Monday, June 18, 2001
Contact: James Bopp, Jr., General Counsel
Phone: 812/232-2434; Fax: 812/235-3685
Email: madisoncenter@aol.com

On June 14, James Bopp, Jr. submitted oral and written congressional testimony for the second time in a week on constitutional problems raised by current proposals for campaign finance "reform." This testimony was before the House Administration Committee.

The June 14 written testimony analyzed Shays-Meehan (H.R. 380) at length and attached Bopp’s earlier analysis of McCain-Feingold (S. 27; available on the Madison Center webpage), both demonstrating the constitutional and policy errors of such proposals. The written testimony observed that "Shays-Meehan would virtually destroy the ability of citizen groups to participate in our Republic, thereby trampling on freedom of speech and association with respect to the most vital issues of our day." Bopp noted, however, that "the federal courts have shown greater solicitude for the Constitution and the workings of our Republic . . . and may be relied upon to promptly bury such alleged ‘reform.’" Bopp concluded that "members of Congress have also taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. Passage of Shays-Meehan would be in derogation of that oath and duty."

Bopp was invited to testify because of his expertise on campaign finance reform and the Constitution developed through litigating numerous cases striking down unconstitutional campaign finance campaign finance laws and regulations (including 8 without loss against the FEC), publishing scholarly articles, testifying before legislatures, and submitting comments on proposed FEC regulations.

Copies of the June 14 testimony or the June 12 testimony are available in PDF format by clicking on the appropriate preceding underlined material. They may also be obtained by email in WordPerfect format (or in printed form) by request to madisoncenter@aol.com.