Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Representatives Chris Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) are incredulous that the Federal Election Commission has yet to work facets of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act into its regulatory framework, over three years after its passage. They have written a letter to President George W. Bush urging that he appoint strong, independent-minded and qualified individuals to the FEC, and that he not use the upcoming Congressional recess to make back-door appointments. The quartet said there are a number of qualified applicants, whose names they are more than willing to share with the White House. More importantly, they argue that anyone nominated for a position on the FEC needs to be thoroughly examined via the standard senatorial confirmation process.

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Legislator's letter


Dear Mr. President:

We are writing, again, to strongly urge you to take advantage of a rare opportunity to change the makeup of the ineffective Federal Election Commission (FEC) and to request that you not use your recess appointment powers to fill the current vacancies at that agency. Through its repeated failures to properly interpret and enforce campaign finance laws, the FEC, has played a central role in circumventing the law and allowing corrupt practices in our political system. This problem can be fixed by appointing FEC Commissioners who are committed to enforcing the laws as written by Congress and interpreted by the courts.

As you may know, on October 21, 2005, the full United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the FEC's petition for rehearing en banc of a panel decision that upheld a District Court ruling striking as contrary to law fifteen of the regulations the FEC adopted to implement the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). Incredibly, more than three and a half years since you signed BCRA into law, the FEC still does not have proper regulations in place to interpret and enforce BCRA.

There are currently four vacancies on the FEC. It is vitally important to fill these vacancies with individuals who are professionally qualified, independent-minded, and publicly credible to carry out the agency's enforcement responsibilities. In the past, some of us have submitted a number of names for your consideration in order to illustrate that there are many qualified candidates who meet the criteria essential to changing the FEC from a captive agency into a real enforcement agency.

In addition, Mr. President, we strongly urge you not to make any recess appointments to the FEC. In the past, recess appointments have been used as a means to place individuals on the FEC without sufficient scrutiny, leading the public and many in Congress to believe that their loyalties lie with the congressional leaders who sponsored them. Given the perpetual impotence of the FEC, it would be most unwise to maintain this approach. Individuals chosen to fill the FEC vacancies at this crucial time should go through the regular confirmation process so the Senate can be assured that they are qualified for the position and committed to carrying out the FEC's important mission.

Mr. President, now is the opportune time to transform the FEC into an effective federal agency capable of re-gaining the public's trust. We thank you for your attention and look forward to working with you to confirm FEC Commissioners who will faithfully interpret and enforce the law.

Sincerely,

John McCain
Russell D. Feingold
Christopher Shays
Marty Meehan