<P> In the United States and Canada , a political action committee ( PAC ) is a type of organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaign for or against candidates , ballot initiatives , or legislation . The legal term PAC has been created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States . This term is quite specific to all activities of campaign finance in the United States . Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition ( see political finance ) . At the U.S. federal level , an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election , and registers with the Federal Election Commission , according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 ( also known as the McCain - Feingold Act ) . At the state level , an organization becomes a PAC according to the state 's election laws . </P>
what is the function of a political action committee ( pac )
pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaign for or against candidates , ballot initiatives , or legislation