What to Look for at the House Administration Committee’s FEC Oversight Hearing

Date
Issues
Campaign Finance

Federal campaign finance laws help ensure transparency about who’s spending money to influence elections, hold candidates accountable for the money they raise and spend in pursuit of public office, and curtail corruption (and its appearance) in our government. But campaign finance laws can only further these goals if they are applied fairly and enforced robustly. 

For over ten years, the agency responsible for implementing and enforcing these laws – the Federal Election Commission (FEC) - has regularly failed to do its job, weighed down in ideological gridlock. 

But tomorrow, all six of the FEC’s commissioners will appear before a congressional oversight committee to answer lawmakers’ questions about the agency’s work. This opportunity must not be taken lightly by members of Congress, who will have the chance to address the FEC’s regulatory failures and hold the agency accountable. This includes topics like the FEC’s:  

  • Failure to police the rampant increase in coordination between super PACs and candidates and parties. 
     

  • Allowing secret election spending, also called ‘dark money,’ to flourish. 
     

  • Giving politicians the green light to use donor funds for their personal expenses. 
     

The current political environment has allowed wealthy special interests to dominate our elections, drowning out the voice of everyday Americans. To ensure every American has a meaningful opportunity to participate in our political process and have their voices heard, we need a stronger FEC to enforce our laws and hold violators accountable. Tomorrow’s oversight hearing is an opportunity for Congress to ask tough questions and push the FEC to do better, ensuring our system of checks and balances works the way it is intended to.