| < Go Back |
| |
For Immediate Release
February 2, 2005 |
| |
Campaign Finance Reformers Introduce Bill
to Close 527 Loophole
Washington, D.C. - Today, Representatives Christopher Shays
(R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Senators John McCain (R-AZ)
and Russ Feingold (D-WI) joined with Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)
and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to try to close the 527 loophole.
“The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) worked. It
eliminated the soft money loophole - except in one narrow,
but significant way,” Shays said. “Today we’re
working to plug that hole by introducing a bill which would
require 527s to live by the spirit and the letter of the 1974
campaign finance law. We want the system to work as it was
intended and I thank Senators McCain, Feingold, Schumer and
Lott for their leadership and support.”
The 527 Reform Act brings 527 groups working for the election
or defeat of a federal candidate under the same set of rules
by which every other political committee has to abide.
The bill will:
· Require 527s to register as political committees
with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC);
· Set minimum allocation formulas for political
committees which have both a federal and non-federal account;
and
· Limit contributions to non-federal (soft
money) accounts of political committees to a $25,000 annual
contribution per donor.
Contact: Sarah Moore,
202/225-5541
-30-
|
