Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OPINION COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge. Currently pending before the Court are cross-motions for summary judgment filed by Plaintiff, EMILY’s List, an organization that recruits and funds pro-choice women candidates for political office, and Defendant, the Federal Election Commission (“FEC” or “Commission”). EMILY’s List, a political committee registered with the FEC, commenced this action by filing a Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction in January 2005, asserting a facial challenge to regulations promulgated by the Commission to implement the provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, Pub.L. No. 92-255, 86 Stat. 3, (“FECA”), as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, Pub.L. No. 107-155, 116 Stat. 81 (“BCRA”). The challenged regulations established a new rule for when funds received by political committees in response to certain solicitations must be treated as “contributions” under FECA and modified the Commission’s rules governing how political committees may allocate spending between federal and nonfederal accounts. EMILY’s List sought to enjoin the enforcement of the regulations, which went into effect in January 2005, alleging that each was in excess of the Commission’s authority, was arbitrary and capricious, was promulgated without adequate notice under the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 706(2), and violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. On February 25, 2005, the Court issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order denying EMILY’s List’s motion for preliminary injunction, which was subsequently affirmed on appeal. See Emily’s List v. FEC, 362 F.Supp.2d 43 (D.D.C.2005) (hereinafter “PI Mem. Op.”), aff'd 170 Fed.Appx. 719 (Dec. 22, 2005). The parties then proceeded to brief cross-motions for summary judgment; however, in June 2007, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, — U.S. -, 127 S.Ct. 2652, 168 L.Ed.2d 329 (2007) (“WRTL”), which significantly impacted a number of the arguments raised by the parties in their then-pending cross-motions for summary judgment. Accordingly, the Court denied the parties’ initial cross-motions for summary judgment without prejudice and ordered the parties to file revised briefing that accurately reflected the state of the law. See 7112/07 Order, Docket No. [29]. Those revised cross-motions for summary judgment are now ripe, and the Court has conducted a searching review of the parties’ briefs, the exhibits attached thereto, the brief filed by amici curiae Senators John McCain and Russell Feingold, Representative Christopher Shays, Democracy 21, and the Campaign Legal Center in opposition to Plaintiffs revised motion for summary-judgment, the relevant statutes and case law, and the entire record herein. Based on the foregoing, the Court shall DENY [32] EMILY’s List’s Motion for Summary Judgment and shall GRANT [34] the Commission’s Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. I. BACKGROUND The events, statutes, and case law relevant to this opinion are largely addressed in the Court’s February 25, 2005 Memorandum Opinion denying EMILY’s List’s motion for preliminary injunction. PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d 43. Accordingly, the Court assumes familiarity with that opinion, and only recites herein those facts that are relevant to resolving the instant cross-motions for summary judgment. A. Parties The Federal Election Commission is the independent agency of the United States government with exclusive jurisdiction to administer, interpret, and civilly enforce FECA. 2 U.S.C. §§ 437c(b)(l), 437d(a), and 437g; FEC Stmt, of Mat’l Facts ¶ 1; Pl.’s Stmt, of Genuine Issues and Objs. (hereinafter “Pl.’s Resp. Stmt.”) ¶ 1. Among other things, the Commission is empowered to “formulate policy with respect to” FECA, see 2 U.S.C. § 437c(b)(l), and to promulgate “such rules ... as are necessary to carry out the provisions” of FECA, id. § 437d(a)(8). FEC Stmt. ¶ 2; Pl.’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 2. EMILY’s List has been registered with the Commission as a multicandidate nonconnected political committee for more than 20 years. FEC Stmt. ¶ 3; PL’s Resp. Stmt. ¶3. EMILY’s List has separate bank accounts to fund its federal and non-federal activities. FEC Stmt. ¶4; PL’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 4. The parties do not dispute that EMILY’s List’s nonfederal account accepts funds from sources and in amounts that various states authorize for use in supporting state and local candidates, but that may not permissibly be used to support federal candidates under federal campaign finance laws. PL’s Stmt, of Mat’l Facts ¶ 26; FEC Stmt, of Genuine Issues and Objs. (hereinafter “FEC Resp. Stmt.”) ¶ 26. EMILY’s List describes itself as “a political organization whose purpose is to recruit and fund viable women candidates for local, state and federal office; to help them build and run effective campaign organizations; and to mobilize women voters to help elect progressive candidates.” Pl.’s Stmt. ¶20. The Court discusses EMILY’s List’s activities in greater detail below, after addressing the relevant regulatory framework. B. Regulatory Framework The overarching purpose of FECA was to place limitations on contributions and expenditures in connection with federal elections. See McConnell, 251 F.Supp.2d at 193 (per curiam). FECA’s passage, however, “did not deter unseemly fund-raising and campaign practices,” McConnell, 540 U.S. at 118, 124 S.Ct. 619, and in particular, “the invention and proliferation of political committees that purported to be independent and outside the knowledge and control of the candidates and designated campaign committees ... eviscerated statutory limitations on contributions and expenditures,” Buckley v. Valeo, 519 F.2d 821, 837 (D.C.Cir.1975), aff’d in part, rev’d in part, 424 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 612, 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976). In 1974, Congress passed comprehensive amendments to FECA, which, inter alia, established the FEC, McConnell, 540 U.S. at 118, 124 S.Ct. 619, and in 2002, Congress enacted BCRA, which represented the “first major overhaul of [FECA] since the 1974 Amendments and their revision following [the Supreme Court’s opinion in Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 612, 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976)].” McConnell, 251 F.Supp.2d at 205 (per curiam). BCRA was intended to stem the tide of nonfederal funds being improperly used to influence federal elections. PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d at 46. Although pre-BCRA campaign finance laws were intended to prevent soft money from being used to influence federal elections, by the time of BCRA’s passage, the circumvention of these laws had become routine, resulting in unregulated funds being used to influence federal elections. Id. The FEC rules in effect until June 2005 permitted non-party committees (including EMILY’s List) to allocate spending for administrative expenses and generic voter drive activity (as opposed to candidate-specific disbursements) pursuant to the so-called “funds expended method.” 