II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 443 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, 

Super PACs and other entities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. LEAHY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

REED, Mr. CARPER, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Mr. CARDIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, 

Mr. TESTER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. COONS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SCHATZ, 

Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. KING, 

Mr. KAINE, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. PETERS, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. SMITH, Ms. 

ROSEN, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. OSSOFF, 

and Mr. WARNOCK) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, Super PACs and other 

entities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spend4 ing in Elections Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘DISCLOSE Act 

5 of 2021’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—CLOSING LOOPHOLES ALLOWING SPENDING BY 

FOREIGN NATIONALS IN ELECTIONS 

Sec. 101. Clarification of prohibition on participation by foreign nationals in 

election-related activities. 

Sec. 102. Clarification of application of foreign money ban to certain disbursements and activities. 

Sec. 103. Audit and report on illicit foreign money in Federal elections. 

Sec. 104. Prohibition on contributions and donations by foreign nationals in 

connections with ballot initiatives and referenda. 

Sec. 105. Disbursements and activities subject to foreign money ban. 

Sec. 106. Prohibiting establishment of corporation to conceal election contributions and donations by foreign nationals. 

TITLE II—REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENTS 

Sec. 201. Reporting of campaign-related disbursements. 

Sec. 202. Application of foreign money ban to disbursements for campaign-related disbursements consisting of covered transfers. 

Sec. 203. Effective date. 

TITLE III—STAND BY EVERY AD 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Stand By Every Ad. 

Sec. 303. Disclaimer requirements for communications made through 

prerecorded telephone calls. 

Sec. 304. No expansion of persons subject to disclaimer requirements on internet communications. 

Sec. 305. Effective date. 

TITLE IV—OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS 

Sec. 401. Petition for certiorari. 

Sec. 402. Judicial review of actions related to campaign finance laws. 

TITLE V—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Severability. 


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1 TITLE I—CLOSING LOOPHOLES 

2 ALLOWING SPENDING BY 

3 FOREIGN NATIONALS IN 

4 ELECTIONS 

5 SEC. 101. CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITION ON PARTICIPA6 TION BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN ELECTION7 RELATED ACTIVITIES. 

8 (a) CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITION.—Section 

9 319(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

10 U.S.C. 30121(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

12 (1); 

13 (2) by striking the period at the end of para14 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) a foreign national to direct, dictate, con18 trol, or directly or indirectly participate in the deci19 sion making process of any person (including a cor20 poration, labor organization, political committee, or 

21 political organization) with regard to such person’s 

22 Federal or non-Federal election-related activity, in23 cluding any decision concerning the making of con24 tributions, donations, expenditures, or disbursements 

25 in connection with an election for any Federal, 


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1 State, or local office or any decision concerning the 

2 administration of a political committee.’’. 

3 (b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.—Section 319 

4 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE REQUIRED

7 PRIOR TO CARRYING OUT ACTIVITY.—Prior to the mak8 ing in connection with an election for Federal office of any 

9 contribution, donation, expenditure, independent expendi10 ture, or disbursement for an electioneering communication 

11 by a corporation, labor organization (as defined in section 

12 316(b)), limited liability corporation, or partnership dur13 ing a year, the chief executive officer of the corporation, 

14 labor organization, limited liability corporation, or part15 nership (or, if the corporation, labor organization, limited 

16 liability corporation, or partnership does not have a chief 

17 executive officer, the highest ranking official of the cor18 poration, labor organization, limited liability corporation, 

19 or partnership), shall file a certification with the Commis20 sion, under penalty of perjury, that a foreign national did 

21 not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indirectly partici22 pate in the decision making process relating to such activ23 ity in violation of subsection (a)(3), unless the chief execu24 tive officer has previously filed such a certification during 

25 that calendar year.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 

3 180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act, and shall take effect without regard to whether 

5 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

6 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

7 SEC. 102. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN 

8 MONEY BAN TO CERTAIN DISBURSEMENTS 

9 AND ACTIVITIES. 

10 (a) APPLICATION TO DISBURSEMENTS TO SUPER

11 PACS AND OTHER PERSONS.—Section 319(b) of the Fed12 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

15 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and by 

16 moving such subparagraphs 2 ems to the right; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘As used in this section’’ and in18 serting the following: ‘‘DEFINITIONS.—For purposes 

19 of this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) FOREIGN NATIONAL.—The term’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION AND DONATION.—For pur24 poses of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), 

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1 bursement to a political committee which accepts do2 nations or contributions that do not comply with any 

3 of the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re4 quirements of this Act (or any disbursement to or on 

5 behalf of any account of a political committee which 

6 is established for the purpose of accepting such do7 nations or contributions), or to any other person for 

8 the purpose of funding an expenditure, independent 

9 expenditure, or electioneering communication (as de10 fined in section 304(f)(3)).’’. 

11 (b) CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH CORPORATE PACS

12 MAY MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.—Sec13 tion 316(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30118(b)) is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(8) A separate segregated fund established by a cor16 poration may not make a contribution or expenditure dur17 ing a year unless the fund has certified to the Commission 

18 the following during the year: 

19 ‘‘(A) Each individual who manages the fund, 

20 and who is responsible for exercising decisionmaking 

21 authority for the fund, is a citizen of the United 

22 States or is lawfully admitted for permanent resi23 dence in the United States. 

24 ‘‘(B) No foreign national under section 319 

25 participates in any way in the decisionmaking procVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S443.IS S443

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1 esses of the fund with regard to contributions or ex2 penditures under this Act. 

3 ‘‘(C) The fund does not solicit or accept rec4 ommendations from any foreign national under sec5 tion 319 with respect to the contributions or expend6 itures made by the fund. 

7 ‘‘(D) Any member of the board of directors of 

8 the corporation who is a foreign national under sec9 tion 319 abstains from voting on matters concerning 

10 the fund or its activities.’’. 

