Campaign Funds: Who Gave, Who Got

Setting a double standard of ethics.

Congress provided federal campaign funds for the 1976 presidential election --but refused to do the same for Senate and House campaigns. With the White House doors shut, special-interest groups simply poured their money through the still open gates on Capitol Hill. Common Cause reported last week that such groups showered a record $22.6 million on candidates for Congress in 1976--nearly double the amount given in 1974. Herewith the top givers and recipients in Senate and House races:

DONORS

Medical associations $1,790,879

Dairy committees 1,362,159

AFL-CIO committees 996,910

Maritime unions 979,691

United Auto Workers 845,939

Energy interests 809,508

Education associations 752,272

Realtors 605,973

Financial institutions 529,193

Machinists 519,157

SENATE CANDIDATES

Vance Hartke(D.,Ind.) $245,700

Harrison Williams (D., N.J.) 244,373

Lloyd Bentsen(D., Texas) 229,299

John Tunney (D., Calif.) 219,419

William Green (D., Pa.) 216,660

HOUSE CANDIDATES

John Rhodes (R., Ariz.) $98,620

Jim Mattox (D., Texas) 85,310

Mark Hannaford (D., Calif.) 81,368

Lloyd Meeds (D., Wash.) 80,078

Thomas L. Ashley (D., Ohio) 76,337

One notable trend in the 1976 donations was that business and professional groups nearly tripled their 1974 giving. But Big Labor still led those groups in total spending, $8.2 million to $7.1 million. In the past two years, some 370 new committees were created by corporations to channel political donations from officers and employees. Common Cause hopes to see Congress cut itself out of the influence game this year by providing tax money for congressional campaigns. Such a move would serve as a farewell present to Common Cause Founder John Gardner, who is retiring as chairman in April. Incumbents have been reluctant to approve such a kitty: Why help challengers? But Congress is about to collect a pay raise and is caught up in an influence-buying scandal with South Korean lobbyists. So pressures to reform Capitol Hill's own campaign financing may prove too strong to resist. Besides, big money does not always guarantee success. Of the top five recipients of private money among Senate candidates, three were defeated --Hartke, Tunney and Green.

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