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Representatives may serve two consecutive terms as Chair. Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia was Chairman for two terms from 1998 to 2002. Prior to Davis, the Chairman was Rep. Bill Paxon . Former chair Tom Reynolds (2002-2006) was Paxon's protege and the two men represented the same district in Erie County, New York . CONTROVERSIES IN THE NEWS In 2001, when Soft Money was about to be prohibited, the Committee successfully invigorated its donor program, raising millions and breaking records. {Link without Title} . Prior to the ''soft money'' ban, for 2000 and 2002, one-third of the Committee's $210.8 million was soft money donations. Automated phone calls In 2006, just days before the November 7 Midterm Congressional elections, numerous reports started to surface of a series of robotic phone-calls being authorized by the NRCC, with the apparent intention to confuse and annoy the supporters of Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives. Philadelphia Daily News article In New Hampshire, the state attorney general's office requested that the NRCC end the robocalls, but many individuals in the state continued to report receiving them. New Hampshire News Article The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent the NRCC a Cease-and-desist letter. The DCCC letter cited the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation requiring that a prerecorded telephone call must identify the responsible entity at the beginning of the message, and must include the entity's telephone number. Because the NRCC's calls did not name the NRCC at the beginning and did not provide a contact phone number, the DCCC charged the NRCC with "a pattern of willful noncompliance with FCC requirements". [http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/NRCC%20ceasedesist.pdf] Cash demands from lobbyists, clients, and "award winners" Especially after the ban, the NRCC's fundraising sources and techniques have been criticized. For the 2004 election cycle, at least two of its top three donors have been Indian tribal clients of Jack Abramoff . Others include gambling interests (also related to Abramoff). {Link without Title} On September 21, 2006, MSN reported that Chairman Tom Davis met with lobbyists in Washington to warn them to contribute only to Republicans and not to challengers from the Democratic Party because their donations would be tracked and they would lose favors among the Republican members of Congress. Similar activities of the K Street Project occurred when Davis was head of the NRCC; the organization was fined by the FEC for transferring funds between PACS for the same candidates in violation of contribution limits. Another of those continuing controversial techniques is contacting small business leaders to inform them that they are to be recognized with a 'National Leadership' Award. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} The cost for this award is a donation to the Committee. The television show ' 60 Minutes ' has aired more than one full episode dedicated to investigating the NRCC and their fundraising activities. In comparison to other groups, a larger number of donors to the NRCC do not declare an occupation or employer, making connections difficult; however this may be due to the nature of its donor pool, who are individuals rather than groups, according to the Federal Election Commission . EXTERNAL LINKS
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