What is a PAC (political action committee)?

A political action committee (PAC) is a type of political committee registered with the Federal Election Commission under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA, 52 U.S.C. Section 30101 et seq.). The term 'political action committee' is informal; FECA uses the broader term 'political committee,' which covers any organization -- other than a candidate's own campaign committee or a political party committee -- that raises or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election. PACs are the primary vehicle through which corporations, labor unions, trade associations, and other organizations channel money into federal campaigns within the limits and disclosure requirements that FECA imposes. The concept of a politically active fundraising committee sponsored by a labor organization predates FECA: the Congress of Industrial Organizations Political Action Committee, founded in 1943 by CIO president Sidney Hillman to support Franklin Roosevelt's re-election, is widely cited as the first modern PAC. However, the formal statutory structure -- with defined contribution limits, registration requirements, and public disclosure -- was established by FECA's landmark 1974 amendments.

FECA recognizes two broad categories of PAC. The first is the connected committee, also called a separate segregated fund (SSF). A corporation, labor union, membership organization, or trade association may establish an SSF by setting up a fund that is legally separate from the sponsoring organization's general treasury. The sponsoring organization pays the fund's administrative and solicitation costs from its treasury -- an allowable in-kind contribution -- but contributions to the SSF itself must come only from a restricted class of individuals: for a corporation, its stockholders and their families and its executive and administrative personnel; for a labor union, its members and their families; for a trade association, the stockholders and executive personnel of its member companies. SSF contributions are voluntary; federal law expressly prohibits using physical force, job discrimination, or financial reprisals to compel contributions to a PAC (52 U.S.C. Section 30118(b)(3)). The second category is the non-connected committee -- a PAC with no sponsoring corporation, union, or association, which may solicit contributions from the general public. Non-connected PACs range from single-candidate committees (dedicated to electing one specific officeholder) to large ideological organizations that support many candidates across multiple elections.

The defining feature of a traditional PAC -- the one that distinguishes it from a super PAC -- is its ability to make direct contributions to federal candidates and party committees, subject to hard legal limits. A PAC qualifies as a 'multi-candidate committee' once it has been registered with the FEC for at least six months, has received contributions from more than 50 persons, and has made contributions to five or more federal candidates (52 U.S.C. Section 30116(a)(4)). A multi-candidate committee may contribute up to $5,000 per candidate per election (primary and general election counted separately) to candidate campaign committees, and up to $15,000 per year to each national party committee. These dollar amounts are set by statute and, unlike individual contribution limits, have not been adjusted for inflation under BCRA's inflation-indexing mechanism. A PAC that has not yet qualified as a multi-candidate committee is subject to the same per-candidate limit as an individual donor -- currently inflation-adjusted each cycle. All direct contributions from a PAC to a candidate count against both the PAC's contribution limit and the candidate's overall contribution cap. Beyond direct contributions, PACs may also make independent expenditures -- spending on communications advocating the election or defeat of a federal candidate without coordinating with any campaign -- subject to no dollar limit.

The distinction between a traditional PAC and a super PAC -- the category created by Citizens United v. FEC (Supreme Court, January 21, 2010) and SpeechNow.org v. FEC (D.C. Circuit, March 26, 2010) -- turns entirely on whether the committee makes direct contributions to candidates. A super PAC (officially an 'independent expenditure-only committee') accepts unlimited contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals but is legally prohibited from making any direct contribution to a candidate or party committee and may not coordinate its spending with any campaign. Its spending is classified entirely as independent expenditures. A traditional PAC occupies the opposite position: it may give directly to candidates and parties within FECA's limits, but the amounts that individuals may contribute to the PAC are themselves capped. A hybrid PAC (sometimes called a Carey committee, named after FEC Advisory Opinion 2011-23 in Carey v. FEC) maintains two accounts: one that operates under traditional PAC rules (accepting limited contributions and making limited direct donations to candidates) and a second that operates as a super PAC (accepting unlimited contributions used only for independent expenditures). The two accounts must be kept strictly separate.

For the 2028 presidential election, PACs are a central channel for organized political giving. Every major 2028 presidential campaign is expected to have affiliated connected committees as well as separate super PACs operating alongside it. PAC activity begins well before the official 2028 campaign: committees may be established and begin fundraising years in advance of an election, and their filings are public. All PACs raising or spending more than $1,000 must register with the FEC and file regular public reports. Contributions above $200 and expenditures above $200 must be itemized by donor or recipient name. All filings are publicly searchable in real time at fec.gov, allowing voters and journalists to monitor PAC activity throughout the 2028 election cycle.