{
  "id": "R40779",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R40779",
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  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
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      "id": 352719,
      "date": "2009-10-06",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T02:14:54.363356",
      "title": "Deadlocked Votes Among Members of the Federal Election Commission (FEC): Overview and Potential Considerations for Congress",
      "summary": "In the mid-1970s, Congress designed the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to be a bipartisan independent regulatory agency. The agency\u2019s structure is intended to guard against partisan enforcement of campaign finance law. Consequently, the six-member Commission has been evenly divided among Democrats and Republicans. The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) also requires that the Commission muster at least four votes to exercise core functions\u2014meaning that no measure can advance without at least some bipartisan support.\nPerhaps because of that structure, however, the Commission has been criticized for sometimes failing to achieve consensus on key policy issues, resulting in what are typically termed deadlocked votes, in which matters of law or regulation may be left unresolved. In August 2009, citing deadlocks and other issues, Senators Feingold and McCain introduced legislation (S. 1648) to restructure the agency.\nAlthough the topic of deadlocked votes arises frequently, empirical analyses of the phenomenon are rare. Those that exist focus on older data. Accordingly, this report asks whether deadlocks are as common as popular wisdom suggests and whether deadlocks fall along party lines. Both points are commonly cited (although often without quantitative data) in anecdotal accounts. The report addresses those questions by providing an overview of deadlocks in rulemakings, enforcement matters, and advisory opinions (AOs) during the current Commission\u2019s first year in office\u2014from July 2008 through June 2009\u2014when concern over deadlocks has most recently reemerged. Although this report examines deadlocks that can occur during rulemakings, enforcement matters, and AOs, it is not intended to provide an exhaustive account of Commission operations, procedures, or processes.\nThe data show that deadlocks occurred throughout the current Commission\u2019s first year in office, but they affected a minority of the matters considered. Specifically, deadlocks occurred in about 13% of matters under review (MURs) and in about 17% of AOs. No deadlocks occurred on rulemakings. Those issues on which deadlocks occurred, however, featured staunch disagreement among Commissioners and reflected apparently unsettled positions on some major policy questions. In addition, when deadlocks occurred, Commissioners always voted in partisan blocs. Deadlocked votes can be interpreted from various perspectives, which may influence whether Congress decides to maintain the status quo or pursue oversight or legislative action.\nThis report will be updated periodically to reflect new data or as developments warrant.",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc809400/",
      "id": "R40779_2009Aug26",
      "date": "2009-08-26",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Deadlocked Votes Among Members of the Federal Election Commission (FEC): Overview and Potential Considerations for Congress",
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}