11 SEC. 103. AUDIT AND REPORT ON ILLICIT FOREIGN MONEY 

12 IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 

14 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is 

15 amended by inserting after section 319 the following new 

16 section: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 319A. AUDIT AND REPORT ON DISBURSEMENTS BY 

18 FOREIGN NATIONALS. 

19 ‘‘(a) AUDIT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con21 duct an audit after each Federal election cycle to de22 termine the incidence of illicit foreign money in such 

23 Federal election cycle. 

24 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.—In carrying out paragraph 

25 (1), the Commission shall conduct random audits of 


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1 any disbursements required to be reported under 

2 this Act, in accordance with procedures established 

3 by the Commission. 

4 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the end 

5 of each Federal election cycle, the Commission shall sub6 mit to Congress a report containing— 

7 ‘‘(1) results of the audit required by subsection 

8 (a)(1); 

9 ‘‘(2) an analysis of the extent to which illicit 

10 foreign money was used to carry out disinformation 

11 and propaganda campaigns focused on depressing 

12 turnout among rural communities and the success or 

13 failure of these efforts, together with recommenda14 tions to address these efforts in future elections; 

15 ‘‘(3) an analysis of the extent to which illicit 

16 foreign money was used to carry out disinformation 

17 and propaganda campaigns focused on depressing 

18 turnout among African-American and other minority 

19 communities and the success or failure of these ef20 forts, together with recommendations to address 

21 these efforts in future elections; 

22 ‘‘(4) an analysis of the extent to which illicit 

23 foreign money was used to carry out disinformation 

24 and propaganda campaigns focused on influencing 

25 military and veteran communities and the success or 


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1 failure of these efforts, together with recommenda2 tions to address these efforts in future elections; and 

3 ‘‘(5) recommendations to address the presence 

4 of illicit foreign money in elections, as appropriate. 

5 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal election cycle’ means 

7 the period which begins on the day after the date of 

8 a regularly scheduled general election for Federal of9 fice and which ends on the date of the first regularly 

10 scheduled general election for Federal office held 

11 after such date. 

12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘illicit foreign money’ means any 

13 disbursement by a foreign national (as defined in 

14 section 319(b)) prohibited under such section.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

16 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the Federal elec17 tion cycle that began during November 2020, and each 

18 succeeding Federal election cycle. 

19 SEC. 104. PROHIBITION ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONA20 TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN CONNEC21 TIONS WITH BALLOT INITIATIVES AND 

22 REFERENDA. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 319(b) of the Federal 

24 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)), as 


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1 amended by section 102(a), is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL ELECTION.— 

4 The term ‘Federal, State, or local election’ includes 

5 a State or local ballot initiative or referendum.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

7 this section shall apply with respect to elections held in 

8 2022 or any succeeding year. 

9 SEC. 105. DISBURSEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO 

10 FOREIGN MONEY BAN. 

11 (a) DISBURSEMENTS DESCRIBED.—Section 

12 319(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

13 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 

15 (B); and 

16 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) an expenditure; 

19 ‘‘(D) an independent expenditure; 

20 ‘‘(E) a disbursement for an electioneering 

21 communication (within the meaning of section 

22 304(f)(3)); 

23 ‘‘(F) a disbursement for a communication 

24 which is placed or promoted for a fee on a 

25 website, web application, or digital application 


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1 that refers to a clearly identified candidate for 

2 election for Federal office and is disseminated 

3 within 60 days before a general, special or run4 off election for the office sought by the can5 didate or 30 days before a primary or pref6 erence election, or a convention or caucus of a 

7 political party that has authority to nominate a 

8 candidate for the office sought by the can9 didate; 

10 ‘‘(G) a disbursement for a broadcast, cable 

11 or satellite communication, or for a communica12 tion which is placed or promoted for a fee on 

13 a website, web application, or digital applica14 tion, that promotes, supports, attacks or op15 poses the election of a clearly identified can16 didate for Federal, State, or local office (re17 gardless of whether the communication contains 

18 express advocacy or the functional equivalent of 

19 express advocacy); 

20 ‘‘(H) a disbursement for a broadcast, 

21 cable, or satellite communication, or for any 

22 communication which is placed or promoted for 

23 a fee on an online platform, that discusses a 

24 national legislative issue of public importance in 

25 a year in which a regularly scheduled general 


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1 election for Federal office is held, but only if 

2 the disbursement is made by a foreign principal 

3 who is a government of a foreign country or a 

4 foreign political party or an agent of such a for5 eign principal under the Foreign Agents Reg6 istration Act of 1938, as amended; 

7 ‘‘(I) a disbursement by a foreign principal 

8 who is a government of a foreign country or a 

9 foreign political party, or an agent of such a 

10 foreign principal under the Foreign Agents 

11 Registration Act of 1938, as amended, to com12 pensate any person for internet activity that 

13 promotes, supports, attacks or opposes the elec14 tion of a clearly identified candidate for Fed15 eral, State, or local office (regardless of whether 

16 the activity contains express advocacy or the 

17 functional equivalent of express advocacy); and 

18 ‘‘(J) a disbursement for a Federal judicial 

19 nomination communication (as defined in sec20 tion 324(d)(3)).’’. 

21 (b) ONLINE PLATFORM.—Section 319(b) of such Act 

22 (51 U.S.C. 30121(b)), as amended by sections 102(a) and 

23 104, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 

25 ‘‘(4) ONLINE PLATFORM.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘online plat2 form’ means any public-facing website, web ap3 plication, or digital application (including a so4 cial network, ad network, or search engine) 

5 which— 

6 ‘‘(i) sells qualified political advertise7 ments; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) has 50,000,000 or more unique 

9 monthly United States visitors or users for 

10 a majority of months during the preceding 

11 12 months. 

