An Empirical Investigation of the Dynamics of PAC Contributions

We study the extent to which PACs target the members and chairs of particular congressional committees, by estimating the effects of changes in a representative's committee and leadership assignments on changes in the pattern of PAC contributions received by the representative. We find strong evidence that ties exist between certain types of PACs and congressional committees. In addition, the analysis reveals interesting asymmetries in the propensity of PACs to add or drop members who change their committee assignments.