Disclosure Data Weblog

We've added another file to the FEC Disclosure Data Catalog - this one summarizing financial activity for every committee (Campaign, PAC, Party, etc.) that files financial information with us.

This file should give everyone a current look at the overall financial picture for any committee.  You will find totals for receipts and disbursements, along with all of the categories of sources of funds or types of spending that are defined in the Commission's reporting scheme. (You can see a list of these categories by looking at the old paper forms and instructions, either for campaigns or for PACs and Parties and others.)  Be sure to also look at the metadata for descriptions of the information.

This information covers the period from January 1, 2009 through the most recent report submitted by the committee.  You'll want to think about the reporting schedule as you use this file, so you can be sure to have the most current information available. For example, the file that is out there today (January 20, 2010) doesn't include the last month or quarter (or in the case of some PACs and parties the last six months of 2009) because year-end reports aren't due until January 31.

This file will probably be most useful for PACs and parties, but it also includes information for campaign committees.  If you're looking for 2010 campaigns your best bet will still be the Candidate Summary File, because that file combines the financial activity if there are several committees involved in a single candidate's campaign.  This file will be useful, though, if you're looking for information about Senators or other candidates who are not running in 2010 elections.  Those committees' financial summaries for 2009-2010 will be here.

We're going to keep building the catalog as quickly as we can - let us know if there are other sets of data you'd like to see.

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