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For Immediate Release
March 30, 2006 |
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Big Day for Campaign Finance
Reform Fight
WASHINGTON, DC - Congressmen Christopher Shays
(R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) had a big day in their fight
to reform the campaign finance and ethics rules on Capitol
Hill today. Judge Emmett Sullivan found in favor of Shays
and Meehan in their lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission
(FEC) for the FEC’s failure to bring 527 groups under
campaign finance law. The legislators also testified before
the House Rules Committee today, advocating for an Office
of Public Integrity and more transparency surrounding lobbying
activities.
527 Lawsuit Decision
“BCRA’s (the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act)
first test – the 2004 election – showed the law
worked well, with one exception: 527s,” Shays said.
“Judge Sullivan supported our belief that the FEC’s
failure to bring 527s under campaign finance law was a dereliction
of its duty by rejecting the FEC’s justification for
refusing to issue regulations. This was a crucial step in
bringing fairness to our campaign finance laws.”
"BCRA scored a major victory yesterday when Judge Sullivan
affirmed that the FEC had failed once again to do its job
as the nation's election watchdog because it chose not to
regulate the activities of 527s, and totally failed to justify
that choice," Meehan said. "There is no common sense
reason or legal basis to allow 527s to ignore the rules that
apply to all other political committees spending money to
influence federal elections. The simple solution to ensure
fairness and prevent abuse of the law is to make 527s play
by the same rules as everyone else."
In a 34-page opinion issued yesterday, federal Judge Emmet
Sullivan of the United States District Court for the District
of Columbia ruled that the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
had ''failed to present a reasoned explanation'' for its decision
in 2004 not to issue rules to require section 527 organizations
to register as federal political committees when they spend
money to influence federal campaigns. He remanded the case
back to the FEC ''either to articulate its reasoning for its
decision to proceed by case-by-case adjudication or to promulgate
a rule if necessary.''
The legislators have introduced the 527 Reform Act which
brings 527 groups working to influence federal elections 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.
Rules Committee Testimony to Toughen Ethics
Shays and Meehan also testified before the Rules Committee
in support of their legislative proposal to create an Office
of Public Integrity to strengthen the Ethics Committee and
to increase transparency of lobbying activity on Capitol Hill.
“It is clear to me power corrupts and absolute power
corrupts absolutely. We need bold action. We need bold reform,”
Shays said before the Committee. “I would like this
Committee to consider three reforms: create an Office of Public
Integrity to strengthen the Ethics Committee, strengthen lobbying
disclosure requirements beyond what this legislation includes,
and enact a gift ban…this Congress needs to not only
deal with the reality of corruption, but the appearance of
corruption as well. Only then can we begin to restore the
public’s trust.” Click
here to read Shays’ full testimony:
In his testimony, Meehan emphasized that any lobbying reform
bill must include provisions to slow the "revolving door";
create an Office of Public Integrity; and increasing lobbying
and grassroots disclosure. He said, "There is an ethical
cloud hanging over Congress today. It’s a major reason
why Congress has lost the confidence of a majority of Americans.
Congress's approval rating is just 27% - - an all time low.
As we move forward with this debate, Congress needs to make
an important decision. Does Congress want to be an outlet
for special interests awash in money and accountable to no
one? Or do we want to return to our democratic roots of transparency
and accountability? The answer must be the latter." Click
here to read Meehan’s full testimony:
Shays and Meehan introduced H.R.4799 which seeks to establish
an Office of Public Integrity, a professional, independent,
non-partisan office to investigate ethics complaints and inquiries
in Congress. For more information on this bill, please visit:
http://www.house.gov/shays/news/2006/march/marethicsprocess.htm
Contact: Sarah Moore, 202/225-5541
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