Proposed FEC Rules Threaten Free Speech
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - April 21, 2004
In a move that could impact advocacy and non-profit groups across the nation, the Federal Election Commission heard testimony on April 14 regarding new rules for groups called 501(c)(3)s and 501(c)(4)s -- named for their tax code -- that are tax-exempt and engage in political activities, often through unlimited "soft money" contributions. If enacted, these new rules could harm the activities of groups across the political spectrum and restrict free speech in ways that their supporters call unhealthy to democracy.
"We strongly believe that the proposed rule threatens First Amendment rights of free speech and association for all of us," Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), said in his
testimony to the FEC. "The need for these protections cannot be overstated."
The new rules are in response to a few organizations that engage in activities directly related to political campaigns, however the rules are so broad that they may encompasses actions that have been treated as protected speech in the past. The crux of the debate is whether the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) prohibits the "soft money" donations that many groups rely upon, but only a few have used to influence the election.
"I take very seriously my responsibility to administer the law that Congress wrote," said FEC Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub in the hearing's
opening statement. "Thus I cannot ignore the view of 128 House Members and 19 Senators that 'the rules before the Commission would expand the reach of BCRA's limitations to independent organizations in a manner wholly unsupported by BCRA or the record of our deliberations under the law.'"
Groups that criticize elected officials may fall under the prohibition of the new rules, even if this sort of activity was protected in the past. LCCR, for example, would no longer be able to receive "soft money" donations and then create television, radio, or print ads that criticize President Bush's extremist judicial nominees. The coalition also would be barred from publishing its annual
LCCR Voting Record, which informs voters on the civil rights records of their representatives and senators.
The Commission received more than 150,000 comments -- ten times the usual amount -- regarding the proposed rules. LCCR formed the Coalition to Protect Non-Profit Advocacy, with a membership of nearly 700 groups, in an attempt to protect their activities.
"LCCR and the organizations that we represent work in a bipartisan manner to make the dream of equal protection of the law a reality for all Americans," Henderson said at the hearing. "We do this not because we have a parochial concern for particular candidates but rather because we care about the issues that office holders have the power to impact."
