A brief summary of the various provisions of S 27, the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. (Full text and legislative updates on S. 27 are available from Thomas.)

1. Ban on Soft Money Contributions to Political Parties National parties, including congressional campaign committees, are banned from receiving soft money donations. State and local parties use of soft money is restricted when there is a federal candidate on the ballot.
2. Hard Money Contribution Limits for Federal Elections Increased

Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) and Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA) have agreed to a colloquy on the House floor during debate of their campaign finance reform bill that will address protections for nonpartisan issue advocacy. The colloquy, proposed by OMB Watch and Independent Sector, will make it clear that the Federal Election Commission should use the authority granted in the bill to conduct a rulemaking on exemptions allowing nonpartisan issue advocacy broadcasts during election cycles. The FEC would be required to act within 90 days of the effective date of the new law.

Last July the Shays-Meehan campaign finance reform bill (H.R. 2356) stalled in the House of Representatives over a procedural rule that campaign finance reform advocates said would have unfairly limited debate on the bill. A petition to discharge the bill from committee to the House floor gained strong momentum within days of being filed, and had 205 of the necessary 218 votes by the time Congress recessed on August 3. Then the issue was put on the back burner in the fall while Congress concentrated on the national response to the September 11 attacks.