[House Document 105-61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




105th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-61


 
                    MAKING AVAILABLE APPROPRIATIONS

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

HIS REQUESTS FOR A FY 1997 SUPPLEMENTAL AND A FY 1998 BUDGET AMENDMENT 
 FOR THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION (FEC), PURSUANT TO 31 U.S.C. 1107




April 8, 1997.--Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered 
                             to be printed

                                           The White House,
                                     Washington, DC, April 7, 1997.
Hon. Newt Gingrich,
 Speaker of the House of Representatives,
 Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: I ask the Congress to consider the 
enclosed requests for a FY 1997 supplemental and a FY 1997 
budget amendment for the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
    The FEC is charged with guarding the integrity of our 
election process. I have sought to strengthen this important 
agency; its budget has increased from $21 million per year in 
1993 to $28 million per year today. But the agency plainly 
lacks the resources it needs to keep pace with the rapidly 
rising volume of campaign spending and electoral activities. In 
fact, over the past 2 years, the Congress has appropriated for 
the FEC substantially less than I requested.
    Today, commissioners of both parties have testified that 
the FEC is overworked, underfunded, and unable to address the 
many issues raised in recent elections. Campaign spending by 
candidates, soft money expenditures by parties, independent 
expenditures, and issue advocacy expenditures have exploded. As 
part of a bipartisan effort to restore the public trust in the 
way we finance elections to the Congress and the Presidency, I 
urge you to provide these additional funds for the FEC.
    In addition, I urge the Congress to enact legislation that 
would strengthen the FEC as part of comprehensive campaign 
finance reform. The bipartisan campaign finance reform 
legislation introduced by Representatives Chris Shays and Marty 
Meehan and Senators John McCain and Russell Feingold includes 
several critical steps to strengthen the FEC, strengthening the 
agency's ability to stop improper practices and allowing random 
audits of campaigns.
    The details of my budget requests are set forth in the 
enclosed letter from the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget. I concur with his comments and observations.
            Sincerely,
                                                William J. Clinton.



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