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1 1 (May 31, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/govepes0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Campaign Finance Law and the U.S. Supreme Court Federal campaign finance law is composed of three primary components: Contribution limits Disclosure and disclaimer requirements Source restrici While the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) sets forth the statutory provisions governing these components, several Supreme Court rulings have had a significant impact on the regulatory scope ofFECA.1 FECA of 1971 Established reporting and disclosure requirements FECA of 1974 Made significant amendments in response to Watergate; established the Federal Election Commission (FEC) Buckley v. Valeo --------------- Upheld FECA's limits and disclosure requirements and invalidated IE limits FECA of 1976 Made amendments in response to Buckley Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of2002 (BCRA) Made comprehensive amendments to FECA, including disclaimer and disclosure requirements McConnell v. FEC Invalidated FECA's ban on minors' contributions and requirement that parties choose between coordinated and independent expenditures; upheld major BCRA provisions SDavis v. FEC Invalidated FECAs increased contribution limits for candidates whose opponents significantly self-finance Citizens United v. FEC --------- Invalidated FECA's ban on corporate and union IEs and electioneering communications, partially overruling McConnell; upheld disclaimer and disclosure requirements Bluman v. FEC ---------------- Summarily affirmed a lower court ruling that upheld FECA's ban on foreign money McCutcheon v. FEC Invalidated FECA's aggregate contribution limits FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate Invalidated FECA's cap on contributions used to repay candidate loans For more information, see CRS Report R45320, Campaign Finance Law: AnAnalysis of Key Issues, Recent Developments, and Constitutional Considerations for Legislation, by L. Paige Whitaker (2023). Contrbuton limits FECA establishes contribution limits, which refer to how much a donor can contribute VOTE contribution: Involves giving money to an entity, such as a candidate's campaign committee Independent Expenditures (IE): Involves spending money directly for advocacy of the election or defeat of a candidate, independently of any candidate or political party What has the Supreme Court saidabout contribution limits? The Supreme Court held that limits on contributions and expenditures implicate First Amendment free speech rights and that such limits must serve the governmental interest in avoiding quid pro quo corruption or its appearance PDiscairer and disclosure requirements FECA contains disclaimer and disclosure requirements Disclaimers: Requires that statements of attribution appear directly on campaign-related communications Disclosure: Requires that political committees register with the FEC and comply with periodic reporting requirements Source restrictions FECA contains several bans, referred to as source restrictions, on who may make campaign contributions Corporate/Union Contributions: Foreign Money: Bans contributions directly from Bans contributions and [Es by treasury funds; must establish a foreign nationals political action committee (PAC) to make contributions What has the Supreme Court said about banning foreign money? mtThe Supreme Court summarily affirmed a three-judge federal district court ruling that upheld FECA's foreign money ban against a First Amendment challenge and that identified a compelling governmental interest in limiting foreign citizens' influence over U.S. elections ,CRS Information as of May 31, 2024. Prepared by L. Paige Whitaker, Legislative Attorney; Amanda ML Black Paralegal Specialist; and Juan Pablo Madrid, VisualI nformation Specialist.

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