Republican Leadership Coalition

The Republican Leadership Coalition is "a Washington-based group that advocates 'private-sector initiatives to address community-wide problems,' in particular those facing minority communities, according to its Web site. The 527 committee is headed by Scott Reed, a former GOP Senate staffer. It received much of its money through entities related to Golden Rule Insurance Company chairman emeritus J. Patrick Rooney, who has advocated for medical savings accounts. It gave $1.2 million to the Kansas-based Council for Better Government, which reportedly aired television and radio advertisements touting GOP efforts," according to the Center for Public Integrity

In 1999, Bill Berkowitz wrote in September 2001, Scott Reed "formed the Republican Leadership Coalition (RLC), which according to an investigative report by the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), was formed to influence the Republican Party platform and to bring Hispanic voters into the party. Reed said that the RLC 'promotes ideas to help the Republicans maintain a majority.' In this regard, CPI reports that 'In early 2000, the coalition conducted focus group research, testing education and health care issues with the Latino population in Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico and Indiana.' The RLC 'intended to spend $3 million to $4 million on Spanish television and radio ads in these five states on health care and education.'

"The RLC, like Reed's American Taxpayers Alliance, also refused to disclose its donor list. (The only name Reed disclosed to CPI was that of insurance tycoon J. Patrick Rooney, a veteran contributor to conservative causes.)," Berkowitz wrote. "And they didn't have to, according to The New York Times, because The RLC is a '527' organization. Tucked inside the Internal Revenue Code is Section 527, 'a provision that opens the way for groups to raise and spend unlimited sums on political activities without any disclosure, as long as they do not expressly advocate voting for a candidate.' Because these groups are designated as a '527,' they do not have to report their contributors or spending to the Federal Election Commission. The 527 designation makes issue advocacy groups very difficult to track. The only donor to ATA that thus far has been ferreted out is Reliant Energy. Time magazine reports that Reliant, which gave $584,606 in campaign donations in 2000 -- 87 percent to Republicans -- is one of the companies 'accused by California officials of price gouging.'"

U.S. presidential election, 2004
"Groups that featured ads developed by the Republican Leadership Coalition included: Americas Pac, the Council for Better Government, Hispanics Together, the Committee for Honest Politics and the Progress for America Voter Fund." 

In the 2002 election cycle, the RLC, described as "an organization seeking to bring Hispanic voters into the GOP fold by promoting health-care savings accounts, contributed $300,000 to GOPAC in the third quarter." 

Campaign Finance Activity
According to the Center for Responsive Politics and the Internal Revenue Service, as of July 7, 2006, the RLC received $1,294,950 and spent $1,300,752 in the 2004 election cycle. 

Some of the top contributors were:
 * Woodland Group: $865,000
 * Uhlmann Company: $100,000
 * Phillips International: $50,000
 * Uhlmann Group: $15,000

Leadership

 * Scott Reed
 * Dan Perrin, Executive Director
 * Richard Nadler, Political Director

Website
The RLC's website, accessed July 18, 2006, presents with only a home page frozen at June 3, 2005. 

Contact Information
308 B Constitution Avenue NE Washington, D.C. 20003 Email: comments AT republicanleadership.org Website: http://www.republicanleadership.org/