEAKER_03Welcome back to the Facts About PACs podcast. This show is brought to you by NABPAC, the National Association of Business Political Action Committees. And I'm your host, Michaela Isler, NABPAC's Executive Director. Today, campaign finance reform in the 117th Congress. HR1 gets its day in the House of Representatives and passes. What impacts will the legislation have as currently drafted on employee funded and association pacts? And how will the Senate handle the bill and when? A detailed look at the provisions of HR1 that directly impact our industry, coming up with Andy Jones of Federal Street Strategies.
SPEAKER_00Big news and an extremely important topic for NABPAC Mikaela. But first, if you're a listener to this show, then you know that the 2021 virtual national PAC conference, hosted by the Public Affairs Council, is now in the books. The Public Affairs Council did a fantastic job bringing all the critical issues center stage during the conference. They also excelled at keeping everyone involved in the numerous discussions, Michaela.
SPEAKER_03They really did, Adam Belmar. And that's why we've asked Kristen Brackmeyer from the Public Affairs Council, who helped moderate the conference and really pull it all together to join us for a wrap-up on today's podcast.
SPEAKER_00You know, Michaela, it reminded me of our NAPPAC virtual post-election conference back in December. Did you break out in a sweat? Oh, you know I did. Uh it was uh half remembering and half, oh my God, are we on right now? No, it's their turn.
SPEAKER_03Same here. Well, Adam, we have a really great show today, full of important news. We'll jump right in after this.
SPEAKER_00The Facts About PACs podcast is produced especially for the members of the National Association of Business Political Action Committees. In every episode, we recap this week's NAB PAC activities, share actionable intelligence and best practices, all while connecting the PAC community. Today's episode is brought to you by Access Marketing Services. Access provides full service creative marketing solutions backed by the industry's best data, polling, and engagement strategy to ensure you reach the right people the right way with the right message. Michaela, the folks over at Access are truly amazing professionals.
SPEAKER_03They really are. Thank you again, Access, for being such a supporter of the Facts About PACs podcast and a wonderful member at NAPPAC. And now, Kristen Brackmeyer, Director of PAC and Government Relations at the Public Affairs Council. Welcome to the Facts About PACs podcast. Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.
SPEAKER_02It's great to be with you both.
SPEAKER_03First, I just want to say a big, big congratulations to you and the whole team at the council for putting on such a great conference, Kristen. I know firsthand how big of a lift a virtual conference can be. So let me start by saying that I personally loved the way you all integrated live polling into the sessions. I think it really helped keep me focused on the fact that employee-funded PACs and association PACs have faced unique challenges along the way. What are your big takeaways on how employee-funded PACs and association PACs are tackling their challenges?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, again, just thank you for having me. I know that you have also put on a great virtual conference. So you know everything that goes into it and all the moving pieces. But yeah, it definitely isn't the same as being together in person, but um still super rewarding to just see all of the engagement that was happening. And um, you know, just even virtually to be able to gather together was just really special this year. Um, I think one of the things that really struck me from in terms of takeaways from the conference, kind of throughout last year, um, but also this year, kind of post-January 6th as well, is just the focus on community building and how strong our PAC communities really are. Um, a lot, you know, was was discussed about just over-communicating and you know, sharing information with our PAC eligibles and our PAC members and really establishing the PAC as a resource center. You know, obviously there was a huge focus on GOTV efforts leading up to the election last year. So it was really exciting to hear about, you know, some of the successes that PACs had in their GOTV outreach. Um, and then, you know, just PAC education and really taking it back to the basics by focusing on underlying communications and tactics such as peer-to-peer outreach. Um, so yeah, I think just, you know, it was really rewarding to hear about um, you know, just all of the things that PACs have done to continue reaching out and engaging. Um, you know, it'd be the easy thing to do right now would just be to kind of shut down, right? And and, you know, kind of hide um and and not communicate. But I think that's just it just goes to show how important and how crucial those relationships are that PACs have with their contributors and and their eligible communities and what a wonderful resource within companies uh they are in so many different areas.
SPEAKER_00You know, Kristen, one of the things that I loved was you guys made it so easy to participate and time shift. I went back and rewatched the keynote for the crisis communications segment. For me, it hit the mark. It was a great discussion. It helped flesh out for everyone in our community what is that unique role that a pack manager plays during a period of crisis? And one of the top speakers, the CEO of Breakwater Strategies, Eric Benz V, really said it best. He said that pack managers have the duty to make the case for the PAC. What sense did you get from attendees about the new perspective that they have on supporting senior leadership since this new world passed January 6th?
