The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act: 116 Stat. 81 (2002)

After congressional legislative activity in the 1970s, which resulted in the establishment of a set of rules governing federal campaign finance, the pace of reform of the electoral process slowed down, and it was the Supreme Court which took the initiative in reshaping the meaning of certain regulations referring to campaign contributions and spending, as well as disclosure procedures. It would be a mistake, however, to consider that politicians did not try to argue in congressional debates on amending the Federal Elections Campaign Act, which was criticized especially during and after those electoral cycles which revealed the growing impact of money on the electoral process. The 1980s and 1990s saw an intensified operation of political action committees, both from the perspective of their number and the amount of funds they contributed to federal campaigns. Besides PACs’ and national political committees’ contributions, one of the major problems occurred with the increased role of so-called soft money , defined as funds which were not under the control of federal campaign finance, but served indirectly as an important source of candidates’ organization of election campaigns. Soft money was collected by numerous entities, such as corporations and labor unions, to cover administrative costs, voter turnout programs, grassroots activities or media advertisements, aimed at preparing and conducting political campaigns on the federal level. As more than $700 million was spent this way in the 1990s, soft money became a major target of the campaign finance reformers. Proposals were prepared by Republicans and Democrats working together over and above political divisions, and aimed at limiting the role of soft money and restricting issue advertising, as well as enhancing the enforcement provisions of campaign finance regulations. After tensions in the House of Representatives and Senate, Congress finally adopted the new law in 2002, known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA). Among its many provisions, the Act banned political party committees from collecting and spending funds in connection with federal elections, if they were not subject to campaign finance regulations and limitations.