Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee et al.

Decided November 10, 1981. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 80-939 · 454 U.S. 27 (1981) · Cited 770 times

Holding

Section 441a(d)(3) does not expressly or by necessary implication foreclose the use of agency agreements, such as are at issue here, and the FEC thus acted within the authority vested in it by Congress when it determined to permit such agreements.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Udall v. Tallman · 380 U.S. 1 (1965)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Bell Aerospace Co. · 416 U.S. 267 (1974)
• Unemployment Compensation Comm'n of Alaska v. Aragon · 329 U.S. 143 (1946)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Brown · 380 U.S. 278 (1965)
• Train v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 421 U.S. 60 (1975)
• Zenith Radio Corp. v. United States · 437 U.S. 443 (1978)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Sloan · 436 U.S. 103 (1978)
• Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Federal Maritime Commission · 390 U.S. 261 (1968)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. Seatrain Lines, Inc. · 411 U.S. 726 (1973)
• Adamo Wrecking Co. v. United States · 434 U.S. 275 (1978)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Bill Johnson's Restaurants, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 461 U.S. 731 (1983)
• Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission · 518 U.S. 604 (1996)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• United States v. Locke · 471 U.S. 84 (1985)
• Securities Industry Ass'n v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System · 468 U.S. 137 (1984)
• Aluminum Co. of America v. Central Lincoln Peoples' Utility District · 467 U.S. 380 (1984)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)
• Good Samaritan Hospital v. Shalala · 508 U.S. 402 (1993)
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms v. Federal Labor Relations Authority · 464 U.S. 89 (1983)
• Chemical Manufacturers Ass'n v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 470 U.S. 116 (1985)
• Belknap, Inc. v. Hale · 463 U.S. 491 (1983)
• Blum v. Bacon · 457 U.S. 132 (1982)
• Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Pueblo of Santa Ana · 472 U.S. 237 (1985)
• Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee · 533 U.S. 431 (2001)
• Federal Election Commission v. NRA Political Victory Fund · 513 U.S. 88 (1994)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1981). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).