An act to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide bipartisan campaign reform.
Acronyms (colloquial)
BCRA (pronounced /ˈbɪkrə/BIK-ruh)
Nicknames
McCain–Feingold, Shays–Meehan
Enacted by
the 107th United States Congress
Effective
November 6, 2002
Citations
Public law
107-155
Statutes at Large
116 Stat. 81 thru 116 Stat. 116
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as the "Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2001" (H.R. 380) by Chris Shays (R–CT) on June 28, 2001
Passed the House on February 14, 2002 (H.R. 2356) (240–189 [R – 41–176, 5 NV ; D – 198–12, 1 NV ; I – 1–1, 0 NV])
Passed the Senate as the "Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2001" on March 20, 2002 (60–40 [R – 11–38, 0 NV ; D – 48–2, 0 NV ; I – 1–0, 0 NV])
Signed into law by President George W. Bush on March 27, 2002
United States Supreme Court cases
McConnell v. FEC, 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. Federal Election Commission, 546 U.S. 410 (2006)
FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
Davis v. FEC, 554 U.S. 724 (2008)
Citizens United v. FEC, 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate, No. 21-12, 596 U.S. ___ (2022)
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 107–155 (text) (PDF), 116 Stat. 81, enacted March 27, 2002, H.R. 2356), commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA (/ˈbɪkrə/BIK-ruh), is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). The law became effective on 6 November 2002, and the new legal limits became effective on January 1, 2003.[1]
As noted in McConnell v. FEC, a United States Supreme Court ruling on BCRA, the Act was designed to address two issues:
The increased role of soft money in campaign financing, by prohibiting national political party committees from raising or spending any funds not subject to federal limits, even for state and local races or issue discussion;
The proliferation of issue advocacy ads, by defining broadcast ads that name a federal candidate within 30 days of a primary or caucus or 60 days of a general election as "electioneering communications", and prohibiting any such ad paid for by a corporation (including non-profit issue organizations such as Right to Life or the Environmental Defense Fund) or paid for by an unincorporated entity using any corporate or union general treasury funds. The decision in Citizens United v. FEC overturns this provision, but not the ban on foreign corporations or foreign nationals in decisions regarding political spending.[2]
Although the legislation is known as "McCain–Feingold", the Senate version is not the bill that became law. Instead, the companion legislation, H.R. 2356—introduced by Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), is the version that became law. Shays–Meehan was originally introduced as H.R. 380.[3]
^"Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act overview". Federal Election Commission. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
^Electioneering Communications, Federal Election Commission. January 2010.
^"Religious Leaders Ask Senate to Pass McCain–Feingold As Written". National Council of Churches. March 20, 2001.
and 24 Related for: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act information
The BipartisanCampaignReformAct of 2002 (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 107–155 (text) (PDF), 116 Stat. 81, enacted March 27, 2002, H.R. 2356)...
union. The most recent major federal law affecting campaign finance was the BipartisanCampaignReformAct (BCRA) of 2002, also known as "McCain-Feingold"...
expenditures in elections. This in turn led to passage of the BipartisanCampaignReformAct of 2002 ("BCRA"), effective on January 1, 2003, which banned...
the U.S. Senate and in the House, have been championing the BipartisanCampaignReformAct as a tool to combat the growing stagnation of Congress, claiming...
campaign finance laws, culminating in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Citizens United v. FEC that partially overturned the BipartisanCampaignReform Act...
care reform. He notably authored the "Wellstone Amendment" for the BipartisanCampaignReformAct of 2002. However, his efforts toward campaign finance...
Corporation (QNC), was born. This would be the standard until the BipartisanCampaignReformAct (2002). The BCRA had provisions that specifically targeted non-profit...
election, then-candidate George Bush made a number of campaign promises related to bipartisan education reform. The increased focus in the United States on educational...
to stricter campaign finance laws, culminating in the Supreme Court ruling that partially overturned the BipartisanCampaignReformAct (McCain-Feingold)...
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a United States federal law, passed during the 117th United States Congress. It implemented several changes to...
Democratic National Committee; following the passage of the BipartisanCampaignReformAct, it became an independent 527 organization. The group's membership...
Michael J. (March 2006). The Election After Reform: Money, Politics, and the BipartisanCampaignReformAct. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7425-3870-2...
the first to be affected by the campaign finance reforms mandated by the BipartisanCampaignReformAct of 2002. The act created restrictions on fundraising...
(born 1953), American politician McCain-Feingold Bill, see BipartisanCampaignReformAct Sharon Feingold, American voice actress This page lists people...
support from those groups. Biden has supported campaign finance reform including the BipartisanCampaignReformAct and overturning Citizens United; the 1994...
Transportation Security Act that federalized airport security. In March 2002, McCain–Feingold, officially known as the BipartisanCampaignReformAct of 2002, passed...
Act Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections BipartisanCampaignReformAct "Senators have a new plan to fix a major loophole that let Russia...
drafting and enacting the BipartisanCampaignReformAct of 2002 (BCRA). The law banned soft money contributions to political campaigns. The organization helped...
Global Information