The Campaign Finance Institute has published a draft chapter of its upcoming book, Election After Reform: Money, Politics and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, that examines the role of independent 527 groups in the 2004 election. It finds these groups did not replace party soft money, since overall levels of soft money went down in 2004. It also said independent groups overall were “scrupulous” in following the law banning coordination with candidates and parties.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) failed to publish two reports that show Head Start is effective in raising the academic performance of low-income children. The National Head Start Association (NHSA) recently leaked the data, noting that the Bush administration continues its efforts to dismantle the program. Head Start advocates have been fighting the administrationÕs proposals to restructure the program for more than two years.

On Feb. 2, seeking to act before the 2006 congressional campaigns get underway, sponsors of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) announced the introduction of a new bill aimed at regulating independent political committees. The 527 Reform Act of 2005, S. 271, specifically targets groups exempt under Section 527 of the tax code, so that charities and other groups exempt under Section 501(c) that focus on issues, not candidates, would not be impacted.

On Jan. 27, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People declined to respond to a summons from the Internal Revenue Service in an audit based on charges of illegal partisan activity. The NAACP said the IRS did not follow proper procedures and the agency’s actions are politically motivated. The IRS denied its motives are political and referred the allegation to the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration. The audit is unusual because it is based on NAACP Chairman Julian Bond’s July 2004 convention speech that criticized Bush administration policies.