BUCKLEY v. VALEO
1
Per Curiam
The provisions for public funding of the three stages of
the Presidential selection process were upheld as a valid
exercise of congressional power under the General Welfare Clause of the Constitution, Art. I, § 8.
In this Court, appellants argue that the Court of
Appeals failed to give this legislation the critical scrutiny
demanded under accepted First Amendment and equal
protection principles. In appellants' view, limiting the
use of money for political purposes constitutes a restriction on communication violative of the First Amendment, since virtually all meaningful political communications in the modern setting involve the expenditure of
money. Further, they argue that the reporting and disclosure provisions of the Act unconstitutionally impinge
on their right to freedom of association. Appellants
also view the federal subsidy provisions of Subtitle H
as violative of the General Welfare Clause, and as inconsistent with the First and Fifth Amendments. Finally,
appellants renew their attack on the Commission's composition and powers.
At the outset we must determine whether the case
before us presents a "case or controversy" within the
meaning of Art. III of the Constitution. Congress may
not, of course, require this Court to render opinions in
matters which are not "cases or controversies." Aetna Life
Ins. Co. v. Haworth, 300 U. S. 227, 240-241 (1937). We
must therefore decide whether appellants have the "personal stake in the outcome of the controversy" necessary
to meet the requirements of Art. III. Baker v. Carr, 369
U. S. 186, 204 (1962). It is clear that Congress, in enCommission, when exercised in a concrete context, may be
predominantly executive or judicial or unrelated to the Commission's
legislative function; however, since the Commission had not yet
exercised
most of these challenged powers, consideration of the constitutionality of those grants of authority was postponed. See n. 157,
infra.