Most caucus members will return to DC
WASHINGTON — Most of the 35 members of the Congressional Furnishings Caucus up for re-election this year are heading

back here despite the Democratic shakeup of both houses during midterm elections.

They survived with less help from FurnPAC, the American Home Furnishings Alliance’s political action committee, which has seen its donations decline.

Compared with previous election cycles, FurnPAC contributions were down in the two years leading up to this November’s election. The committee gave $29,500 to about two dozen candidates in the two-year period.

During the last midterm election cycle, in 2001 and 2002, the committee gave $88,523 to 68 campaigns, according to Federal Election Commission records.

FurnPAC’s fundraising is down by about 50% in the past five years, said Russ Baston, vice president of government affairs for the AHFA, a trade group mainly comprised of furniture manufacturers, importers and suppliers.

That is in part because of a downturn in donations from U.S. furniture company executives, the largest segment of its fundraising base. Contributions from executives with positions oriented to domestic production, such as vice presidents of manufacturing or human resources, have declined with the industry’s shift to imports, Batson said.

He added there are fewer issues today that unify constituents, such as sales tax collections on out-of-state deliveries, which FurnPAC had opposed.

With fewer domestic factories, there also have been fewer regulatory issues facing furniture manufacturers.
Trade has not been a unifying issue for the group, he said. 

“There have been fewer (issues) since the Clinton administration. Fewer red meat issues that really get people focused on who’s in Congress,” Batson said.

Meanwhile, the Congressional Furnishings Caucus, a group of lawmakers aligned with furniture industry interests, has survived mostly intact. All 12 incumbent Democrats in the caucus were re-elected, as were 20 of the 23 incumbent Republicans. One race, for Republican Robin Hayes’ 8th District seat in North Carolina, remained contested at press time.

“We were pleased to see most members of the Furnishings Caucus return, including representatives Coble, Watt, McHenry, Boucher and Goode,” said Batson.

Caucus members losing their seats were Reps. Don Sherwood, R-Pa.; Clay Shaw, R-Fla.; and Charles Taylor, R-N.C.

FurnPAC made its biggest contribution of $3,000 to Republican Sen. George Allen’s failed re-election campaign in Virginia.