DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09775.v2
title: Campaign Expenditures in the United States, 1989-1990: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Data
title: Version 2

description: These data are made available by the Federal Election 
 Commission (FEC) through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and are 
 taken directly from campaign finance reports filed by candidates, 
 political committees, and others required to file under the federal 
 election laws. The files are essentially copies of the FEC's on-line 
 computer files for the 1989-1990 election cycle. The Candidate Master 
 Data file (Part 1) contains a record for each registered candidate for 
 federal office. It includes the candidate's name, address, party 
 affiliation, incumbent/challenger status, identification number of the 
 principal campaign committee, office sought, and election year. The 
 Committee Master Data file (Part 2) contains a record for each 
 registered committee for federal office. Information provided includes 
 the committee's identification number, name, address, treasurer's name, 
 committee designation and type, party affiliation, report filing 
 frequency, special interest group category and connected organization's 
 name, and multicandidate committee status. The Itemized Individual 
 Contribution File (Part 3) contains a record for each candidate and his 
 or her committee, other political committees, and persons making 
 independent expenditures. Itemized receipt and disbursement information 
 presented in the file includes the filer identification number, 
 amendment and primary-general indicators, report and transaction types, 
 address, occupation, transaction date, and transaction amount. The 
 Itemized PAC Contribution File (Part 4) contains one record for each 
 type of contributor for each reporting period. Information included in 
 this file covers the type and year of the report, the time period 
 covered by the report, total contributions, net contributions, total 
 contribution refunds, net operating expenditures, cash on hand, debts 
 and obligations owed by and to the committee, contributions from 
 individuals, and loans made or guaranteed by the candidate. The 
 Detailed Report File (Part 5) contains one record for each separate 
 reporting period for each FEC committee and, as such, is the source for 
 longitudinal information about committee financial activity during the 
 1989-1990 election cycle. Information presented in the file includes 
 the political committee identification number, the report year and 
 type, the time period covered by the report, total receipts and 
 disbursements, beginning and ending cash balances, debts owed by and to 
 the committee, individual, political, and candidate contributions, 
 transfers from affiliated committees, loans received and payments made, 
and refunds.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Candidate Master Data
DS2: Committee Master Data
DS3: Itemized Individual Contribution File
DS4: Itemized PAC Contribution File
DS5: Detailed Report File
description: Part 1: All candidates for federal office registered with 
 the FEC under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Parts 2 and 4: 
 All political committees, unauthorized delegate filers, independent 
 expenditure filers, and communications cost filers registered. Part 3: 
 All candidates and their committees, other political committees, and 
 persons making independent expenditures. Part 5: All transactions and 
reports occurring during the 1989-1990 election cycle.
description: The Candidate and Committee Master Data files (Parts 1 
 and 2) are FEC reference files and are needed to find the name of each 
 committee or candidate associated with the identification numbers that 
appear in Part 5 (Detailed Report Data).