Family Research Council (FRC)

ESTABLISHED: 1983
EMPLOYEES: 100
MEMBERS: 450,000 constituents PAC: Campaign for Working Families

Contact Information:
ADDRESS: 801 G St. NW Washington, DC 20001
PHONE: (202) 393-2100
TOLL FREE: (800) 225-4008
FAX: (202) 393-2134
E-MAIL: corrdept@frc.org
URL: http://www.frc.org
PRESIDENT: Gary L. Bauer

WHAT IS ITS MISSION?

In the words of the organization, "the Family Research Council (FRC) exists to reaffirm and promote, nationally, the traditional family unit and the Judeo-Christian value system upon which it is built. To accomplish this task, the Council will: promote and defend traditional family values in print, broadcast, and other media outlets; develop and advocate legislative and public policy initiatives which strengthen and fortify the family and promote traditional values; establish and maintain an accurate source of statistical and research information which reaffirms the importance of the family in our civilization; and inform and educate citizens on how they can promote Biblical principles in our culture."

Since its inception in 1983, the FRC has become one of the foremost groups to advocate for family values. The group, under the aggressive leadership of President Gary Bauer—a former White House policy adviser during the Reagan administration—has worked to ensure that the right-wing Christian perspective plays a role in U.S. policy development. FRC, in some ways, is more outspoken and radical than other Christian right-wing groups, according to an article in Fortune (September 8, 1997). For example, the FRC has advocated strongly against gay rights and trade with China—issues that some other Christian groups have taken a softer stance on. The FRC deals with a wide variety of issues that include AIDS funding, adoption and child care, publicly funded arts, drug abuse, pornography, the military, and welfare reform.

HOW IS IT STRUCTURED?

The FRC's main office is located in Washington, D.C. Heading the office is the president. The office includes a vice president for program planning, a director of communications, an assistant press secretary, policy analyst positions, and a vice president for resource development. Also housed in the Washington, D.C., office are the director of the Military Readiness Project, the chairman of the Cultural Renewal Initiative, a director of Cultural Studies, and a senior education adviser. FRC also supports and directs its political action committee (PAC), the Campaign for Working Families, which lobbies for legislation and candidates that support the organizational agenda.

The FRC has no affiliated state organizations, but does work closely with independent state Family Policy Councils (FPCs). FRC assists the FPCs with advocacy work by providing literature and resources when needed and sending representatives when on-site assistance is needed.

As a nonprofit organization, FRC has no dues-paying members but as many as 450,000 constituents receive FRC material and the organization's action alerts. As a nonprofit organization, FRC relies on grassroots mobilizing strategies that include calling on constituents to contact congressional members on particular issues. However, FRC works closely with a similar organization (American Renewal Association) and constituents can tap into that group if they want to take more action on a particular issue.

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS

The FRC works to advance its agenda in a number of ways. As part of its mission, the organization lobbies for legislation that supports its views of family values. FRC staff watch the legislative process closely, testify at hearings, coordinate the activities of the group's PAC, and meet with key policymakers. For example, in 1997, the organization unsuccessfully worked to influence Congress to override President Bill Clinton's veto of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban (H.R. 1122). This legislation would have penalized doctors who performed this controversial, late-term abortion procedure. A more favorable outcome occurred when the FRC and other similar groups successfully lobbied for and achieved the passage of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (H.R. 2014), which introduced tax credits of $500 per child for families.

Although the FRC does not have an organizational structure that extends to the grassroots level, it is aggressive in getting its message to people across the country. In 1997 members of the organization visited almost every state to make people aware of what they call the "pro-family" message. FRC representatives appeared at church functions and schools as well as other civic locations. The FRC sponsors seminars and organizes pro-family events. It also lends support for research projects. The FRC works closely with 35 state FPCs, which operate independently, but work to advance an agenda similar to the FRC's.

