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Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 replaced existing federal campaign finance laws and required campaigns to file quarterly disclosure reports of contributions and expenditures.[1] The law also "provided the basic legislative framework for separate segregated funds," more commonly known as political action committees.[2]
As originally enacted, the law did not provide for a single regulatory agency; instead, administrative responsibilities were divided between the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the secretary of the U.S. Senate, and the comptroller general of the U.S. General Accounting Office.[3][4]
In 1974, the Federal Election Campaign Act was amended to impose contribution and spending limits on campaigns and to forbid contributions to candidates from foreign nationals. The 1974 amendments also established the Federal Election Commission as "an independent agency to assume the administrative functions previously divided between congressional officers and the General Accounting Office." In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo that campaign spending limits were unconstitutional, and subsequent Amendments were made to comply with the Court's ruling.[3][4] One more amendment was passed in 1979, simplifying disclosure requirements and expanding the role of local and state parties.[5][6]
Legislative history
The Federal Election Campaign Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate on January 28, 1971.[7] It was approved by the Senate on August 5, 1971, by a vote of 88-2.[8] The U.S. House of Representatives passed its own version of the law on November 30, 1971 by a 373-23 vote.[9] A joint conference committee was then convened to reconcile the two separate bills, and the committee made its report on December 1, 1971. The Senate adopted the conference committee report on December 14, 1971; the House followed suit on January 19, 1972.[10][11] President Richard Nixon (R) signed the bill into law on February 7, 1972. Nixon said the following in his signing statement:[12][13]
| “ | S. 382, the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, limits the amount candidates for Federal elective offices may spend on advertising, not just on radio and television, but through all communications media. It limits contributions by candidates and their families to their own campaigns. It provides for full reporting of both the sources and the uses of campaign funds, both after elections and during campaigns. By giving the American public full access to the facts of political financing, this legislation will guard against campaign abuses and will work to build public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is a realistic and enforceable bill, an important step forward in an area which has been of great public concern. Because I share that concern, I am pleased to give my approval to this bill.[14] | ” |
| —President Richard Nixon | ||
Key features
Disclosure reports
Under The Federal Election Campaign Act, candidate committees, political party committees, and political action committees participating in federal election activities must comply with requirements set out by the Act.[1]. For example, the Act established the quarterly reports of campaign finances that campaigns must submit.[3] For year-specific and committee-specific disclosure requirements, consult the Federal Election Commission's website.
Political action committees
- Main article: Political action committee
The Federal Election Campaign Act also provided the basic legislative framework for separate segregated funds," more commonly known as political action committees.[2]
The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 prohibited corporations and unions from making direct contributions to federal candidates. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 allowed them to contribute via PACs.[2]
Subsequent amendments
1974
In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, Congress approved a series of amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, which focused on limiting campaign spending and created the Federal Election Commission.[3] Congress vested the commission with the authority to "obtain compliance with, and formulate policy with respect to this Act."Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title The commission comprises six members, all of whom are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. No more than three members of the commission can belong to the same political party, and at least four votes are required "for any official commission action."[15] Two seats come up for appointment every two years.[3][16]
1976
In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo that spending limits violated the First Amendment of the Constitution; the court held that contribution limits, however, were constitutional. The Federal Election Campaign Act was further amended in 1976 in light of the high court's ruling in Buckley v. Valeo. According to Congressional Research Service, Congress "reconstituted the FEC, established new contribution limits, and addressed various PAC and presidential public financing issues."[3]
1979
In 1979, the Act was amended to simplify campaign disclosure requirements. It reduced the number of reports needed and increased the amount of funds for the public funding of campaigns. The amendment also increased the abilities for state and local parties to spend money, provided it was in coordination with federal parties.[5]
Subsequent developments
Buckley v. Valeo
- Main article: Buckley v. Valeo
On January 30, 1976, the Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo that political campaign spending limits violated the First Amendment of the Constitution. The court held that limits on campaign contributions "served the government's interest in safeguarding the integrity of elections." The court determined, however, that spending limits "restrict the quantity of campaign speech by individuals, groups and candidates," thus violating the First Amendment. The court decided the case 7-1, with one justice abstaining.[17][18]
