[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
[June 4, 1997]
[Pages 702-703]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Letter to the Federal Election Commission Requesting Action To End the 
Soft Money System in Domestic Politics
June 4, 1997

To the Members of the Federal Election Commission:
    I am writing to you, pursuant to 11 CFR Part 200, to request that 
you take action under your existing statutory authority to ban ``soft 
money'' and end the system under which both political parties compete to 
raise unlimited sums from individuals, labor unions, and corporations.
    The rules governing our system of financing Federal election 
campaigns are sorely out of date. Enacted more than two decades ago when 
election campaigns were much less expensive, the rules have been 
overtaken by dramatic changes in the nature and cost of campaigns and 
the accompanying flood of money.
    Today, money is raised and spent in ways that simply were not 
contemplated when the Congress last overhauled our campaign finance 
laws. We must bring the rules up to date to reflect the changes in 
elections and campaigning.
    An important step in this process would be to change the rules 
governing the use and solicitation of ``soft money''--funds not subject 
to

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the contribution limitations and prohibitions of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (FECA). Currently Federal Election 
Commission (FEC) regulations (11 CFR 106.5) allow political parties to 
raise and spend soft money in elections involving State and Federal 
candidates by providing an allocation formula between Federal and non-
Federal expenses incurred by party committees.
    These regulations, and limited additional guidance provided through 
advisory opinions, are the basis upon which party committees make 
expenditures and raise funds with respect to Federal and State 
elections. The use of soft money by party committees is largely based on 
the direction provided in these regulations.
    Whatever the merit of these regulations at the time they were 
adopted, it has become abundantly clear today that they are no longer 
adequate to the task of regulating campaigns. The role of soft money has 
grown dramatically in the past several elections so that by the 1996 
elections the two parties raised more than $250 million, more than 
triple the total of 4 years before.
    The current allocation system, in short, is simply outmoded. 
Accordingly, I propose that the FEC adopt new rules requiring that 
candidates for Federal office and national parties be permitted to raise 
and spend only ``hard money''--funds subject to the restrictions, 
contribution limits, and reporting requirements of FECA.
    The soft money ban I seek achieves similar goals as provisions of 
the ``Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 1997,'' introduced by Senators 
John McCain and Russell Feingold, and Representatives Christopher Shays 
and Martin Meehan. Specifically, I am requesting that the FEC consider 
new rulemaking to accomplish the following:
    1. Prohibit national political parties (and their congressional 
campaign committees or agents) from soliciting or receiving any funds 
not subject to the limitations or prohibitions of FECA. (This action 
would preclude, for example, contributions directly from corporate or 
union treasuries, or contributions from individuals in excess of the 
amount an individual can give to a national party's Federal account.)
    2. Prohibit any Federal officeholder or candidate (and his or her 
agents) from soliciting or receiving any funds not subject to the 
limitations or prohibitions of FECA.
    3. Provide that any expenditure by any national, State, or local 
political party during a Federal election year for any activity that 
influences a Federal election (including any voter registration or get-
out-the-vote drive, generic advertising, or any communication that 
refers to a Federal candidate) must be paid for from funds subject to 
FECA. (This would end the allocation system, currently authorized by the 
FEC, under which hard and soft money are mixed for campaign activities 
that affect both State and Federal elections.)
    These steps, available to you under your existing statutory 
authority, will enable our election laws to catch up with the reality of 
the way elections are financed today, and along with new campaign 
finance reform legislation, will take significant strides toward 
restoring public confidence in the campaign finance process.
        Sincerely,

                                                      William J. Clinton

Note: This letter was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 5. An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this letter.