UROPAC Frequently Asked Questions

Urology has been supporting UROPAC for 15 years – steadily growing one of medicine’s most enthusiastic political action committee. UROPAC is a committee devoted to furthering urology’s political agenda, growing our relationships with friendly members of Congress and supporting candidates for Congress who support our legislative agenda.

Yet many urologists don’t understand UROPAC or political action committees. Below are frequently asked questions regarding UROPAC:

Q. Why is UROPAC important to urology and to members like me?
A. UROPAC’s growth in size and presence is very important, as Congress will address many issues affecting urology such as reimbursement; Medicare reform; patient safety and medical liability. It is critical for urology as a profession to have its voice heard on Capitol Hill through a bipartisan political action committee that supports Members of Congress and candidates running for Congress who are helpful to the urology community.

Q. How does UROPAC spend the money it receives from contributors like myself?
A. All individual contributions made by urologists to UROPAC are considered “hard dollars”. UROPAC uses these hard dollars only for the purpose of making contributions to candidates running for Federal office, to national political parties and other political action committees.

Q. How does UROPAC decide which campaigns to contribute money to?
A. UROPAC looks at several factors before making a decision on which Federal campaigns to contribute to, including: the viability of their candidacy, the candidate’s professional background, their presence on committees of jurisdiction, their votes on various health-related legislation that impact urology, and their level of leadership within their political party.

Q. I already make contributions to candidates for Federal office, why should I make a contribution to UROPAC?
A. UROPAC encourages urologists to get involved in campaigns, particularly when a urologist has a personal relationship with a Member of Congress or candidate for Federal office. The advantage of also contributing to UROPAC is that when UROPAC makes a contribution to a candidate’s campaign, it sends a strong, collective message that urologists are an involved and active group who merit the candidate’s attention on issues important to healthcare and more specifically the profession of urology.

Q. How much money can UROPAC contribute to a campaign and how does this compare to how much I personally can give to a candidate’s campaign?
A. The law allows UROPAC to contribute $5,000 to a candidate per election in an election cycle – with the primary, runoff and general elections counting as separate elections. This means that UROPAC could give as much as $15,000 per candidate if the candidate participates in a primary, runoff and general election. Individuals can give no more than $2,000 to a candidate per election.

Q. How much money can I contribute to UROPAC?
A. An individual may contribute up to $5,000 per year to a Political Action Committee (PAC) such as UROPAC. Contributions are voluntary and are not tax-deductible.  

Q. How can I contribute to UROPAC?
A. An individual has several options when deciding to contribute to UROPAC.  An individual could (1) write a personal check, (2) contribute with their Visa, MasterCard, or American Express credit card (3) make an online contribution at www.uropac.org.

Q. Can our group practice make a contribution to UROPAC?
A. UROPAC can accept contributions from a group practice; however such contributions are considered to be from a corporate source and, therefore, cannot be used in contributions from UROPAC to a campaign for Federal office. UROPAC can use these funds – often referred to as “soft money” – for administrative expenses only. These administrative funds are used to print letters, solicitations and further our fundraising goals.

Q. Can UROPAC give money to state elected officials?
A. Legally, UROPAC can technically make a contribution to a state or local candidate. However, UROPAC was formed with the intent to support candidates for Federal office.

Q. Can I request UROPAC to make a contribution to a candidate for Federal office?
A. UROPAC encourages urologists to become actively engaged in the political process and welcomes requests from urologists for UROPAC to support a particular Federal candidate. UROPAC will consider your request based on its candidate contribution guidelines described above. If UROPAC determines that it will make a contribution to a candidate’s campaign at your request, it will likely ask you to personally deliver the check to the candidate on behalf of UROPAC.  

Q. How do I find out more information about UROPAC?
For more information, please contact the UROPAC offices at (847) 517-1050 or by e-mail at info@uropac.org. We will be happy to answer any questions or provide any additional information you may need.