National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) challenged the longstanding limit on campaign expenditures coordinated between political party committees and candidates, which the Supreme Court upheld in FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee (2001). That limit, which in substance limits contributions from political parties to candidates, serves to prevent the use of party committees as conduits for contributions to candidates from private persons in excess of statutory limits. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the limits on contributions from individuals to candidates, and protections against evasion of those limits are essential to maintaining their integrity as a check on actual and apparent corruption.

Public Citizen filed an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court. The brief explains that the result sought by the NRSC would increase the amounts that campaign donors can channel to candidates by orders of magnitude and create new opportunities for corrupt bargains between office-seekers and those who seek use financial means to influence their official actions.