Statement of Administration Policy: S. 2 - Senatorial Election Campaign Act of 1987

(Senate)
(Boren (D) Oklahoma and 46 others)

The administration opposes S. 2 because of serious constitutional problems with its provisions to limit campaign contributions.

S. 2 would impose undue burdens on the First Amendment rights of individual candidates and contributors to fund campaigns. By capping the total amount of contributions which may be made by all political action committees (PAC's) to a single candidate, S. 2 would violate the First Amendment by denying certain PAC's the opportunity to make any contribution after the ceiling amount has been reached. In addition, by providing a candidate with public funds to match the amount spent by an opponent in excess of the limits established by S. 2, the bill would effectively nullify the opponent's attempt to spend funds to promote his own candidacy.