11 C.F.R. § 106.6(c) (2002). Under that approach, “expenses [were to] be allocated based on the ratio of federal expenditures to total federal and non-federal disbursements made by the committee during the two-year federal election cycle.... In calculating its federal expenditures, the committee [was to] include only amounts contributed to or otherwise spent on behalf of specific federal candidates.” Id. § 106.6(c)(1) (2002). Prior to the enactment of BCRA, party committees were also required to allocate their expenses for “mixed” federal and nonfederal expenses, but did so according to fixed percentages rather than the “funds expended” methods. See id. § 106.5(b)(2)®, (ii) (2002); § 106.5(d)(1)® (2002). While functioning under these allocation rules, party committees routinely circumvented the spirit of campaign finance laws by using soft money to finance activities intended to influence federal elections. McConnell, 540 U.S. at 131-32, 124 S.Ct. 619; PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d at 47. Congress ultimately determined that the existing allocation system was not effective at limiting party committees’ spending of nonfederal funds to nonfederal activities. McConnell, 540 U.S. at 131-34, 124 S.Ct. 619. Instead, Congress determined that the allocation system in fact enabled the circumvention of the law by authorizing the spending of soft money on activities that were intended to, and in fact did, influence federal campaigns. See McConnell, 251 F.Supp.2d at 651 (Kollar-Kotelly, J.) (noting that FEC regulations permitted widespread use of nonfederal money by party units to influence federal elections). In BCRA, Congress sought to modify the flawed regime by banning national party committees from raising or spending any nonfederal funds. See 2 U.S.C. § 441i(a). State party committees were permitted to raise nonfederal funds for nonfederal races, but were precluded from spending nonfederal funds on advertisements that “promote, support, attack or oppose” federal candidates. Id. §§ 431(20)(A)(iii); 441i(b)(l). BCRA also permitted state parties to fund certain “federal election activities,” including voter mobilization activities, with an allocated mixture of federal funds and limited, regulated nonfederal funds. Id. §§ 431(20)(A); 441i(b)(2). BCRA was challenged, and ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court. See generally McConnell, 540 U.S. 93, 124 S.Ct. 619. Although the Supreme Court’s decision in McConnell only addressed allocation with respect to party committees, in 2004, the FEC undertook a rulemaking aimed at curbing the similar use of nonfederal funds in connection with federal campaign activity by nonconnected committees. PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d at 48. In particular, because the “funds expended” allocation method based the allocation ratio only on “amounts contributed to or otherwise spent on behalf of specific federal candidates,” 11 C.F.R. § 106.6(c)(1) (2002), the method at times allowed nonconnected committees to calculate the federal portions of their allocated spending at, or close to, zero. See PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d at 48 (citing PI Admin. Record, Ex. 1 (Letter to FEC from Democracy 21) at 2; id Ex. 10 (Facsimile to FEC from Democracy 21) at 2-3; id Ex. 266 (Letter from McCain, Feingold, Shays, Meehan to Mai T. Dinh)). In addition, the “funds expended” allocation method did not subject nonconnected political committees to a minimum federal allocation percentage. See 11 C.F.R. § 106.6 (2002). In February 2004, the FEC issued Advisory Opinion 2003-37, requiring that non-connected political committees pay for any public communication that “promotes, supports, attacks, or opposes” federal candidates entirely with federal funds-. PL’s MSJ, Attach. C (Advisory Opinion 2003-37); Pl.’s StmtJ 1; FEC Resp. Stmt. ¶ 1. The FEC simultaneously indicated its intent to undertake a rulemaking with respect to the allocation rules affecting non-connected political committees. Pl.’s MSJ, Attach. C (Advisory Opinion 2003-37) at 3 n. 3. On March 11, 2004, the FEC published its official Notice of Proposed Rulemak-ing (“NPRM”), which was framed largely in response to the Supreme Court’s holding in McConnell. See 69 Fed.Reg. 11,-736-38. The NPRM sought comment on “whether either BCRA or McConnell requires, permits, or prohibits changes to the allocation regulations for separate segregated funds and nonconnected committees.” Political Committee Status, 69 Fed.Reg. 11,736, 11,753 (March 11, 2004) (discussing proposed 11 C.F.R. § 106.6). The NPRM questioned Given McConnell’s criticism of the Commission’s prior allocation rules for political parties, is it appropriate for the regulations to allow political committees to have non-Federal accounts and to allocate their disbursements between Federal and non-Federal accounts? If an organization’s major purpose is to influence Federal elections, should the organization be required to pay for all of its disbursements out of Federal funds and therefore be prohibited from allocating any of its disbursements? Id. at 11,753. The FEC designated the period through April 9, 2004 for public comments on the proposed rules, and held a hearing on April 14 and 15, 2004. See 69 Fed.Reg. 11,736. EMILY’s List’s representatives did not submit any comments and did not testify at the hearing, although over 100,000 comments were filed by other parties- — including political committees, political parties, nonprofit organizations, individuals, campaign finance organizations, and Members of Congress- — on a variety of issues raised by the rulemaking, and the two days of public hearings included 31 witnesses representing organizations with a broad range of opinions and concerns. FEC Stmt. ¶¶ 22-31; Pl.’s Resp. Stmt. ¶¶ 22-31. The majority of the comments the Commission received focused on the NPRM’s proposals regarding potential changes to the status of certain section 527 organizations that did not register and report to the FEC, Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 8; FEC Resp. Stmt. ¶ 8; however, a number of commenters offered remarks on the proposed allocation rules and testimony on the proposed revision of the definition of “contributions,” PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d at 50 (citations omitted). In particular, at least one commenter supported eliminating allocation altogether and requiring nonconnected committees to use 100% federal funds for all expenditures under 11 C.F.R. § 106.6, see FEC MSJ Ex. 8 (Comments of Public Citizen, at 12-13), while another suggested that communications should be allocated either 100% federal or 100% nonfederal based upon whether federal or nonfederal candidates were mentioned in the communication, see FEC MSJ Ex. 9 (Comments of Republican National Committee, at 7-8). See also FEC Stmt. ¶¶ 23, 25; Pl.’s Resp. Stmt. ¶¶ 23, 25. Other commenters supported implementing a specific percentage or “significant minimum hard money share” for administrative expenses. FEC MSJ Exs. 10 (Comments of Democracy 21, Campaign Legal Center, Center for Responsible Politics, at 17-19) and 11 (Comments of Senators McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan, at 3). See also FEC Stmt. ¶ 24; PL’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 24. One commenter argued that revising the funds expended method to require a federal minimum share would be too burdensome and complicated for political committees. FEC MSJ Ex. 12 (Comments of Media Fund, at 20); FEC Stmt. ¶ 26; Pl.’