The McCain-Feingold-Cochran campaign reform bill is just like the fees that were discussed in the 105th and 106th Congresses. A potent bipartisan majority of both the House and the Senate favors this reform. it involves the going after major components:
A blacklist on Soft cash. The bill would prohibit all soft cash contributions to the national political parties from corporations, labor unions, and wealthy individuals. State parties that are allowed under state law to accept these unregulated contributions would be prohibited from investing them on tasks relating to federal selections, this includes advertising that supports or opposes a federal candidate. further, federal candidates would be prohibited from raising soft cash. These provisions would shut down the Washington soft cash machine, prohibiting the $100,000, $250,000 and even $500,000 contributions that for the last decade have flowed to the political parties.
McCain-Feingold-Cochran would in addition double the number of “hard” cash individuals may assist to state parties for use in federal selections, from $5,000 to $10,000. It would increase the number of “hard” cash an individual may contribute in aggregate to all federal candidates, parties, and PACs in a single year from $25,000 to $30,000.
Restrictions on “Phony Issue Ads” Run by Corporations and Unions (The Snowe-Jeffords Amendment). First adopted as part of McCain-Feingold in the course of the Senate’s February 1998 campaign finance discussion, the Snowe-Jeffords amendment addresses the explosion of thinly-veiled campaign publicizing funded by corporate and union treasuries. These ads skirt federal selection law by avoiding the usage of direct entreaties to “vote for” or “vote against” a definite candidate. Under the bill, labor unions and for-profit corporations would be prohibited from investing their treasury funds on “electioneering communications.” “Electioneering communications” are defined as radio or TV ads that allude to a clearly realized candidate or candidates and appear within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general selection. This definition doesn’t include any printed communication, direct mail, voter guides, or the Internet. It would in addition not cover issue publicizing that does not recognize a special candidate or gives the look outside of the 30/60 day pre-election window.
The Snowe-Jeffords amendment allows 501(c)(4) non-profit corporations to make electioneering communications as long as they use only individual contributions (not corporate or union funds) and make certain disclosures. The amendment thus impedes unions or corporations from laundering funds by ways of non-profits to make electioneering communications.