SPEAKER_02You know, communications has always been such a huge and important part of um, you know, PAC professionals' roles. But a lot of people were commenting through throughout the conference, like, you know, we're all crisis communicators now. And, you know, I think we're all just evaluating our roles a little bit differently. And I also think it also shines a spotlight on just how visible the PAC role is within a company. Um, you've really, you know, most folks are already doing it, but you've really got to um, you know, establish yourself as the voice and speak up and and manage up and you know, just make sure that you are um just helping guide and navigate the pack through these times. And, you know, it's just it's it's something that's always gonna be there, you know, in terms of just, you know, keeping the pack front of center and and kind of being that voice of reason because no one knows the pack better than the pack manager or pack director. You in many cases have these personal relationships with your members and your contributors. And so, you know, think of yourself as an advocate for them and and again, just speaking up and and being that resource within the company. I know sometimes we think we sound like a broken record, but again, you've got to be that champion. You've got to speak up and be that voice. So needed, and it is so important. And even just, you know, ourselves, you know, get your own elevator pitch down. Make sure you've got those talking points. If you're going into a big meeting with your C-suite, no, you know, have those talking points. Practice, like be ready, because it's just there's no one else that's that's more important within the organization to be advocating and championing the importance of the PAC.
SPEAKER_03Kristen, I feel like you were listening in on a webinar we had this afternoon where I said that exact thing is, you know, be prepared for the CEO to be picking up the phone and calling you right now because there's no one else in this organization, including from the CEO, that knows more about the PAC operations and what's going on in the PAC community. So I'm glad we're aligned on that point there. You know, Doug Pinkham, president at the Public Affairs Council, made the point during the conference that employees are a company's most important constituency. And I feel like that was a theme that really came through from most of the speakers. I can't agree more. I think it was especially true when it came to the session on the pack match and making a charitable impact that is matched by your company is very compelling benefit to employees involved in their PACs. Kristen, do you see more companies coming to the conclusion that a PAC match program is a must-have this cycle?
SPEAKER_02I do. I've seen that a lot over the past few months. And, you know, certainly the pandemic has put into perspective just how many, how many clauses and how much need is out there right now. Um and so that's one of the questions that we've been getting from our, you know, council members and others in the community over the past uh six, six months to the last year of just you know, wanting more information on behalf match programs and and you know, kind of, you know, for some folks that have been advocating internally to have a to start a match program, you know, they're now they're breaking through and they're able to kind of make that case this year and um and have success in terms of getting that off the ground. So I do think that you know, for programs that have a match a match program that's active, it's been just a tremendous asset for them this year, obviously in terms of just the charitable footprint and you know the ability to reach and help more folks, but you know, also I think all of us in our lives are looking for ways that we can help. And so it's certainly you know helpful in terms of folks that are engaged in the PAC to be able to really, you know, show the impact that that contribution is having, not only just to the PAC, but also to you know all of the different causes that the PAC through its match program are able to support. So yeah, for for anyone that's you know thinking about a PAC match program, I truly believe there's no better time to be either starting or ramping up your program than now.
SPEAKER_00So it's the beginning of March 2021. Your conference is in the books, and award season is starting to get going. The golden globes are done. But we had like a very important PAC awards presentation that happened at the Public Affairs Council PAC conference. And I was really impressed, I mean, beyond impressed, with the winner in the corporate space, Kristen, the fellow Daniel Walsh from Dell, he gave a wonderful rundown on their innovation. His team brought in data visualization software to help inform their PAC's decision making this cycle. And it just took what wasn't a mountain of data, but it just made it so understandable. Where do we press? Where are we making strides? Were there other things across either the awards or the whole conference that stood out for you on the innovation front?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, first off, congratulations to Daniel and Dell. Uh, again, as you mentioned, fantastic campaign, um, really innovative, um, cool stuff to be able to just take the data visualization piece and and you know, just better align their resources just in terms of time, which we know is is one of the biggest challenges for PAC professionals. How do you reach all the people? Um, so I think that's you know incredible to see them, you know, kind of build out internally uh that data visualization piece and implement that. I'm really interested to see where they take that over the next few years. Um, a lot of the innovation that we saw, I'd say a lot of the other nominees for our outstanding corporate and on the association side as well, our outstanding association pack award nominees, a lot of them really focused on very elaborate, thoughtful, and detailed peer-to-peer campaigns. So, you know, like I said this prior, but kind of going back to basics in terms of, you know, obviously we're not gathering in person. We're we can't see each other in maybe the traditional ways that we've relied on in the past. Um, you know, how can we diversify the messengers that are reaching out on behalf of the PAC? How can we utilize those personal stories of our employees or our association members to kind of tell the PAC story for it? And I think that was really awarding rewarding to see that, you know, so many PACs had a lot of success in kind of, you know, going back to a really thoughtful, precise peer-to-peer outreach campaign. And then kind of on the innovation side, just a lot of the really cool virtual events that people did, um, you know, coming together with with different types of, you know, mixology classes or, you know, just finding unique ways that are, that are fun to gather together and keep that sense of community that is so important in the PAC space. And then, you know, lastly, I think as well, things like, you know, activity books for for children that are home. And um, I think, you know, PAC folks have always been really great at kind of seeing things that maybe aren't immediate, of like, oh, this is something that'll directly, you know, benefit our community, but seeing unique things that can be repurposed and can be sent out as resources to PAC members. So that was really interesting to see that as well. So yeah, a lot of I think, you know, more so than just innovation, a lot of just really creative pivoting happened this year. And it was so interesting to see how every organization kind of read their own internal culture and responded accordingly.
