THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION (FEC) 

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) was established by the United States Congress in 1975 to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). The FECA governs how federal elections are funded.  As an independent regulatory agency, the primary duties of the FEC are to make public campaign finance information, to enforce FECA provisions (such as the limits and restrictions of campaign contributions by individuals and groups), and to oversee the public funding of presidential elections.

Six members comprise the FEC. Each member is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The commission members serve six-year terms, with terms of two seats expiring every two years.  Additionally, no more than three commissioners can be members of the same political party, and at least four votes are required for any official commission action. These rules were created to promote nonpartisan decisions. Each year, the chairmanship of the commission rotates among its members, to ensure that no one member serves as chair more than once during his or her term.

The current members of the FEC are:

1. Commissioner Michael E. Toner (Chairman)
2. Commissioner David M. Mason
3. Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub
4. Commissioner Hans A. von Spakovsky
5. Commissioner Robert D. Lenhard
6. Commissioner Steven T. Walther

To read more the Commissioners and their prior work experience, click on the following link:
http://www.fec.gov/members/members.shtml

To read more about the FEC and campaign finance rules, click on the following link: http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/fecfeca.shtml