Long title | An act to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide bipartisan campaign reform. |
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Acronyms (colloquial) | BCRA (pronounced /ˈbɪkrə/ BIK-ruh) |
Nicknames | McCain–Feingold, Shays–Meehan |
Enacted by | the 107th United States Congress |
Effective | November 6, 2002 |
Citations | |
Public law | 107-155 |
Statutes at Large | 116 Stat. 81 thru 116 Stat. 116 |
Legislative history | |
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United States Supreme Court cases | |
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The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–155 (text) (PDF), 116 Stat. 81, enacted March 27, 2002, H.R. 2356), commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA (/ˈbɪkrə/ BIK-ruh), is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI). The law became effective on 6 November 2002, and the new legal limits became effective on January 1, 2003.[1]
As noted in McConnell v. FEC, a United States Supreme Court ruling on BCRA, the Act was designed to address two issues:
Although the legislation is known as "McCain–Feingold", the Senate version is not the bill that became law. Instead, the companion legislation, H.R. 2356—introduced by Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), is the version that became law. Shays–Meehan was originally introduced as H.R. 380.[3]