Campaign Financing Laws Essay

1.1 History of Campaign Finance Laws Legislation regarding the role of money in American politics is as old as the nation itself. In 1699 the Virginia House of Burgesses established a law banning the bribery of voters in elections. This law made insured that wealthy candidates would not attempt to pay off voters in an attempt to win elections (Mutch 2001). Today, the general consensus is the interested money is what corrupts politics, not bribes by self-financed candidates. It was not until the early nineteenth century that contributions to candidates began. In 1983, Congress restricted federal workers from contributing to federal campaigns after passing the Pendleton Civil Service Act. This was due to the rise in party loyalist who were given government jobs and expected to contribute to the parties’ campaigns in return (Mutch 2001). While this legislation succeeded in eliminating contributions from federal employees, it subsequently led politicians to begin finding money in other places. Primarily these sources were “industrial giants in oil, railroads, steel, and finance, which held major stakes in the direction of government
Valeo. The decision held that limits on campaign expenditures and personal contributions by the candidates were unconstitutional. While the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) legal authority, and limits on individual and political action committee contributions remand. The next big change to finance laws came in 2002, when the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was proposed in the Senate. The law primarily targeted loopholes of the FECA, such as “soft money”, which are unlimited donations made to a political party, thus avoiding various legal limitations. And while it also increased individuals contribution limit to federal candidates, it did not increase them for political action committees PACs) (Currinder