Individual contributions to a campaign are limited to $1,000 per election.

"It's difficult for people to remember that their individual contribution is what makes it work," he said.

But now we think that individual contributions are equally important.

Under the old law, individual contributions up to $1,000 were matched two to one.

Years later, individual contributions rose into the millions of dollars.

A candidate would have to raise at least $5,000 from the first $200 of individual contributions.

He reported that the amount of individual contributions "is much larger than it was during a similar campaign we ran in the early 80's."

"They wrote checks that made it look like individual contributions instead of from foreign companies."

Under the new plan, the companies' individual contributions may rise sharply.

More than 80 percent of the fund's operating budget comes from individual contributions.