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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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