Final answer:
The McCain-Feingold Act, officially known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002, aimed to limit 'soft money' contributions to political parties and strengthen campaign finance regulation. Despite initial enforcement, parts of the Act were later circumvented and faced legal challenges, resulting in the lifting of some limits, such as corporate spending restrictions by the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)
In 2002, Congress passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), commonly known as the McCain-Feingold Act. This legislation was aimed at reforming campaign finance regulations, specifically addressing the issue of "soft money". Soft money is raised for broader political efforts, such as party-building activities and issue advocacy advertisements, without the strict regulations that direct contributions to candidates ("hard money") are subject to. Prior to this act, soft money had few limits and was utilized by political parties and action committees to exert influence on elections. The McCain-Feingold Act imposed restrictions on the amount of money that could be given to political parties, prohibitions on coordinated expenditures between candidates and PAC campaigns, and required candidates to personally endorse their political advertisements. Additionally, the act limited certain union and corporate advertisements close to election dates to reduce potential undue influence.
Despite these reforms, the act faced legal challenges and certain provisions were circumvented by political organizations utilizing methods to support political agendas without explicit endorsement, avoiding Federal Election Commission regulations. Ultimately, some significant restrictions were struck down by subsequent Supreme Court decisions, such as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010, which lifted spending limits on corporations.