Where Do RheumPAC Donations Go?

RheumPAC has been a standing committee of the ACR since 2007. The PAC was established to increase the ACR’s presence in Washington, D.C., and is charged with managing the contributions to congressional campaigns, as well as soliciting the membership for funds to increase the purse for these contributions.

RheumPAC, along with government affairs staff, created the following process to determine which congressional members will receive RheumPAC contributions.

1. The ACR government affairs department reviews members of both the House and Senate to assess who has demonstrated support for the rheumatology community by asking these questions:
   • Has the member introduced legislation specific to the ACR or that is pro-physician?
   • What is the member’s leadership role in Congress?
   • Is the member on a key committee, and does the committee have jurisdiction over healthcare or Medicare issues?
   • Does the member have any healthcare statements?
   • Is the member a co-sponsor of any of our key legislative issues?
2. The ACR government affairs department creates a candidate summary sheet, which is a legislative profile of each candidate who has demonstrated support of—and concern for—the rheumatology community and includes committee assignments, key legislation introduced or sponsored, and general healthcare policy statements.
3. The RheumPAC committee discusses each profile during a scheduled meeting or via their monthly conference call. Once discussions are complete, the committee members vote on the candidates they believe should receive RheumPAC contributions.
4. Once the candidates are chosen, the committee discusses and votes on the amount of the contributions, which generally range between $1,000 and $2,500. There is a maximum $5,000 contribution limit per election period.

RheumPAC is a bipartisan political action committee that contributes to both Democrats and Republican members of Congress. At this time, RheumPAC does not contribute to presidential candidates.

For more information on RheumPAC, please contact ACR Government Affairs Director, Kristin Wormley, at [email protected] or (404) 633-3777.