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 26. In contrast, during the hearing, testimony was offered regarding the complexities of the funds expended allocation method and the FEC’s proposal to move to a flat minimum percentage, including a 50% federal minimum, for allocated expenses. FEC MSJ Ex. 14 (Apr. 14, 2004 Hrg. Tr.) at 158-60 (testimony of Craig Holman) and Ex. 15 (Apr. 15, 2004 Hrg. Tr.) at 78-80 (testimony of Lawrence Noble) and 80-84 (testimony of Robert Bauer). In addition, one witness testified that the funds expended allocation method permitted circumvention of BCRA’s aim that soft money not be used to fund federal campaign activities. Id. at 78-80 (testimony of Lawrence Noble). Finally, witnesses addressed the FEC’s proposal that money given in response to solicitations indicating that the funds received would be used to support or oppose a federal candidate would be treated as contributions under FECA. Id. at 202-03 (testimony of Lyn Utrecht) and 207-08 (testimony of Margaret McCormick). The FEC published the final rules and an accompanying Explanation and Justification (“E & J”) in the Federal Register on November 28, 2004, and the final rules became effective on January 1, 2005. See 29 Fed.Reg. 68,056. Pursuant to the new rule at 11 C.F.R. § 100.57(a), all funds received in response to a solicitation are treated as “contributions” under FECA “if the communication indicates that any portion of the funds received will be used to support or oppose the election of a clearly identified Federal candidate.” 11 C.F.R. § 100.57(a). If, however, the Commission’s rules would permit the costs of the solicitation to be allocated between federal and nonfederal funds, funds received in response may be treated differently. Id. § 100.57(b). Specifically, if the solicitation refers to a clearly identified federal candidate and a political party, but not to a clearly identified nonfederal candidate, all funds received in response are considered contributions. Id. § 100.57(b)(1). In contrast, if the solicitation refers to one or more clearly identified nonfederal candidates, in addition to a clearly identified federal candidate, at least fifty percent of the funds received in response must be treated as contributions, regardless of whether the solicitation also refers to a political party. Id. § 100.57(b)(2). As revised, 11 C.F.R. § 106.6 replaced the “funds expended” method for allocation by nonconnected political committees with a 50 percent federal funds minimum for administrative expenses, costs of generic voter drives, and costs of public communications that refer to a political party but do not refer to any specific candidates. See 11 C.F.R. § 106.6(c). In addition, section 106.6(f) provides that public communications and voter drives that refer to one or more clearly identified federal candidates, and do not refer to any nonfederal candidates, must be financed with 100 percent federal funds, regardless of whether political parties are also mentioned. See id. § 106.6(f)(1). In contrast, public communications and voter drives that refer only to nonfederal candidates, or refer to a political party and only nonfederal candidates, may be financed with 100 percent nonfederal funds. Id. § 106.6(f)(2). Finally, expenses for “communications and voter drives that refer to one or more clearly identified Federal candidates and one or more clearly identified non-Federal candidates, regardless of whether there is a reference to a political party,” are to be “allocated based on the proportion of space or time devoted to each clearly identified Federal candidate as compared to the total space or time devoted to all clearly identified candidates.” Id. § 106.6(f)(3). On August 18, 2005, EMILY’s List submitted an Advisory Opinion Request to the FEC seeking clarification regarding the new regulations. In particular, EMILY’s List asked whether, as a nonconnected political committee, it would be required to pay at least 50% of its administrative expenses and generic voter driver expenses with federal funds, even if its budget “committe[d][it] to the expenditure of 65% of its candidate budget for the [remainder of the 2005-2006 election] cycle on contributions to or amounts otherwise spent on behalf of specific nonfederal candidates.” Pl.’s Attach. D (8/18/05 Advisory Opinion Request) at 1. The FEC’s responsive Advisory Opinion 2005-13 confirmed that EMILY’s List was required to allocate a minimum of 50% federal funds “without regard to how much a Federal political committee may choose to spend on non-Federal elections.” Pl.’s Attach. E (Advisory Opinion 2005-13) at 2-3. In its Advisory Opinion Request, EMILY’s List also described a proposed fund-raising solicitation “in support of its efforts on behalf of state legislative candidates” that would refer to Senator Debbie Stabe-now of Michigan and “feature a discussion of her own experiences, earlier in her career, as a candidate for State Senate in Michigan,” in order to “stress the importance of successes for women in state elective office.” Pl.’s Attach. D (Advisory Opinion Request) at 1-2. EMILY’s List explained that the solicitation would not be distributed in Michigan and would not reference Senator Stabenow’s “federal candidacy or solicit funds for her federal candidacy.” Id. at 2. In addition, the proposed communication would not refer to any clearly identified nonfederal candidate, but only generally to nonfederal Democratic women candidates as a class, and EMILY’s List asked the Commission whether the funds raised by the communication would be required to be treated entirely as contributions. Id. In response, the FEC’s Advisory Opinion 2005-13 clarified that, “[r]egardless of its context, the reference to Senator Stabe-now in EMILY’s List’s public communication is a reference to a clearly identified Federal candidate in a Federal political committee’s public communication,” which does not refer to a clearly identified non-federal candidate, such that, “EMILY’s List must pay for the public communication that clearly identifies Senator Stabe-now with 100 percent Federal funds.” Pl.’s Attach. E (Advisory Opinion 2005-13) at 3-4. In response to a suggestion by EMILY’s List that it could substitute a federal candidate not standing for election in 2006 for Senator Stabenow, the Commission further noted that the “analysis does not change if a candidate for election in a year other than 2006 were to be substituted for Senator Stabenow in EMILY’s List’s public communication.” Id. at 4. The FEC noted that neither FECA “nor Commission regulations distinguish between candidates based on election date,” rather, FECA defines a “candidate” as “an individual who seeks nomination for election, or election, to Federal office,” and defines an individual as seeking “nomination for election, or election, if he or she has received contributions aggregating in excess of $5,000 or has made expenditures aggregating in excess of $5,000.” Id. (citing 2 U.S.C. § 431(2)(A); 11 C.F.R. § 100.3(a)(1)). In addition to generally requesting clarification on whether its communication referring to Senator Stabenow would have to be funded with federal funds, EMILY’s List’s Advisory Opinion Request asked the Commission to review three proposed options for the portion of the communication asking recipients “to support the nonfederal programs of EMILY’s List,” with the caveat that EMILY’s List “wish[ed] to avoid any language that would be construed to ‘indicate’ a use of the funds to support federal candidates, including but not limited to Senator Stabenow.” PL’s Attach. D (Advisory Opinion Request) at 2. Specifically, EMILY’s List proposed the following texts: (a) “We are asking for your support, so that EMILY’s List can support candidates who, like me, could never succeed as women in politics without the combined commitment of all [sic] us.” (b) “EMILY’s List’s support over the years for