Campaign Finance Legislation and Activity in the 109th Congress

Publication Date: January 2007

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Politics

Type:

Abstract:

During the 109th Congress, 51 bills were introduced to change the nation's campaign finance laws (primarily under Titles 2 and 26 of the U.S. Code). These bills -- 43 in the House and 8 in the Senate -- sought to change the current system, including tightening perceived loopholes. Two of those bills passed the House, but no bill passed both chambers. Therefore, no statutory changes occurred in federal campaign finance law during the 109th Congress.

Although the 109th Congress chose not to enact campaign finance legislation, Congress nonetheless considered dozens of bills addressing a wide variety of topics. In summarizing that legislation, this report identifies 14 major topics (categories) addressed in the bills. These categories are diverse, ranging from changing individual contribution limits to regulating independent expenditures. Although some bills called for increased regulation, others proposed less regulation. Hence, legislative activity during the 109th Congress reflected a long-standing debate in campaign finance policy over extending regulation of campaign finance practices versus limiting the reach of such regulation.

The most prominent legislation introduced during the 109th Congress -- and that which advanced farthest through the legislative process -- focused on political organizations operating under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, but outside federal election law. Sponsors of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) offered bills to require that "527s" (as these organizations are popularly known) involved in federal elections comply fully with federal election law. The Senate Rules and Administration Committee reported such a measure -- S. 1053 -- in May 2005, but no further action occurred in the Senate. The House Administration Committee reported two 527 bills with starkly different approaches: H.R. 513 -- the 527 Reform Act of 2005, the counterpart to S. 1053 -- and H.R. 1316, which sought to address the 527 issue indirectly by loosening restrictions on funding sources permitted under federal campaign finance law. In April 2006, the House passed H.R. 513, as amended, but the Senate took no action on the bill.

Legislation proposing 527 reform later became a component of the 109th Congress debate over lobbying reform. The text of H.R. 513 was eventually incorporated into the House Republican leadership's lobbying and ethics reform bill -- H.R. 4975, which passed the House in May 2006. The Senate-passed lobbying bill did not contain the 527 provisions. Disagreement between the two chambers on the 527 issue reportedly contributed to neither lobbying reform nor 527 regulation legislation being enacted during the 109th Congress.

This report will not be updated, because it reflects the complete record of 109th Congress proposals and activity in this area.