On December 9, the text of the congressional bill that would fund the federal government was released. It contains a surprise provision that would make it possible for individuals to give substantially more money to national committees of political parties than the current law allows. Currently individuals cannot give more than $32,400 per year to the national committee of a political party.
The budget rider would allow much larger contributions, but only if the money were donated for one of three purposes: (1) to defray expenses of national conventions; (2) to defray expenses incurred with respect to the construction, purchase, renovation, operation, and furnishing of one or more headquarters buildings of the party or to repay loans the proceeds of which were used to defray such expenses, or otherwise to restore funds used to defray such expenses (including expenses for obligations incurred during the 2-year period which ends on the date of the enactment of this paragraph); (3) to defray expenses incurred with respect to the preparation for and the conduct of election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings.
Although many news stories about this bill imply that the bill only applies to the Democratic and Republican National Committees, the bill actually applies to all political parties recognized by the Federal Election Commission as “national committees.” They include the Libertarian, Green, Constitution, Socialist, Natural Law, and Reform Parties.
The bill is expected to pass Congress this week. Thanks to Dan Tokaji for the link.
Shocking — some body has the time and energy to read the nonstop 1,000 plus page bills (written by armies of special interest gang lawyers) in the EVIL and VICIOUS ANTI-Democracy minority rule gerrymander Congress — i.e. the gangs of leftwing and rightwing OLIGARCHS.
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P.R. and nonpsrtisan App.V.
This solves a tremendous problem in this country…impoverished political campaigns.
When will political contributions become tax deductible, I wonder? Clearly political parties are very nearly destitute. I almost feel sorry for them, so it’s a small step, isn’t it, to classify them as nonprofit, charitable organizations?
People, wake up! Lack of money in our political system is a very, very serious problem in the USA. Thank goodness Congress is willing to act on it. Get this out of the way and we can then consider whether to focus on trivial issues like racial equality, economic inequity, global climate change, and the like, or, more likely, the more pressing issue of whether to allow USSC justices to sit on corporate boards of directors.
There were no federal laws restricting donations to political parties before 2002. Somehow the nation managed to get along without such laws. If there had been such laws, Ross Perot could not have started the Reform Party in 1995.
Ross Perot had to be the nominee of the Reform Party in 1996 because of all the matching funds he received from the 1992 campaign. Otherwise the Reform Party would have never got off the ground.
As I recall, tax deductibility of political contributions was one of the “tax breaks” taken away by the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
Of course, Richard, you’re right. More money. We HAVE to find ways to get more money into our political process. But we’re not doing enough to get poor people involved, are we? Maybe we should institute a national sales tax on beer that would go directly to political parties.
After all, why should a few filthy rich people be forced to carry all of the burden for the benefit of an entire nation?
Thank’s for share