candidates like me has made an enormous difference to the progress of women toward equality in the pursuit of political office. But we have a long way to go. That’s why I need your help.” (c) “EMILY’s List has always supported me (Senator Stabenow) when I most needed it. And that is why I am asking you to support EMILY’s List today, so that it can continue the work on behalf of women who, by seeking state office today, will be ready to claim national leadership tomorrow.” Id. In response to this question, the Commission’s Advisory Opinion 2005-13 explained that “[a]ll three communications indicate that the funds EMILY’s List receives in response will be used to support candidates and implicitly to support their election to office. The only question is whether these communications indicate that Senator Stabenow is among those candidates.” Id. at 5-6. Specifically, the FEC concluded that, EMILY’s List’s Example (a) “indicates that [Senator Stabe-now] is among the candidates that EMILY’s List will support,” such that all funds received in response to a solicitation including the text in Example (a) would be treated as contributions under 11 C.F.R. § 100.57. Id. at 6. The Commission reached the same conclusion with respect to EMILY’s List’s Example (b), noting that the language “I need your help” suggests that “Senator Stabenow is also appealing on her own behalf,” and “indicates that some of the funds raised will be used to support Senator Stabenow’s re-election, which satisfies 11 CFR 100.57(a)(1).” Id. While EMILY’s List’s Example (c) “also features a clearly identified Federal candidate raising funds for EMILY’s List,” the Commission concluded that “it indicates those funds will be used on behalf of women seeking State office,” and therefore “does not indicate that any portion of the funds received will be used to support [Senator Stabenow’s] re-election.” Id. Accordingly, the Commission advised EMILY’s List that it could consider any funds received in response to a solicitation including the language in Example (c) “to be donations to its non-Federal account.” Id. at 6-7. Finally, EMILY’s List’s Advisory Opinion Request stated that it “expect[ed] to implement its nonfederal objections by making public communications in support of state legislative initiatives and referen-da,” which “would not name a federal or nonfederal candidate, but would appeal to Democratic women to support or oppose these initiatives.” Pl.’s Attach. D (Advisory Opinion Request) at 3. EMILY’s List asked the Commission to clarify whether “the reference to Democrats in these communications requires that the associated costs be paid at least 50% with funds raised under the restrictions of federal law,” and whether the answer to that question “depend[ed] on whether EMILY’s List otherwise only supports nonfederal candidates in that state in this cycle.” Id. In response, the FEC’s Advisory Opinion 2005-13 noted the E & J for the revised regulations, which stated that “references solely to a political party inherently influence both Federal and non-Federal elections. Therefore, the 50% Federal funds requirement reflects the dual nature of the communication.” Pl.’s Attach. E (Advisory Opinion 2005-13) at 4. The FEC clarified that “[a] discussion of a State legislative initiative or referendum does not alter the application of these rules,” and reminded EMILY’s List that if it were to remove the reference to “Democrats” from the communications, EMILY’s List would be permitted to pay for the communications with 100% nonfederal funds. Id. at 4-5. The Commission also clarified that the “analysis that EMILY’s List must pay the costs of public communications that refer to a political party with at least 50 percent Federal funds does not change based on the activities of EMILY’s List in the particular State.” Id. at 5. C. EMILY’s List’s Historical and Present-Day Activities The parties do not dispute the following facts regarding EMILY’s List’s reported historical activities: • In the 2001-2002 election cycle, EMILY’s List raised more than $15.5 million in federal contributions and more than $5.5 million in nonfederal funds. FEC Stmt. ¶ 5; Pl.’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 5. In that cycle, EMILY’s List reported total federal disbursements of over $17.2 million, and reported total allocated spending of $11.2 million, which was financed with approximately $5.6 million in federal funds and $5.6 million in nonfederal funds. Id. • In the 2003-2004 election cycle, EMILY’S LIST raised more than $25 million in federal contributions and more than $8 million in nonfederal funds. FEC Stmt. ¶ 6; Pl.’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 6. In that cycle, EMILY’s List reported total federal disbursements of approximately $26 million, and reported total allocated spending of $16.2 million, which was financed with approximately $8.1 million in federal funds and $8.1 million in nonfederal funds. Id. • In the 2005-2006 election cycle, EMILY’S LIST again raised more than $25 million in federal contributions and more than $7.8 million in nonfederal funds. FEC Stmt. ¶7; Pl.’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 7. In that cycle, EMILY’s List reported total federal disbursements of over $26 million, and reported total allocated spending of $15.3 million, which was financed with approximately $7.5 million in federal funds and $7.8 million in nonfederal funds. Id. • For the 2007-2008 election cycle, EMILY’S LIST reported raising over $8.1 million in federal contributions and more than $2.9 million in nonfederal funds through August 31, 2007. FEC Stmt. ¶ 8; Pl.’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 8. In the same period, EMILY’s List reported total federal disbursements of over $7.1 million, and reported total allocated spending of $5.9 million, which was financed with approximately $2.9 million in federal funds and $2.9 million in nonfederal funds. Id. EMILY’s List’s fundraising and spending totals in the first third of 2005-2006 and 2007-2008 election cycles exceed the totals at the same point in the comparable election cycles of 2001-2002 and 2003-2004, respectively. FEC Stmt. ¶ 9; PL’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 9. • During the ten years prior to the promulgation of the revised regulations at issue in this case, EMILY’s List never reported an allocation ratio of federal and nonfederal funds of less than 50%. FEC Stmt. ¶ 11; PL’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 11. At the end of the 1995-1996 election cycle, EMILY’s List reported a final allocation ratio of 70% federal candidate support and 30% nonfederal. Id. • EMILY’s List has described itself as “the nation’s largest political action committee,” and its president, Ellen Malcom, has stated that EMILY’s List has “the most hard money, so it’s not an issue of not having it.” FEC Stmt. ¶ 10; PL’s Resp. Stmt. ¶ 10 (quoting EMILY’s List, Press Release, Feb. 1, 2007, available at http://www. emilyslist.org/newsroom/releases/ 20070201.html, and Liz Sidoti, “Bush, Kerry to Pull Ads on Friday,” Associated Press Newswires, June 7, 2004 (FEC MSJ, Ex. 3)). The remainder of the EMILY’s List’s factual assertions regarding its activities are more hotly contested. In particular, EMILY’s List’s Statement of Material Facts describes one specific program — its “Campaign Corps” program — that EMILY’s List asserts will be affected by the 50% federal fund minimum in the revised allocation regulation. PL’s Stmt. ¶¶ 29-31. According to EMILY’s List, each year, the Campaign Corps program “trains talented