12 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED POLITICAL ADVERTISE13 MENT.—The term ‘qualified political advertise14 ment’ means any advertisement (including 

15 search engine marketing, display advertise16 ments, video advertisements, native advertise17 ments, and sponsorships) that— 

18 ‘‘(i) is made by or on behalf of a can19 didate; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) communicates a message relating 

21 to any political matter of national impor22 tance, including— 

23 ‘‘(I) a candidate; 

24 ‘‘(II) any election to Federal of25 fice; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) a national legislative issue 

2 of public importance.’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall apply with respect to disbursements 

5 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 106. PROHIBITING ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORATION 

7 TO CONCEAL ELECTION CONTRIBUTIONS 

8 AND DONATIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS. 

9 (a) PROHIBITION.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United 

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘§ 612. Establishment of corporation to conceal elec13 tion contributions and donations by for14 eign nationals 

15 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for an owner, 

16 officer, attorney, or incorporation agent of a corporation, 

17 company, or other entity to establish or use the corpora18 tion, company, or other entity with the intent to conceal 

19 an activity of a foreign national (as defined in section 319 

20 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

21 30121)) prohibited under such section 319. 

22 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection 

23 (a) shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, fined 

24 under this title, or both.’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

2 chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to section 611 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘612. Establishment of corporation to conceal election contributions and donations by foreign nationals.’’. 

5 TITLE II—REPORTING OF CAM6 PAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE7 MENTS 

8 SEC. 201. REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE9 MENTS. 

10 (a) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CORPORA11 TIONS, LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, AND CERTAIN OTHER

12 ENTITIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 324 of the Federal 

14 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30126) 

15 is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 324. DISCLOSURE OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE17 MENTS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS. 

18 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any covered organization 

20 that makes campaign-related disbursements aggre21 gating more than $10,000 in an election reporting 

22 cycle shall, not later than 24 hours after each disclo23 sure date, file a statement with the Commission 


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1 made under penalty of perjury that contains the in2 formation described in paragraph (2)— 

3 ‘‘(A) in the case of the first statement filed 

4 under this subsection, for the period beginning 

5 on the first day of the election reporting cycle 

6 (or, if earlier, the period beginning one year be7 fore the first such disclosure date) and ending 

8 on the first such disclosure date; and 

9 ‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent state10 ment filed under this subsection, for the period 

11 beginning on the previous disclosure date and 

12 ending on such disclosure date. 

13 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa14 tion described in this paragraph is as follows: 

15 ‘‘(A) The name of the covered organization 

16 and the principal place of business of such or17 ganization and, in the case of a covered organi18 zation that is a corporation (other than a busi19 ness concern that is an issuer of a class of secu20 rities registered under section 12 of the Securi21 ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l) or 

22 that is required to file reports under section 

23 15(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 78o(d))) or an en24 tity described in subsection (e)(2), a list of the 


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1 beneficial owners (as defined in paragraph 

2 (4)(A)) of the entity that— 

3 ‘‘(i) identifies each beneficial owner by 

4 name and current residential or business 

5 street address; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) if any beneficial owner exercises 

7 control over the entity through another 

8 legal entity, such as a corporation, partner9 ship, limited liability company, or trust, 

10 identifies each such other legal entity and 

11 each such beneficial owner who will use 

12 that other entity to exercise control over 

13 the entity. 

14 ‘‘(B) The amount of each campaign-related 

15 disbursement made by such organization during 

16 the period covered by the statement of more 

17 than $1,000, and the name and address of the 

18 person to whom the disbursement was made. 

19 ‘‘(C) In the case of a campaign-related dis20 bursement that is not a covered transfer, the 

21 election to which the campaign-related disburse22 ment pertains and if the disbursement is made 

23 for a public communication, the name of any 

24 candidate identified in such communication and 


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1 whether such communication is in support of or 

2 in opposition to a candidate. 

3 ‘‘(D) A certification by the chief executive 

4 officer or person who is the head of the covered 

5 organization that the campaign-related dis6 bursement is not made in cooperation, consulta7 tion, or concert with or at the request or sug8 gestion of a candidate, authorized committee, or 

9 agent of a candidate, political party, or agent of 

10 a political party. 

11 ‘‘(E)(i) If the covered organization makes 

12 campaign-related disbursements using exclu13 sively funds in a segregated bank account con14 sisting of funds that were paid directly to such 

15 account by persons other than the covered orga16 nization that controls the account, for each 

17 such payment to the account— 

18 ‘‘(I) the name and address of each 

19 person who made such payment during the 

20 period covered by the statement; 

21 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 

22 payment; and 

23 ‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 

24 such payments made by the person during 

25 the period beginning on the first day of the 


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1 election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

2 period beginning one year before the dis3 closure date) and ending on the disclosure 

4 date, 

5 but only if such payment was made by a person 

6 who made payments to the account in an aggre7 gate amount of $10,000 or more during the pe8 riod beginning on the first day of the election 

9 reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the period begin10 ning one year before the disclosure date) and 

11 ending on the disclosure date. 

12 ‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2022, sec13 tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de14 scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 

15 such section applies to the limitations estab16 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 

17 (a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 

18 purposes of applying such section to the 

19 amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 

20 period’ shall be calendar year 2022. 

21 ‘‘(F)(i) If the covered organization makes 

22 campaign-related disbursements using funds 

23 other than funds in a segregated bank account 

24 described in subparagraph (E), for each pay25 ment to the covered organization— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the name and address of each 

2 person who made such payment during the 

3 period covered by the statement; 

4 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 

5 payment; and 

6 ‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 

7 such payments made by the person during 

8 the period beginning on the first day of the 

9 election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

10 period beginning one year before the dis11 closure date) and ending on the disclosure 

12 date, 

13 but only if such payment was made by a person 

14 who made payments to the covered organization 

15 in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more 

16 during the period beginning on the first day of 

17 the election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

18 period beginning one year before the disclosure 

19 date) and ending on the disclosure date. 

20 ‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2022, sec21 tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de22 scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 

23 such section applies to the limitations estab24 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 

25 (a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 


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1 purposes of applying such section to the 

2 amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 

3 period’ shall be calendar year 2022. 

4 ‘‘(G) Such other information as required in 

5 rules established by the Commission to promote 

6 the purposes of this section. 

