They feel that the provision would infringe on their rights to free speech and ability to weigh in on elections, and significantly weaken the political parties. Although none of the reform groups sees McCain-Feingold as a perfect bill, they are united in their belief that the bill is a necessary start down the road of campaign finance reform. Congress made further amendments to the FECA in 1976, following the Supreme Court case of Buckley v. Valeo , and in 1979. Political parties and outside groups have taken advantage of loopholes in the law soft money being among the biggest of them in ways that reformers say have all but eviscerated the campaign finance system of its ability to control the flow of money. In the case of campaign finance reform, of course, money is the issue.
Totals are in millions.
Totals for 2000 are not yet final. The parties use hard money for direct contributions to candidates and other activities that advocate the election or defeat of a candidate. The increase is particularly dramatic in party soft money fund-raising. As stated above, the core of the McCain-Feingold bill is its ban on soft money contributions to the parties. The bill also would prohibit candidates from using campaign funds for personal expenses.