SPEAKER_03Well, Kristen, speaking of pivoting, I know I think the Public Affairs Council did a fabulous job with your virtual uh conferences, not just this one, but all the ones that you've had this year. Um, we so appreciate our relationship and being able to work together. We'd love to have you back on the Facts About PACs podcast, but just thank you so much for joining us today and giving us that sort of high-level rundown of your conference from last week. Great job.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much. Great being here and look forward to doing it again soon.
SPEAKER_03You're listening to the number one PAC podcast in America, Facts About PACs. And right now, we're going to break down the very latest on campaign finance legislation moving through the 117th Congress. HR1 passed the House on Thursday, March 3rd by a vote of 220 Democrats to 210 Republicans. The legislation addressed many elements of America's election system, but only some of the bill's provisions directly impact employee-funded and member trade association packs.
SPEAKER_00Our NABAC government affairs team has been working on this bill and following all of the amendments. Joining us now to break it all down is Andy Jones from Federal Street Strategies. Welcome to the podcast, Andy.
SPEAKER_01Thanks, Adam. Thanks, Michaela. It's good to join you guys today. First time caller, longtime listener.
SPEAKER_03Thanks, Andy. Well, we appreciate that you're a listener, but we also want to just thank you at the outset for all of your incredible work the last several weeks as we tried to process a 700-plus page bill, the For the People's Act, and tracking all of the amendments this week. One amendment that was added to HR1 on its way to passage in the House directly impacts non-traditional or super PACs. Maybe you could just share a little bit about the Schneider amendment, Andy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so uh this was an amendment offered by uh Congressman Brad Schneider of uh Illinois. Um what the what what the point of the amendment was was trying to get at was uh members of Congress have and and people have felt for a long time that at the very end of a campaign um right right before election day, uh people are able to make contributions and expenditures that wouldn't be disclosed until after election day has already passed. So what this amendment tries to get at is it requires that any contribution above uh $5,000 to a PAC or presumably to a super PAC would have to be disclosed immediately. This wouldn't really have too much of an effect on corporate PACs because uh these these PACs don't have those, you know, our our maximum contributions are only $5,000. So uh anything above that would presumably be going to a super PAC that would be uh more active in a campaign.
SPEAKER_00That's an incredibly important fact about PACs, and you're right. Employee-funded PACs, we have limits, they're hard set, been this way for 20 plus years at $5,000. But the amount over $5,000 that maybe go into these super PACs could be incredibly large. And this is something that doesn't impact our universe as employee funded and association PACs, but it does point up that our transparency and our reporting structure is something that members of Congress, at least some apparently, are interested in being applied in other places. Fair statement?
SPEAKER_01I think very much so. One of the goals of this bill uh was to provide additional transparency to the campaign financing system in this country. Not just not just PACs or employee-sponsored PACs, but but this the system as a whole, to bring transparency, to bring clarity, make it easier for people to vote, make it easier for states to register people to vote, allow uh redistricting reforms so that it's done in a way that people can trust so that their their members of Congress are being select are being voted upon by their constituents as opposed to the other way around. Um it's uh it's an all-around effort to bring additional reforms to the system. But campaign finance and uh the PAC system are definitely a part of that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think for sure the fact that employee-funded PACs and business trade association packs have been relatively left alone in this bill is, you know, a strong signal that we really are the most transparent and regulated form of political giving in the process. And, you know, I'd like to think it's a recognition that we are the reform of 45 years ago that continues to work and truthfully should be the model uh going forward. There are two provisions in what's called the manager's amendment. And Andy, those two do relate to employee-funded PACs, although we're not really concerned about those, but it's certainly worth bringing forward for our members to understand what they are. These provisions send specific instructions to the Federal Election Commission. Maybe you could just walk us through those two and kind of what they mean for everyone listening.
