An overview and analysis of campaign finance, including: the history of campaign-finance regulation and the current state of the law; current practices and trends in the flow of money; and the constitutional debate. The authors conclude with a broad overview of alternative approaches to reform.

The work examines the legal challenge to the new Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCRA) which is in federal court. Both sides have assembled expert reports and testimony from some of the US's best-known academic experts and political practitioners. These materials, filed with the court but difficult for the general public to access and evaluate, provide a window onto contemporary practices and disputes over party soft money and issue advocacy.