Answer: increases in campaign finance regulation followed by a loosening of restrictions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) was established in 1975 through an amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act, to control the campaign finance legislation in the US.
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002) extensively forbade party soft money, renewed the prohibition on the use of general treasury funds for electoral campaigns by businesses and labor unions.
However, by 2010, Citizens United v. FEC decreed that corporations are allowed to contribute money to an election process without donating to a campaign.