In spite of seemingly comprehensive campaign finance reforms enacted by Congress beginning in 1971, the current system of financing congressional campaigns threatens to erode public confidence in the electoral process and in government itself. The sheer volume of money in campaigns has led to the perception that those who pay the campaign bills wield disproportionate influence in the process, or at a minimum enjoy greater access to elected representatives than do individual citizens. Public funding of congressional races is a workable means of lessening candidates' reliance on private contributions. Moreover, it is the only effective means of placing reasonable limits on overall campaign spending.
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References
1.
1. U.S., Congress, Senate, Committee on Rules and Administration, Hearings on Campaign Finance Reform Proposals of 1983, 98th Cong., 1st sess., 26 and 27 Jan., 17 May, and 29 Sept. 1983, pp. 99, 124.
2.
2. “A $900 Million Election Stirs Reform Cries,”U.S. News & World Report, 20 Dec. 1982, p. 28.
3.
3. U.S., Federal Election Commission, FEC Reports on Financial Activity 1983-1984. Final Report. U.S. Senate and House Candidates (Washington, DC: Federal Election Commission, 1985), p. xii.
4.
4. Common Cause, Campaign Finance Monitoring Project: 1974 Congressional Campaign Finances, vol. 1, Senate Races (Washington, DC: Common Cause, 1976), p. vi.
5.
5. Norman J. Ornsteinet al., Vital Statistics on Congress, 1984-85 ed. (Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1984), p. 67.
6.
6. Ibid., p. 68.
7.
7. “House Seat Can Cost $1 Million,”Washington Post, 25 Oct. 1984.
8.
idem , FEC Reports on Financial Activity 1983-1984.
9.
9. “Elections: It Doesn't Hurt to Be a Millionaire,”U.S. News & World Report, 15 Nov. 1982, p. 8.
10.
10. U.S., Congress, Senate, Committee on Rules and Administration, Hearings on the Application and Administration of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as Amended, 97th Cong., 1st sess., 20 and 24 Nov. 1981, p. 96.
11.
11. U.S., Congress, Senate, Committee on Rules and Administration, Hearings on Campaign Finance Reform Proposals of 1983, p. 50.
12.
12. Ibid., p. 145.
13.
13. Ibid., p. 400.
14.
14. As of 31 Dec. 1982, nine Senate incumbents up for reelection in 1984 had raised over $100,000, and three of these had raised in excess of $600,000.
15.
15. U.S., Congress, House, Committee on House Administration, Task Force on Elections, Hearings on Campaign Finance Reform, 98th Cong., 1st sess., 9, 16, 21, and 23 June, 8 July, 22 and 23 Aug., and 12 Oct. 1983, p. 197.
16.
16. Richard E. Cohen, “Giving till It Hurts: 1982 Campaign Prompts New Look at Financing Races,”National Journal, 18 Dec. 1982, pp. 2146-2147.
17.
17. U.S., Federal Election Commission, “Aggregate Loans from the Candidate as Reported by Major Party General Election Senate Campaigns, 1983-84 Election Cycle” (Data generated from a computerized data base, Federal Election Commission, 1985).
18.
18. Cohen, “Giving till It Hurts,” p. 2146.
19.
19. Federal Election Commission, FEC Reports on Financial Activity 1983-1984, p. 331.
20.
20. U.S., Federal Election Commission, “PAC Numbers Show Slight Drop in 1985” (Press release, Federal Election Commission, 1985).
21.
21. U.S., Federal Election Commission, “FEC Final Report for '84 Elections Confirms Majority of PAC Money Went to Incumbents” (Press release, Federal Election Commission, 1985). 22. Ibid.
22.
23. 424 U.S. 1 (1976).
23.
24. Ibid., p. 19.
24.
25. Ibid., p. 21.
25.
26. Ibid., p. 25.
26.
27. Ibid., p. 26.
27.
28. J. Skelly Wright, “Money and the Pollution of Politics: Is the First Amendment an Obstacle to Political Equality?”Columbia Law Review, 82(4) (May 1982).
28.
29. Committee on Rules and Administration, Campaign Finance Reform Proposals of 1983, p. 107, n. 5.
29.
30. Ibid., p. 145.
30.
31. 424 U.S., p. 46.
31.
32. FEC v. National Conservative Political Action Committee, 105 S. Ct. 1459 (1985).
32.
33. Ibid., p. 1475.
33.
34. On the adequacy of the FEC, see William C. Oldaker, “Of Philosophers, Foxes, and Finances: Can the Federal Election Commission Ever Do an Adequate Job?” this issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
34.
35. 2 U.S.C. § 431(17) (1979).
35.
36. 424 U.S., p. 47.
36.
37. Campaign Practice Reports (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1982), 9(21):1.
37.
38. Figures showing relative campaign expenditures by incumbents and challengers in races in which the incumbent was defeated reveal that for the period 1974-82, successful challengers were outspent by incumbents in the aggregate in three out of five of these elections. See Ornsteinet al., Vital Statistics on Congress, p. 67.
38.
39. Rule 40, Standing Rules of the Senate, currently prohibits any senator from using the frank for mass mailings in the 60 days preceding an election in which he or she is a candidate (par. 1), precludes use of Senate computer facilities for storing lists that identify individuals by any partisan political designation (par. 5), and prohibits use of Senate radio and television studies in the 60 days preceding an election in which the senator is a candidate (par. 6).
