The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Republicans to that body. Its current chair is Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York. The NRCC was formed in 1866. The NRCC's current slogan is "Building a Lasting Majority." The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... The Hill committees are a set of four political party committees, controlled by the Republican and Democratic caucuses in each house of the United States Congress, which work to elect members of their own party to Congress (located on Capitol Hill, the source of the name). ... Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. ... Thomas M. Reynolds (born September 3, 1950) is a politician from the U.S. state of New York, currently representing the states 26th Congressional district (map) in the U.S. House. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ...

Representatives may serve two consecutive terms as Chair. Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia was Chairman for two terms from 1998 to 2002. Prior to Davis, the Chairman was Rep. Bill Paxon. Current Chair Tom Reynolds was Paxon's protege and the two men represented the same district in Erie County, New York. The next Chairman to receive the job is likely to be either Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas or Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma. Thomas M. Davis III (born January 5, 1949 in Minot, North Dakota) is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the Eleventh Congressional District of Virginia (map) in Northern Virginia. ... State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... L. William Paxon (born April 29, 1954) is a former U.S. Congressman and politician from New York. ... Erie County is a county located in the state of New York. ... Categories: People stubs | 1955 births | Members of the U.S. House of Representatives | Texas politicians ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Rep. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (fBlack Mesa Mountain]][2] km)  - % water 1. ...

Controversies in the news

In 2001, when soft money was about to be prohibited, the Committee successfully invigorated its donor program, raising millions and breaking records.[1]. Prior to the soft money ban, for 2000 and 2002, one-third of the Committee's $210.8 million was soft money donations. Soft money refers to money used to advance a particular political campaign in such a manner as to skirt the legal limits on how much money individuals or organizations are allowed to contribute to political campaigns (termed hard money). ...

Automated phone calls

In 2006, just days before the November 7th Midterm Congressional elections, numerous reports started to surface of a series of robotic phone-calls being authorized by the NRCC, with the apparent intention to confuse and annoy the supporters of Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives. Philadelphia Daily News article

In New Hampshire, the state attorney general's office requested that the NRCC end the robocalls, but many individuals in the state continued to report receiving them. New Hampshire News Article The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent the NRCC a cease-and-desist letter. The DCCC letter cited the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation requiring that a prerecorded telephone call must identify the responsible entity at the beginning of the message, and must include the entity's telephone number. Because the NRCC's calls did not name the NRCC at the beginning and did not provide a contact phone number, the DCCC charged the NRCC with "a pattern of willful noncompliance with FCC requirements". [2] Categories: Politics stubs ... Cease-and-desist is a legal term meaning essentially stop: It is used in demands for a person or organization to stop doing something (to cease and desist from doing it). ... The FCCs official seal. ...

Cash demands from lobbyists, clients, and "award winners"

Especially after the ban, the NRCC's fundraising sources and techniques have been criticized. For the 2004 election cycle, at least two of its top three donors have been Indian tribal clients of Jack Abramoff. Others include gambling interests (also related to Abramoff).[3] ÷ It has been suggested that Category:Jack Abramoff scandals be merged into this article or section. ...

On September 21, 2006, MSN reported that Chairman Tom Davis met with lobbyists in Washington to warn them to contribute only to Republicans and not to challengers from the Democratic Party because their donations would be tracked and they would lose favors among the Republican members of Congress. Similar activities of the K Street Project occurred when Davis was head of the NRCC; the organization was fined by the FEC for transferring funds between PACS for the same candidates in violation of contribution limits. The K Street Project is a project by the Republican Party to pressure Washington lobbying firms to hire Republicans in top positions, and to reward loyal GOP lobbyists with access to influential officials. ...

Another of those continuing controversial techniques is contacting small business leaders to inform them that they are to be recognized with a 'National Leadership' Award.[4][5] The cost for this award is a donation to the Committee. The television show '60 Minutes' has aired more than one full episode dedicated to investigating the NRCC and their fundraising activities. 60 Minutes is an investigative television newsmagazine on United States television, which has run on CBS News since 1968. ...

In comparison to other groups, a larger number of donors to the NRCC do not declare an occupation or employer, making connections difficult; however this may be due to the nature of its donor pool, who are individuals rather than groups, according to the Federal Election Commission. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency created in 1975 by Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance legislation in the United States. ...

External links

• Official website
• Cornell University Guide to the National Republican Congressional Committee Records, 1964?-1971
• "Worried Over Soft Money, G.O.P. Readies Major Gala", New York Times
• "Politician or telemarketer?" MSNBC Nightly News, December 11. 2003
• Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999 - 2006 at CapitalEye.com
• Sourcewatch profile of NRCC
• Donations to NRCC at OpenSecrets.com
• Donations to NRCC in 2004 from Campaignmoney.com
• Donations to NRCC in 2006 from Campaignmoney.com