Political action committees and the American Nurses Association's advocacy

Political Action Committee or PAC

This is a business, ideological or labor group formed to raise funds and use it in either getting or defeating a given candidate in a general, primary or special election (Open Secrets, 2015). It can allot as much as $5,000 a year to the candidate, up to $15,000 a year to any national party committee and up to $5,000 a year to another PAC. It receives up to $5,000 from any given donor, another PAC or party committee a year. Affiliated PACs are considered donors too (Open Secrets).

PACs were first organized in 1944 as the Congress of Industrial Organizations or CIO when it had to raise funds for the re-election of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Open Secrets, 2015). At the time, the Smith Connally Act of 1943 prohibited contributions for candidates from federal unions. To avoid penalty, union members gave voluntary contributions. Federal election law refer to or view PACs' funds as "separate segregated funds in that these contributions deposited in banks are separate amounts from the union or a corporate treasury. Politicians now also organize leadership PACs to raise money for other candidates' campaign. Leadership PACS have been obliged since June 2008 to list and report the candidate or candidates it sponsors by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. Leadership PACs often imply a politician's intention to run for a Congressional or higher position (Open Secrets).

A Nursing PAC -- its Value, Ethics and Effectiveness

Banded together, about 3.4 million registered nurses as a single group of health professionals have the massive power to influence policy makers who in turn rely on their expertise (ANA, 2015). Nurses also enjoy the reputation as the most trusted professionals, according to the yearly honesty and ethics survey by Gallup (ANA, 2015). Their influence is grounded in what former President Thomas Jefferson himself described as a government "by the majority who participate." And the American Nurses Association is composed of members with additional skills in leadership, which they develop formally from the American Nurses Advocacy Institute and informally from available resources and tools for the purpose. When they complete the leadership skills program of the Institute, they become fellows who help sort out legislative regularity priorities and suggest strategies in promoting a particular policy issue. They also extend knowledge to colleagues on what really happens in politics (ANA).

Influence on Washington

Their force was particularly demonstrated on June 13, 2012 when more than only 100 members lobbied for critical professional concerns (Brenner, 2012). They first met with the Chief of Staff Chris Huckleberry of Congressman Kurt Schrader. Chris recommended ways of advocating their cause within the limited time allowed them at the Capitol Hill meeting. They learned more about health care reform and the importance of their educating members of Congress on the issues brought to their knowledge by the lobbying nurses (Brenner).