SPEAKER_01Well, this is this is a pretty exciting subject. So not technical at all. There are two requirements in the bill that would uh require the FEC to take action. The first one uh would require them to conduct an assessment uh of a PAC's governance structure, which would it it sounds like it would require the FEC to just have a keep a closer eye on how a PAC is run. And then uh second, it would require the FEC to sort of reevaluate um how they classify and define a corporate PAC. What this is sort of what this is really getting at is a frustration among members of Congress that corporate that the FEC has started referring to them as corporate PACs despite having any real statutory reason to do so. The hope is that the FEC can come back with a with a designation that's more accurate and disclose and describes the PACs in a more uh more effective way. So those are the two, the two big reforms.
SPEAKER_03And I think too, it's worth noting on the first uh manager's amendment that you mentioned, uh, you know, in current statute, uh PACs are not required to have a board of directors or bylaws in place, although the vast majority do. This amendment simply would just require that uh the statement of organization ask a couple of questions related to uh your bylaws and board of directors if you have them. So it would just basically be an administrative checkbox on that statement of organization going forward. Um so I guess, Andy, the bill's passed. Uh, it's on its way to the Senate. Would love to just kind of hear your thoughts on the future prospects of what may happen as it relates to this bill in the Senate.
SPEAKER_01Well, we'll find out. Um, it's it's a tough question because it's always tough to get agreement in the Senate. Uh Senator Schumer has said before the Congress even started that HR 1 is going to be one of the Senate's top priorities this year. They'll get to it as soon as they can. Uh, they've, of course, had a lot of other things that have come up this year, namely impeachment and then uh the coronavirus relief bill that they're they're working on at the moment. But uh, once that has all been processed and gone through, then I expect uh they are going to take this bill up at some point and consider it on the Senate floor. What happens there is anyone's guess. It's going to be very difficult for them to achieve to obtain 60 votes to get past a cloture. But I I assume that they're going to try as hard as they can to bring uh as many senators over as they can to get this through.
SPEAKER_00So let's unpack this just a little bit more. The Democrats in the House of Representatives in the 116th Congress also passed HR 1. This version of the bill that just passed Andy is substantially similar. It didn't get any purchase in a Republican-controlled Senate. And if I hear you correctly, the issue isn't just the evenly divided Senate, it's the rules of the Senate around the filibusters. Where will the interest be in trying to find common ground to be able to bring 60 people together on anything?
SPEAKER_01It's difficult, but you know, one big difference between this Senate and and the Senate last session is the majority leader has is now Senator Schumer instead of Senator McConnell. And uh that's why a bill that last year never saw the light of day will at least have an opportunity to get a vote on the Senate floor, even if it's just a cloture vote to prevent it from going any further. But you know, can there be 60 votes of agreement on this entire bill? That that's that that'll be very difficult, but it's difficult to get 60 votes on anything. Um but there's always the possibility that parts of this bill could end up uh attached to other bills. It could be these reforms could see the light of day in other ways. It's uh the the legislative process isn't always a straightforward one. And sometimes you pass a bill in one house and it doesn't see the other house, it doesn't pass the other house for you know months or maybe even years in different congressional sessions. And um it it's it's hard to know what the future is, but but at some point it will have to get passed by both the House and the Senate in the same congressional session in order to become law. But we'll see how that happens. Or if that happens.
SPEAKER_03Andy, do you have any sense on timing when they might try to bring it up for cloture?
SPEAKER_01It it appears that it will be it'll be very soon, but it's very the timelines in the Senate are are very difficult to know ahead of time.
SPEAKER_03Well, we appreciate your insight and sharing, you know, sort of the crystal ball a little bit. Um appreciate the effort and really just appreciate all your hard work on behalf of NABPAC members and the larger business pack community. So we'll look forward to hearing back from you as the bill moves over to the Senate and we see some action over there. But thank you so much for your time today.
SPEAKER_01Of course, thank you very much.
SPEAKER_00A quick note about upcoming NABPAC activities here, Michaela. Coming up on Monday, March 15th at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, our very own Carol LaHam and Brandy Zern from Wiley headline our webinar on corporate transparency in the CPA Ziclin Index. Register and join the event to find out the goals behind activist shareholder proposals on corporate political transparency. How successful have they been? How have the events of January 6th impacted the quest for transparency? And how your company can score well on the ZPA Ziclin Index of Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability. All that coming up next week, Michaela.
SPEAKER_03I'm really looking forward to this webinar, Adam. I think this is sort of the next frontier for our member companies to be paying close attention to. Well, thanks to everyone listening and sharing the Facts About PACs podcast. We will be back with a new episode next week when we'll speak with Dr. David Rare, Professor and Director of the Center for Business Civic Engagement at the Shah School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Until then, stay safe, stay engaged, and keep moving forward.
