Federal Position Descriptions
Print

Commissioner

Commissioner, Federal Election Commission
Responsibility
Management Scope

In fiscal 2016, the FEC had a budget of $78 million and 331 employees.2

Primary Responsibilities

• Administers and enforces the Federal Election and Campaign Act
• Administers the agency
• Meets regularly to formulate policy and vote on significant legal and administrative matters3

Strategic Goals and Priorities
The strategic goal of the FEC is to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act fairly, efficiently and effectively; promote compliance; and engage and inform the public about campaign finance data and rules, while maintaining a workforce that delivers results.4
Requirements

Requirements for the commission:
• The chairman and vice chairman are elected by the membership for a period of one year, with no commissioner serving as chairman more than once during a six-year term 5
• The chairman and the vice chairman shall not be affiliated with the same political party
• No more than three appointed commission members may be affiliated with the same political party
• FECA requires the affirmative vote of four commissioners to approve official actions, requiring bipartisan decision-making (52 U.S.C. § 30106)
Requirements for commissioners:
• Commissioners are chosen on the basis of their experience, integrity, impartiality and good judgment
• Commissioners should be individuals who, at the time they are appointed to the commission, are not elected or appointed officers or employees in the executive, legislative or judicial branch of the federal government
• Commissioners may not engage in any other business, vocation or employment during their appointment
• Each commissioner serves a six-year statutory term, and two seats are subject to appointment every two years
• Commissioners may continue to serve beyond their six-year terms until new commissioners are appointed and confirmed by the Senate (52 U.S.C. § 30106)
• Attorneys (usually, but not always)
• Management experience (a plus)
• Knowledge of federal campaign finance laws (a plus)

Competencies

• Ability to handle sensitive legal matters under considerable public attention
• Ability to work across party lines to reach consensus (a plus)

Past Appointments
  • Ann Ravel (2013 to 2017): Chairwoman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission; Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Torts and Consumer Litigation in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice; County Counsel in the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office6
  • Caroline C. Hunter (2008 to 2017): Deputy Director, Office of Public Liaison, The White House Office, Executive Office of the President; Executive Officer, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security; Deputy Counsel, Republican National Committee; Associate Counsel, Republican National Committee7
  • Michael E. Toner (2002 to 2007): Chief Counsel, Republican National Committee; General Counsel, Bush-Cheney Transition Team; General Counsel, Bush-Cheney 2000 Presidential Campaign; Deputy Counsel, Republican National Committee; Counsel to the Dole/Kemp Presidential Campaign; Associate Attorney at Wiley, Rein, & Fielding8
AGENCY

Federal Election Commission

Mission: The Federal Election Commission (FEC) protects the integrity of the federal campaign finance process by providing transparency, and fairly enforcing and administering federal campaign finance laws.

COMPENSATION

Level IV $155,500 (5 U.S.C. § 531)1

REPORTS TO

The FEC is an independent regulatory agency (52 U.S.C. § 30106)

SENATE COMMITTEE

Rules and Administration

Appointee Tracker

Check out our Political Appointee Tracker

Go to the tracker
Footnote
  1. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31, May 5, 2017), contains a provision that continues the freeze on the payable pay rates for certain senior political officials at 2013 levels during calendar year 2017.
  2. https://lo.bvdep.com/OrgDocument.asp?OrgId=-1&LDIBookId=19&LDIOrgId=154972&LDISecId=201&FromRecent=0&Save=1&Position=-1#O154972
  3. OPM
  4. http://www.fec.gov/pages/budget/fy2016/FY2016_AFR.pdf
  5. https://lo.bvdep.com/OrgDocument.asp?OrgId=-1&LDIBookId=19&LDIOrgId=154972&LDISecId=201&FromRecent=0&Save=1&Position=-1#O154972
  6. https://ballotpedia.org/Ann_Ravel
  7. https://lo.bvdep.com/PeopleDocument.asp?PersonId=-1&LDIPeopleId=699524&Save=1
  8. http://www.fec.gov/members/former_members/toner/toner.shtml
More federal position descriptions