SIC 8651 Political Organizations

Encyclopedia of American Industries | 2005 | Copyright

SIC 8651
POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS

This classification includes membership organizations established to promote the interests of a national, state, or local political party or candidate. Also included are political groups organized to raise funds for a political party or individual candidates. Fund-raising organizations operating on a contract or fee basis are classified in SIC 7389: Business Services, Not Elsewhere Classified.

NAICS Code(s)

813940 (Political Organizations)

Industry Snapshot

The most prominent type of political organization is the political action committee, or PAC, which gradually came to replace the smaller localized political parties so prevalent in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. PACs are organized to pool the financial resources of a group of individuals or institutions with a common interest in order to disperse those funds toward political activities or candidates deemed by the PACs' organizers as conducive to the ends sought. PACs are usually, but not always, organized by corporations or people within an industry, such as oil companies, dairy farmers, banking institutions, or labor organizations. PACs contribute funds to politicians in hopes of gaining their support for legislation to advance the PACs' interests; some of the larger PACs focus on gun control, equal rights, or abortion rights. Corporate PACs have long been the leading contributors to political campaigns. Election-campaign funding has become a hot political topic in recent years, as many questioned the political influence that PACs and other interests wield in the political process.

A 1974 law passed by Congress fueled a dramatic increase in the formation of PACs. In 1986 there were 608 PACs, but by the end of 2002 the number of PACs had grown to almost 4,600. PACs delivered $282 million in contributions to federal candidates for the 2002 elections, up from $259.8 million in 2000. The majority of these contributions (75 percent) went to candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican candidates enjoyed $145.3 million in contributions, while Democrats trailed with $136.5 million. PACs raised a total of $685.3 million during the 2001-02 election cycle, a 13 percent increase from 1999-2000.

In recent years ideological or issue-oriented PACs have become popular. In contrast to groups that contribute directly to candidates, these PACs donate funds to organizations aligned with their interests in an effort to sway public opinion. Such organizations typically produce radio and television commercials and direct mail campaigns on controversial issues, including the right to abortion, prayer in schools, and gun control. Unlike corporate and labor union PACs, which may use money from the treasuries of their members, ideological PACs foot their own administrative costs. Because these groups are not contributing directly to candidates, they are not bound by many of the usual limitations on PACs.

Organization and Structure

PACs fall into five general categories: those formed by unions; trade associations and industry groups; corporations; cooperatives; and...

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