Show Me the Money Notes (Part of Final) Flashcards
What were the two major goals of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974?
- Increase reporting requirements (success)
- Decrease overall spending (fail)
What agency was created by the Federal Election Campaign Act?
Federal Election Commission
What is unique about the FEC as compared to most agencies that have members appointed by the President?
Required to be bipartisan
A donation to a Presidential Election Campaign Fund is made through which means? (voluntarily)
Income taxes
In order for the President to acquire the right to matching funds, they must do what?
- Agree to limit their spending
- Most can raise more, so they don’t take the funds
What is the concept of full disclosure?
Must report who donates, how much, and what it’s spent on
How much can one individual contribute directly to a political campaign? This number is indexed, which means what?
$2700, adjusted for inflation
What did Buckley v. Valeo decide?
Candidates can spend as much of their own money as they want to fund their own campaigns
What was banned by the McCain-Feingold Act?
Soft money donations to political parties
PACs can still spend soft donations, as long as the refrain from doing what?
Coordinating directly with the candidate
Why can PACs spend as much as the want on campaigns?
Freedom of speech expression
PACs can donate how much per candidate per campaign?
$5000
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 included which reforms?
- Creation of the Federal Election Commission
- Creation of a reporting system for all contributions
- Allowance of federal matching funds for major presidential candidates in primaries
- Limitation of individual contributions to $1000 per election campaign
What does PAC stand for and what do they do?
Political Action Committee, give $ for candidates
Give four examples of “soft money” campaign spending
- Party building activities
- Issue ads
- Voter registration campaigns
- Get out the vote drives
Which act did the most to restrict soft money contributions?
McCain/Feingold Act
In order for the President to qualify for matching funds they must raise what amount in how many states? The federal government will then only match donations equal to or less than what amount?
$5000 in 20 states, matching up to $250
How much can an individual donate to a candidate per campaign? A PAC? Independent advertising?
$2700, $5000, unlimited
The current individual campaign number was set by which act?
McCain/Feingold Act
The current PAC number was set by what?
Full disclosure laws
The current independent advertising was set by what?
Buckley v. Valeo
What is mandatory spending?
Spending required by law (social security, medicade)
What is discretionary spending?
Spending not required by law (defense, education, etc)
How were civil servants originally picked?
Spoils system
