The Center for Competitive Politics will host a panel discussion Thurs., April 8 on Capitol Hill to address the state of campaign finance policy after Citizens United as mid-term elections approach.
Beltway publications-including Politico, The Hill and the Bureau of National Affairs-have reported that Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) plan to introduce their long-simmering campaign finance legislation soon after the congressional recess. The duo released a framework for a post-Citizens United bill in February. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) has also introduced legislation that would mandate advance shareholder approval of political spending.
A panel representing diverse interests and views will discuss the range of congressional policy options for campaign finance regulation: As other major campaign finance cases-such as SpeechNow.org v. FEC and RNC v. FEC-potentially head to the Supreme Court, are the proposals in the Schumer-Van Hollen framework constitutional? Should shareholders and labor union members be required to approve political spending? Should restrictions on candidates and parties-like contribution limits and coordination rules-be eased to allow campaigns to more effectively respond to spending by businesses, unions and other groups?
Panelists include Sean Parnell, President of the Center for Competitive Politics; Scott Thomas, Of Counsel at Dickstein Shapiro and former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission; James Portnoy, Chief Counsel of Corporate & Government Affairs at Kraft Foods, Inc. and former Democratic General Counsel of the House Administration Committee; and Meredith McGehee, Policy Director at the Campaign Legal Center.
The event, from noon to 1 p.m. in Room B-340 of the Rayburn House Office Building, will be moderated by Louis Jacobson, Staff Writer for PolitiFact.com, a Pulitzer Prize-winning project of the St. Petersburg Times.
A buffet-style bag lunch will be provided. To RSVP, please e-mail jpatch@campaignfreedom.org. Note: RSVPs will be accepted up until the event. Please RSVP as soon as possible so we can provide an accurate head count for the lunch.
The Center for Competitive Politics is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending First Amendment political rights.