Barack Obama’s inauguration committee announced Tuesday
that it would limit corporate and politically-tied money in funding the
swearing-in of the Democrat on Jan. 20.
The Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) said in a
statement that it would not “accept contributions from corporations, political
action committees (PACs), current federally registered lobbyists, non-U.S.
citizens and registered foreign agents.”
{mosads}Inauguration funding totals have grown over the years, and
though the law does not restrict sources of funding or how much money
committees can accept, former presidents have imposed caps following public
criticism.
President Clinton’s inaugural committee in 1997 raised
$23.7 million with a self-imposed $100,000 cap. President Bush’s inaugural
committee raised $40 million in 2001 and put a $100,000 cap on
contributions.
But Bush’s committee in 2005 set a cap of $250,000 on the
way to raising $42.8 million. Corporations and their executives provided for
more than 90 percent of the donations, according to the non-profit watchdog
group, Public Citizen.
“It’s better than what we’ve ever seen before,” said Craig
Holman, legislative representative for Public Citizen, of Obama’s donation
restrictions. “None of the previous presidents has ever prohibited contributions
from corporations, or PACs, or registered lobbyists for the inaugural
activities. So what we’re seeing is a marked shift.”
Obama’s committee also said it would not take individual
donations larger than $50,000. The majority of those individual donors are
likely to be the heads of large and wealthy corporations that want to buy
influence with Obama, according to Holman.
“(Obama’s) imposing a tougher standard on himself than
anyone previously,” Holman said. “It’s going to be mostly, almost exclusively,
wealthy individuals throwing in large chunks of money. These are going to be
CEOs of businesses who want to catch his ear and they’re the ones who’ll be
throwing in $50,000.”
Much of the money is going to be used to open up areas on
the National Mall that have not been available to the public in past
inaugurations said Linda Douglass, a spokesperson for the committee.
“We’re talking about putting JumboTron TV screens around
with sound systems so that as many people as possible can witness the
inauguration right here in the nation’s capital,” Douglass said.
“It’s an event that will hopefully unite the country and
move beyond partisan rancor that you’ve seen following elections in the past.”
Though starting with a small staff, Douglass said she
expects to see a large number of people come forward to volunteer the help the
committee prepare for the inauguration.
“We certainly do expect to get an outpouring of offers to
volunteer and we’re hoping to find as many ways as possible to use all of
them,” said Douglass.
The five co-chairs of the PIC, which was formed on Nov.
19, were unveiled Tuesday.
William Daley, who is on Obama’s transition team, served
as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton from 1997 to 2000.
Penny Pritzker served as finance chair on Obama’s campaign committee. John
Rogers is founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Ariel Investments and
serves on the boards of Aon Corporation, Exelon Corporation and McDonald’s
Corporation.
Julianna Smoot served as national finance director on
Obama’s presidential campaign. She previously worked for the Democratic
Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), and Sen. John Edwards
(D-N.C.).
The lone Republican on the committee, Patrick Ryan,
oversaw Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics and is chairman of the board of
trustees of Northwestern University. He is also an owner/director of the
Chicago Bears.
“It
is a distinct honor to chair the committee that will organize the celebration
of next year’s historic inauguration of Barack Obama and Joe Biden,” said the
committee in a joint statement.
“We
are committed to ensuring that these activities are organized in a way that
reflects the American people’s common values, shared aspirations and commitment
to addressing our challenges as one, united nation.”