The organization makes aggressive use of media outlets and written informational material. President Gary Bauer hosts a daily radio commentary Washington Watch, which was broadcast on over 400 radio stations across the country in 1997. The FRC also produces a variety of publications, including the Gary Bauer Monthly Newsletter and Washington Watch, a publication that comes out 10 times a year and was circulated to 313,000 families in 1997. FRC staff members field media inquiries and make appearances on television shows such as Good Morning America. The organization also sponsors what it considers to be pro-family advertising. In a California 1997 legislative campaign, for example, Bauer and the FRC contributed $100,000 to an ad campaign that gave negative publicity to moderate Republican house candidate Brooks Firestone, who had refused to support the Partial Birth Abortion Ban.

Many of the issues that the FRC is concerned with deal with the choices that children and young adults in United States face. The FRC wants to influence the decision young people make regarding teen pregnancy, becoming sexually active, and having a sexual relationship and living with someone without being married. The FRC attempts to reach the young segment of the population by devoting a staff position in Washington to deal with these issues. HRC launched a newsletter in early 1998 called i.e. which is aimed at young adults and addresses pro-family issues. The premier issue covered topics such as abstinence and cohabitation.

PROGRAMS

FRC carries out a number of programs that advance its agenda. The Military Readiness Project is an informational initiative to get information out on military issues that concern FRC. FRC's positions on military-related issues include: banning gays in the military, prohibiting sale of pornography in military commissaries, and opposing women in combat. The project publishes the One Minute Briefing, a bimonthly newsletter mailed to military personnel and families, as well as others interested in these issues.

FRC's Cultural Renewal Initiative is directed by a chairperson; that person is responsible for speaking publicly and writing about certain family issues. Some of the issues that the project focuses on include childrearing in families, marriage and divorce, family work trends, and human sexuality.

In May 1997 FRC initiated the Witherspoon Fellowship Program, an internship program for college-age juniors and seniors. The program offers work experience and leadership development for up to 14 U.S. students annually. The FRC hopes, through the program, to create future leaders who will carry on the organization's mission and defend Christian and family values. Students serve an apprenticeship at FRC and contribute to research, articles, and other written material.

BUDGET INFORMATION

The FRC's growth in influence and effectiveness is reflected in its budget growth. According to a January 19, 1998, article in Time, FRC President Bauer transformed the organization when he took over in 1988, resulting in a growth in membership (from a 3,000-member mailing list to 455,000 members) and a budget that grew from $200,000 to $14 million.

In 1995 the organization had total revenue of $11,096,336, including $10,479,712 in contributions, $127,888 in program service revenue, $341,945 in interest, $92,860 in rental income, and $53,931 in other revenue. Expenses in 1995 totaled $10,296,719 and included: $8,159,821 in program services, __BODY__,535,442 in management, and $601,456 in fund-raising. Of total expenses, some of the largest expenditure areas included salaries ($2,916,624 plus director's salary of $150,404) and printing and publications (__BODY__,881,811).

HISTORY

The FRC was originally founded in 1983 as a conservative organization that advocated for issues affecting U.S. families. Key to the creation of the organization was James Dobson, a televangelist. In 1988 the FRC merged with Focus on the Family, another pro-family advocate group. In 1992 the HRC reorganized to become a distinct 501(c)(3)(h) nonprofit organization that allowed tax deductibility for contributors. The FRC is supported by grants and donations with the majority of donations coming from individuals.

In 1988 Gary Bauer took over as president of FRC, giving the organization an increasingly credible and aggressive demeanor. Bauer had previously served in the Reagan administration, first as a top education department official and then as director of the White House Office of Policy Development. Bauer came into FRC with a belief that Republican policies should be built on religious conservatism. Under his leadership, the FRC was involved in an increasingly broad range of family issues, some of which didn't necessarily match the moderate Republican party line. For example, Bauer and the FRC opposed certain initiatives that favored big business—initiatives that Republicans typically support—such as trade with China and the privatization of social security. The growth and broadening of the FRC agenda reflected the savvy that other groups of the religious right were acquiring. Once the butt of TV talk-show jokes, conservative religious groups such as FRC were developing the political savvy necessary to effectively shape public policy and make their message known.

