Here's How Much The Democratic Party Charges to Be on Each House Committee
By Ryan Grim and Aída Chávez, The Intercept
03 September 19
House Democrats are woefully behind on dues owed to the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee, according to an internal party document
provided to The Intercept. The rank-and-files lagging participation in the
partys money chase is being made up for, however, by House Speaker Nancy
Pelosis prolific buckraking. By the end of June, she had raised the DCCC
more than $43,000,000.
Otherwise, only 11 party members had paid their dues in full, according to
the document, a July draft of the Member Dues Report for the 2019-2020
election cycle. The delinquency doesnt necessarily mean they wont pay at
some point during the cycle (though some certainly wont), but the DCCC,
naturally, would prefer to have the money as early as possible, for
budgeting and planning purposes. Members, meanwhile, prefer to hold on to
their campaign cash as a signal of strength, to deter potential opponents
considering a bid.
Party members are doing no better in the DCCCs points system, a complex,
lesser-known ranking that rewards a variety of activities Democrats can do
to hold the majority.
The DCCC Points Program, as it is dubbed in an internal document, rewards
members for their involvement in recruitment efforts and kicks them points
if they raise money for the partys House campaign arm, vulnerable
incumbents, and candidates vying to flip swing districts. Pelosi is sitting
atop the leaderboard with 279 points, while most members have none or just a
few.
Power is accumulated in the House by raising and dispersing money to
colleagues, a dynamic pioneered by Pelosis quasi-mentor, the late Rep. Phil
Burton, who once held Pelosis seat; its now a bipartisan practice. This
has been formalized with the DCCCs decades-old practice of asking members
to pay dues to the party committee in charge of reelection efforts and
reallocating that money to contested races. Democrats in leadership
positions, or who chair so-called money committees, are required to pay
higher dues than back benchers. Members are also given a target amount of
money they are expected to raise directly for the DCCC, which is separate
from their dues payment.
Members of Congress who pay their dues and hit their targets are rewarded
with better committee assignments in the future, and more favorable
treatment of legislation they author, than members who shirk their dues.
Members who dont pay, for instance, are less likely to have their bills or
amendments get a floor or committee vote. The DCCC did not respond to a
request for comment.
The points system the DCCC has worked out adds layers of nuance to the money
chase. According to the internal document describing the points program,
raising more than $15,000, or hosting an event that raises that amount for
vulnerable incumbents, known as front-line members or Red-to-Blue candidates
Democrats running in swing seats is worth five points. Traveling to a
district to campaign for a candidate, having a staff member volunteer to
campaign in a district, and hosting a get-out-the-vote phone bank are each
worth three points. For two points, members can do press or fundraising work
on behalf of a candidate, including phone or television interviews with
local papers, town hall meetings, radio ads, robo calls, or finance
meetings. The members are able to log their fundraising activities using an
online form.
Its not really something anyone pays attention to, said one House
Democrat of the points program, which is not new to this cycle. Its not
nearly as important as how much youve directly given to them.
2020 Member Points One Pager
Members of Congress can also earn points by meeting with a candidate-recruit
on behalf of the DCCCs political department, solicit colleagues on behalf
of the DCCC, and hold individual money meetings to benefit the DCCC.
Contributing the maximum legal amount per election to a colleagues
candidate committee or leadership PAC, or serving as a special guest at an
event that benefits the candidates committee or leadership PAC, are each
worth one point.
There are no points to be earned by registering new voters.
One source of contention early in this congressional term came around the
question of using email or social media to raise money for colleagues. When
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., learned of the dues structure, she
asked if raising money online could qualify. She was told that it would not,
and so she let the committee know she would not be paying dues. At the end
of the first quarter, she raised roughly $30,000 each for three front-line
members online.
According to the DCCC points system document, it appears that act should
have qualified her for 30 DCCC points redeemable, theoretically, for
future favors from party leadership. The DCCC dues document confirms she has
not paid dues and also marks her as having earned zero points total. (Oddly,
it says she raised $1,000 for the party committee. Its not clear what
thats a reference to; Ocasio-Cortez guessed that it might be a reference to
the $1,000 cost for a DCCC issues conference.)
The dues for the 2020 cycle, according to the DCCC dues document, range from
$150,000 at the low level to $1,000,000 for the speaker of the House.
The document lays out the price of particular committee assignments.
Leadership posts for the second-, third-, and fourth-ranking Democrats
currently Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn, and Ben Ray Luján range from $900,000
down to $700,000. The next tier of leadership, which includes Caucus Chair
Hakeem Jeffries, DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos, and others, costs just $575,000.
Lower-ranking members of leadership owe between $400,000 and $500,000.
July Caucus Report 2019 DRAFT
Thats less than the chairs of exclusive committees have to chip in. Those
four Richard Neal, chair of Ways and Means; Frank Pallone, chair of Energy
and Commerce; Nita Lowey, chair of Appropriations; and Maxine Waters, chair
of Financial Services owe $600,000 each for their gavels. Neal has paid
half of his dues, while Lowey and Pallone have paid just under $200,000.
Waters hasnt made any dues payments yet. The document also lists a goal for
money-raised, which it puts at $1.2 million for each of the four. The dues
report claims Waters has raised just $40,500, compared to $3.3 million for
Neal, $1.4 million for Pallone, and $160,400 from Lowey. (Neal, Pallone, and
Lowey are facing primary challenges.)
On those so-called money committees, like Ways and Means and Energy and
Commerce, even freshman members are asked to pay higher dues. Thats because
those committees have jurisdiction over effectively every major industry,
giving members a leg-up in demanding checks from corporations who need or
oppose legislation before the panel. It is also valuable for industries to
have committee members write letters to agencies they oversee.
Chairs of committees not lucky enough to oversee commercially prosperous
industries owe just $300,000 in dues and have a listed goal of raising
$300,000, compared to the money committees $1.2 million. Indeed, even vice
chairs of money committees owe more than chairs of regular committees.
Yvette Clarke, vice chair of Energy and Commerce, and Terri Sewell, vice
chair of Ways and Means, owe $400,000 each. Subcommittee chairs on money
panels owe as much as chairs of plebeian committees: $300,000.
An individual seat on a money committee, meanwhile, will run a member of
Congress $250,000. Sad sack rank-and-filers not privileged enough to sit on
a money committee owe just $150,000.
Very few Democrats have paid their dues in full, including Luján, who was
DCCC chair in 2016 and 2018 but is now leaving the House to run for Senate.
He has paid $0 to his former committee.
Reps. David Trone, of Maryland, and Jim Himes, of Connecticut, two of the
wealthier Democrats in the chamber, have paid their dues in full, as have
Bustos and Reps. Chellie Pingree, Dutch Ruppersberger, Joe Kennedy, Adam
Schiff, Brad Schneider, Tom Suozzi, Bill Foster, Mike Thompson, and Henry
Cuellar. Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who is known in the Capitol as a dues
deadbeat, is facing a primary challenge from the left, mounted by Jessica
Cisneros, and he likely presumes the DCCC will kick in to help him prevail.
Rep. Kathy Castor, a Florida Democrat, is chair of the Select Committee on
the Climate Crisis, the panel that Pelosi created in lieu of the Green New
Deal committee demanded by Ocasio-Cortez. She owes just $300,000 for that
gavel. Its a good deal, because without the chairmanship, shed still owe
$250,000 for her single seat on Energy and Commerce. Democratic leaders must
not see much money to be made in the climate crisis.
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