FEC eases some campaign financing rules

Taxpayers contribute to the public finance system by selecting whether to direct $3 of their tax liability to the presidential fund in their tax returns. Legislation pending in Congress seeks to retain the public financing system by increasing the amount that taxpayers would set aside and by removing spending restrictions for primary candidates who accept the public money.

Obama’s lawyers, in seeking the FEC’s opinion, said he wanted to be able to raise private money for the general election while retaining the option of seeking a bipartisan agreement to only accept the public money.

The FEC on Thursday said he and the other candidates could do that provided they keep the general election money separate and return it to donors if they decide not to use it.

The question remains whether candidates would even consider such a spending armistice, especially if an accelerated primary schedule results in a lengthy and expensive general election campaign.

In their request to the FEC, Obama’s lawyers only said Obama would not “rule out” a publicly financed campaign and stressed that “both major parties’ nominees” would have to agree to such a step.

On Thursday, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said: “If Senator Obama is the nominee, he will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election.”

The FEC’s decision could have gone in another direction. At issue was a provision in campaign finance law that nominees are eligible for public financing if “no contributions have been or will be accepted by candidate or his or her authorized committee.”

But commissioners said strict adherence to that provision would simply force candidates to forgo the public financing system entirely.

“It would be wrong for the agency to stand on a wooden interpretation of its regulations and of the statute while the public financing system crashes and burns,” Commissioner Ellen Weintraub said.

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