Brookings Briefing: Renewed House Debate On Campaign Finance Reform

2/6/2002

From: Brookings Office of Communications, 202-797-6105

News Advisory:

A Brookings Briefing: The Renewed House Debate On Campaign Finance Reform

When: Feb. 8 9:30-11 a.m.

Where: The Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C.

Moderator: THOMAS E. MANN W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Co-author, The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook

Panelists:

ANTHONY CORRADO Professor of Government, Colby College; Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Co-author, The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook

DAVID B. MAGLEBY Editor, Financing the 2000 Election; Director, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy; Distinguished Professor, Brigham Young University

TREVOR POTTER Former chairman, Federal Election Commission Partner, Caplin & Drysdale; Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Co-author, The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook

Details: The Enron scandal has reignited pressure on Congress to enact campaign finance reform, and the House will likely bring the Shays-Meehan legislation to the floor within the next several weeks, possibly as early as Feb. 11. Brookings will convene a panel of experts to give a full briefing on the House debate and votes, bolstered by the important realities brought to light in the forthcoming Brookings book, Financing the 2000 Election.

Led by Thomas Mann, a panel of experts on campaign finance will discuss the political and legal underpinnings of the debate -- from the rule under which the legislation will be considered to the key substitutes and amendments to the bill itself. They will examine the strategies likely to be employed by its proponents and opponents as well as when a new law would likely go into effect, and will assess the impact of Enron's collapse and consider the next steps for the Senate and President Bush.

David Magleby, editor of Financing the 2000 Election, will then draw on the expertise of the book's contributors to comment on the findings gathered from the most recent presidential, congressional, state, local, and judicial races. The discussion will examine the implications of comparative congressional campaign expenditures from 1972 to 2000, soft money and its influence on federal and judicial elections, and the likely impact of a soft money ban on the parties. They will discuss issue advocacy as it could be shaped by various provisions in the Shays-Meehan legislation.

About "Financing the 2000 Election:" Developed by the Citizens' Research Foundation (CRF) and the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University, the book convenes leading political scientists to analyze the 2000 elections. In setting forth the contours of American political finance, the book provides a unique resource for students of elections, reformers, journalists, and interested citizens. Following is a list of book contributors who will attend and answer questions:

ANTHONY CORRADO (Colby College), NATHAN BIGELOW (University of Maryland), ALLAN J. CIGLER (University of Kansas), DIANA DWYRE (California State University-Chico), ANTHONY GIERZYNSKI (University of Vermont), JOHN C. GREEN (University of Akron), PAUL S. HERRNSON (University of Maryland), ROBIN KOLODNY (Temple University), DAVID B. MAGLEBY (Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, Brigham Young University), THOMAS E. MANN (Brookings Institution), CANDICE J. NELSON (American University), KELLY D. PATTERSON (Brigham Young University), ROY A. SCHOTLAND (Georgetown University Law Center).

--- RSVP: Contact the Brookings Office of Communications by calling 202-797-6105, e-mailing to communications@brookings.edu or visiting us online at http://www.brook.edu/comm/events/20020208.htm.

This press briefing is sponsored by: The Brookings Institution The Joyce Foundation The Carnegie Foundation The Open Society Institute