Campaign Expenditures in the United States, 1981-1982

Résumé 0

According to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as amended), political party and non-party committees must limit their campaign spending and report their expenditures to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The information collected by the FEC outlines the party and non-party committee expenditures for each candidate supported and also presents the data by candidate and House or Senate position sought. This data collection is contained in six files. Party data are contained in two files: a spread file that contains a record for each party committee in alphabetical order by committee ID number, and a cross-tabs file that contains one or more records for each party committee, organized first by committee ID number and then by candidate ID number. Non-party and House/Senate data are also contained in a spread file and a cross-tabs file, both organized in the same manner as the party files. Candidates are designated by a candidate ID number that includes the federal office sought (coded "S" for Senate or "H" for House) and the state in which the candidate ran. Specific variables record information on total receipts and the amounts of contributions from corporations, labor organizations, membership and trade associations, and health-related organizations. Variables also detail the committees' amount of available cash, debts owed to and by organizations, amount of in-kind contributions, and expenditures.