RADPAC $ TALK: Hard Money vs Soft Money


One of the most common questions RADPAC gets from ACRa members is, "What do you do with contributions to RADPAC?"

RADPAC spends the contributions it receives in 2 ways, depending on the source of the contributions.

"Hard money" contributions come directly from an ACRa member's personal bank account (check or personal credit card account). Upon receipt, RADPAC can use these funds to make contributions to candidates for federal office, to political party committees, or to leadership political action committees.

Every day, RADPAC receives approximately 25 invitations to events held for members of Congress. The suggested contribution to attend these events is $1,000. While RADPAC is selective about which events to attend, it is common for RADPAC to participate in anywhere from 10 to 30 events a month, based on the following RADPAC Board criteria:

  • Members of Congress who sit on a congressional committee that has jurisdiction over issues important to the medical community (primary committees of jurisdiction for medical issues—and more specifically radiology issues—include House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Ways and Means Committee, House and Senate Judiciary Committees, and the Senate Finance Committee)
  • Members of Congress in leadership positions within their political party
  • Members of Congress who have actively sponsored or supported general medical and radiology-specific legislation
  • Members of Congress or candidates for Congress with a professional background, such as a physician or others in the medical field
  • Viability of the candidate's campaign—through use of political polls, media reports and information from state and local sources (believing the candidate can or will win)

When RADPAC receives contributions from a corporate source, this is referred to as "soft money," since the funds are coming directly to RADPAC from a corporate account. Because the direct source of the soft money contribution comes to RADPAC from the practice's corporate account, RADPAC is not permitted to contribute these funds toward federal candidates for Congress, to political party committees, or to leadership political action committees.

These soft money contributions are still important to RADPAC as they help offset many of the expenses incurred when ACRa leaders and staff attend events for members of Congress that require travel, such as many activities related to last summer's Democratic and Republican conventions.

While the use of hard and soft money contributions differ, RADPAC recognizes contributors of both types equally.

For more information on RADPAC, contact Ted Burns directly at (703) 648-8949 or via e-mail at tedb@acr.org or Heather Kaiser at hkaiser@acr.org.