Federal contractors brought action against Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that provision of Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) that barred individuals and firms from making federal campaign contributions while they negotiated or performed federal contracts violated contractor’s First Amendment and equal protection rights. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia denied contractors’ motion for preliminary injunction granted FEC’s motion for summary judgment. On appeal, the Court of Appeals vacated district court’s orders and remanded case to district court to make appropriate findings of fact and certify those facts and relevant constitutional questions to Court of Appeals.
After remand, the Court of Appeals held that:
- Provision was closely drawn to government’s interests, and
- Provision was not underinclusive to extent that it would violate First Amendment.
Provision of Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) that barred individuals and firms from making federal campaign contributions while they negotiated or performed federal contracts was closely drawn to government’s interests in preventing corruption and its appearance, and in protecting against interference with merit-based administration, and thus provision did not violate First Amendment. Provision only applied to government contractors during contracting period, corruption had been historically present in government contracting process, contractors’ need for government contracts made them particularly susceptible to coercion from candidates and politicians, and contractors were free to volunteer in campaigns, speak in candidates’ favor, and to host fundraisers to solicit contributions from others.
Provision of Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) that barred individuals and firms from making federal campaign contributions while they negotiated or performed federal contracts was not underinclusive to extent that it would violate First Amendment. Political Action Committees (PAC), which were not included in FECA’s ban, were distinct entities from corporations that formed them, shareholders of corporate contractors could still contribute, no one had ever used limited liability company (LLC) to circumvent ban, and federal employees, who were not included in FECA’s ban, typically had less to gain from making contributions than contractors.