individuals just out of college at an intense week-long Campaign School and then places them on campaigns for the last 3 months of the campaign.” Id. ¶ 29. EMILY’s List explains that in odd-numbered years, when there are no regularly scheduled federal elections, “the vast majority of students are placed on campaigns for state and local office in New Jersey and Virginia, which hold elections in these years. In even years, graduates are placed with both federal and nonfederal campaigns.” Id. ¶30. EMILY’s List also asserts— based upon Ms. Cocanour’s Declaration— that “[d]uring the 2006 election cycle, 77% of the graduates trained by the program ultimately worked on nonfederal races.” Id. ¶ 31. EMILY’s List also asserts that it will continue to sponsor the Campaign Corps program during the 2007-2008 election cycle, id. ¶ 34, and that, but for revised regulation 11 C.F.R. § 106.6, it “would pay for this expense with a higher proportion of nonfederal funds, to reflect its predominantly nonfederal purpose,” id. ¶ 33. As the Commission correctly notes, however, EMILY’s List does not specify whether its 2006 Campaign Corps graduates worked solely on nonfederal races, or whether they also spent substantial time working on federal races or on generic campaign activity. FEC Resp. Stmt. ¶ 31. The Court therefore agrees with the Commission that EMILY’s List’s statement that the Campaign Corps program has a “predominantly nonfederal purpose” is conclusory. EMILY’s List also asserts that it “has found that the use of the names, association with EMILY’s List and endorsements of certain well-known federal candidates and officeholders are uniquely effective at raising funds for EMILY’s List and its efforts on behalf of federal and nonfederal candidates.” Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 36; Cocanour Decl. ¶ 18. According to EMILY’s List, prior to the revised regulations, it had made solicitations to raise funds for non-federal programs that specifically referred to clearly identified federal candidates, but did not refer to any clearly identified non-federal candidates, and it deposited some funds received as a result of those solicitations in nonfederal accounts. Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 38; Cocanour Decl. ¶ 20. EMILY’s List continues to state that “[a]s a result of the new regulations, [it] has altered its solicitations in order to be able to accept nonfed-eral funds as a result of a solicitation,” either by eliminating references to clearly identified federal candidates in solicitations or by adding references to clearly identified nonfederal candidates. PL’s Stmt. ¶ 39; Cocanour Decl. ¶ 21. Specifically, EMILY’s List proffers a solicitation it sent to supporters that includes references to federal candidates — Senators Debbie Stabenow, Maria Cantwell, Dianne Feinstein, and Hillary Clinton, as well as Representatives Gwen Moore, Allyson Schwartz, and Melissa Bean — and also refers to Arizona Governor Janet Napolita-no. See PL’s MSJ, Attach. A. According to EMILY’s List, the reference to Governor Napolitano “was included solely so that some funds could be treated as non-federal contributions, for use in local and state elections.” Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 39; Cocan-our Decl. ¶21. EMILY’s List also proffers five advertisements supporting two ballot initiatives in Missouri that EMILY’s List paid for and distributed, which do not contain any references to clearly identified federal candidates. See Pl.’s MSJ, Attach. B. EMILY’s List asserts that it “would have preferred to include a reference to a clearly identified federal candidate in these advertisements to endorse the ballot initiatives while continuing to pay for them with nonfederal funds,” but declined to include such a reference because doing so would have required EMILY’s List to fund the advertisements entirely with federal funds, in light of the lack of reference to a clearly identified nonfederal candidate. Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 45; Cocanour Decl. ¶ 27. The Commission generally objects to EMILY’s List’s statements, asserting that they are “conelusory, speculative, and without foundation, because they rely on the Cocanour Declaration,” and specifically objects to EMILY’s List’s assertion that it “would have preferred” to include a reference to a federal candidate in its ballot initiative advertisements as vague and speculative. FEC Resp. Stmt. ¶¶ 38-42; 45. The Court finds, however, that in light of her position as EMILY’s List’s Assistant Treasurer and Chief of Staff, Ms. Coeanour’s Declaration provides sufficient factual support for EMILY’s List’s description of specific choices the organization made as a result of the revised regulations. In contrast, to the extent that EMILY’s List’s Statement of Material Facts (and Ms. Cocanour’s Declaration) includes various assertions regarding possible future activities EMILY’s List may undertake, the Court generally agrees with the Commission that those assertions are speculative. The Court need not— and does not- — parse the FEC’s specific objections to the remainder of the factual assertions contained in EMILY’s List’s Statement of Material Facts because the Court’s resolution of the pending cross-motions for summary judgment, below, is premised on legal, rather than factual, grounds. To the extent that the Court has set forth facts above regarding EMILY’s List’s historical activities, those facts are necessary to the Court’s analysis of EMILY’s List’s standing to bring this action. However, as the Court need not consider EMILY’s List’s potential future activities in resolving the legal questions dispositive on the pending cross-motions for summary judgment, the Court declines to do so. D. Procedural History As noted above, the challenged regulations went into effect on January 1, 2005, and EMILY’s List filed its Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction on January 12, 2005. The Court denied EMILY’s List’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction in a Memorandum Opinion and Order dated February 25, 2005, which was affirmed by the D.C. Circuit on appeal on December 22, 2005. See PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d 43; Emily’s List v. FEC, 170 Fed.Appx. 719 (D.C.Cir.2005). In the interim, the parties briefed cross-motions for summary judgment. After those cross-motions were fully briefed, on June 25, 2007, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life. On July 12, 2007, the Court denied the parties’ initial cross-motions for summary judgment without prejudice and ordered the parties to file revised briefing that accurately reflected the state of the law. See 7/12/07 Order, Docket No. [29], Briefing on the parties’ revised cross-motions is now ripe and, in addition, the Court has received an ami-cus brief filed by Senators John McCain and Russell Feingold, Representative Christopher Shays, Democracy 21, and the Campaign Legal Center in opposition to Plaintiffs revised motion for summary judgment. II. LEGAL STANDARD A party is entitled to summary judgment if the pleadings, depositions, and affidavits demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact in dispute and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Tao v. Freeh, 27 F.3d 635, 638 (D.C.Cir.1994). In ruling upon a motion for summary judgment, the Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Bayer v. United States Dep’t of Treasury, 956 F.2d 330, 333 (D.C.Cir.1992). Furthermore, in ruling on cross-motions for summary judgment, the court shall grant summary