After two days of public hearings with testimony from thirty witnesses and over 200,000 public comments received, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was no closer to resolving the complicated issue of re-defining the reach of its regulation than it was when it published its proposed rule in March. The FEC is scheduled to make a final decision on the proposed rules in mid-May; however, some Commissioners have publicly commented that they may take additional time to consider the volume of comments they received before taking any further action. A group of nonprofits, including OMB Watch, held a Congressional briefing on the issue the day before the hearings began. A host of parties weighed in during the public comment period. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Russell Feingold (D-WI), sponsors of the Bipartisan Campaign Act of 2002, supported extending FEC regulation to all political committees, including those independent of campaigns and parties. However, 120 House members signed a letter to the FEC opposing the proposed rule, noting that neither the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 nor the Supreme Court’s decision upholding it imposes new restrictions on independent groups. The letter stated, “There has been absolutely no case made to Congress, or record established by the commission, to support any notion that tax-exempt organizations and other political groups threaten the legitimacy of our government when criticizing its policies…. We believe instead, that more, not less political activity by ordinary citizens and the associations they form is needed in our country.” The House members also said the rules should not be changed in the middle of this year’s election cycle. These differences were echoed in the comments and testimony from nonprofit organizations, political committees, labor unions and legal experts. After two days of detailed testimony, including witnesses Kay Guinane of OMB Watch and Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice, there was no emerging consensus among the six FEC Commissioners. Four votes are needed for action to be taken. Several Commissioners said more time was needed to examine the issues. The only Commissioner to express support for the rule was Republican Michael Toner. The FEC reported that it received 140,000 comments by email and 60,000 by fax or regular mail, breaking the record for comments submitted to FEC on any previous rule. The surge began a few weeks ago after MoveOn.org issued an alert to its members asking them to contact the FEC. In the last week before the comment period ended the Republican National Committee also issued an alert. The Bureau of National Affairs, a trade publication, reported that a random sample of comments it reviewed was opposed to the proposed rule. On April 13, NonprofitAdvocacy.org held a congressional briefing where leaders from the nonprofit community informed congressional staffers of the potential harms the Federal Elections Commission’s (FEC) proposed rulemaking on political committee status could have on legitimate activities conducted by 501(c)(3) organizations. Rick Cohen, executive director of National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, warned, “The potential FEC regulations will fall prey to the ‘law of unintended effects.’” The briefing focused on just that, the chilling effects the proposed rule would have on nonprofit organizations and their fundraising ability, regardless of the final rule’s regulatory language. Lisa Ransom Brown of the Washington Council of Agencies cited numerous examples of policy education and voter registration activities that most of her member organizations are currently involved in. These communications are now threatened with FEC regulation, which would treat them like political parties or campaigns, banning corporate contributions (including private foundations) and limiting individual contributions. “When ideally realized, democracy provides the space for voices in the minority to be heard, recognized, and addressed. We have much to lose if this balance is off or if the sector is hindered in effectively playing out its role. The proposed FEC rules would severely hinder our ability to do our jobs,” explained Sheri Brady, public policy director at the National Council of Nonprofit Associations and moderator of the briefing. NonprofitAdvocacy.org coalition urged congressional staffers to talk to their bosses about sending a message to the FEC stating that it was never Congress’ intention to muzzle the speech of charities when passing the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.