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1 1 (April 26, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govefqe0001 and id is 1 raw text is: a Congressional ______ SResearch Service lnformrng the Iegislative debate since 1914___________________ Campaign Finance and the First Amendment: Supreme Court Considers Constitutionality of Limits on Repayment of Candidate Loans April 26, 2022 Campaign finance is back before the Supreme Court. In Federal Election Commission (FEC) v. Ted Cruz for Senate, the Court is faced with a challenge to a federal campaign finance law that establishes a $250,000 limit on the amount of post-election campaign contributions that may be used to repay a candidate for personal campaign loans made pre-election. Specifically, the Court is evaluating whether the appellees, Senator Rafael Edward Ted Cruz and his campaign committee, Ted Cruz for Senate (Senator Cruz's principal campaign committee), have standing to challenge the limit and, if so, whether the limit violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. In June 2021, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated the limit as unconstitutional under the First Amendment. If the Court adopts the reasoning of the district court, this case could affect the constitutionality of other current campaign finance laws and legislation going forward. This Legal Sidebar provides background on the law being challenged and an overview of the Supreme Court's framework for analyzing the constitutionality of campaign finance law, discusses the procedural history and lower court rulings in this case, outlines arguments made before the Court, and explores potential implications of this case for Congress. Background and Framework for Constitutional Analysis Federal campaign finance law regulates campaign contributions made to candidates for federal office by establishing limits, source restrictions, and public disclosure requirements. The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) defines contribution to include any gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value made for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office. A contribution can be distinguished from an expenditure in that a contribution involves giving money to an entity such as a candidate's campaign committee, while an expenditure involves spending money directly to advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate. During the 2021-22 federal election cycle, FECA limits individuals to contributing $2,900 per candidate per election. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports. congress.gov LSB10734 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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