The FRC continued to increase its effectiveness in 1996 when Bauer formed the organization's political action committee (PAC)—the Campaign for Working Families. It quickly grew into one of the largest PACs, raising __BODY__.4 million (with 25,000 donors) in the next two years. A December 22, 1997, article in National Review called this an astonishing achievement for an organization devoted to family issues, but PAC officials claimed that the growth in the PAC reflected donor disappointment in the GOP's ability to address social issues such as abortion or gay rights.

CURRENT POLITICAL ISSUES

Given that the FRC exists to promote the family unit and the Judeo-Christian value system upon which it is built, the organization deals with a tremendous variety of issues. These issues range from gay rights to AIDS, from daycare to homeschooling, and from government reform to foreign policy. Issues that the organization dealt with in the 1990s included: abortion and other sanctity of life issues, social security privatization, and tax relief for families.

FRC has long battled against the gay rights agenda. According to FRC, homosexuality is immoral and destructive to society, individuals, and families. The FRC does not believe that gay rights should be equated with civil rights, and thus opposes gay initiatives such as same-sex marriage, benefits for partners, and adoption and custody privileges for gay couples. The organization takes the position that a gay lifestyle is a choice and can be unlearned. To advance their agenda in the gay rights arena, FRC produces issue statements and publications that explain their viewpoint. The organization is also active in supporting legislation that would slow the gay rights movement. For example, the FRC lobbied successfully for the Defense of Marriage Act (S.B. 1740), which was created to prevent the definition of marriage from expanding beyond the traditional union of man and woman. The legislation passed in late 1996.

FRC has always maintained that the sanctity of human life is one of the most important issues that they defend. To this end, the organization opposes abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia, experimentation on unborn children, and cloning. These actions, FRC maintains, cheapen the value put on human life and contribute to societal decay. The FRC encourages legislation that would restrict doctors' ability to provide assisted suicide or euthanasia measures. The organization spoke out against cloning, calling it a procedure that transformed procreation into the customized production of humans or other species. FRC works to encourage the president of the United States to appoint pro-life Supreme Court judges, since many precedents around abortion issues have been set in court. FRC also took an active role in monitoring legislation that would imposed penalties on doctors for performing certain late term abortion procedures (the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, H.R. 1122); the legislation was passed by the House and the Senate in 1997 but later vetoed by President Clinton.

Although abortion and gay rights initiatives are probably some of the most controversial issues that FRC was involved with in the late 1990s, family tax reform is also an issue that the organization advocated successfully for in 1997.

Case Study: Taxpayer Credit for Families with Children

Taxpayer relief for families is a cause that pro-family groups such as FRC have long advocated for. One of the provisions that these groups have lobbied for includes a $500 per child tax credit for families. Once proposed as part of the "Contract With America" that Republicans backed in 1994, the legislation resurfaced in 1997 as the Taxpayer Relief Act (H.R. 2014). Specifically, HRC believed that passage of such legislation would strengthen U.S. families and finances, encourage family savings, and ensure that the best investment for children is made by parents who know what is best for their children.

Opponents of tax relief argued that such legislation would increase the federal deficit and spur inflation. But FRC maintained that the cost to the deficit would be more than made up by the strength to families that such legislation would provide. FRC felt that the cost of not providing such family relief would result in weaker family systems, and lead to increased divorce and crime.

In 1997 President Clinton signed into law the Taxpayer Relief Act, which included a provision for family tax credits of $500 per child. FRC played a large part in pushing for this legislation, using the usual lobbying strategies and producing media material on the subject. FRC President Bauer called the passage a win for U.S. families.

