January 07, 2003 — U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) will hold a town hall meeting at the University of Utah at 11:45 a.m. Monday, January 13 to speak with students and community members in the Olpin Union Ballroom about the new campaign finance law and the continuing crusade for corporate, media and political reform.

The “Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002” is the most comprehensive campaign finance reform passed by Congress in two decades. It regulates the size and sources of contributions to political parties and the expenditure of corporate and labor funds in federal elections. It also revitalizes longstanding congressional prohibitions on corporate and union spending for advertising to elect federal candidates. The new law is under constitutional challenge in the U.S. District Court and once the decision is issued this month or next, the decision will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Senator McCain will also speak on the continuation of his seven-year battle for campaign finance reform and will take questions from students and members of the community. Senator McCain is coming to the University in conjunction with the University’s Campaign and Media Studies Program focusing on research and education of campaign finance and media laws.

Senator McCain is the third term senior Senator from the state of Arizona. He chairs the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee and is the ranking Republican member on the Armed Services Committee.