CREW [1] has been calling for a functioning FEC for awhile now.  Finally, the Senate has approved the full slate of Commissioners, but don't expect any decisions anytime soon [2]:

“The FEC moves at a snail’s pace,” said Richard Hasen, an election law expert a Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “People think the FEC wakes up in the morning and just starts issuing rules on things it doesn’t like,” Hasen added. “It just doesn’t work like that.”

The commission has been unable to issue rulings since January due to a standoff between the White House and Senate Democrats over nominees that left it without a working quorum. But the decision last month by former Republican Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky to withdraw his nomination quickly ended the deadlock.

The Senate confirmed five nominees Tuesday. An FEC spokesman said they will be sworn in within days.

With one holdover commissioner, Democrat Ellen Weintraub, and five new ones, the commission faces pressure to hit the ground running.

The Democratic National Committee has filed a complaint with the FEC charging McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, committed himself to remaining in the public financing system through August by using the prospect of having the money as collateral for a loan. As a result, McCain has broken the law by spending private funds, the DNC charged.

A spokeswoman said a related DNC lawsuit filed Tuesday aims to “make it clear this issue should be at the top of the FEC’s agenda.”

McCain’s camp calls the lawsuit a publicity stunt. FEC watchers agree that while the DNC complaint may help highlight the candidate’s maneuvering around laws he has championed, the commission almost certainly will not take a step that affects McCain’s chances before November.

“There is little chance they are going to do anything to hurt a presidential candidate,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.