[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] voted Wednesday not to exempt online political expression – blogs, emails, and other forms of Internet communication – from campaign finance laws [FEC materials]. Lawmakers had warned that the Internet may have opened up a new loophole for election spending. The House voted 225-182 [roll call vote] for House Resolution 1606 [PDF text], which would have exempted online forms from regulation by the Federal Election Commission [official website], but the margin fell short of the two-thirds majority required for the bill to move forward. The FEC has been instructed by the federal courts [JURIST report] to promulgate rules governing political speech and campaign spending online. AP has more.