Campaign Finance Law and the Constitutionality of the “Millionaire’s Amendment”: An Analysis of Davis v. Federal Election Commission

L. Paige Whitaker
Legislative Attorney

The “Millionaire’s Amendment” is a shorthand description for a provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), also known as the McCain-Feingold law, which established increased contribution limits for congressional candidates whose opponents significantly self-finance their campaigns. In 2008, in a 5-to-4 decision, Davis v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court invalidated this provision. The Court found that the burden imposed on expenditures of personal funds is not justified by the compelling governmental interest of lessening corruption or the appearance of corruption and therefore, held that the law is unconstitutional in violation of the First Amendment.

Date of Report: September 8, 2010
Number of Pages: 7
Order Number: RS22920
Price: $19.95

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