The Federal Election Commission's job is to investigate alleged campaign abuses and publish information on campaign contributions by individuals, political action committees and corporations. But critics spanning the ideological spectrum charge the agency takes too long to resolve cases.

For example, the FEC recently dropped a case against George Bush originated during his 1988 presidential campaign because the statute of limitations had run out. It took nine years to complete its audit of John Glenn's 1984 presidential campaign.

Other critics complain that the agency seems to target conservative groups more often than liberal organizations.

• The FEC, which was established by Congress as part of post-Watergate campaign reforms, has a $28 million annual budget and 310 employees -- minuscule by Washington standards.

• It's toothless, and unlike the SEC it can't determine guilt or levy fines, but negotiates penalties with those people or campaigns it determines violated the law.

• Last year, it took the agency an average of 270 days to resolve cases.

• Of the 322 complaints filed alleging illegal activity during the 1996 campaign, about two-thirds were filed between May and November of last year -- and of those, 66 have been closed and 59 are still being investigated.

Some in Congress charge the FEC has a liberal bias when it chooses organizations to pursue. Over the past two decades, for example, the FEC has brought suit against 10 groups. In only three cases were the groups in the liberal camp. The rest were primarily religious, conservative or anti-abortion groups.

Source: Claude R. Marx, "FEC: An Agency With No Teeth?" Investors' Business Daily, June 6, 1997.