FEC Commissioners Begin a De Facto Shutdown with a Warning for Congress
As the Federal Election Commission begins a de facto — and avoidable — agency shutdown of undetermined length, Republican and Democratic commissioners alike warned that the agency is in desperate need of support from Congress to do its work.
The Wednesday meeting is likely the FEC’s last for what could be weeks or months due to the departure of Republican Commissioner Allen Dickerson and the failure of President Donald Trump and the Senate to nominate and appoint new commissioners. After Wednesday, the FEC won’t have its required quorum of four commissioners to conduct high-level business.
But even when the FEC has a quorum, commissioners said the agency doesn’t have what it needs.
Commissioners accused lawmakers of chronically underfunding the agency, which has witnessed a steady decline in staff — now below 300 employees despite a spike in election-related workload. Adjusted for inflation, funding levels have generally declined for years. Congress has all but ignored annual, unanimous requests from the FEC’s often fractious commissioners for legislative support and additional resources.
https://www.notus.org/policy/fec-commissioners-meeting-congress-funding
= new reply since forum marked as read
