FEC Chairman Goodman and Vice Chair Ravel Host Political Party Forum

WASHINGTON–Chairman Lee E. Goodman and Vice Chair Ann M. Ravel today hosted a public forum on the challenges faced by political parties engaged in federal campaign finance activity.

"It has been extraordinarily helpful to hear directly from the people whose vital campaign activity is affected by the Commission’s policies and practices," Chairman Goodman said. "The Commission strives to implement a regulatory process that is fair and protects the First Amendment rights of all citizens. Nowhere are these principles more important than in the context of local, state, and national political parties, which are the grassroots organizations at the heart of our American democracy."

Eleven national party committees, 121 state party committees and 264 local party committees are registered with the Commission. Representatives from a number of those parties came to the Commission or joined the Commissioners via audio link to discuss the impact of the Commission’s operations on local, state and national parties and to put forward suggestions for improving the Commission’s administration of the law.

"It has been beneficial to hear all the ideas discussed during today’s forum," said Vice Chair Ravel. "Exchanges such as this one help the Commission to effectively carry out its mission on behalf of the public, and I look forward to continuing to work with Chair Goodman and my other colleagues on initiatives to increase the participation of all Americans in the political process."

An audio link to the party forum is here (MP3, 60.8 MB).

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign finance laws. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, the Presidency and the Vice Presidency. Established in 1975, the FEC is composed of six Commissioners who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.