Federal Election Commission Chair Lee Ann Elliott was first nominated in 1981 by President Reagan to fill a Republican vacancy. Since then, she has served as Chair three times (1984, 1990, and 1997), Vice Chair three times (1983, 1989, and 1995), and has been renominated twice (1987, 1994). Chairman Elliott, previous to her appointment to the commission, was Vice President of Bishop, Bryant, and Associates. During the 1970s, she held various high-level posts in the American Medical Political Action Committee (AMPAC).
Although she has served as chair of the commission three times, the views of Mrs. Elliott and her colleagues are largely ignored. Any action taken by the FEC must obtain four votes of the three Democrats and three Republicans, which causes the commission to frequently deadlock at three votes apiece, causing no action to be taken. The commission has recently come under fire for not responding quickly enough to alleged abuses during the 1996 campaign season, along with not attempting to control the skyrocketing costs of campaigning. These criticisms of the commission caused Vice Chairman Joan D. Aikens to testify before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee that the commission was underfunded and understaffed. She requested an additional 1.7 million dollars for the remainder of FY 1997, along with an additional 4.9 million dollars for FY 1998 to cover the costs of investigating the 1996 election, as well as preparing for faster responses in the future. As it stands, most cases brought before the commission (112 were active in 1996) are delayed until long after the election happens, causing many to doubt that the commission has teeth. Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said that "Their effectiveness is highly questionable...They've lost their credibility."
The frequent ineffectiveness of the commission has caused several groups and members of Congress to call for either new blood on the commission or a new commission altogether. The present commissioners have served a combined total of about eighty years, with Elliott (16 years) being still one of the junior members of the commission. Nevertheless, President Clinton renominated both Elliott and former Chair John Warren McGarry (19 years) to the commission in his first term. Congress recognizes that the commission is largely ineffectual, but is in disagreement on how to proceed. Tradeoffs are frequently seen in terms of the commission's ability to respond quickly against the commission's ability to respond fairly. Whatever the case may be, the FEC promises to be an integral part of the upcoming budget negotiations and discussions about campaing finance reform.
Facts and quotes taken from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/campfin/fec.html
http://www.fec.gov/1996/elliott.html