A political action committee (PAC) is an organization formed by a corporation or membership organization to accept voluntary contributions from members of its parent organization, and to then support candidates for political office with the money it collects. Corporations and membership organizations are prohibited by Federal election law from giving money to political candidates in any way, so PAC’s exist to support candidates with voluntary contributions beyond the normal membership dues of the parent organization.
AMPAC is led by a Board of Directors, composed of AMA members. The Board, along with AMPAC staff, works to find candidates to support during an election, and the money that AMPAC has raised is then used to support those candidates. AMPAC supports candidates for the United States Congress from all across the country in consultation with state medical societies. AMPAC does not support presidential candidates and does not support state or local candidates, though the PAC’s of state medical societies may do so with their own funds.
AMPAC typically makes a monetary contribution to a candidate, but can also make ‘independent expenditures’, which may include television, radio or online advertisements. Monetary contributions are limited by Federal campaign contribution limits, but because every cent of each contribution is formed from voluntary contributions from AMA members, each contribution represents the support of thousands of AMA members. Learn more about AMPAC activities.
AMPAC is a part of the AMA, but all personal contributions collected by AMPAC are used completely for political purposes. No personal funds contributed by a physician will be used for any other purpose, including administrative costs. Membership in AMPAC by members of the AMA is encouraged, but is voluntary, and not joining AMPAC will have no effect on AMA membership.
We recognize that many physicians may not fully understand or appreciate AMPAC’s core function, the scope of our work and why we need the support of all physicians. As a result, we’ve developed a short, educational video that will answer basic questions and aid our existing members in recruiting their colleagues to join the chorus of medicine’s most powerful political voice: AMPAC. Click here to view the video: https://vimeo.com/643850739/be114a948a