7 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) AMOUNTS RECEIVED IN ORDINARY

9 COURSE OF BUSINESS.—The requirement to in10 clude in a statement filed under paragraph (1) 

11 the information described in paragraph (2) 

12 shall not apply to amounts received by the cov13 ered organization in commercial transactions in 

14 the ordinary course of any trade or business 

15 conducted by the covered organization or in the 

16 form of investments (other than investments by 

17 the principal shareholder in a limited liability 

18 corporation) in the covered organization. For 

19 purposes of this subparagraph, amounts re20 ceived by a covered organization as remittances 

21 from an employee to the employee’s collective 

22 bargaining representative shall be treated as 

23 amounts received in commercial transactions in 

24 the ordinary course of the business conducted 

25 by the covered organization. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DONOR RESTRICTION ON USE OF

2 FUNDS.—The requirement to include in a state3 ment submitted under paragraph (1) the infor4 mation described in subparagraph (F) of para5 graph (2) shall not apply if— 

6 ‘‘(i) the person described in such sub7 paragraph prohibited, in writing, the use of 

8 the payment made by such person for cam9 paign-related disbursements; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the covered organization agreed 

11 to follow the prohibition and deposited the 

12 payment in an account which is segregated 

13 from any account used to make campaign14 related disbursements. 

15 ‘‘(C) THREAT OF HARASSMENT OR RE16 PRISAL.—The requirement to include any infor17 mation relating to the name or address of any 

18 person (other than a candidate) in a statement 

19 submitted under paragraph (1) shall not apply 

20 if the inclusion of the information would subject 

21 the person to serious threats, harassment, or 

22 reprisals. 

23 ‘‘(4) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

24 this section: 

25 ‘‘(A) BENEFICIAL OWNER DEFINED.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro2 vided in clause (ii), the term ‘beneficial 

3 owner’ means, with respect to any entity, 

4 a natural person who, directly or indi5 rectly— 

6 ‘‘(I) exercises substantial control 

7 over an entity through ownership, vot8 ing rights, agreement, or otherwise; or 

9 ‘‘(II) has a substantial interest in 

10 or receives substantial economic bene11 fits from the assets of an entity. 

12 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘bene13 ficial owner’ shall not include— 

14 ‘‘(I) a minor child; 

15 ‘‘(II) a person acting as a nomi16 nee, intermediary, custodian, or agent 

17 on behalf of another person; 

18 ‘‘(III) a person acting solely as 

19 an employee of an entity and whose 

20 control over or economic benefits from 

21 the entity derives solely from the em22 ployment status of the person; 

23 ‘‘(IV) a person whose only inter24 est in an entity is through a right of 

25 inheritance, unless the person also 


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1 meets the requirements of clause (i); 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(V) a creditor of an entity, un4 less the creditor also meets the re5 quirements of clause (i). 

6 ‘‘(iii) ANTI-ABUSE RULE.—The excep7 tions under clause (ii) shall not apply if 

8 used for the purpose of evading, circum9 venting, or abusing the provisions of clause 

10 (i) or paragraph (2)(A). 

11 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE DATE.—The term ‘dis12 closure date’ means— 

13 ‘‘(i) the first date during any election 

14 reporting cycle by which a person has 

15 made campaign-related disbursements ag16 gregating more than $10,000; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) any other date during such elec18 tion reporting cycle by which a person has 

19 made campaign-related disbursements ag20 gregating more than $10,000 since the 

21 most recent disclosure date for such elec22 tion reporting cycle. 

23 ‘‘(C) ELECTION REPORTING CYCLE.—The 

24 term ‘election reporting cycle’ means the 2-year 

25 period beginning on the date of the most recent 


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•S 443 IS

1 general election for Federal office, except that 

2 in the case of a campaign-related disbursement 

3 for a Federal judicial nomination communica4 tion, such term means any calendar year in 

5 which the campaign-related disbursement is 

6 made. 

7 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ in8 cludes any contribution, donation, transfer, pay9 ment of dues, or other payment. 

10 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) OTHER REPORTS FILED WITH THE COM12 MISSION.—Information included in a statement filed 

13 under this section may be excluded from statements 

14 and reports filed under section 304. 

15 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT AS SEPARATE SEGREGATED

16 FUND.—A segregated bank account referred to in 

17 subsection (a)(2)(E) may be treated as a separate 

18 segregated fund for purposes of section 527(f)(3) of 

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

20 ‘‘(c) FILING.—Statements required to be filed under 

21 subsection (a) shall be subject to the requirements of sec22 tion 304(d) to the same extent and in the same manner 

23 as if such reports had been required under subsection (c) 

24 or (g) of section 304. 


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1 ‘‘(d) CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT DE2 FINED.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

4 ‘campaign-related disbursement’ means a disburse5 ment by a covered organization for any of the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(A) An independent expenditure which ex8 pressly advocates the election or defeat of a 

9 clearly identified candidate for election for Fed10 eral office, or is the functional equivalent of ex11 press advocacy because, when taken as a whole, 

12 it can be interpreted by a reasonable person 

13 only as advocating the election or defeat of a 

14 candidate for election for Federal office. 

15 ‘‘(B) An applicable public communication. 

16 ‘‘(C) An electioneering communication, as 

17 defined in section 304(f)(3). 

18 ‘‘(D) A Federal judicial nomination com19 munication. 

20 ‘‘(E) A covered transfer. 

21 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘applicable 

23 public communication’ means any public com24 munication that refers to a clearly identified 

25 candidate for election for Federal office and 


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1 which promotes or supports the election of a 

2 candidate for that office, or attacks or opposes 

3 the election of a candidate for that office, with4 out regard to whether the communication ex5 pressly advocates a vote for or against a can6 didate for that office. 

7 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Such term shall not in8 clude any news story, commentary, or editorial 

9 distributed through the facilities of any broad10 casting station or any print, online, or digital 

11 newspaper, magazine, publication, or periodical, 

12 unless such facilities are owned or controlled by 

13 any political party, political committee, or can14 didate. 

