Federal Election Campaign Act
Encyclopedia
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA, , et seq.) is a United States federal law which increased disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns
. It was amended in 1974 to place legal limits on the campaign contributions. The amendment also created the Federal Election Commission
(FEC).
It was amended again in 1976, in response to the provisions ruled unconstitutional by Buckley v. Valeo
and again in 1979 to allow parties to spend unlimited amounts of hard money
on activities like increasing voter turnout and registration. In 1979, the Commission ruled that political parties could spend unregulated or "soft" money for non-federal administrative and party building activities. Later, this money was used for candidate related issue ads, which led to a substantial increase in soft money contributions and expenditures in elections. This in turn created ures leading to passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
("BCRA"), banning soft money expenditure by parties. Some of the legal limits on giving of "hard money" were also changed in by BCRA.
FECA also requires campaigns and political committees to report the names, addresses, and occupations of donors of $200 or more.
asserted the need for campaign finance reform
and called for legislation to ban corporate contributions for political purposes. In response, the United States Congress
enacted the Tillman Act of 1907
, named for its sponsor Senator Benjamin Tillman
, banning corporate contributions. Further regulation followed in the Federal Corrupt Practices Act
enacted in 1910, and subsequent amendments in 1910 and 1925, the Hatch Act, the Smith-Connolly Act of 1943, and the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. These Acts sought to:
In 1971, Congress consolidated its earlier reform efforts in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), instituting more stringent disclosure requirements for federal candidates, political parties
and Political action committees (PACs)
. Still, without a central administrative authority, the campaign finance laws were difficult to enforce.
Public subsidies for federal elections, originally proposed by President Roosevelt in 1907, began to take shape as part of the 1971 law, as Congress established the income tax checkoff
to provide for the financing of Presidential general election campaigns and national party conventions. Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code in 1974 established the matching fund program for Presidential primary campaigns.
Following reports of serious financial abuses in the 1972 Presidential campaign, Congress amended the FECA in 1974 to set limits on contributions by individuals, political parties and PACs. The 1974 amendments also established an independent agency, the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
to enforce the law, facilitate disclosure and administer the public funding program. The FEC opened its doors in 1975 and administered the first publicly funded Presidential election in 1976.
The Supreme Court struck down or narrowed several provisions of the 1974 amendments to the Act, including limits on spending and limits on the amount of money a candidate could donate to his or her own campaign in Buckley v. Valeo
(1976).
Congress made further amendments to the FECA in 1976 following those decisions; major amendments were also made in 1979 to streamline the disclosure process and expand the role of political parties.
In 2002, Congress made major revisions to the FECA in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
, more commonly referred to as "McCain-Feingold." However, major portions of McCain-Feingold were struck down by the Supreme Court on Constitutional grounds in Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal Election Commission (2007), Davis v. Federal Election Commission
(2008) and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
(2010). The latter case also struck down FECA's complete ban on corporate and union independent spending, originally passed as part of the Taft-Hartley law in 1947.
Campaign finance in the United States
Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels.At the federal level, the primary source of campaign funds is individuals; political action committees are a distant second. Contributions from both are limited, and direct...
. It was amended in 1974 to place legal limits on the campaign contributions. The amendment also created the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
(FEC).
It was amended again in 1976, in response to the provisions ruled unconstitutional by Buckley v. Valeo
Buckley v. Valeo
Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a federal law which set limits on campaign contributions, but ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech, and struck down portions of the law...
and again in 1979 to allow parties to spend unlimited amounts of hard money
Campaign finance in the United States
Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels.At the federal level, the primary source of campaign funds is individuals; political action committees are a distant second. Contributions from both are limited, and direct...
on activities like increasing voter turnout and registration. In 1979, the Commission ruled that political parties could spend unregulated or "soft" money for non-federal administrative and party building activities. Later, this money was used for candidate related issue ads, which led to a substantial increase in soft money contributions and expenditures in elections. This in turn created ures leading to passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were Senators Russell Feingold and John McCain...
("BCRA"), banning soft money expenditure by parties. Some of the legal limits on giving of "hard money" were also changed in by BCRA.
FECA also requires campaigns and political committees to report the names, addresses, and occupations of donors of $200 or more.
Major provisions
The major provisions of the 1971 Act and the 1974 amendment. Note that some provisions, including legal limits of contributions, have been modified by subsequent Acts.- Requirement for candidates to disclose sources of campaign contributions and campaign expenditure.
- Federal Election Commission created.
- Public funding available for Presidential primaries and general elections. Legal limits on campaign expenditure for those that accept public funding.
- Legal limits on campaign contributions by individuals and organizations (See table).
- Prohibits:
- Donations directly from Corporations, Labor Organizations and National Banks
- Donations from Government Contractors
- Donations from Foreign Nationals
- Cash Contributions over 100 Dollars
- Contributions in the name of another (straw donorStraw donorA straw donor is a person who illegally uses another person's money to make a political contribution in their own name. In the United States, making a political contribution in another person's name is illegal, as is agreeing to be the named donor with someone else's money...
schemes)
Contribution Limits
The FECA placed limits on contributions by individuals and groups to candidates, party committees and PACs. Some but not all of these limits are adjusted each election cycle for inflation. The chart below shows how the limits applied to the various participants in federal elections of 2010. :| To each candidate or candidate committee per election | To national party committee per calendar year | To political action committees per calendar year | Total biennial limit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individuals may give: | $2,400 | $30,400 | $5,000 | $115,500 |
| Multi candidate committees may give: | $5,000 | $15,000 | $5,000 | No limit |
| Other political Committees may give: | $2,400 | $20,000 | $5,000 | No limit |
History
As early as 1905, President Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
asserted the need for campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
and called for legislation to ban corporate contributions for political purposes. In response, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
enacted the Tillman Act of 1907
Tillman Act of 1907
The Tillman Act of 1907 was the first legislation in the United States prohibiting monetary contribution to national political campaigns by corporations....
