D.C Court of Appeals Upholds Constitutionality of Federal Ban on Contributions by Federal Contractors

 

Statement by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer

In a victory for good government, the en banc D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today unanimously –and correctly– rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the federal ban on campaign contributions by federal contractors. The ban applies to corporations, other entities and individuals who have federal contracts.

The D.C Court of Appeals decision in Wagner v Federal Election Commission also provides a solid basis for President Obama to issue an Executive Order that is currently under White House consideration to require federal contractors to disclose the money they spend to influence federal elections.

The D.C Court of Appeals properly recognized in the Wagner case that the ban on government contractor contributions, which has been in effect for decades, serves the important governmental purposes of deterring corruption and the appearance of corruption in the government contracting process.  The Court recited numerous instances of scandals at both the federal and state levels that have been caused by corrupt pay-to-play contracting practices, and said that Congress operated within the scope of its authority to protect citizens against similar scandals.

Today’s unanimous decision upholding the government contractor contribution ban is a victory for efforts at both the state and federal levels to fight pay-to-play corruption.  In addition, if the decision had gone the other way, it could have undermined the constitutional rationale for the ban on corporate contributions to federal candidates.

Democracy 21 joined with the Campaign Legal Center and Public Citizen to file an amicus brief in the Wagner case supporting the constitutionality of the government contractor contribution ban.