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Washington Watch

American Journal of Nursing - May, 2002 - Volume 102, Issue 5

Campaign Finance Reform
The new law will level the political playing field.

By Sheila M. Roit, MPP, RN

The Shays–Meehan–McCain–Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, signed into law by President Bush in March, is expected to rein in the influence of wealthy individuals, corporations, and special interest groups in politics and level the playing field for all Americans who wish to take part in the political process. For years, elected officials have debated the need for stiffer campaign finance laws, especially those regulating the use of “soft money” (see Definitions, at right). The key sponsor of campaign finance reform was Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who introduced such legislation each year since 1995 and who pledged to overhaul campaign finance laws during his 2000 presidential bid.

Passed in late 2001 in the House (HR 2356) and in March in the Senate (S 27), the new law bans most uses of soft money and is expected to reduce the negative political advertising seen in recent years during the last two weeks of a campaign. Since this advertising is funded by soft money contributions, it has not been subject to the strict federal spending restrictions that govern the use of “hard money” (see Definitions at right). Soft money has typically been used to channel resources to a handful of highly competitive campaigns. For example, during the 2000 presidential race, advertising was concentrated in those states—California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin—deemed competitive by party strategists. States considered to be noncompetitive—that is, states where the electoral college vote count favored one party or another—saw little if any party advertising. Since soft money was aimed toward highly competitive states, the result was advertising that tended to attack opposing candidates rather than focus on issues.

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which goes into effect after the 2002 elections, bans advertising (whether used to elect or defeat a candidate) paid for by soft money contributions in the last 60 days of a general election or 30 days before a primary. Such advertisements will have to be paid for with hard money through a political action committee. In addition, the name of the candidate must be clearly disclosed in the advertisement, which currently don’t always contain this information.

The law allows donations for very specific purposes: state and local parties are allowed to accept up to $10,000 a year in contributions from an individual for voter registration and get-out-the-vote initiatives. The new law also increases limits on some donations. The individual hard money contribution that can be made to federal election campaigns has doubled to $2,000 a year. In addition, the law allows individuals to contribute up to $95,000 total during a two-year election cycle to candidates and parties, up from the current limit of $50,000.

The ANA believes that the new law will help the ANA’s political action committee (ANA–PAC) in its mission to get nurse-friendly candidates elected by making its voice as strong as those of political contributors in the business community. In particular, it could help ANA–PAC to achieve political parity with PACs in the hospital and insurance industries, which in the past have outspent ANA–PAC through the use of soft money.

Definitions

Money, hard and soft, explained.

Soft money. According to Common Cause (a nonprofit, nonpartisan citizens’ lobbying organization), soft money is “money which, by definition and by law, is not supposed to be a part of our federal campaign finance system.” Although spending by corporations and labor unions to influence federal elections was already prohibited by law, a 1978 Federal Election Commission (FEC) ruling made it possible to make unlimited donations to political parties and their candidates for “party building.” In fact, most of these funds, channeled through state party accounts, have been used to influence federal election campaigns, especially by funding “attack ads,” which usually run in the two weeks before an election. The amount of soft money raised by both parties went up from $86 million in 1992 to $500 million in 2000.

Hard money. Money legally raised by direct solicitation of individuals and party members given to political parties and PACs and reported to the FEC is known as hard money. The amounts that individuals and PACs can give during primaries and general elections are governed by the FEC.

Sheila M. Roit is a senior political action specialist at the American Nurses Association.

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