judgment only if one of the moving parties is entitled to judgment as a matter of law upon material facts that are not genuinely disputed. See Rhoads v. McFerran, 517 F.2d 66, 67 (2d Cir.1975); Long v. Gaines, 167 F.Supp.2d 75, 85 (D.D.C.2001). Each moving party discharges its burden to support its motion by “informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of ‘the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any’ which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celo-tex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)). In opposing a motion for summary judgment, a party must “go beyond the pleadings and by [its] own affidavits, or by the ‘depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,’ designate ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ ” Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. III. DISCUSSION In addressing the pending cross-motions, the Court first — as it must — considers the Commission’s argument that EMILY’s List lacks standing to bring its claims. After concluding that EMILY’s List has standing, the Court turns to the merits of EMILY’s List’s First Amendment and APA claims, in that order. Although EMILY’s List brings separate claims under the First Amendment and the APA, which require the Court to apply very different forms of analysis, the parties’s briefs (particularly those of the FEC) do not clearly delineate their arguments as to each claim and do not engage in the precise First Amendment analysis required and discussed below. This imprecision greatly complicates the Court’s task in evaluating the parties’ arguments. Nevertheless, the Court has attempted to parse the parties’ briefs to discern which arguments relate to each claim. Ultimately, the Court finds, for the reasons discussed below, that the Commission is entitled to Summary Judgment on all of EMILY’s List’s claims. A. Standing As an Article III court, this Court’s judicial power is limited to adjudicating actual “cases” and “controversies.” Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 750, 104 S.Ct. 3315, 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984). “In an attempt to give meaning to Article Ill’s case-or-eontroversy requirement, the courts have developed a series of principles termed ‘justiciability doctrines,’ among which are standing[,] ripeness, mootness, and the political question doctrine.” Nat’l Treasury Employees Union v. United States, 101 F.3d 1423, 1427 (D.C.Cir.1996) (citing Allen, 468 U.S. at 750, 104 S.Ct. 3315). These doctrines incorporate both the prudential elements, which “Congress is free to override,” id. (quoting Fair Employment Council of Greater Wash., Inc. v. BMC Mktg. Corp., 28 F.3d 1268, 1278 (D.C.Cir.1994)) (internal quotations omitted), and “core eomponent[s]” which are “essential and unchanging part[s] of the case-or-controversy requirement of Article III,” id. (quoting Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) (internal quotations omitted)). In order to satisfy the constitutional standing requirements, a plaintiff must establish that he or she has (1) suffered an injury in fact, which is concrete and particularized and actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical, (2) which is fairly traceable to the challenged act, and (3) is likely to be redressed by a favorable decision. Id. The Commission focuses its standing argument on the injury-in-fact element, asserting that EMILY’s List has not been required to alter its practices as a result of the new 50% federal funds minimum requirement for administrative expenses at 11 C.F.R. § 106.6(c) because it is undisputed that in the ten years proceeding the new regulations, EMILY’s List never reported less than a 50% federal to nonfed-eral ratio, and EMILY’s List has not proffered evidence that it plans to significantly alter its spending practices. FEC MSJ at 13. The Commission also argues that EMILY’s List suffers no injury-in-fact as a result of the allocation and solicitation regulations because they do not prohibit EMILY’s List “from engaging in electoral speech or in any of the other campaign activities listed in the regulations” and “impose no expenditure ceiling.” Id. at 13-14. As discussed in greater detail below, and as this Court previously concluded in its Memorandum Opinion denying EMILY’s List’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, “the new rules do not in fact prevent Plaintiff from engaging in whatever political speech it seeks to undertake.” PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d at 58. As such, the Court rejects EMILY’s List’s assertions that it “has been forced to alter its communications.” Pl.’s MSJ at 10. Nevertheless, the Court finds that EMILY’s List has demonstrated an injury-in-fact insofar as it has actually altered its communications in light of the new regulations. Specifically, EMILY’s List has proffered a specific solicitation, discussed above, that includes references to both clearly identified federal candidates and to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, see Pl.’s MSJ at 10-12 & Attach. A, and Ms. Cocanour’s Declaration establishes that the reference to Governor Napolitano in that solicitation “was included solely so that some funds could be treated as non-federal contributions, for use in local and state elections.” Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 39; Cocan-our Decl. ¶21. EMILY’s List has also proffered the five ballot initiative advertisements discussed above, and established that it “would have preferred to include a reference to a clearly identified federal candidate in these advertisements to endorse the ballot initiatives” but declined to do so because it would have required EMILY’s List to fund the advertisements entirely with federal funds in light of the lack of reference to a clearly identified nonfed-eral candidate. Pl.’s MSJ at 12-14 & Attach. B; Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 45; Cocanour Decl. ¶ 27. At the summary judgment stage, “the plaintiff [may not] rest on ... ‘mere allegations,’ but must ‘set forth’ by affidavit or other evidence ‘specific facts,’ which for the purposes of the summary judgment motion will be taken to be true.” Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). Here, Ms. Cocanour’s Declaration sufficiently establishes that EMILY’s List has ordered its conduct, in ways it otherwise would not have, in order to comply with the new allocation and solicitation regulations. As such, EMILY’s List has established an injury-in-fact, suffered as a result of 11 C.F.R. §§ 100.57 and 106.6(D, which would be alleviated if the regulations were invalidated. EMILY’s List thus has standing to challenge 11 C.F.R. §§ 100.57 and 106.605. Cf. Becker v. FEC, 230 F.3d 381, 386 (1st Cir.2000) (concluding that “an impact on the strategy and conduct of an office-seeker’s political campaign constitutes an injury of a kind sufficient to confer standing.”) (quoting Vote Choice Inc. v. DiStefano, 4 F.3d 26, 37 (1st Cir.1993)). As to the 50% minimum allocation requirement for administrative expenses and generic voter drives contained in revised 11 C.F.R. § 106.6(c), EMILY’s List does not dispute its past allocation ratios and thus does not attempt to argue that it has suffered an injury-in-fact by virtue of significantly altering its allocation ratios. EMILY’s List Reply at 4. Instead, EMILY’s List asserts that it would — if permitted by the regulations — pay for certain administrative expenses, such as its Campaign Corps program, with more nonfederal funds than federal funds. Id. As discussed above, EMILY’s