Public Impact

Opponents of the $500 credit for families with children point out that the policy benefits the middle class and upper middle class. This benefit phases out for households with combined income over $110,000. The benefit does not extend to individuals who do not make enough money to pay taxes, or who cannot afford to have children. The tax credit, opponents argue, also discriminates against those who may have children but are not recognized for tax purposes as families, such as same-sex couples. But such a bill supports everything that the FRC advocates for; the affirmation of the traditional family unit.

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES

While the passage of the 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act was FRC's biggest win during that year, the organization's greatest defeat was the failure to pass the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban (H.R. 1122). Although FRC and other conservative religious and pro-life groups mounted an involved campaign against the late-term abortion procedure, President Clinton (traditionally a supporter of abortion rights) vetoed the proposed ban on the grounds that the procedure is necessary in cases where the mother's life may need to be saved. FRC and other antiabortion groups will continue to fight to eliminate abortion in the United States, or at least restrict certain types of procedures. FRC maintains that the sanctity of human life must continue to be protected, and that abortion rights have not contributed to stronger families or the well-being of women.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Although FRC and the religious right have come a long way toward becoming a serious force in politics, FRC may play an even bigger role in politics if its president, Gary Bauer, as has been rumored, runs as a GOP presidential candidate in 2000. The Republican Party perceives FRC and Bauer as being to the right of the moderate Republican stances, and fear that if he ran in the Republican primaries, the vote could split the party and weaken GOP effectiveness for the presidential bid. Nevertheless, Bauer and the FRC will continue to aim efforts at continuing to refocus the Republican Party and its agenda. The organization maintains that the GOP needs to focus its efforts to affirm the traditional family system. By doing so, the FRC says that the party will speak for a strong constituency that is looking for representation.

GROUP RESOURCES

FRC maintains a Web site at http://www.frc.org. The Web page offers detailed information on FRC positions, ways of providing support, and research and information related to issues on the FRC agenda. Such materials include newspaper editorials, transcripts of FRC speeches, a monthly fax of "Drug Facts," news releases, and policy papers. FRC makes publications, videos, and other merchandise available either by calling the organization directly, or ordering on the Web at http://www.townhall.com/cgi-bin/laforg. The FRC also maintains a Legislative Hotline. By dialing (202) 783-4663, you can access current information on pending family issues in Washington, D.C.

GROUP PUBLICATIONS

FRC publishes the Washington Watch 10 times per year, the Gary Bauer Monthly Newsletter, Ed Facts (weekly and available for a fee), Family Policy (six issues annually) and numerous press releases. Publications may be ordered by calling the organization directly or accessing their Web site at http://www.frc.org.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Abortion and the Republicans: Idealists v Realists." The Economist, 24 January 1998.

Borias, George. "How Not to Save American Jobs." National Review, 22 December 1997.

Brogan, Pamela. "Industry Proposes Ways to Keep Kids From Gaining Access to Internet Smut." Gannett News Service, 1 December 1997.

Elsner, Alan. "Conservatives Score Upset in California Vote." Reuters, 14 January 1998.

Henderson, Rick. "MFNemies: Beijing's Atrocities Put Free-traders on the Defensive," Reason, 1 July 1997.

Innerst, Carol. "Some Kindergartners Are Taught About Homosexuality." Washington Times, 7 December 1997.

Swomley, John M. "New Strategies, New Groups (Activities of Right-wing Organizations)." The Humanist, 13 March 1997.

Wetzstein, Cheryl. "Anti-Porn Groups Say Clinton Let Them Down." Washington Times, 9 November 1997.

Whitwill, Stuart C. A. "Christian Conservatives Organize to Criticize ALA." American Libraries, November 1995.

Willis, Ellen. "Sunday Focus/Moralism and the Body Politic." Newsday, 1 February 1998.

Zabarenko, Deborah. "Gay Marriage Latest Family Values' Campaign Issue." Reuters, 14 June 1996.