Statement of Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron on the Federal Elections Commission's Proposed Rulemaking on Coordinated Communications in Federal Elections

January 20, 2010, Washington, DC—The Alliance for Justice (AFJ), AFL-CIO and Sierra Club have jointly submitted comments in response to the Federal Election Commission's (the Commission) notice of proposed rulemaking on coordinated communications.Additionally, AFJ and the AFL-CIO have requested the opportunity to testify on this matter.

As described in the comments, "the scope of the statutory prohibition on coordinated expenditures has long presented one of the most vexing issues facing the Commission."  Coordinated communications should not be a means by which federal election contribution limitations can be circumvented," stated Nan Aron, President, Alliance for Justice. "However, the prohibition on coordinated communications cannot be interpreted in a way that will discourage valuable and legitimate efforts by citizens to influence legislation and public policy debates."

“We believe the Commission should continue to strike a balance between these values as it once again seeks to define coordinated communications,” stated the groups in their comments.  

» Download the comments (pdf)