Money and Campaigning American Government

FEC  In 1974 Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act  This act was passed in response to illegal campaign donations and the Watergate Scandal  The Federal Election Campaign Act had two goals:  1. Tighten reporting requirements for contributions  2. Limiting overall expenditures  The Federal Election Campaign Act, and its further amendments resulted in the following:  The Federal Election Commission was created  This is a bi-partisan body that administers campaign finance law and enforces compliance.

FEC Funding  The FEC created a pool of funds known as the Presidential Election Campaign Fund  The Presidential Election Campaign Fund provides money to qualified presidential candidates in order to help fund their election  The PECF is funded through voluntary $3 donations on a citizens income tax form  With matching funds, the federal government matches up to $250 in individual contributions  Accepting matching funds though this program requires the candidate to adhere to campaign spending limits  These limits are adjusted by the FEC based upon a number of factors such as inflation

FEC Funding  These limits were generally adhered to from 1976 to 2000  George W. Bush was one of the first to turn down matching funds during the primary races  Bush turned down the funding because he was able to raise a significant amount of funding by himself  Not taking matching funds allows for the candidate to circumvent campaign spending limits  The FEC provides full public financing for major party candidates in the general election  In 2012, candidates could accept $91.2 million, but would have had to forgo independent fundraisers from that point on  In 2008, Barack Obama became the first candidate to turn down the full funding of the general election and was able to raise $337 million  The FEC requires full disclosure of a campaigns contributors  The 2012 limit was $2,600 per individual contributor

Spend  In 1974, the case of Buckley v. Valeo established that limiting how much money a candidate can donate to their own campaign was a violation of one’s free speech rights  This means that an individual who donates to themselves, can not be restricted by other FEC donation laws

Soft Money  In 1979, it was determined that funds donated in order to purchase generic party advertising and campaign materials at the grass-roots level were not subject to donation limits  This loophole is known as soft money  Soft money has been a way for major corporations to donate large sums of money directly to a campaign without limit  The McCain-Feingold Act helped ban soft money and forbade corporations and unions from using general treasury funds to pay for electioneering communications during the last 60 days of federal campaigns

Citizens United  In 2010, in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee, it was found that restrictions that forbade electioneering practices by businesses during the last 60 days of a federal election was an unconstitutional violation of the first amendment  This ruling allows corporations and unions to spend as much money as they would like to promote their political views, as long as they do not coordinate their message with the candidates campaign  This therefore reversed the ban on soft money established by the McCain- Feingold act

PACS  PAC's now allow for any interest group to contribute up to $5,000 per candidate in both the primary and general election  PACs are formed when a business association or some other interest group decides to contribute to candidates whom it believe will support legislation that favors that group  There are currently 4,611 PACs  One fear in regards to PACs centers on the question, are the candidates then beholden their campaign contributors over the rest of the American people?