LegiStorm

Summary:

To critics, public campaign financing, generally in conjunction with spending limits, is the ultimate solution to perceived problems arising from ever-growing costs of campaigns and the accompanying need for privately donated campaign funds. Public financing supporters maintain that replacing private funds with public money would most effectively reduce potentially corrupting influence from "interested" money. On the other hand, opponents of public financing question whether real or apparent corruption from private fundraising is as serious a problem as critics claim. They also argue that public financing would be an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars and would compel taxpayers to fund candidates they find objectionable. In the early 1970s, supporters succeeded in enacting public financing in presidential elections, a system that has been available since 1976. In addition, many states and localities have provided public financing in their elections since the 1970s (or before). Today, 16 states offer some form of direct aid to candidates' campaigns through fixed subsidies or matching funds. Perceptions about the presidential and state public financing systems have shaped opinions about adding public financing to congressional elections. Also shaping that debate was the Supreme Court's landmark 1976 Buckley v. Valeo ruling, which struck down mandatory spending limits, but sanctioned voluntary spending limits accompanying public financing. Proposals for publicly funded congressional elections have been offered in almost every Congress since 1956; the issue was prominently debated in the mid-1970s and the late 1980s through early 1990s. Proposals were passed twice by the Senate in the 93rd Congress and by both the House and Senate in the 101st, 102nd, and 103rd Congresses. Only the 102nd Congress proposal was reconciled in conference but was vetoed by the President. Thus far in the 112th Congress, Senator Durbin and Representative Larson introduced the latest versions of the Fair Elections Now Act (FENA) on April 6, 2011. These include S. 750 and H.R. 1404; S. 749 is a separate measure that would finance the program proposed in S. 750. The two versions of FENA, S. 750 and H.R. 1404, are similar to three bills introduced during the 111th Congress (H.R. 6116, which superseded H.R. 1826, and S. 752). Like their predecessors, the current versions of FENA propose to provide participating candidates with a mix of base subsidies, matching funds, and broadcast vouchers. The current versions of FENA propose two changes in incentives for participating candidates compared with 111th Congress versions of the legislation. First, although the types of available funding remain consistent, participants would be eligible for larger funding amounts. Second, coordinated party expenditures would be unlimited if funds used for those expenditures came from individual contributions of less than $500. Appendix D and Appendix E at the end of the report summarize major provisions of legislation introduced in the 111th and 112th Congresses respectively. In addition to discussing recent legislation, this report reviews past proposals for, and debate over, congressional public financing. It also discusses experiences with the presidential and state public financing systems. Finally, the report offers potential considerations for Congress in devising a public financing system for its elections. The report will be updated periodically, on the basis of congressional and state activities.