ARMPAC Penalized $115,000 for Improper Financial Reporting
For Immediate Release
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Contact: |
Kelly Huff |
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| ARMPAC PENALIZED $115,000 FOR IMPROPER FINANCIAL REPORTING |
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Washington – The Federal Election Commission announced today that Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC) has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $115,000 over misstatements of financial activity, failure to report debts and obligations, and failure to properly allocate expenses between federal and non-federal accounts. This enforcement matter was based on an FEC audit report, approved by the Commission on July 28, 2005, covering ARMPAC financial activity from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2002. The Federal Election Campaign Act requires committees to disclose all outstanding debts and obligations. The audit showed that ARMPAC failed to report $322,306 in debts owed to 25 vendors. The law also requires committees to accurately disclose all receipts and disbursements for each reporting period. The audit, however, showed that ARMPAC failed to accurately report $74,295 in financial activity in 2001 and $166,340 in 2002. In addition, the law requires committees making expenditures that simultaneously support both federal and non-federal election activity to allocate the expenses between a federal and nonfederal account. While ARMPAC had two accounts, it failed to properly allocate expenses between the accounts. ARMPAC’s non-federal account overpaid $203,483 of allocable federal expenses for administrative costs, generic get-out-the vote drives and fundraising events expenses where both federal and non-federal funds were collected. The conciliation agreement contains an admission of all violations, a prohibition on future violations and a requirement that ARMPAC immediately transfer any receipts in the amount of $5,000 or greater to the non-federal account and that the Committee not make any expenditures in excess of $5,000 until the debt to the non-federal account has been paid in full.
*There are four administrative stages to the FEC enforcement process:
It requires the votes of at least four of the six Commissioners to take any action. The FEC can close a case at any point after reviewing a complaint. If a violation is found and conciliation cannot be reached, then the FEC can institute a civil court action against a respondent.
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