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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Do Congressional Democrats and Republicans support their parties with funds that are effectively membership dues?

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

By Austin Tannenbaum

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YES

Both Democratic and Republican members of Congress support their parties through fundraising quotas.

While officially dues are not required, there is political pressure to comply, with parties rewarding successful fundraisers with powerful committee assignments.

Summarizing Issue One’s report on the subject, U.S. News and World Report wrote that during the 2018 election cycle, leading House committee members “directed 20% or more of their campaign expenses to national party committees,” with the top dues payer transferring $1.8 million to support other Republicans. It added that “parties rely heavily on membership dues to shore up funds, in part because current campaign rules place no limits on what a member can transfer to a party committee.”

Critics warn that the funding expectations distract members from governing while supporters hold that they allow funds to be channelled to newer members lacking pull with donors.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Issue One The price of power: A deep-dive analysis into how political parties squeeze influential lawmakers to boost campaign coffers

US News & World Report Congressional ‘party dues’ rise as status grows: Study

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.