, named for its sponsor Senator Benjamin Tillman
Benjamin Tillman
Benjamin Ryan Tillman was an American politician who served as the 84th Governor of South Carolina, from 1890 to 1894, and as a United States Senator, from 1895 until his death in office. Tillman's views were a matter of national controversy.Tillman was a member of the Democratic Party...
, banning corporate contributions. Further regulation followed in the Federal Corrupt Practices Act
Federal Corrupt Practices Act
The Federal Corrupt Practices Act was a federal law of the United States enacted in 1910 and amended in 1911 and 1925. It remained the nation's primary law regulating campaign finance in federal elections until the passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act in 1971. Created by President William H...
enacted in 1910, and subsequent amendments in 1910 and 1925, the Hatch Act, the Smith-Connolly Act of 1943, and the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. These Acts sought to:
- Limit the influence of wealthy individuals and special interest groups on the outcome of federal elections;
- Regulate spending in campaigns for federal office; and
- Deter abuses by mandating public disclosure of campaign finances.
In 1971, Congress consolidated its earlier reform efforts in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), instituting more stringent disclosure requirements for federal candidates, political parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
and Political action committees (PACs)
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
. Still, without a central administrative authority, the campaign finance laws were difficult to enforce.
Public subsidies for federal elections, originally proposed by President Roosevelt in 1907, began to take shape as part of the 1971 law, as Congress established the income tax checkoff
Presidential election campaign fund checkoff
The presidential election campaign fund checkoff appears on US income tax return forms as the question Do you want $3 of your federal tax to go to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund?...
to provide for the financing of Presidential general election campaigns and national party conventions. Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code in 1974 established the matching fund program for Presidential primary campaigns.
Following reports of serious financial abuses in the 1972 Presidential campaign, Congress amended the FECA in 1974 to set limits on contributions by individuals, political parties and PACs. The 1974 amendments also established an independent agency, the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
to enforce the law, facilitate disclosure and administer the public funding program. The FEC opened its doors in 1975 and administered the first publicly funded Presidential election in 1976.
The Supreme Court struck down or narrowed several provisions of the 1974 amendments to the Act, including limits on spending and limits on the amount of money a candidate could donate to his or her own campaign in Buckley v. Valeo
Buckley v. Valeo
Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a federal law which set limits on campaign contributions, but ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech, and struck down portions of the law...
(1976).
Congress made further amendments to the FECA in 1976 following those decisions; major amendments were also made in 1979 to streamline the disclosure process and expand the role of political parties.
In 2002, Congress made major revisions to the FECA in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were Senators Russell Feingold and John McCain...
, more commonly referred to as "McCain-Feingold." However, major portions of McCain-Feingold were struck down by the Supreme Court on Constitutional grounds in Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal Election Commission (2007), Davis v. Federal Election Commission
Davis v. Federal Election Commission
Davis v. Federal Election Commission, 554 U.S. 724 , is a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which held that Sections 319 and of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 unconstitutionally infringed on a candidate's First Amendment rights.-Background:Section 319 of the Bipartisan...
(2008) and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, , was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that the First Amendment prohibits government from censoring political broadcasts in candidate elections when those broadcasts are funded by corporations or unions...
(2010). The latter case also struck down FECA's complete ban on corporate and union independent spending, originally passed as part of the Taft-Hartley law in 1947.
See also
- Campaign finance in the United StatesCampaign finance in the United StatesCampaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels.At the federal level, the primary source of campaign funds is individuals; political action committees are a distant second. Contributions from both are limited, and direct...
- Campaign financeCampaign financeCampaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
- Bipartisan Campaign Reform ActBipartisan Campaign Reform ActThe Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were Senators Russell Feingold and John McCain...
- Federal Election CommissionFederal Election CommissionThe Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
- Buckley v. ValeoBuckley v. ValeoBuckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a federal law which set limits on campaign contributions, but ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech, and struck down portions of the law...
- McConnell v. Federal Election CommissionMcConnell v. Federal Election CommissionMcConnell v. Federal Election Commission, 540 U.S. 93 , is a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 , often referred to as the McCain–Feingold Act....
External links
- Text of original Act
- Federal Election Commission
- Federal Election Campaign Laws (pdf)
- RealCampaignReform.org - archived site links to various related court briefs and judicial opinions
- CQ MoneyLine - Congressional Quarterly campaign funding news site
- OpenSecrets.org - Center for Responsive Politics site for tracking campaign contributions and expenditures
- National Institute on Money in State Politics - information on money in state politics
- Campaign Legal Center - analysis and reviews on campaign finance, communication and ethics
- Public Campaign - organization advocating public funding of campaigns
- Common Cause - organization advocating campaign finance regulations
- Public Citizen - organization advocating campaign finance regulations
- Center for Competitive Politics - organization opposed to campaign finance regulations