FEC Nominations and the Commission's Operating Status

Due to the loss of its quorum between January and June 2008, the FEC was unable to execute some of its core functions, including rulemaking to implement campaign finance law. On June 24, 2008, the Senate confirmed five nominations to the agency. Campaign Finance Legislation in the 110th Congress

Legislative activity regarding campaign finance has occurred on two fronts during the 110 th Congress. First, and most notably, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) contains some campaign finance provisions, but the law is primarily devoted to lobbying and ethics. Campaign Finance Provisions in HLOGA

S. 1 , which became P.L. The Administrative Fine Program

P.L. 6296 (Brady), will extend until 2013 the FEC's authority to conduct the Administrative Fine Program (AFP). However, the Rules and Administration Committee has held hearings on four bills. First, on March 28, 2007, the committee held a hearing on S. 223 (Feingold), which would require Senate campaign committees (including candidate committees and party committees) to file campaign finance disclosure reports electronically. S. 1091 remains in committee. House Activity on Other Campaign Finance Legislation

The House has passed three bills (in addition to lobbying reform measures and H.R. First, H.R. 3093 , the House version of the FY2008 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, contained an amendment sponsored by Representative Pence that would have prohibited spending funds for criminal enforcement of BCRA's electioneering communication provision (discussed below). However, the measure was not included in companion Senate legislation or the FY2008 consolidated appropriations law. A second House bill, H.R. 2630 (Schiff), would prohibit candidate campaign committees and leadership PACs from paying candidate spouses for campaign work. It has not been considered in the Senate. Third, the House passed H.R. The bill would permit candidates to designate to the FEC an individual (or a backup) to spend campaign funds if the candidate dies. Hearings on Automated Political Calls

Also during the 110 th Congress, House and Senate committees have held hearings on automated political telephone calls (also known as "robo calls" or "auto calls"). The Senate Rules and Administration Committee also held a hearing on the calls, and related bill S. 2624 (Feinstein), on February 27, 2008. On June 25, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. (WRTL II) . "Millionaire's Amendment"

On June 26, 2008, a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court declared the "Millionaire's Amendment" unconstitutional in Davis v. Federal Election Commission . Conclusion and Analysis

HLOGA represents the most significant legislative development related to campaign finance during the 110 th Congress.
During the 110th Congress, the House and Senate's campaign finance work has overlapped in three areas. First and most significantly, a lobbying and ethics law enacted in September 2007, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA; P.L. 110-81, which was S. 1), contains some campaign finance provisions. Second, P.L. 110-433 (H.R. 6296) will extend the Federal Election Commission's (FEC) Administrative Fine Program (AFP) until 2013. Third, the Committee on House Administration and the Senate Rules and Administration Committee have held hearings on automated political telephone calls (also known as "robo calls" or "auto calls"), a subject that is related to campaign finance.
Otherwise, the House and Senate have largely focused on different campaign finance issues. Specifically, the House has passed three bills, not passed by the Senate, containing campaign finance provisions. First, H.R. 3032 would allow candidates to designate an individual to disburse remaining campaign funds if the candidate dies. Second, H.R. 2630 would restrict campaign and leadership political action committee (PAC) payments to candidate spouses. Third, a provision in the House-passed version of an appropriations bill (H.R. 3093) would have prohibited spending Justice Department funds on criminal enforcement of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) "electioneering communication" provision. However, the language was not included in the FY2008 consolidated appropriations law (P.L. 110-161).
Similarly, the Senate has largely considered legislation not considered in the House. The Senate's campaign finance activity has also been confined largely to hearings. S. 223, which would require electronic filing of campaign disclosure reports was reported from the Rules and Administration Committee but has not received floor consideration. During the spring and summer of 2007, the committee also held hearings on coordinated party expenditures (S. 1091) and congressional public financing legislation (S. 1285).
Non-legislative items are also noteworthy. Following a Senate impasse over four nominees to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) during the first session of the 110th Congress, the Commission lacked the quorum necessary to make major policy decisions between January and June 2008. Senate confirmations of five nominees on June 24, 2008, restored the FEC to full capacity. FEC rulemakings are ongoing or expected in response to legislative activity, and Supreme Court rulings addressing electioneering communications (Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc.) and the "Millionaire's Amendment" (Davis v. Federal Election Commission).
This report will be updated in the event of other significant legislative or policy developments in the 110th Congress.