GaryMrMets
05-14-2003, 02:17 PM
Baseball PAC Contributes Over $250K to Candidates, Parties
WASHINGTON -- Major League Baseball's political action committee contributed $108,000 to 65 congressional candidates last year, much of it to incumbents who sit on committees of strategic interest to the sport.
Federal Election Commission reports show that the PAC gave to 40 House candidates and 25 Senate candidates, about 60 percent to Democrats and 40 percent to Republicans. Baseball also contributed $170,000 in unregulated "soft money'' to the national parties in the last election, $95,000 to the Democrats, $75,000 to the GOP.
Baseball, the only sport with a PAC, formed the committee last year, when the House and Senate judiciary committees were considering legislation that would partially rescind the sport's antitrust exemption. Among other things, that exemption has given baseball the authority to prevent teams from moving from city to city, as has happened in other sports.
Baseball lobbied to preserve the exemption and made contributions to committee members in both houses of Congress. It also dropped plans to eliminate two teams, the idea that sparked the bill. The legislation never made it out of committee.
The sport also is working to preserve its copyrights on the Internet, an issue that comes under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate commerce committees. Most of the PAC's contributions went to members who sit on either judiciary or commerce.
WASHINGTON -- Major League Baseball's political action committee contributed $108,000 to 65 congressional candidates last year, much of it to incumbents who sit on committees of strategic interest to the sport.
Federal Election Commission reports show that the PAC gave to 40 House candidates and 25 Senate candidates, about 60 percent to Democrats and 40 percent to Republicans. Baseball also contributed $170,000 in unregulated "soft money'' to the national parties in the last election, $95,000 to the Democrats, $75,000 to the GOP.
Baseball, the only sport with a PAC, formed the committee last year, when the House and Senate judiciary committees were considering legislation that would partially rescind the sport's antitrust exemption. Among other things, that exemption has given baseball the authority to prevent teams from moving from city to city, as has happened in other sports.
Baseball lobbied to preserve the exemption and made contributions to committee members in both houses of Congress. It also dropped plans to eliminate two teams, the idea that sparked the bill. The legislation never made it out of committee.
The sport also is working to preserve its copyrights on the Internet, an issue that comes under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate commerce committees. Most of the PAC's contributions went to members who sit on either judiciary or commerce.