The nation needs a new sheriff for federal elections. Without enforcement stronger than the Federal Election Commission is currently structured or inclined to provide, hard-won campaign-finance reform, including the key ban on soft money, will be meaningless. The nation’s campaign-finance watchdog should be independent of political parties to ensure that it works in the interest […]
By Susan Crabtree House Republican leaders won’t say whether they will scrap an ethics office if they regain the majority this fall.The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), established by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in 2008, has attracted criticism from Republicans and Democrats during the last couple of years. Most GOP lawmakers voted against the creation […]
The Washington PostFEC Nomination Impasse Stalls Disclosure of Bundling DataAgency Cannot Set New Rules for Fundraising by LobbyistsBy Paul KaneApril 4, 2008 The stalemate over the Federal Election Commission’s nominating process, which already has crippled the agency’s ability to uphold existing campaign laws, is indefinitely delaying the implementation of a new rule designed to shine […]
The New York TimesInterest Groups Step Up Efforts in a Tight RaceBy Jim Rutenberg and Michael LuoSeptember 16, 2008 After largely staying on the sidelines, the types of independent groups that so affected the 2004 presidential campaign are flooding back as players in the final sprint to the election this fall, financing provocative messages on […]
By Kenneth P. Vogel If anyone had doubts about the role that anonymous and untraceable money will play in the 2012 campaign ad wars, a flurry of recent reports and voluntary disclosures should put them to rest. The full extent of the anonymous giving is by definition impossible to know. But the recent disclosures as […]
Three House members got word the other day that investigators have recommended that the ethics committee delve into their fund-raising from Wall Street donors — lucrative labors that happened to coincide precisely with some big votes on reforming Wall Street. Five other members were cleared in the same inquiry, raising the question of exactly what […]
USA TodayReports show that more campaigns raise big moneyBy John FritzeDecember 15, 2008 Nearly half of the nation’s House and Senate candidates raised $1 million or more in contributions for the 2008 election, about two-thirds more than a decade ago, campaign-finance reports show. Watchdog groups say ever-more-costly campaigns benefit incumbents, who have an easier time […]
PoliticoDems move to blunt Citizens UnitedBy Politico StaffApril 24, 2010 In the coming week, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) plan to unveil legislation to close campaign-finance loopholes opened by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. The legislation was written in consultation with the White House. Here […]
The Washington PostJustices Split on Campaign Finance Court Will Debate Case This Fall Charles LaneSeptember 9, 2003 With the first caucuses and primaries of campaign 2004 bearing down on them, the justices of the Supreme Court convened yesterday for an unusual late-summer oral argument on campaign finance law, and when it was over, the four-hour […]
The Hill Experts don’t expect huge fallout from Citizens United decision in first quarterBy Emily Goodin March 31, 2010 Campaign finance experts don’t expect to see a huge fallout from the recent Citizen United Supreme Court ruling in the first-quarter fundraising reports. Wednesday marks the end of the first quarter and it also marks the […]
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