The chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission predicted that her agency will have trouble enforcing campaign finance laws in the 2016 election cycle.
“The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim,” FEC chairwoman Ann M. Ravel told The New York Times. “I never want to give up, but I’m not under any illusions. People think the FEC is dysfunctional. It’s worse than dysfunctional.”
Ravel’s comments illustrated the increasingly serious gridlock that’s paralyzed the commission, which lately has often found itself deadlocked in 3-to-3 ties. The Times said that negotiations among the commissioners are increasingly uncommon and there’s no general consensus on which rules to enforce.
Ravel’s comments come at a time when likely 2016 presidential candidates seem to be getting around campaign finance laws and billionaire donors are planning on pouring huge sums of money into political campaigns. For instance, the Republican megadonors David and Charles Koch plan to spend almost $1 billion in the 2016 cycle through their network for conservative organizations. Meanwhile, supporters and super PACs supporting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign are hoping to bring in $2.5 billion.
Ravel came into the commission promising to “bridge the partisan gap” at the FEC. Five months later though, the Times said, Ravel has largely given up on trying to find common ground and prevent spending abuses. So instead, Ravel is hoping to focus on publicizing information about major finance violations as, “there is not going to be any real enforcement” in the 2016 cycle.
But Republicans on the commission don’t see an outbreak of finance abuses.
“Congress set this place up to gridlock,” Republican commissioner Lee E. Goodman said. “This agency is functioning as Congress intended. The democracy isn’t collapsing around us.”
