Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold have been working to pass campaign finance reform for years. Their bill would make big changes in the election campaigns of candidates for Congress. Present law limits the amount of money that individuals, corporations, and unions can donate to candidates.
But some people have avoided these limits by donating "soft money." Soft money is money that goes directly to a political party for the purpose of "party building." That can include things like buying supplies and paying rent for offices. But in reality, the parties use much of this money to support the campaigns of individual candidates.
Why limit campaign donations? Many Americans fear that when any person, corporation, or union donates large amounts of money to a campaign, the candidate, if elected to Congress, may vote the way that the donor wants. For example, if an elected candidate received large amounts of money from oil companies, he or she might vote against a law that requires oil companies to pay for expensive pollution-control equipment. The bill also limits so-called "issue ads." Sometimes, outside organizations like the Sierra Club or the National Rifle Association—or corporations and unions—will buy radio or TV time to run advertisements about an issue (such as the economy or crime). These ads may actually be a way of supporting a particular candidate—another way of getting around campaign limits. Especially dangerous are innocent-sounding organizations that exist only for the purpose of promoting a candidate.
"American people want their government back," says McCain. "We can do that by ridding politics of large, unregulated contributions."
But opponents fear political parties will have little cash to pay the bills. "There will be no money for traditional party activities," says Martin Frost, a U.S. Senator from Texas.