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
- Main article: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
According to the Congressional Research Service, "by the 1990s, attention began to shift to perceived loopholes" in the Federal Election Campaign Act.[3]
| “ | Two issues—soft money and issue advocacy (issue advertising)—were especially prominent. Soft money is a term of art referring to funds generally perceived to influence elections but not regulated by campaign finance law. At the federal level before BCRA, soft money came principally in the form of large contributions from otherwise prohibited sources, and went to party committees for “party-building” activities that indirectly supported elections. Similarly, issue advocacy traditionally fell outside FECA regulation because these advertisements praised or criticized a federal candidate—often by urging voters to contact the candidate—but did not explicitly call for election or defeat of the candidate (which would be express advocacy).[14] | ” |
| —Congressional Research Service | ||
To address these issues, Congress passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in 2002. The law is also known as the McCain-Feingold Act, named for the law's two primary sponsors in the Senate, John McCain (R) and Russ Feingold (D). As enacted, the law prohibited national political parties, federal candidates, and officeholders from soliciting soft money contributions in federal elections. The law also barred corporations and unions from using their treasury funds to finance electioneering communications, which are defined as "broadcast ads referring to clearly identified federal candidates within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary election or caucus." In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that this latter provision was unconstitutional.[3][4]
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
- Main article: McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
On April 2, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that biennial aggregate contribution limits were unconstitutional. The Federal Campaign Act of 1971 and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act imposed biennial aggregate contribution limits on campaign donors, limiting the total amount donors could contribute to federal candidates in a two-year election cycle. At the time of the court's ruling, an individual could donate no more than $123,000 total to federal candidates in a two-year election cycle. In a 5-4 decision, the court struck down this cap. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court's majority, reaffirmed the federal government's right to place certain limits on campaign contributions "to protect against corruption or the appearance of corruption." He added, however, that the federal government can only limit contributions to prevent "quid pro quo" corruption.[19]
| “ | Spending large sums of money in connection with elections, but not in connection with an effort to control the exercise of an officeholder’s official duties, does not give rise to quid pro quo corruption. Nor does the possibility that an individual who spends large sums may garner 'influence over or access to' elected officials or political parties.[14] | ” |
| —John Roberts | ||
Recent news
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See also
- Federal campaign finance laws and regulations
- State campaign finance agencies
- Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
External links
- Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as enacted
- Current federal election campaign laws, compiled by the Federal Election Commission
- Contribution limits, Federal Election Commission
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 FEC, "Campaign Finance Law: Disclosure and Disclaimer Requirements for Political Campaign Advertising," December 30, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 FEC, "The Presidential Public Funding Program April 1993," accessed April 20, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Congressional Research Service, "The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress," August 5, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Federal Election Commission, "Appendix 4: The Federal Election Campaign Laws: A Short History," accessed September 23, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cambridge University, "The Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1979: 90 Stat. 339 (1979)," accessed April 20, 2025
- ↑ Ford Library Museum, "Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments - 1974," accessed April 29, 2025
- ↑ U.S. Congress, "S.382 - Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971," April 20, 2025
- ↑ GovTrack, "TO PASS S. 382," accessed April 20, 2025
- ↑ Congressional Record, "House of Representatives-Tuesday, November 30, 1971," November 30, 1971
- ↑ Congressional Record, "United States Senate-Tuesday, December 14, 1971," December 14, 1971
- ↑ Congressional Record, "House of Representatives- Wednesday, January 19, 1972," January 19, 1972
- ↑ The American Presidency Project, "Statement on Signing the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971," February 7, 1972
- ↑ GovTrack.us, "S. 382 (92nd): An Act to promote fair practices in the conduct of election campaigns for Federal political offices, and for other purposes," accessed March 22, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Leadership," accessed April 20, 2025
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "About the FEC," accessed March 22, 2016
- ↑ Justia.com, "Buckley v. Valeo," January 30, 1976
- ↑ Oyez.org, "Buckley v. Valeo," accessed September 24, 2015
- ↑ Oyez.org, "McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission," accessed September 24, 2015
