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Campaign Finance. The Federal Election Commission and campaign finance Regulation. Key Terms to Remember. PAC : established by businesses, labor unions, and interest groups to channel money to campaigns Hard money : contributions restricted by campaign law
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Campaign Finance The Federal Election Commission and campaign finance Regulation
Key Terms to Remember • PAC: established by businesses, labor unions, and interest groups to channel money to campaigns • Hard money: contributions restricted by campaign law • Soft money: unregulated money contributed to parties for the purpose of party building activities • Issue ads: ads that seek to inform citizens about critical issues. Some claim that this is a loophole to campaign finance.
The Federal Election Commission is… • An Independent Regulatory Agency • Responsible for Enforcing Campaign Finance Law • Regulator of U.S. House, Senate and Presidential Elections
Major changes to the FECA • Set limits on contributions • Established the FEC • Buckley v. Valeo • Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 • Banned soft money at the national level • Restricted issue ads • Increased contribution limits • Indexed limits for inflation • Citizens United v. FEC (2010) • Government may NOT ban corporate spending in a political campaign
Other characteristics • Income tax check-off for public financing of presidential elections and party conventions • Establishes matching funds program for primary elections • First publicly funded election in 1976 (Ford v. Carter) • National elections ONLY…NOT state or local elections
Banned Contributions • Foreign nationals • Those with green cards are able to contribute • Government contractors • Corporations and Labor Unions • Contributions in the name of another • No cash contributions over $100
What counts as a contribution? • Any donated items such as office supplies and equipment • Discounted pricing • Fundraiser tickets • Loans and loan endorsements
Independent Expenditures • Money spent for a communication that specifically pushes for the election or defeat of a federal candidate • Not connected with a campaign organization • Does NOT count as contribution • Unlimited (Buckley) • Disclosure within communication