Have Your Say: Federal "Pay-to-Play"

Don’t miss your chance to tell the Federal Election Commission (FEC) what you think of the federal pay-to-play; law. The FEC is seeking public comment on a rulemaking petition requesting an update to its regulations until May 29. Public Citizen submitted the petition last year, asking the Commission to update its regulations regarding the federal pay-to-play law. The pay-to-play law bans federal contractors from making political contributions to candidates running for federal office.

Public Citizen made the request in response to the FEC’s 2014 dismissal of a complaint alleging that Chevron Corporation violated the pay-to-play law by making political contributions while its subsidiary, Chevron USA, Inc., held federal contracts. The FEC concluded that the two entities were distinct and, therefore, Chevron’s contributions did not violate the law.

Public Citizen wants the FEC to amend its regulations to exercise more stringent scrutiny when applying the law to corporate affiliates. As examples, Public Citizen points to corporate law and labor law tests for determining whether nominally separate companies should be treated as single business enterprises or employers. These tests take into consideration factors such as common ownership, common corporate management, de facto control, inter-relation of operations and unity of personnel and labor policies.

All comments must be in writing (no audio or video submissions allowed). Comments may be submitted electronically via the FEC’s website at http://www.fec.gov/fosers (reference REG 2014-09), by email to ContractorPetition@fec.gov, or by mail to Federal Election Commission, Attn. Amy. L. Rothstein, Assistant General Counsel, 999 E Street NW, Washington DC, 20463. For more information, visit the FEC’s rulemaking website, http://www.fec.gov/fosers.