List’s description of its Campaign Corps program lacks sufficient detail to establish — as EMILY’s List asserts — that the program has a “predominantly nonfederal purpose.” See Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 31. Nevertheless, Ms. Cocanour’s Declaration is sufficient to establish that EMILY’s List has ordered its funding for the Campaign Corps program, in a way it otherwise would not have, based on the allocation regulation. As such, the Court finds that EMILY’s List has established an injury-in-fact stemming from, and thus its standing to challenge, the regulation. While the Court’s discussion above establishes that EMILY’s List has standing to challenge the new allocation and solicitation regulations on its own behalf, EMILY’s List does not bring an as-applied challenge. Instead, EMILY’s List brings a facial challenge to the rules, asserting that it may do so “[u]nder the First Amendment overbreadth doctrine” because “an individual whose own speech or conduct may be prohibited is permitted to challenge a statute on its face ‘because it also threatens others not before the court-those who desire to engage in legally protected expression but who may refrain from doing so rather than risk prosecution or undertake to have the law declared partially invalid.’ ” Pl.’s MSJ at 10 (quoting Bd. of Airport Comm’rs of City of Los Angeles v. Jews for Jesus, Inc., 482 U.S. 569, 574, 107 S.Ct. 2568, 96 L.Ed.2d 500 (1987) (quoting Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc., 472 U.S. 491, 503, 105 S.Ct. 2794, 86 L.Ed.2d 394 (1985))). The Commission contests this assertion, arguing — albeit not strenuously— that EMILY’s List lacks standing to bring a facial challenge because the overbreadth doctrine only applies where “there is a realistic danger that the statute itself will significantly compromise recognized First Amendment protections of parties not before the Court.” FEC MSJ at 14-15 (quoting City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent, 466 U.S. 789, 801-02, 104 S.Ct. 2118, 80 L.Ed.2d 772 (1984)). The Commission is correct that EMILY’s List’s Statement of Material Facts does not include specific allegations of First Amendment injuries suffered by parties not before the Court as a result of the regulations at issue in this case. This failing, however, goes more to EMILY’s List’s ability- — discussed in detail below— to meet the high standard required to demonstrate that a regulation is unconstitutional on its face. To the extent that EMILY’s List has altered its conduct in order to comply with the regulations, other political committees likely have as well and, insofar as EMILY’s List could establish that the regulations violate the First Amendment, their mere existence would “significantly compromise recognized First Amendment protections of parties not before the Court.” Taxpayers for Vincent, 466 U.S. at 801-02, 104 S.Ct. 2118. EMILY’s List certainly could have, and should have, proffered more evidence of how it asserts the revised regulations have impacted or will impact the First Amendment freedoms of others not before the Court, as its showing in that respect is weak. Nevertheless, in the context of free speech, litigants “are permitted to challenge a statute not because their own rights of free expression are violated, but because of a judicial prediction or assumption that the statute’s very existence may cause others not before the court to refrain from constitutionally protected speech or expression.” Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 612, 93 S.Ct. 2908, 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973). Although it is a close call, the Court finds that this principle is sufficient to tilt the balance, and concludes that EMILY’s List has standing to assert its facial challenge to the regulations. The Court therefore turns to the merits of that claim. B. First Amendment EMILY’s List’s First Amendment claim is premised on its assertion that “[i]t is unable, without risking enforcement action by the FEC, to conduct [its] nonfederal activities without complying with draconian federal financing rules.” PL’s MSJ at 15. In order to assess the validity of this claim, the Court must reach some initial conclusions regarding the type of activity EMILY’s List asserts is affected by the revised regulations and the resulting level of scrutiny to be applied to EMILY’s List’s First Amendment claim. The Court also addresses at the outset the general applicability of the Supreme Court’s decision in Wisconsin Right to Life to EMILY’s List’s facial overbreadth challenge. These initial considerations are essential to framing the Court’s consideration of EMILY’s List’s First Amendment claim. 1. The Revised Allocation and New Contribution Regulations Are Contribution Limits, Subject to Lesser Scrutiny Since Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 612, 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976), the Supreme Court has subjected limits on campaign contributions to lesser scrutiny than the “strict scrutiny” applied to restrictions on campaign expenditures. See Buckley, 424 U.S. at 19, 96 S.Ct. 612; McConnell, 540 U.S. at 134-36, 124 S.Ct. 619; FEC v. Beaumont, 539 U.S. 146, 161, 123 S.Ct. 2200, 156 L.Ed.2d 179 (2003); Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, 528 U.S. 377, 387-88, 120 S.Ct. 897, 145 L.Ed.2d 886 (2000). In so doing, the Supreme Court has “recognized that contribution limits, unlike limits on expenditures, ‘entail only a marginal restriction upon the contributor’s ability to engage in free communication.’ ” McConnell, 540 U.S. at 134-35, 124 S.Ct. 619 (quoting Buckley, 424 U.S. at 20, 96 S.Ct. 612; citing Beaumont, 539 U.S. at 151, 123 S.Ct. 2200; Shrink Missouri, 528 U.S. at 386-88, 120 S.Ct. 897). In addition, contribution limits do not pose the same danger to associational rights as expenditure restrictions because the “ ‘overall effect’ of dollar limits on contributions is ‘merely to require candidates and political committees to raise funds from a greater number of persons.” Id. at 136, 124 S.Ct. 619 (quoting Buckley, 424 U.S. at 21-22, 96 S.Ct. 612). As a result, the Supreme Court has concluded that “contribution limits impose serious burdens on free speech only if they are so low as to ‘prevent candidates and political committees from amassing the resources necessary for effective advocacy.’ ” Id. at 135, 124 S.Ct. 619 (quoting Buckley, 424 U.S. at 21, 96 S.Ct. 612) (alterations omitted). Therefore, as opposed to expenditure limits — which must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest, see Beaumont, 539 U.S. at 162, 123 S.Ct. 2200 — a contribution limit is “valid if it satisfies the ‘lesser demand’ of being ‘closely drawn’ to match a ‘sufficiently important interest.’ ” McConnell, 540 U.S. at 136, 124 S.Ct. 619 (quoting Beaumont, 539 U.S. at 162, 123 S.Ct. 2200 (quoting Shrink Missouri, 528 U.S. at 387-88, 120 S.Ct. 897)). EMILY’s List does not dispute that contribution limits are subject to lesser scrutiny, Pl.’s MSJ at 19, and concedes that such lesser scrutiny applies to the solicitation regulation it challenges, 11 C.F.R. § 100.57, because the rule dictates whether funds received must be treated as contributions under FECA, id. at 28-29. In contrast, however, EMILY’s List maintains that the allocation regulations, 11 C.F.R. § 106.6(c) and (f), are subject to strict scrutiny because they are restrictions on speech and nonfederal election activity. See id. at 18-20. EMILY’s List’s arguments are belied by this Court’s findings in denying EMILY’s List’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, as well as by the Supreme Court’s analysis of allocation regulations applicable to state and local parties in McConnell. First, to the extent that EMILY’s List suggests that the allocation regulations compel it to engage in, or refrain from, certain speech, the Court previously rejected such a claim, finding that the new rules do not in fact prevent Plaintiff from engaging in whatever political speech it seeks to undertake. While under the new allocation rule, committees such as EMILY’s List are required to fund certain types of communications using at least 50 percent federal funds, this does not limit their right to undertake their desired political expression. In considering contribution limits in Buckley, the Supreme Court held that “the overall effect of [FECA] contribution ceilings is merely to require candidates and political committees to raise funds from a greater number of persons.” Buckley, 424 U.S. at 21-22, 96 S.Ct. 612. Indeed, the same rationale is applicable to Plaintiffs present situation; Plaintiff is free to undertake the same political speech as before, but may be required to raise money from a greater number of donors [in light of the contribution limits applicable to political committees under FECA]. PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d at 58. The Court’s prior analysis holds true. While the allocation regulations at issue in this case may affect the manner in which EMILY’s List must fund the speech in which it chooses to engage, they do not in any way limit the political speech that EMILY’s List may undertake. Moreover, as the FEC correctly highlights, in McConnell, the Supreme Court analyzed and upheld BCRA’s restrictions — including allocation regulations — on the solicitation and spending of nonfederal funds by political parties. See 540 U.S. at 138-40, 124 S.Ct. 619. In so doing, the Supreme Court applied lesser scrutiny because the challenged regulations had “only a marginal impact on the ability of contributors, candidates, and parties to engage in effective political speech.” Id. at 138, 124 S.Ct. 619. The Supreme Court also explicitly rejected a claim that strict scrutiny applied to the regulations because they “restrictfed] not only contributions but also the spending and solicitation of funds raised outside of FECA’s contribution limits,” stating that “for purposes of determining the level of scrutiny, it is irrelevant that Congress chose [ ] to regulate contributions on the demand rather than the supply side.” Id. (citing FEC v. National Right to Work Comm., 459 U.S. 197, 206-11, 103 S.Ct. 552, 74 L.Ed.2d 364 (1982)). According to the Supreme Court, “[t]he relevant inquiry is whether the mechanism adopted to implement the contribution limit, or to prevent circumvention of that limit, burdens speech in a way that a direct restriction on the contribution itself would not,” but that was “not the case” for BCRA’s restrictions on the use of nonfed-eral funds by political parties. Id. at 138-39, 124 S.Ct. 619. The Supreme Court’s description of the restrictions on political parties at issue in McConnell demonstrates that its analysis is equally applicable in the instant case: in McConnell, the Supreme Court explained that although BCRA’s restrictions prohibited political parties from spending nonfed-eral funds on federal election activities, they did not limit the total amount of money parties could spend on such activities. Id. at 139, 124 S.Ct. 619 (citing 2 U.S.C. §§ 441i(a),(b)). “Rather, they simply limit[ed] the source and individual amount of donations. That they [did] so by prohibiting the spending of soft money [did] not render them expenditure limitations.” Id. So too, here; EMILY’s List may spend as much as it wants on the election activities regulated by 11 C.F.R. § 106.6, but may simply be required to fund all or part those activities with federal funds. EMILY’s List attempts to distinguish McConnell’s analysis by asserting that the Supreme Court in that case “was only passing judgment on the use of [soft] money in connection with federal elections, and so the ban on nonfederal funds acted only as a contribution limit.” Pl.’s MSJ at 19. According to EMILY’s List, the instant case is different because the revised allocation regulation impinges on EMILY’s List’s ability to engage in nonfederal election activity using nonfederal funds. Id. This assertion gets to the heart of a key dispute between the parties in this action: EMILY’s List characterizes the activities it seeks to fund with soft money as “wholly” or “purely” related to state and local elections, see PL’s Reply at 1, 14, while the FEC maintains that the activities regulated by the revised allocation rules are “mixed purpose” activities that influence both federal and state or local elections, see FEC Reply at 6. For the reasons set forth below, the Court concludes that the FEC has the better of this argument. FECA defines a contribution as “any gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money or anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office.” 2 U.S.C. § 431(8) (emphasis added). Under FECA, contributions must be made with federal funds, but “[d]onations made solely for the purpose of influencing state or local elections are [ ] unaffected by FECA’s requirements and prohibitions.” McConnell, 540 U.S. at 122, 124 S.Ct. 619. FECA does not dictate how political committees are to fund mixed purposes activities, i.e., those activities that influence both federal and state or local elections, and prior to the passage of BCRA, “questions arose concerning the treatment of contributions intended to influence both federal and state elections.” Id. at 123, 124 S.Ct. 619. “Although a literal reading of FECA’s definition of ‘contribution’ would have required such activities to be funded with hard money, the FEC ruled that political parties [as well as political committees, like EMILY’s List] could fund mixed-purpose activities ... in part with soft money” through allocation. Id. (emphasis added). This same reading of FECA’s statutory language was embraced by Judge Thomas A. Flannery in Common Cause v. FEC, 692 F.Supp. 1391 (D.D.C.1987). See PI Mem. Op., 362 F.Supp.2d at 55. Specifically, Judge Flannery found that the FEC had the authority to determine what method of allocation to use, if any, for mixed purpose activities, stating, “[i]ndeed, it is possible that the Commission may conclude that no method of allocation will effectuate the Congressional goal that all money spent by state political committees on [certain] activities permitted in the 1979 amendments [to FECA] be ‘hard money under the FECA.’ ” 692 F.Supp. at 1396. While Judge Flannery was considering the applicability of allocation regulations to state party committees in Common Cause, as this Court previously found when it adopted Judge Flannery’s reasoning in denying EMILY’s List’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, “Judge Flannery’s reasoning with respect to the FEC’s authority to regulate allocation methods is equally applicable in the instant context” to political committees such as EMILY’s List. PI Mem. Op. at 56 n. 9. The Court sees no reason to revisit the conclusion that the FEC acts within its discretion in adjusting the allocation formulas applicable to mixed purpose activities. This conclusion, however, does not end the analysis; instead, it again begs the question of whether the activities EMILY’s List claims are affected by the revised allocation regulations are, in fact, wholly nonfederal, as EMILY’s List maintains