Van Hollen, Price File Brief in McCutcheon v. FEC, Urge Court to Support Government's Ability to Regulate Political Contributions

Statement

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen and Congressman David Price (D-NC) filed an amicus brief in McCutcheon v. the Federal Election Commission (FEC), currently before the Supreme Court.

In this case, the Supreme Court has opened the door to a review of the constitutionality of the Federal limitations on the total political contributions an individual can make to Federal candidates and political parties in a two-year election cycle. The law in this area has been well established since 1976 when the Court maintained in Buckley v. Valeo that the government had greater power to limit contributions than spending on the grounds that large contributions had the ability to corrupt office holders and create the appearance of corruption. The ability to continue to regulate these contributions is at stake in the new case, McCutcheon v. FEC, where the plaintiff is challenging the constitutionality of the two-year ceiling on the total amount an individual can contribute to Federal candidates, to political parties, and to other political committees during a Federal election.

"The Supreme Court, in the McCutcheon case, is reviewing important government restrictions on campaign contributions. The constitutionality of the government's ability to regulate contributions was established by the Supreme Court in 1976 in the case of Buckley v. Valeo. Over the years, the Court has continued to support the regulation of contributions under an anti-corruption rationale. This rationale remains as important today, if not more so, in face of the unprecedented amount of outside spending that poured into the 2012 elections," said Congressman Van Hollen. "As a result, I joined with Congressman David Price to file an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in the McCutcheon case. Our brief calls on the court to continue with its 40-year history of supporting the government's ability to regulate political contributions in order to protect against corruption and the appearance of corruption."

Source