U.S. Chamber Files Campaign Finance Lawsuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit today, with the National Association of Manufacturers, and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, challenging recent legislation to change campaign financing, saying the law was an unconstitutional restriction of free speech.

"This is a country founded on free speech and the government cannot tell us that we have the right to speak on issues at the beginning of a campaign, but not at the end, when public debate matters most," said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas Donohue. "We will fight this all the way to the Supreme Court."

The U.S. Chamber — which is being represented by nationally recognized, election law expert Jan Baran of Wiley, Rein & Fielding and a member of Senator McConnell's legal team — is challenging a provision of the law that dramatically limits the ability of organizations to conduct issue advocacy and bans the airing of issue ads 60 days before a general election and 30 days before a primary, during the most heated debate.

Earlier this month, the Chamber won a unanimous victory in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding issue ads in judicial races. The decision was the latest in a string of court rulings that regulating elections must be balanced against the more important constitutional right of free speech.

The Chamber's lawsuit also contends that provisions in the legislation that expose organizations that have regular contact with government officials to charges that their independent public speech is unlawful coordination with a candidate, violates the constitutional protections due process as well as free speech.

"Free speech is every organization's and individual's constitutional right and we are confident the courts will continue to uphold this right," said Donohue.

The campaign finance act contains special review provisions providing that initial challenges are to be heard by a three-judge district court in the D.C. Circuit. The law provides for a right of appeal by the losing party directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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