Presidential Debate Reform Act

Summary: Presidential Debate Reform Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to direct the President to establish a Presidential Debate Commission (Commission) six months before each general election for the offices of President and Vice President beginning with the general election in 2000.  Directs the Commission to establish: (1) one preliminary debate; (2) not more than two vice presidential debates; and (3) not fewer than two nor more than four presidential debates. 
Authorizes appropriations. 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the amount of Federal payments for a party's nominating convention for the following general election if the party's nominee for President or Vice President does not certify to the Commission that the nominee will participate in all applicable Commission debates (other than a preliminary debate).

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Debate Reform Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE COMMISSION.

    Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

                    ``presidential debate commission

    ``Sec. 323. (a) Establishment.--Not later than 6 months before the 
date of each general election for the offices of President and Vice 
President of the United States (beginning with the general election 
held in 2000), the President shall appoint a Presidential Debate 
Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as the `Commission') 
in accordance with this section with respect to such election.
    ``(b) Membership.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall be composed of 3 
        members appointed by the President as follows:
                    ``(A) 1 member shall be from among a list of 
                nominees submitted by the chair of the Republican 
                National Committee.
                    ``(B) 1 member shall be from among a list of 
                nominees submitted by the chair of the Democratic 
                National Committee.
                    ``(C) 1 member (who shall not be a member of the 
                Republican or Democratic Parties) shall be from among a 
                list of nominees submitted jointly by the chairs of the 
                Republican National Committee and the Democratic 
                National Committee.
            ``(2) Qualifications.--Members of the Commission may be 
        from the public or private sector, and may include Federal, 
        State, or local officers or employees, members of academia, 
        nonprofit organizations, or other interested individuals.
            ``(3) Vacancies.--Any vacancy shall be filled in the same 
        manner as the original appointment not later than 10 days after 
        the vacancy occurs.
            ``(4) Compensation.--Members of the Commission shall 
        receive no compensation for service on the Commission, but 
        shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
        subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 
        under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
        Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business 
        in the performance of service for the Commission.
    ``(c) Powers; Meetings.--Except as provided in subsection (d), 
decisions made by the Commission shall be made by unanimous consent of 
the commissioners. The Commission shall meet at a time and a site 
agreed upon by each of the members.
    ``(d) Staff.--
            ``(1) Executive director.--With the approval of the 
        majority of the Commission's members and without regard to the 
        provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 
        appointments in the competitive service, the Commission shall 
        appoint an executive director, who shall be paid at a rate not 
        to exceed the rate of basic pay payable for level V of the 
        Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 
        Code.
            ``(2) Other personnel.--With the approval of the majority 
        of the Commission's members, the Commission may appoint a 
        secretarial assistant and such other staff as the Commission 
        considers appropriate, without regard to the provisions of 
        title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the 
        competitive service and without regard to the provisions of 
        chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title 
        relating to classifications and General Schedule pay rates, 
        except that the rate of pay for any such personnel may not 
        exceed 75 percent of the rate of pay for the Executive 
        Director.
            ``(3) Temporary and intermittent services.--The Commission 
        may procure temporary and intermittent services to the same 
        extent as is authorized by section 3109(b) of title 5, United 
        States Code.
    ``(e) Duties.--It shall be the duty of the Commission to establish 
a schedule of debates in accordance with subsection (f) as follows:
            ``(1) One preliminary debate.
            ``(2) Not more than 2 Vice Presidential debates.
            ``(3) Not less than 2 or more than 4 Presidential debates.
    ``(f) Debates Described.--
            ``(1) Preliminary debates.--A preliminary debate shall take 
        place no sooner than 90 days and no later than 60 days before a 
        Presidential election. The time and place of the preliminary 
        debate shall be announced by the Commission no later than 14 
        days before the scheduled preliminary debate. A preliminary 
        debate shall involve any person who has declared himself a 
        candidate for the position of President of the United States 
        who is either on the ballot in all 50 States or is the choice 
        of 5 percent of likely voters to be President of the United 
        States, as determined by the Commission. Factors to be taken 
        into account include nationally recognized polling data. The 
        format shall be decided by the Commission. The attendance by 
        any candidate at the preliminary debate is optional.
            ``(2) Vice presidential debates.--Vice Presidential debates 
        shall take place at least 7 days following the preliminary 
        debate. The time and date of all Vice Presidential debates 
        shall be announced no later than 14 days prior to the first 
        Vice Presidential debate. All Vice Presidential debates shall 
        involve persons who are the Vice Presidential candidates to 
        qualified Presidential candidates described in paragraph (4). 
        The format of debates shall be decided by the Commission.
            ``(3) Presidential debates.--Presidential debates shall 
        take place no sooner than 7 days following the preliminary 
        debate. The time and date of all qualified debates shall be 
        announced no later than 21 days prior to the first scheduled 
        qualified debate. The format of debates shall be decided by the 
        Commission, with at least 1 being of the single moderator 
        format. Presidential debates shall involve persons who are 
        qualified Presidential candidates described in paragraph (4).
            ``(4) Qualified presidential candidate defined.--In this 
        subsection, a `qualified Presidential candidate' is a candidate 
        for President of the United States who is the choice of not 
        less than 5 percent of likely voters, to be determined by the 
        Commission taking into account only the polling data collected 
        no sooner than 1 day after the conclusion of the preliminary 
        debate.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to each Commission appointed under this section such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out its activities with respect to the 
election involved.
    ``(h) Termination.--Each Commission appointed under this section 
shall terminate on the date following the day of the election for which 
the Commission was appointed.''.

SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN AMOUNT OF FEDERAL PAYMENTS FOR PARTY CONVENTIONS 
              OF PARTIES NOT PARTICIPATING IN COMMISSION DEBATES.

    Section 9008 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i) Reduction in Payments for Parties Not Participating in 
Debates Certified by Presidential Debate Commission.--
            ``(1) In general.--If the nominee for President of the 
        United States or Vice President of the United States of a party 
        receiving payments under this section does not certify to the 
        Commission that the nominee will participate in all applicable 
        debates scheduled by the Presidential Debate Commission 
        pursuant to section 323 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
        1971 with respect to a general election (other than a 
        preliminary debate described in section 323(f)(1) of such Act), 
        the amount of the payment to which the party is otherwise 
        entitled under this section for the nominating convention for 
        the following general election shall be reduced by the 
        percentage described in paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Reduction percentage described.--The percentage 
        described in this paragraph with respect to a party is the 
        amount (expressed as a percentage) equal to--
                    ``(A) the number of Presidential and Vice 
                Presidential debates scheduled by the Presidential 
                Debate Commission with respect to an election that the 
                party's nominee did not attend; divided by
                    ``(B) the total number of such debates scheduled by 
                the Commission with respect to the election.''.