Political parties may win unlimited election spending caps through a rider in the must-pass spending bill
UPDATE — December 17, 2015 — The New York Times is reporting that the unlimited spending caps provision was not added to the spending bill:
Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has failed in his high-profile push to include a change in congressional campaign spending rules in the new budget bill that lawmakers are set to consider on Friday. But … The budget bill would prevent the Internal Revenue Service, a top target of Republican critics, from moving ahead on new rules that could curb the activities of nonprofit advocacy groups that have become much more active in elections and that do not have to disclose the names of their donors. It would also prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission from instituting new rules requiring corporations to disclose their campaign activity to investors — a change the S.E.C. seemed cool to despite pressure from would-be reformers.
The 2010 Supreme Court ruling Citizens United, which lead to a surge in often secretive spending on federal elections by outside groups, may have taken power away from the political parties. Senate Republicans are hoping to shift power back to the parties through a rider in the upcoming must-pass spending bill.
The proposal is to let the political parties spend unlimited amounts of money on elections, just like the outside groups now can do.
According to a report from Politico, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), a long-time vocal opponent of campaign finance restrictions, is leading a push to kill the parties’ current spending caps through a rider in the omnibus appropriations bill that must be passed by December 11 to keep the government up and running.
Under current law, political parties are limited in how much they can spend in coordination with their candidates. (A party expenditure is "coordinated" if it is made in cooperation with or at the request of a candidate.) The limits are established each two-year election cycle using a formula that factors in the cost of living. For House races the limits are as low as $48,000, and for Senate races the limits range from $96,000 for the Alaska races to more than $2.8 million for the California races. The limits for the 2016 Presidential race have not yet been established, but in 2012 it was set at more than $21 million.
How the Supreme Court shifted power away from the parties
The Supreme Court ruled in the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission case that the First Amendment restricted the government from placing limits on how much money groups that are officially non-political in nature could spend on elections. Since then, spending on federal elections by outside groups has increased dramatically, and already in the 2016 cycle Super PACs, outside groups set up to accept and spend unlimited election money after the Citizens United decision, have raised more than $313 million.
McConnell’s proposal could help the political parties retain influence and control over which candidates receive the most support, as well as the content and messaging of advertising supporting and opposing candidates.
The omnibus appropriations bill is currently being negotiated by congressional leaders, including McConnell. The bill text will likely be released to the public later this week.
