202
Opinion of the Court
of $1,000 or more, and reverse that judgment insofar as it invalidated FECA § 304(f)(5).
BCRA § 202's Treatment of "Coordinated
Communications" as Contributions
Section 202 of BCRA amends FECA § 315(a)(7)(C) to provide that disbursements for "electioneering communication[s]" that are coordinated with a candidate or party will be treated as contributions to, and expenditures by, that candidate or party. 2 U. S. C. § 441a(a)(7)(C) (Supp. II).85 The
amendment clarifies the scope of the preceding subsection, § 315(a)(7)(B), which states more generally that "expenditures made by any person in cooperation, consultation, or concert, with, or at the request or suggestion of" a candidate or party will constitute contributions. 2 U. S. C. §§ 441a(a)(7)(B)(i)-(ii) (2000 ed. and Supp. II). In Buckley we construed the statutory term "expenditure" to reach only spending for express advocacy. 424 U. S., at 40-44, and n. 52 (addressing 18 U. S. C. § 608(e)(1) (1970 ed., Supp. IV), which placed a $1,000 cap on expenditures " 'relative to a clearly identified candidate' "). BCRA § 202 pre-empts a possible claim that § 315(a)(7)(B) is similarly limited, such that coordinated expenditures for communications that avoid express advocacy cannot be counted as contributions. As we ex-85 New FECA § 315(a)(7)(C) reads as follows: "[I]f— "(i) any person makes, or contracts to make, any disbursement for any electioneering communication (within the meaning of section 434(f)(3) of this title); and
"(ii) such disbursement is coordinated with a candidate or an authorized committee of such candidate, a Federal, State, or local political party or committee thereof, or an agent or official of any such candidate, party, or committee; "such disbursement or contracting shall be treated as a contribution to the candidate supported by the electioneering communication or that candidate's party and as an expenditure by that candidate or that candidate's party . . . ." 2 U. S. C. § 441a(a)(7)(C).
Page: Index Previous 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007