Attention all campaign finance law experts...
I have a real problem on my hands. I would like very much to donate to all of the dKos8 (what meager sum I can afford). If you have donated to a political campaign, however, you have surely noticed the requirements one must meet in order to donate: these are not the funds of anyone else, I am a US citizen, blah blah blah.
There is one that prevents me from donating: I am a federal government contractor (I think).
How can I find out if this applies to me?
I understand the reasoning behind this rule. They don't want contractors influencing the contract decisions of the government because of campaign generosity. This makes sense.
Let me explain my situation. I am a LOW level employee of a company that does operations research contracting work for several branches of the government, including Interior, Transportation (which is where I'm involved), and Defense (they are currently in Iraq).
My questions come down to this:
- Does the statement "I am not a federal contractor" apply only individuals who have contracts with the govt, or to all employees of companies that have contracts with the govt? In other words, is it OK as long as the funds do not come from the treasury of my company?
- Technically, my company sub-contracts from a different company that is a federal govt contractor. Does the fact that we are sub-contractors and not direct contractors make a difference?
As I said, I would really like to help the dKos8 if at all possible. Could someone "in the know" help me clear this up? (My company's HR dept. has been decidedly unhelpful -- basically said when in doubt don't donate)