Posted on 03/01/2004 1:42:12 PM PST by yonif
WASHINGTON - Interest groups raising big donations to spend in this year's elections could face tough new limits under a proposal federal officials will begin considering this week.
The Federal Election Commission is weighing how a new campaign finance law affects nonparty groups that raise corporate, union and unlimited "soft money" donations and are active at election time.
Several commissioners call it the most important decision they will make this year.
The FEC is considering a wide range of options, from placing broad limits on soft money groups to sticking to the status quo and waiting to see what the groups do as the fall elections near. On Thursday, it is expected to start circulating a proposal for public comment. A final decision is expected in May.
The new law bars national party committees and congressional and presidential candidates from raising soft money, and it broadly restricts the use of big checks by others in federal elections.
Campaign finance watchdog groups contend both major parties are trying to get around the soft-money ban by using new nonparty organizations run by party activists to collect the big checks and use them on get-out-the-vote drives, ads and other election-time activities.
The FEC last month decided to place some restrictions on outside groups' use of soft money. That decision covered only organizations that register with the FEC as political committees, declaring by doing so that one of their major purposes is spending money for or against federal candidates.
A draft proposal by commission attorneys released Monday suggests that the FEC consider whether it should broaden the range of groups considered political committees subject to its oversight and spending restrictions, perhaps sweeping in soft-money groups that do not currently register with the commission but are active in elections.
Other issues include what mix of soft and hard money should be required when groups are allowed to pay for activities using both, and whether any new rules should be delayed from taking effect until after the November elections.
In its decision last month, the commission ruled that when nonparty groups registered with the FEC air ads, conduct get-out-the-vote drives or undertake other activities that promote, support, attack or oppose only federal candidates, they must use limited individual contributions known as hard money.
If a state or local candidate or the general party ticket also is mentioned, they can choose between using all hard money or a combination of hard and soft money.
The FEC's decision could have the biggest impact in the short term on Democrats, whose party relied more heavily on soft money than the Republican Party did. Democratic activists, trying to counter the GOP's multimillion-dollar hard-money advantage, have been more aggressive than Republicans so far in setting up partisan soft-money groups in time for this year's elections.
The new campaign finance law took effect after the November 2002 elections and was upheld by the Supreme Court last December.
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FEC: http://www.fec.gov/
The sky did NOT fall.
The thing that concerns me the most is that groups like MoveOn.org and individuals like George Sorros can affect the outcome of our elections. ALL foreign money should be made illegal, period.
Ooops, it already does? We had just better keep that piece of information quiet or some RATS might be embarrassed.
The Red Chinese Army seems to belong to the RAT party doesn't it? I'm sure if we only knew what that bunch of traitors has done, we'd probably reinstate public hangings. :)
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