15 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL JUDICIAL NOMINATION COMMU16 NICATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Federal ju18 dicial nomination communication’ means any 

19 communication— 

20 ‘‘(i) that is by means of any paid 

21 broadcast, cable, or satellite, paid internet, 

22 or paid digital communication, paid pro23 motion, newspaper, magazine, outdoor ad24 vertising facility, mass mailing, telephone 

25 bank, telephone messaging effort of more 


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1 than 500 substantially similar calls or elec2 tronic messages within a 30-day period, or 

3 any other form of general public political 

4 advertising; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) that is susceptible to no reason6 able interpretation other than promoting, 

7 supporting, attacking, or opposing the 

8 nomination or Senate confirmation of an 

9 individual as a Federal judge or justice. 

10 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Such term shall not in11 clude any news story, commentary, or editorial 

12 distributed through the facilities of any broad13 casting station or any print, online, or digital 

14 newspaper, magazine, publication, or periodical, 

15 unless such facilities are owned or controlled by 

16 any political party, political committee, or can17 didate. 

18 ‘‘(4) INTENT NOT REQUIRED.—A disbursement 

19 for an item described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), 

20 (D), or (E) of paragraph (1) shall be treated as a 

21 campaign-related disbursement regardless of the in22 tent of the person making the disbursement. 

23 ‘‘(e) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this 

24 section, the term ‘covered organization’ means any of the 

25 following: 


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•S 443 IS

1 ‘‘(1) A corporation (other than an organization 

2 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986). 

4 ‘‘(2) A limited liability corporation that is not 

5 otherwise treated as a corporation for purposes of 

6 this Act (other than an organization described in 

7 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986). 

9 ‘‘(3) An organization described in section 

10 501(c) of such Code and exempt from taxation 

11 under section 501(a) of such Code (other than an 

12 organization described in section 501(c)(3) of such 

13 Code). 

14 ‘‘(4) A labor organization (as defined in section 

15 316(b)). 

16 ‘‘(5) Any political organization under section 

17 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other 

18 than a political committee under this Act (except as 

19 provided in paragraph (6)). 

20 ‘‘(6) A political committee with an account that 

21 accepts donations or contributions that do not com22 ply with the contribution limits or source prohibi23 tions under this Act, but only with respect to such 

24 accounts. 

25 ‘‘(f) COVERED TRANSFER DEFINED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

2 ‘covered transfer’ means any transfer or payment of 

3 funds by a covered organization to another person if 

4 the covered organization— 

5 ‘‘(A) designates, requests, or suggests that 

6 the amounts be used for— 

7 ‘‘(i) campaign-related disbursements 

8 (other than covered transfers); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

10 person for the purpose of making or pay11 ing for such campaign-related disburse12 ments; 

13 ‘‘(B) made such transfer or payment in re14 sponse to a solicitation or other request for a 

15 donation or payment for— 

16 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam17 paign-related disbursements (other than 

18 covered transfers); or 

19 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

20 person for the purpose of making or pay21 ing for such campaign-related disburse22 ments; 

23 ‘‘(C) engaged in discussions with the re24 cipient of the transfer or payment regarding— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam2 paign-related disbursements (other than 

3 covered transfers); or 

4 ‘‘(ii) donating or transferring any 

5 amount of such transfer or payment to an6 other person for the purpose of making or 

7 paying for such campaign-related disburse8 ments; 

9 ‘‘(D) made campaign-related disburse10 ments (other than a covered transfer) in an ag11 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

12 2-year period ending on the date of the transfer 

13 or payment, or knew or had reason to know 

14 that the person receiving the transfer or pay15 ment made such disbursements in such an ag16 gregate amount during that 2-year period; or 

17 ‘‘(E) knew or had reason to know that the 

18 person receiving the transfer or payment would 

19 make campaign-related disbursements in an ag20 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

21 2-year period beginning on the date of the 

22 transfer or payment. 

23 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered transfer’ 

24 does not include any of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A disbursement made by a covered 

2 organization in a commercial transaction in the 

3 ordinary course of any trade or business con4 ducted by the covered organization or in the 

5 form of investments made by the covered orga6 nization. 

7 ‘‘(B) A disbursement made by a covered 

8 organization if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the covered organization prohib10 ited, in writing, the use of such disburse11 ment for campaign-related disbursements; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the recipient of the disbursement 

14 agreed to follow the prohibition and depos15 ited the disbursement in an account which 

16 is segregated from any account used to 

17 make campaign-related disbursements. 

18 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING TRANSFERS

19 AMONG AFFILIATES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) SPECIAL RULE.—A transfer of an 

21 amount by one covered organization to another 

22 covered organization which is treated as a 

23 transfer between affiliates under subparagraph 

24 (C) shall be considered a covered transfer by 

25 the covered organization which transfers the 


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1 amount only if the aggregate amount trans2 ferred during the year by such covered organi3 zation to that same covered organization is 

4 equal to or greater than $50,000. 

5 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF

6 CERTAIN PAYMENTS AMONG AFFILIATES.—In 

7 determining the amount of a transfer between 

8 affiliates for purposes of subparagraph (A), to 

9 the extent that the transfer consists of funds 

10 attributable to dues, fees, or assessments which 

11 are paid by individuals on a regular, periodic 

12 basis in accordance with a per-individual cal13 culation which is made on a regular basis, the 

14 transfer shall be attributed to the individuals 

15 paying the dues, fees, or assessments and shall 

16 not be attributed to the covered organization. 

17 ‘‘(C) DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFERS BE18 TWEEN AFFILIATES.—A transfer of amounts 

19 from one covered organization to another cov20 ered organization shall be treated as a transfer 

21 between affiliates if— 

22 ‘‘(i) one of the organizations is an af23 filiate of the other organization; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) each of the organizations is an 

25 affiliate of the same organization, 


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•S 443 IS

1 except that the transfer shall not be treated as 

2 a transfer between affiliates if one of the orga3 nizations is established for the purpose of mak4 ing campaign-related disbursements. 

