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Trust Test: Congressional candidate Lisa Brown and Corporate PACs

"It's exactly what's wrong with this congress, and why I don't take corporate PAC money, period," Brown says in the ad.

In a current political ad running online and on KREM 2, Democratic congressional candidate Lisa Brown responds to attack ads against her that claim she takes on corporate money influence in politics.

"It's exactly what's wrong with this congress, and why I don't take corporate PAC money, period," Brown says in the ad.

To sort out the accuracy of this claim, KREM 2 turned to disclosures with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). On its website, campaign contribution totals can be found for all candidates running for public office.

It is true that of the $176,000 in contributions from "other committees" to Brown's campaign, no contributions have come directly from corporate PACs. However, some of Brown's opponents have pointed out that contributions have come in from other groups and PACs that take in corporate money. For example, she received $5,000 from "PAC to the Future," which has reported contributions from corporations like Marriott, Goldman Sachs, General Electric, Google and more.

Again, this is not the same thing as directly taking money from these corporations. But KREM 2 interviewed Brown and asked if she thinks these kinds of indirect contributions can still unduly influence members of Congress.

"The point that people are raising is that corporate PAC funds could flow to non-corporate PAC funds, and then non-corporate PAC funds could flow to my race or to any candidate's race," Brown said. "It's perfectly legal for that to occur, but indirectly it means, again, there's this flow of funds. I guess my point would be: let's elect someone who would vote to change that."

"My opponent has taken in $7 million in corporate PAC money in her 14 years in Congress. I haven't. I won't," Brown continued. "And, if we want to address the indirect funding of non-corporate PACs--as if, your grandmother gave you a contribution at Christmas, and you gave someone a contribution on Valentine's Day--we could do that. Congress could do that today, and I would encourage them to act."

Brown also said she sees a difference between accepting money from corporations and accepting money from issue-based organizations or labor unions which are member-funded. She said overall transparency is key, and she would support legislation such as the Disclose Act so that voters can know who all is funding campaigns.

Recently released FEC disclosures show Brown has raised nearly $2.2 million total so far, with around $176,000 coming from committees and PACs. Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers has raised $3.4 million total, with about $1.4 million coming from committees and PACs.

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