Number: RS21511
Title: Campaign Finance: Brief Overview of McConnell v. FEC
Authors: L. Paige Whitaker, American Law Division 
Abstract: On March 27, 2002, the President signed into law the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), P.L. 107-155 (H.R. 2356, 107th Congress), which was also known as the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation prior to enactment. Shortly after President Bush signed BCRA into law, Senator Mitch McConnell filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Ultimately, eleven suits challenging the campaign finance reform law were brought by more than 80 plaintiffs and were consolidated into one lead case, McConnell v. FEC. This report provides an overview of the courts decision.
Pages: 6
Date: Updated May 19, 2003