5 ‘‘(D) DETERMINATION OF AFFILIATE STA6 TUS.—For purposes of subparagraph (C), a 

7 covered organization is an affiliate of another 

8 covered organization if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the governing instrument of the 

10 organization requires it to be bound by de11 cisions of the other organization; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the governing board of the orga13 nization includes persons who are specifi14 cally designated representatives of the 

15 other organization or are members of the 

16 governing board, officers, or paid executive 

17 staff members of the other organization, or 

18 whose service on the governing board is 

19 contingent upon the approval of the other 

20 organization; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) the organization is chartered by 

22 the other organization. 

23 ‘‘(E) COVERAGE OF TRANSFERS TO AF24 FILIATED SECTION 501(c)(3) ORGANIZA25 TIONS.—This paragraph shall apply with reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S443.IS S443

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1 spect to an amount transferred by a covered or2 ganization to an organization described in para3 graph (3) of section 501(c) of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 

5 section 501(a) of such Code in the same man6 ner as this paragraph applies to an amount 

7 transferred by a covered organization to an8 other covered organization. 

9 ‘‘(g) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REPORTING REQUIRE10 MENTS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

11 waive or otherwise affect any other requirement of this 

12 Act which relates to the reporting of campaign-related dis13 bursements.’’. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

15 304(f)(6) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended 

16 by striking ‘‘Any requirement’’ and inserting ‘‘Ex17 cept as provided in section 324(b), any require18 ment’’. 

19 (b) COORDINATION WITH FINCEN.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Finan21 cial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Depart22 ment of the Treasury shall provide the Federal Elec23 tion Commission with such information as necessary 

24 to assist in administering and enforcing section 324 


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•S 443 IS

1 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as 

2 amended by this section. 

3 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman 

5 of the Federal Election Commission, in consultation 

6 with the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforce7 ment Network of the Department of the Treasury, 

8 shall submit to Congress a report with recommenda9 tions for providing further legislative authority to as10 sist in the administration and enforcement of such 

11 section 324. 

12 SEC. 202. APPLICATION OF FOREIGN MONEY BAN TO DIS13 BURSEMENTS FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED DIS14 BURSEMENTS CONSISTING OF COVERED 

15 TRANSFERS. 

16 Section 319(b)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign 

17 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)(A)), as amended by 

18 section 102, is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘includes any disbursement’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘includes— 

21 ‘‘(A) any disbursement’’; 

22 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert23 ing ‘‘; and’’, and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub25 paragraph: 


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•S 443 IS

1 ‘‘(B) any disbursement, other than a dis2 bursement described in section 324(a)(3)(A), to 

3 another person who made a campaign-related 

4 disbursement consisting of a covered transfer 

5 (as described in section 324) during the 2-year 

6 period ending on the date of the disburse7 ment.’’. 

8 SEC. 203. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

9 The amendments made by this title shall apply with 

10 respect to disbursements made on or after January 1, 

11 2022, and shall take effect without regard to whether or 

12 not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

13 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

14 TITLE III—STAND BY EVERY AD 

15 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Stand By Every Ad 

17 Act’’. 

18 SEC. 302. STAND BY EVERY AD. 

19 (a) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

20 CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318 of the Federal 

21 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120) is 

22 amended by adding at the end the the following new sub23 section: 


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1 ‘‘(e) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

2 COMMUNICATIONS NOT AUTHORIZED BY CANDIDATES OR

3 COMMITTEES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (6), any communication described in para6 graph (3) of subsection (a) which is transmitted in 

7 an audio or video format (including an internet or 

8 digital communication), or which is an internet or 

9 digital communication transmitted in a text or 

10 graphic format, shall include, in addition to the re11 quirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (a), the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(A) The individual disclosure statement 

14 described in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 

15 paying for the communication is an individual) 

16 or the organizational disclosure statement de17 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) (if the person pay18 ing for the communication is not an individual). 

19 ‘‘(B) If the communication is transmitted 

20 in a video format, or is an internet or digital 

21 communication which is transmitted in a text or 

22 graphic format, and is paid for in whole or in 

23 part with a payment which is treated as a cam24 paign-related disbursement under section 324— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Top Five Funders list (if ap2 plicable); or 

3 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 

4 which, as determined on the basis of cri5 teria established in regulations issued by 

6 the Commission, is of such short duration 

7 that including the Top Five Funders list in 

8 the communication would constitute a 

9 hardship to the person paying for the com10 munication by requiring a disproportionate 

11 amount of the content of the communica12 tion to consist of the Top Five Funders 

13 list, the name of a website which contains 

14 the Top Five Funders list (if applicable) 

15 or, in the case of an internet or digital 

16 communication, a hyperlink to such 

17 website. 

18 ‘‘(C) If the communication is transmitted 

19 in an audio format and is paid for in whole or 

20 in part with a payment which is treated as a 

21 campaign-related disbursement under section 

22 324— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Top Two Funders list (if ap24 plicable); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 

2 which, as determined on the basis of cri3 teria established in regulations issued by 

4 the Commission, is of such short duration 

5 that including the Top Two Funders list in 

6 the communication would constitute a 

7 hardship to the person paying for the com8 munication by requiring a disproportionate 

9 amount of the content of the communica10 tion to consist of the Top Two Funders 

11 list, the name of a website which contains 

12 the Top Two Funders list (if applicable). 

13 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS DESCRIBED.— 

14 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL DISCLOSURE STATE15 MENTS.—The individual disclosure statement 

16 described in this subparagraph is the following: 

17 ‘I am llllllll, and I approve this 

18 message.’, with the blank filled in with the 

19 name of the applicable individual. 

20 ‘‘(B) ORGANIZATIONAL DISCLOSURE

21 STATEMENTS.—The organizational disclosure 

22 statement described in this subparagraph is the 

23 following: ‘I am llllllll, the 

24 llllllll of llllllll, and 


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•S 443 IS

1 llllllll approves this message.’, 

2 with— 

3 ‘‘(i) the first blank to be filled in with 

4 the name of the applicable individual; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the second blank to be filled in 

6 with the title of the applicable individual; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the third and fourth blank each 

9 to be filled in with the name of the organi10 zation or other person paying for the com11 munication. 

