Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, the commission describes its duties as "to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections." It is led by six commissioners who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Some of the key events about Federal Election Commission
- 1975Established as an independent regulatory agency to enforce campaign finance law
- 1975Failed to fully enforce campaign finance laws due to lack of resources and authority
- 1976Issued first comprehensive set of regulations for federal elections
- 1979Implemented electronic filing system for campaign finance reports
- 1979Criticized for ineffective enforcement of disclosure requirements for political action committees
- 1980Conducted first audit of a presidential campaign
- 1984Accused of partisan bias in enforcement decisions
- 1990Introduced standardized forms for reporting campaign finances
- 1991Faced criticism for slow response to campaign finance violations
- 1996Struggled to regulate "soft money" contributions to political parties
- 1999Launched online database of campaign finance information
- 2000Unable to effectively address issues with online political advertising
- 2002Implemented new regulations following the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
- 2007Expanded disclosure requirements for bundled contributions
- 2008Criticized for weak enforcement of coordination rules between campaigns and outside groups
- 2010Issued new rules in response to Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision
- 2010Failed to adequately respond to the impact of Citizens United v. FEC decision
- 2016Deadlocked on key enforcement decisions due to partisan gridlock
- 2018Improved website to enhance public access to campaign finance data
- 2020Faced criticism for ineffective oversight of digital political advertising
Disclaimer: This material is written based on information taken from open sources, including Wikipedia, news media, podcasts, and other public sources.
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