Mr. Chairman: I commend you for holding this oversight hearing on the Federal Election Commission today. Although the Rules Committee has held numerous hearings regarding campaign finance laws and issues before the FEC over the last several years, this is the first oversight hearing that the Rules Committee has held on the FEC in over six years. With the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) and the numerous court cases that have been decided in the last half-dozen years, it is appropriate to call the Commission before the Committee to get a handle on how the agency is faring in light of these changes.

I will be interested to hear from the witnesses today as to whether the changes in the underlying statute have increased or decreased the agency's workload and focus. This hearing affords the FEC the opportunity to seek changes in the agency's authorizing statute to meet changing needs and I encourage our witnesses to take advantage of this opportunity.

Historically, the FEC has been perceived as a toothless tiger an agency that has significant enforcement authority on paper, but rarely uses it. Significant administrative changes have been made in the last few years including initiation of an enforcement priority system (EPS) and the Administrative Fine and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programs. But, as we will hear from esteemed witnesses today, the fact that the agency has outstanding cases from the 2000 cycle and as recently as two years ago was still closing cases because they were "stale"gives the impression that more can be done.

Similarly, continuing concerns have been raised by individuals from both sides of the political aisle that the current statutory procedures do not provide basic due process procedures for allowing respondents to subpoena witnesses, much less a right to a hearing or to appear at formal depositions taken by the FEC.

While there may have been many improvements at the FEC since the Committee's last oversight hearing, it appears there is still work to be done.

I have long supported efforts to enhance the enforcement authority of the FEC, including providing sufficient budgetary resources for carrying out enforcement actions. In the 105th Congress I introduced legislation which would have granted the FEC injunctive authority, increased the civil penalties for knowing and willful violations, authorized random audits, allowed for civil penalties for minor reporting violations, and required Senate candidates to file directly with the FEC.

I reintroduced similar legislation in the 106th Congress and supported efforts during the Senate debate on BCRA to add components of the legislation to that bill. While those efforts were unsuccessful, I remain committed to seeing that the FEC has the tools and resources required to fairly and efficiently enforce campaign finance laws..

While I am not convinced that a wholesale restructuring of the agency is necessary, I agree that after 30 years, it is past time to review the enforcement mission, policies and procedures for the FEC with the goal of providing the enforcement agency the tools necessary to ensure compliance with the revised campaign finance laws. Obviously, that is not going to occur in the middle of an election year, but this hearing lays an important foundation for reforms in the next Congress.

There is one small reform, however, that I am hopeful this Committee may be able to accomplish before the end of this Congress, and that is a move to electronic filing by the Senate. I am keenly aware of the Senate's long-standing policy and view that campaign finance filings by Senators and Senate candidates are official papers of the Senate and should be filed with and maintained by the Senate.

However, the Senate has an equally compelling interest in ensuring open, and timely, public access to these filings. Technology makes it possible to accommodate both goals. Senators and Senate candidates can be required to file electronically with the Secretary of the Senate, so that ownership of the filings reside with the Senate, and the Secretary could then transmit the electronic files to the FEC, as is currently done with paper filings, to ensure timely public access.

While it is my understanding that the Office of the Secretary of the Senate does not currently have authority or resources to require electronic filing by the Senate, I would encourage this Committee to give serious consideration to requiring such and to seeking funding for such project in the FY 05 Legislative Branch appropriations bill. This is not a partisan issue it is a good government issue. I believe the Chairman is sympathetic to this proposal and I pledge to work with him in a bipartisan manner to accomplish this goal.

I thank the Chairman for convening this hearing and look forward to the testimony of the witnesses.