The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Republican caucuses of the House and Senate formed a "Congressional Committee". It supports the election of Republicans to the House through direct financial contributions to candidates and Republican Party organizations; technical and research assistance to Republican candidates and Party organizations; voter registration, education and turnout programs; and other Party-building activities. It is a registered 527 group, and its current slogan is "Building a Lasting Majority".
The NRCC is always chaired by a Republican member of the House, who may serve up to two consecutive terms. The current chair is Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma. Recent former chairmen include Rep. Bill Paxon (1994-98), Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia (1998-2002) and Tom Reynolds (2002-2006), who was seen as Paxon's protege and who represented his former district in Erie County, New York. It is governed by an Executive Committee of 11 members, which includes the party's Leader in the House ex-officio, and other members elected by the Republican Conference following a House election.
On September 21, 2006 Chairman Tom Reynolds met with lobbyists in Washington, D.C. 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 Federal Election Commission for transferring funds between PACs for the same candidates in violation of contribution limits.
Another of those continuing controversial techniques has been approaching small business leaders to inform them that they are to be recognized with a "National Leadership" Award, in return for a financial gift and the use of their names in a list of supporters. Science Friday host Ira Flatow and others report being approached in 2007 by the NRCC offering them such awards as "Congressional Order of Merit" (in exchange for adding their name to a list of NRCC members) or "Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Council" for a fee between $200 and $500.
In comparison to other groups, a larger number of donors to the NRCC do not declare an occupation or employer, making connections difficult; this may be due to the nature of its donor pool, which consists of more individuals than groups, according to the Federal Election Commission.
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".
The exact amount involved is still not known. On June 6, 2008 the Department of Justice, in filing a civil forfeiture proceeding against Ward's house, alleged that Ward "made over $500,000 in unauthorized withdrawals" and that he used the money to make his mortgage payments and for home renovation.
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