Campaign Finance: Brief Overview of (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised May 19, 2003 |
| Report Number |
RS21511 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
L. Paige Whitaker, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
On March 27, 2002, the President signed into law the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
(BCRA), P.L. 107-155 ( H.R. 2356 , 107th Cong.), which was also known as the
McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation prior to enactment. Most provisions of the
new law became effective on November 6, 2002. Shortly after President Bush signed BCRA into
law, Senator Mitch McConnell filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against
the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Ultimately, eleven suits challenging the campaign finance reform law were brought by more than
80 plaintiffs and were consolidated into one lead case, McConnell v. FEC. In summary, the
McConnell complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief argued that portions of BCRA violate the
First Amendment and the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth
Amendment to the Constitution. On May 2, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia issued its decision in McConnell v. FEC, striking down many key provisions of
the law.
(See the text of the per curiam opinion at http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/02cv582a.pdf .) This
report
provides a brief overview of the court's decision and will be updated. The three-judge panel,
which
was split 2 to 1 on many issues, ordered that its ruling take effect immediately. Since the court has
issued its opinion, several appeals have been filed. Under the BCRA expedited review provision,
the court's decision will be reviewed directly by the U.S. Supreme Court. On May 19 the
U.S.
district court issued a stay to its ruling, which leaves BCRA, as enacted, in effect until the Supreme
Court issues a decision. For more information see, Campaign Finance Reform Oversight
http://www.congress.gov/erp/legissues/html/isele2.html , and CRS Report RL30669 , Campaign
Finance Regulation Under the First Amendment .
