By Craig B. Holman and Luke P. McLoughlin, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, 2001

As Congress prepares to return to the debate over campaign finance reform, new research from the Brennan Center shows again that the current system is urgently in need of repair. Brennan Center research has been utilized heavily in earlier debates, and the revelations in Buying Time 2000 promise to figure prominently in the upcoming House deliberations over the Shays-Meehan bill.

The study shows that the huge soft money contributions given to parties by corporations, unions, and rich individuals are used primarily to support the election of individual candidates. "We have laws on the books that prohibit corporations and unions from contributing directly to candidates," explains Mr. Rosenkranz. "By using soft money to fund sham issue ads, the parties are being used as gigantic money-laundering operations."

Aout the Brennan Center:

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law unites thinkers and advocates in pursuit of a vision of inclusive and effective democracy. Our missionis to develop and implement an innovative, nonpartisan agenda of scholarship, publiceducation, and legal action that promotes equality and human dignity, while safeguarding fundamental freedoms.

About the Authors:

CRAIG B. HOLMAN, Ph.D., is the Brennan Center’s Senior Policy Analyst and a leading expert on campaign financing. As Senior Policy Analyst, Dr. Holman conducts researchon the issues of campaign finance, judicial elections, and direct democracy; counsels and publishes on his findings; and drafts legislative proposals, initiatives, or regulations that help address these issues. Some of his publications include: “Access Delayed Is AccessDenied: Electronic Reporting of Campaign Finance Records,” Journal of Public Integrity (2001); “Judicial Review of Ballot Initiatives,” Loyola Law Review (1998); THE PRICE OFJUSTICE: A CASE STUDY IN JUDICIAL CAMPAIGN FINANCING (1995); and DEMOCRACYBY INITIATIVE (1992). Previously, Dr. Holman served as Project Director of campaign finance with the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.

LUKE P. MCLOUGHLIN is a Research Associate in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program. Mr. McLoughlin conducts research for publications and litigation related to campaign finance, ballot access, and voting rights. His writings on politics and elections haveappeared in the Harvard Political Review and in Perspective Magazine. Mr. McLoughlin received a B.A. from Harvard University in 2000.

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