Today,  Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Chris Van Hollen issued a legislative proposal in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.  Proposals include banning expenditures by corporations with a more than 20 percent foreign interest, TARP recipients, and … Continue reading →

Today, in a 5-4 ruling, the United States Supreme Court changed the Constitutional landscape for campaign finance reform.  In Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, the Court lifted the long-standing ban on corporate and union independent expenditures in federal elections, … Continue reading →

We’ve reached our final installment on our series on gift-giving.  This post will cover gift-giving to federal officials and employees.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC“) plans to reconsider a rule it last considered in 1999 to curb political contributions by investment advisers seeking to manage the investment of state pension funds. The new proposal comes in the wake of … Continue reading →

In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly addressed the constitutional boundaries of campaign finance regulation. If confirmed, Judge Sonia Sotomayor would bring to the Court real world experience as a campaign finance regulator – likely a first for … Continue reading →

Federal campaign finance limits and lobbying registration thresholds have increased due to changes in the Consumer Price Index. See here for a chart on the 2009-2010 contribution limits applicable to federal contributions. Additionally, the House and Senate recently posted revised guidance … Continue reading →

The incoming Obama administration and members of Congress are reportedly close to an agreement on the principles of an economic stimulus package.  The costs of the plan have been reported to be anywhere from $800 billion to $1.2 trillion.  So … Continue reading →

The Republican and Democratic parties hold their national presidential nominating conventions this year. The Democrats meet in Denver in August. The Republicans gather in Minneapolis in September. Many of the convention delegates also serve as elected officials at the federal, … Continue reading →

It is essential that political committees take steps to protect their assets from misappropriation and errors that lead to misreporting. Earlier this year the Federal Election Commission issued a policy statement creating a Safe Harbor for Misreporting Due to Embezzlement … Continue reading →

The FEC has approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking implementing section 204 of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. The proposed rules would require candidate committees, leadership PACs, and political parties to report two or more contributions … Continue reading →