Q: What is the source of Ron Paul's campaign support? How much has he spent to date?
—Alexis Rheinhart, Atlanta
A: Paul has raised money by using "money bombs" which Foxbusiness.com referred to as a "grassroots fundraising effort over a brief fixed time period." There were several "money bombs" in 2011 that brought millions into Paul's campaign coffers. Endorse Liberty, one of the super political action committees supporting Paul, has cut its contributions to the campaign. It "spent less than $136,000 in February, down from about $2.9 million in January," Politico.com reported. Paul had raised $31 million by the end of January, second to Mitt Romney among Republican candidates, but he began March with only $1.6 million, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Q: What are the requirements for someone applying for a job as a Secret Service agent? What type of college degree should they have? Also, are applicants required to have served in the military?
—William McKee Jr., Flowery Branch
A: There are several requirements, but a college degree isn't one of them if an applicant has three years' experience in law enforcement, or a combination of education and experience. A bachelor's degree, or higher, is needed for agents to attain the GL-7 level and above, which comes with higher pay and more responsibility, according to secretservice.gov. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, between the ages of 21 and 37, and have non-corrected vision no worse than 20/60; correctable to 20/20 in each eye. Applicants must be determined to be physically fit, pass a medical exam, the Treasury Enforcement Agent exam, a writing test and a thorough background investigation. Military service is not a requirement, according to the website.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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