House Dems Aim to Make ‘Overdue’ Reforms to the FEC

The Federal Election Commission faces its first oversight hearing in years next week .

Democrats plan to use the hearing to draw attention to what they see as the FEC ’s inadequate enforcement of campaign finance laws.

Watchdog groups are applauding the hearing, saying it's one of the few remaining ways to hold the FEC accountable.

The FEC is required to have six commissioners, three Democratic appointees, three Republican .

For more than a year under Trump , the agency didn't have enough commissioners to attain a quorum, meaning enforcement matters couldn’t even be considered.

The FEC ’s own data shows that of all enforcement matters the agency voted on since 2019 , the commissioners recorded at least one split vote in about 63 percent of them.

HAC Democrats have some specific reforms in mind, all of which appear in the Freedom to Vote Act.

Democrats would like to give more enforcement power to the FEC’s nonpartisan Office of General Counsel .

The OGC can make recommendations about violations, and, when authorized, the office can further investigate and deliver its findings.