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| Gifts, Cash Bonuses Allowed at Conventions -- on Taxpayers' - |
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olympic
 Posted:
Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:27 pm |
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Gifts, Cash Bonuses Allowed at Conventions -- on Taxpayers'
Booze, bling and staff bonuses can be paid for with taxpayer dollars at the upcoming national party conventions under federal regulations, according to a memo the Congressional Research Service (CRS) prepared for Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn last month
It's not clear, though, that either the Democrats or Republicans will actually provide such publicly financed perks.
Convention workers are eligible for gifts of values up to $150, and staff can be paid bonuses. These are permitted under Federal Election Commission regulations governing the $16.8 million each party gets from the federal Presidential Election Campaign Fund (PECF) for its convention, according to a copy of the memo obtained by CQ Politics. There also is no prohibition on the parties' convention committees purchasing alcoholic beverages with public money.
A congressional aide who has seen the memo said that the alcohol question arises frequently.
"It's one of first questions staff and members always ask when you tell them taxpayers pay for conventions," the aide said.
But drinking parties aren't in the Democratic Party's plans, according to Natalie Wyeth, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Convention Committee in Denver. "I can't say for certain to every dollar and dime, but we don't do parties," Wyeth said. "That's not our focus."
Alcohol will not be sold at the concession stands in Denver's Pepsi Center, site of the first three days of the Democratic National Convention before it moves to the outdoor Invesco Field stadium to provide a more dramatic setting for Barack Obama's speech accepting the party's presidential nomination. But the occupants of private suites can purchase alcohol packages through a designated caterer, Wyeth said.
A spokeswoman for the Republican committee overseeing the party's convention in St. Paul, Minn., did not reply to a request for comment.
The five-page CRS memo was drafted in response to a query from Coburn's office about how public funds can be used by the convention committees. Coburn is one of the most outspoken Senate opponents of federal spending that he describes as wasteful.
In addition to the PEFC money, which is financed by taxpayers who check a box on their income tax forms, convention committees raise private funds to help pay for their activities. The CRS memo did not address uses of private money.
But it did provide plenty of detail on how public money can permissibly be used.
"Relevant federal law and FEC regulations appear to permit using PECF funds for a variety of entertainment expenses, and do not prohibit expenses for alcohol, provided that those expenses do not violate federal or state laws," CRS analysts R. Sam Garrett and Shawn Reese wrote.
The IRS code is fairly ambiguous on these matters, the memo states, allowing the convention committees to spend public money to "defray expenses incurred with respect to a presidential nominating convention."
But FEC regulations are quite specific about what qualifies as a convention expense, according to the CRS memo.
For example, up to $20,000 in public money can be used at each convention to purchase gifts for staff and volunteers of up to $150 each. In addition to basic convention-related expenses, including salaries, the funds can also used for bonuses, entertainment -- including alcohol -- and even investment of profits that would be used to defray the cost of the convention.
"Should the federal government be in the party business? I think that's the $33 million question this year," the congressional aide said.
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