Harman’s DCCC dues unpaid

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) has not paid any dues to the House Democrats’ campaign committee since being passed over to head the Intelligence panel a year and a half ago.

Harman and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have had a rocky relationship, which became more strained after Pelosi tapped Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) for the top spot on the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections.

{mosads}During the 2006 cycle, Harman — as ranking member on the Intelligence panel — contributed $190,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). By this point of the 2006 cycle, Harman had given the committee $75,000.

But she has not paid a dime of her $200,000 dues this cycle, though she has contributed $65,500 to individual Democratic candidates, according to CQMoneyLine. Pelosi selects the head of the DCCC, and she regularly urges her caucus to contribute to the campaign committee.

In a statement provided to The Hill, Harman said, “I’ve given directly to many of our Red-to-Blue and Frontline candidates in this cycle, and will continue to provide maximum support to a Democratic victory in November through my campaign and leadership PAC [political action committee], SecureUS, which has a proven track record of helping Democratic candidates win by honing a tough and smart security message.”

The campaigns of Reps. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have received the most from Harman as of March 31, each taking in $4,000.

Harman has $307,388 cash on hand in her campaign war chest and nearly $49,000 in her SecureUS PAC.

During the 2002 and 2004 cycles, Harman gave $100,000 and $150,000 to the DCCC, respectively.
Doug Thornell, a spokesman for the DCCC, declined to comment specifically on Harman.

“Members do their own planning as they determine how and when to best support the DCCC,” he said. “We always appreciate their help, which along with our grassroots and online support allows us to stay aggressively on the offense against Republicans and their numerous 527 partners, like Freedom’s Watch, this fall.”

Unlike Pelosi, Harman voted for the Iraq war in 2002. Shortly thereafter, Pelosi tapped Harman over Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.) to replace herself as the intelligence panel’s ranking member.

It remains unclear exactly what led to the friction between the two House lawmakers.

Some say Harman, a centrist who chairs the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Oversight, rubbed leadership the wrong way by not criticizing the Bush administration more when she was ranking member.

Others have said leadership frowned on Harman’s yearning for the spotlight.

Harman has voted with leadership on a range of high-profile issues during the 110th Congress, including on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the 2007 Iraq war supplemental and ethics reform legislation.

During a March 14 floor speech on FISA, Harman said, “I served six years on the Armed Services Committee, eight on the Intelligence Committee and four on the Homeland Security Committee, where I chair its Intelligence subcommittee. I received so-called Gang of Eight briefings on the operational details of the terrorist surveillance program from 2003 to 2006, and I regularly receive classified threat briefings. … Some in this chamber — in both parties — seek my views on security issues, and I hope my advice is helpful.”