12 ‘‘(3) METHOD OF CONVEYANCE OF STATE13 MENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) COMMUNICATIONS IN TEXT OR

15 GRAPHIC FORMAT.—In the case of a commu16 nication to which this subsection applies which 

17 is transmitted in a text or graphic format, the 

18 disclosure statements required under paragraph 

19 (1) shall appear in letters at least as large as 

20 the majority of the text in the communication. 

21 ‘‘(B) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN

22 AUDIO FORMAT.—In the case of a communica23 tion to which this subsection applies which is 

24 transmitted in an audio format, the disclosure 

25 statements required under paragraph (1) shall 


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•S 443 IS

1 be made by audio by the applicable individual 

2 in a clear and conspicuous manner. 

3 ‘‘(C) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN

4 VIDEO FORMAT.—In the case of a communica5 tion to which this subsection applies which is 

6 transmitted in a video format, the information 

7 required under paragraph (1)— 

8 ‘‘(i) shall appear in writing at the end 

9 of the communication or in a crawl along 

10 the bottom of the communication in a clear 

11 and conspicuous manner, with a reasonable 

12 degree of color contrast between the back13 ground and the printed statement, for a 

14 period of at least 6 seconds; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) shall also be conveyed by an 

16 unobscured, full-screen view of the applica17 ble individual or by the applicable indi18 vidual making the statement in voice-over 

19 accompanied by a clearly identifiable pho20 tograph or similar image of the individual, 

21 except in the case of a Top Five Funders 

22 list. 

23 ‘‘(4) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—The 

24 term ‘applicable individual’ means, with respect to a 

25 communication to which this subsection applies— 


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•S 443 IS

1 ‘‘(A) if the communication is paid for by 

2 an individual, the individual involved; 

3 ‘‘(B) if the communication is paid for by a 

4 corporation, the chief executive officer of the 

5 corporation (or, if the corporation does not have 

6 a chief executive officer, the highest ranking of7 ficial of the corporation); 

8 ‘‘(C) if the communication is paid for by a 

9 labor organization, the highest ranking officer 

10 of the labor organization; and 

11 ‘‘(D) if the communication is paid for by 

12 any other person, the highest ranking official of 

13 such person. 

14 ‘‘(5) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST AND TOP TWO

15 FUNDERS LIST DEFINED.— 

16 ‘‘(A) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST.—The term 

17 ‘Top Five Funders list’ means, with respect to 

18 a communication which is paid for in whole or 

19 in part with a campaign-related disbursement 

20 (as defined in section 324), a list of the five 

21 persons who, during the 12-month period end22 ing on the date of the disbursement, provided 

23 the largest payments of any type in an aggre24 gate amount equal to or exceeding $10,000 to 

25 the person who is paying for the communication 


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•S 443 IS

1 and the amount of the payments each such per2 son provided. If two or more people provided 

3 the fifth largest of such payments, the person 

4 paying for the communication shall select one of 

5 those persons to be included on the Top Five 

6 Funders list. 

7 ‘‘(B) TOP TWO FUNDERS LIST.—The term 

8 ‘Top Two Funders list’ means, with respect to 

9 a communication which is paid for in whole or 

10 in part with a campaign-related disbursement 

11 (as defined in section 324), a list of the persons 

12 who, during the 12-month period ending on the 

13 date of the disbursement, provided the largest 

14 and the second largest payments of any type in 

15 an aggregate amount equal to or exceeding 

16 $10,000 to the person who is paying for the 

17 communication and the amount of the pay18 ments each such person provided. If two or 

19 more persons provided the second largest of 

20 such payments, the person paying for the com21 munication shall select one of those persons to 

22 be included on the Top Two Funders list. 

23 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN PAY24 MENTS.—For purposes of subparagraphs (A) 

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1 ments made by a person to a person paying for 

2 a communication, there shall be excluded the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(i) Any amounts provided in the or5 dinary course of any trade or business con6 ducted by the person paying for the com7 munication or in the form of investments 

8 in the person paying for the communica9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Any payment which the person 

11 prohibited, in writing, from being used for 

12 campaign-related disbursements, but only 

13 if the person paying for the communication 

14 agreed to follow the prohibition and depos15 ited the payment in an account which is 

16 segregated from any account used to make 

17 campaign-related disbursements. 

18 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN COMMU19 NICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) EXCEPTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS

21 PAID FOR BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN

22 POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—This subsection does 

23 not apply to any communication to which sub24 section (d)(2) applies. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF VIDEO COMMUNICA2 TIONS LASTING 10 SECONDS OR LESS.—In the 

3 case of a communication to which this sub4 section applies which is transmitted in a video 

5 format, or is an internet or digital communica6 tion which is transmitted in a text or graphic 

7 format, the communication shall meet the fol8 lowing requirements: 

9 ‘‘(i) The communication shall include 

10 the individual disclosure statement de11 scribed in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 

12 paying for the communication is an indi13 vidual) or the organizational disclosure 

14 statement described in paragraph (2)(B) 

15 (if the person paying for the communica16 tion is not an individual). 

17 ‘‘(ii) The statement described in 

18 clause (i) shall appear in writing at the 

19 end of the communication, or in a crawl 

20 along the bottom of the communication, in 

21 a clear and conspicuous manner, with a 

22 reasonable degree of color contrast between 

23 the background and the printed statement, 

24 for a period of at least 4 seconds. 


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•S 443 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) The communication shall in2 clude, in a clear and conspicuous manner, 

3 a website address with a landing page 

4 which will provide all of the information 

5 described in paragraph (1) with respect to 

6 the communication. Such address shall ap7 pear for the full duration of the commu8 nication. 

