Statement by Reform Groups on the Internet Regulation Adopted Today by the FEC

Statement of Reform Groups on the Internet
Regulation Adopted Today by the FEC

The following statement is being issued by the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG:

Throughout this process, our organizations have supported both protecting the free speech rights of bloggers and other individual Internet users, and protecting the federal campaign finance laws against the opening of new loopholes that would return corrupting soft money to federal elections.

The regulation adopted by the FEC today strikes the right balance in advancing these goals.

The regulation makes clear that bloggers and other individuals communicating on their own Web sites are not covered by the campaign finance laws.

The regulation also makes clear that federal candidates and political parties buying campaign ads on the Internet to influence federal elections must comply with federal campaign finance laws and cannot use soft money to fund such ads.

We believe the FEC regulation settles these issues.

The FEC regulation also makes clear that H.R. 1606, the Hensarling bill, is now completely unnecessary to protect bloggers and other individual Internet users, and that the only purpose it would serve at this stage is to open huge loopholes for federal candidates and political parties to spend unlimited, corrupting soft money to buy campaign ads on the Internet.

In the event that the House goes forward with H.R. 1606 this week, we urge every House Member to recognize that the only purpose served by this legislation now is to gut the campaign finance laws and the soft money ban. We urge every Member to vote against H.R. 1606. 

#      #     #

Capital Bits & Pieces Vol. VI , No. 30   Released: Monday, March 27, 2006