The leader of an influential bloc of House Republicans says he is open to a step rarely supported by limited government conservatives: boosting a federal agency’s budget.
Like most members of the House Freedom Caucus he now leads, Rep. Mark Meadows (R., N.C.) wants to reduce overall federal spending. However, he told the Washington Free Beacon that it might be appropriate to increase the Federal Election Commission’s funding.
“You can’t expect them to do more with their current staffing,” Meadows said in an interview this week.
His support for an increase in funding depends on the passage of legislation that would eliminate limits on individual contributions to federal political candidates and committees. Under current law, donors are capped at $2,700 per candidate per election cycle (or $5,400 if the funds are split between primaries and general elections).
The legislation, sponsored by Meadows and titled the Super PAC Elimination Act, would also require donations over $200 to be disclosed to the FEC and made public available within 24 hours.
That disclosure provision is crucial—Meadows pointed to the language to counter charges that his bill would open the door to forms of corruption—but it is also a dramatic shift from current law, which only requires monthly or quarterly disclosure.
The new disclosure requirements, and their accompanying increase in paperwork, would likely impose significant additional burdens on a thinly stretched FEC, which oversees financial disclosures by candidates and independent political groups.
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Freedom Caucus chair Mark Meadows tells me he's open to boosting FEC's budget if his campaign finance bill passes https://t.co/j6289ED1XA
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) December 16, 2016
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