{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/democratic-senators-call-on-trump-education-secretary-nominee-devos-to-pay-53-million-in-unpaid-fines-for-election-violations", "Democratic Senators Call on Trump Education Secretary Nominee DeVos to Pay $5.3 Million in Unpaid Fines for Election Violations", "2016-12-14", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Edward Markey", "M000133", "www.markey.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Democratic Senators Call on Trump Education Secretary Nominee DeVos to Pay $5.3 Million in Unpaid Fines for Election Violations \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWednesday, December 14, 2016\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSenators say group run by DeVos, nominated to administer nation\u2019s student loan programs, showed blatant willingness to \u2018avoid paying legally obligated public debts\u2019\r\n\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0Today,\u00a0U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.),\u00a0and\u00a0Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)\u00a0announced that they are calling on President-elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, to ensure payment of the $5.3 million in fines and penalties owed by DeVos\u2019 All Children Matter Political Action Committee (PAC) for campaign finance violations dating back to 2008. All Children Matter broke Ohio election law by illegally funneling $870,000 in contributions from its nationwide PAC to its Ohio affiliate \u2013 and accordingly, the state of Ohio levied a record fine of more than $5 million against DeVos\u2019 group. Yet nearly a decade later, the PAC has not paid the debts for its illegal activities.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nIn a letter to DeVos, the senators expressed their deep concern at the willingness of DeVos\u2019 PAC to both brazenly disregard election law and blatantly refuse to take responsibility and pay its fines. The senators noted that, as Secretary of Education, DeVos would be responsible for seeing to the timely repayment of debt from student loan borrowers \u2013 even as the PAC she chaired refused to pay fines that are nearly a decade old. Roughly 44 million Americans owe nearly $1.3 trillion in federal student loans, creating a crushing debt burden for individuals struggling to make their payments. But when All Children Matter broke election law and was fined a record $5.3 million, DeVos\u2019 group chose to simply cease operations and disband, rather than taking responsibility for its debts.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n\"The blatant disregard for the law that your PAC demonstrated is deeply troubling. However, when the organization\u2019s violations of law were punished by the Ohio Elections Commission, the PAC\u2019s refusal to take responsibility and pay the fines is unconscionable,\u201d the senators wrote. \u201cIf confirmed as Secretary of Education, you would be responsible for administering our nation\u2019s student loan programs and ensuring that borrowers repay their loans in a timely manner. However, the PAC that you chaired failed to pay fines that were imposed on it over eight years ago. This demonstrates a serious lack of judgment by the PAC\u2019s board and a willingness to avoid paying legally obligated public debts.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u201cPrior to your confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, we request that you take the necessary steps to ensure payment of all fines and penalties imposed on the All Children Matter PACs by the Ohio Elections Commission and the state courts,\u201d the senators continued.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nDeVos\u2019 leadership role in the All Children Matter PAC is one of her many activities as a longtime billionaire mega-donor for conservative causes, with DeVos stating her own goal to be \u201cbuying influence.\u201d As DeVos\u00a0wrote in a 1997 op-ed\u00a0for Roll Call, \u201cmy family is the largest single contributor of soft money to the national Republican party\u2026. I have decided, however, to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence. Now, I simply concede the point. We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues. We expect a return on our investment; we expect a good and honest government. Furthermore, we expect the Republican party to use the money to promote these policies, and yes, to win elections.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\r\nThe full text of the letter can be found below and\u00a0here.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nBetsy DeVos\r\nSecretary-Designate\r\nU.S. Department of Education\r\n\u00a0\r\nDear Secretary-Designate DeVos:\r\n\u00a0\r\nWe are writing to express significant concerns about the failure of the All Children Matter Political Action Committee (PAC) to pay Ohio $5.3 million in fines and late fees for violating the state\u2019s campaign finance laws. At the time of the violations, you were the head of the organization, and you and your husband were one of the PAC\u2019s biggest contributors.\r\n\u00a0\r\nIn 2006, the federal All Children Matter PAC sought an advisory opinion from the Ohio Elections Commission to determine whether it was allowed to contribute more than the $10,000 statutory limit to its Ohio based affiliate. The Commission provided an advisory opinion stating that aggregate contributions of greater than $10,000 in a year to the Ohio affiliate would violate the law. Inexplicably, your PAC ignored this advisory opinion and proceeded to contribute $870,000 to the Ohio affiliate.\r\n\u00a0\r\nThe bipartisan Ohio Elections Commission unanimously found both the federal and Ohio All Children Matter PACs to have violated the state\u2019s campaign finance laws and imposed fines of $5.2 million. An Ohio court subsequently upheld the fine and imposed additional late fees for failing to pay. Rather than pay the fines for violating the law, the All Children Matter PACs simply ceased operation and never paid the significant sum it owed to the state of Ohio.\r\n\u00a0\r\nThe blatant disregard for the law that your PAC demonstrated is deeply troubling. However, when the organization\u2019s violations of law were punished by the Ohio Elections Commission, the PAC\u2019s refusal to take responsibility and pay the fines is unconscionable. \u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nIf confirmed as Secretary of Education, you would be responsible for administering our nation\u2019s student loan programs and ensuring that borrowers repay their loans in a timely manner. However, the PAC that you chaired failed to pay fines that were imposed on it over eight years ago. This demonstrates a serious lack of judgment by the PAC\u2019s board and a willingness to avoid paying legally obligated public debts.\r\n\u00a0\r\nPrior to your confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, we request that you take the necessary steps to ensure payment of all fines and penalties imposed on the All Children Matter PACs by the Ohio Elections Commission and the state courts.\r\n\u00a0\r\nWe appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/democratic-senators-call-on-trump-education-secretary-nominee-devos-to-pay-53-million-in-unpaid-fines-for-election-violations"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1352552101016045, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}