Van Hollen Statement on McCutcheon v. FEC

Press Release

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen issued the following statement on McCutcheon v. the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which began oral arguments before the Supreme Court this morning. Congressman Van Hollen filed an amicus brief in the case earlier this year urging the Court to uphold its 1976 decision to limit large campaign contributions to candidates and parties.

"The Supreme Court has long upheld contribution limits to candidates and political organizations on the grounds that excessive contributions can have a corrupting influence on the legislative process. The Court should stand by this important principle and not open the floodgates to a new deluge of contributions that will provide special interests even greater influence in our democracy."

BACKGROUND:

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. Over the years, the Court has continued to support the regulation of contributions under an anti-corruption rationale. 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.

Source