Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501310055
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Long
The GOP Action Committee played a significant role in the election of a Republican majority to Congress last fall by recruiting and supporting local candidates.
But the organization has become a focus of controversy because it has long refused to disclose the identities of most of its large donors. Moreover, taking advantage of a loophole in federal campaign laws, GOPAC has collected contributions from wealthy individuals that far exceed annual federal election limits.
One Wisconsin couple alone gave $715,457 to Gingrich's organization between 1985 and 1993 - nearly twice what they could have donated directly to all federal candidates. Indeed, the GOPAC contributions compare more closely in size with those collected by the Republican and Democratic parties to fund their national activities.
While many of the GOPAC donors are longtime conservative or Republican activists, their largess raises the potential for numerous conflicts of interest, particularly in light of the power that Gingrich now wields as House speaker.
Gingrich, for instance, has broken with his party's position to ally himself closely with a major GOPAC contributor, textile magnate Roger Milliken, on the issue of import quotas. Also, Gingrich has vowed to overhaul the Food and Drug Administration to make it more responsive to manufacturers of medical devices. Executives or lobbyists for seven companies regulated by that agency are among GOPAC's heavy-hitters.
GOPAC's ``charter members,'' those giving at least $10,000 annually, also include the heads of two companies under federal investigation - Flowers Industries Inc. and Thiele Kaolin Co., both of Georgia.
The subsidiary of another company with ties to GOPAC, Southwire Inc. in Carrollton, Ga., recently paid a $1 million fine for exporting contaminated fertilizer.
Gingrich has maintained that GOPAC follows election laws scrupulously. He also expressed confidence that he will be cleared of allegations that he is circumventing House rules and tax requirements on income and conflicts of interest. A complaint lodged by Ben Jones, Gingrich's Democratic opponent in November, is pending before the House Ethics Committee.
Lisa B. Nelson, GOPAC's executive director, said about 90 percent of the group's activities go to energize and support candidates in state and local elections. Thus, only 10 percent of the committee's fund-raising falls under the purview of the Federal Election Commission and its limits and disclosure requirements.
Critics contend that GOPAC is heavily geared toward influencing federal elections.
Gingrich also strongly rejects the notion that he might be beholden to any major GOPAC donors.
Until confidential donor lists began circulating recently, the identities of most GOPAC members and the amounts they contributed were not known. Early on, donors were promised confidentiality, and GOPAC felt obligated to keep that commitment, officials said.
Many large donors remain unknown. GOPAC refused to file donation reports until 1991, saying its work was with local - rather than national - candidates. Then, under pressure from Democrats, it agreed to declare 10 percent of the donations, saying that was the share then being used in federal races.
With the complaints and allegations mounting, GOPAC in November began making new donor information available for inspection at its Washington office, although still declining to file it with the FEC.
In a pending lawsuit, the agency contends that GOPAC violated federal campaign regulations by not registering earlier as a political committee.
GOPAC is part of a network of interlocking groups affiliated with Gingrich - referred to by some as Newt Inc. - that have helped fuel his campaigns and those of other Republican candidates. These donors have helped to underwrite courses that Gingrich has taught at Georgia colleges, his weekly television call-in show and two book projects prior to his most recent, and controversial, agreement with HarperCollins Publishers Inc. Many of the GOPAC charter members donated to one or more of these other enterprises as well.
The fourth-largest donor to GOPAC is Roger Milliken of Milliken and Co., a textile manufacturer. He contributed at least $255,000, and his brother, Gerrish H. Milliken, gave $90,000.
The Millikens have been outspoken opponents of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which would lessen trade barriers for many imports and exports. Gingrich has acknowledged that he decided to raise questions about whether GATT infringed on American sovereignty after meeting with Roger Milliken last year. Gingrich ultimately backed GATT.
Gingrich does not always promote Milliken's interests. Lobbyist Josh Nash noted that Gingrich also supported the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Milliken opposed, and added that Milliken is friendly to many Republican efforts.
A number of executives who have contributed heavily to GOPAC represent industries that have extensive dealings with the FDA, a prime target of Gingrich and other Republicans seeking to roll back government regulations. These include the family of Schwan Food Products Inc., which gave $279,905 to GOPAC; RJR Nabisco Inc. lobbyist M.B. Oglesby Jr. and William K. Hoskins, vice president for Marion Merrell Dow Inc., a pharmaceuticals firm.
Several GOPAC supporters who have had run-ins with the federal government also have made large contributions to the organization.
by CNB