9 ‘‘(iv) To the extent that the format in 

10 which the communication is made permits 

11 the use of a hyperlink, the communication 

12 shall include a hyperlink to the website ad13 dress described in clause (iii).’’. 

14 (b) APPLICATION OF EXPANDED REQUIREMENTS TO

15 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CONSISTING OF CAMPAIGN16 RELATED DISBURSEMENTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 318(a) of such Act 

18 (52 U.S.C. 30120(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘for 

19 the purpose of financing communications expressly 

20 advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identi21 fied candidate’’ and inserting ‘‘for a campaign-re22 lated disbursement, as defined in section 324, con23 sisting of a public communication’’. 

24 (2) CLARIFICATION OF EXEMPTION FROM IN25 CLUSION OF CANDIDATE DISCLAIMER STATEMENT IN


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•S 443 IS

1 FEDERAL JUDICIAL NOMINATION COMMUNICA2 TIONS.—Section 318(a)(3) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

3 30120(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘shall state’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘shall (except in the case of a Federal 

5 judicial nomination communication, as defined in 

6 section 324(d)(3)) state’’. 

7 (c) EXCEPTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS PAID FOR BY

8 POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMIT9 TEES.—Section 318(d)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

10 30120(d)(2)) is amended— 

11 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OTHERS’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES’’; 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘Any communication’’ and in14 serting ‘‘(A) Any communication’’; 

15 (3) by inserting ‘‘which (except to the extent 

16 provided in subparagraph (B)) is paid for by a polit17 ical committee (including a political committee of a 

18 political party) and’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

19 (4) by striking ‘‘or other person’’ each place it 

20 appears; and 

21 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(B)(i) This paragraph does not apply to a 

24 communication paid for in whole or in part during 

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1 ment, but only if the covered organization making 

2 the campaign-related disbursement made campaign3 related disbursements (as defined in section 324) ag4 gregating more than $10,000 during such calendar 

5 year. 

6 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i), in determining 

7 the amount of campaign-related disbursements made 

8 by a covered organization during a year, there shall 

9 be excluded the following: 

10 ‘‘(I) Any amounts received by the covered 

11 organization in the ordinary course of any trade 

12 or business conducted by the covered organiza13 tion or in the form of investments in the cov14 ered organization. 

15 ‘‘(II) Any amounts received by the covered 

16 organization from a person who prohibited, in 

17 writing, the organization from using such 

18 amounts for campaign-related disbursements, 

19 but only if the covered organization agreed to 

20 follow the prohibition and deposited the 

21 amounts in an account which is segregated 

22 from any account used to make campaign-re23 lated disbursements.’’. 

24 (d) MODIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

25 FOR CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318(d) of the 


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1 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

2 30120(d)) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘which is transmitted 

5 through radio’’ and inserting ‘‘which is in an 

6 audio format’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘By radio’’ in the heading 

8 and inserting ‘‘Audio format’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘which is transmitted 

11 through television’’ and inserting ‘‘which is in 

12 video format’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘By television’’ in the 

14 heading and inserting ‘‘Video format’’; and 

15 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘transmitted through radio 

17 or television’’ and inserting ‘‘made in audio or 

18 video format’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘through television’’ in the 

20 second sentence and inserting ‘‘in video for21 mat’’. 

22 SEC. 303. DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMUNICA23 TIONS MADE THROUGH PRERECORDED TELE24 PHONE CALLS. 

25 (a) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 318(a) of the Fed2 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

3 30120(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘mailing’’ each 

4 place it appears and inserting ‘‘mailing, telephone 

5 call consisting in substantial part of a prerecorded 

6 audio message’’. 

7 (2) APPLICATION TO COMMUNICATIONS SUB8 JECT TO EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 Section 318(e)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

10 30120(e)(1)), as added by section 302(a), is amend11 ed in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by 

12 striking ‘‘which is transmitted in an audio or video 

13 format’’ and inserting ‘‘which is transmitted in an 

14 audio or video format or which consists of a tele15 phone call consisting in substantial part of a 

16 prerecorded audio message’’. 

17 (b) TREATMENT AS COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED

18 IN AUDIO FORMAT.— 

19 (1) COMMUNICATIONS BY CANDIDATES OR AU20 THORIZED PERSONS.—Section 318(d) of such Act 

21 (52 U.S.C. 30120(d)) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(3) PRERECORDED TELEPHONE CALLS.—Any 

24 communication described in paragraph (1), (2), or 

25 (3) of subsection (a) (other than a communication 


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1 which is subject to subsection (e)) which is a tele2 phone call consisting in substantial part of a 

3 prerecorded audio message shall include, in addition 

4 to the requirements of such paragraph, the audio 

5 statement required under subparagraph (A) of para6 graph (1) or the audio statement required under 

7 paragraph (2) (whichever is applicable), except that 

8 the statement shall be made at the beginning of the 

9 telephone call.’’. 

10 (2) COMMUNICATIONS SUBJECT TO EXPANDED

11 DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.—Section 318(e)(3) of 

12 such Act (52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(3)), as added by sec13 tion 302(a), is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following new subparagraph: 

15 ‘‘(D) PRERECORDED TELEPHONE

16 CALLS.—In the case of a communication to 

17 which this subsection applies which is a tele18 phone call consisting in substantial part of a 

19 prerecorded audio message, the communication 

20 shall be considered to be transmitted in an 

21 audio format.’’. 


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1 SEC. 304. NO EXPANSION OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO DIS2 CLAIMER REQUIREMENTS ON INTERNET 

3 COMMUNICATIONS. 

4 Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this 

5 title may be construed to require any person who is not 

6 required under section 318 of the Federal Election Cam7 paign Act of 1971 to include a disclaimer on communica8 tions made by the person through the internet to include 

9 any disclaimer on any such communications. 

10 SEC. 305. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 The amendments made by this title shall apply with 

12 respect to communications made on or after January 1, 

13 2022, and shall take effect without regard to whether or 

14 not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

15 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

16 TITLE IV—OTHER 

17 ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS 

18 SEC. 401. PETITION FOR CERTIORARI. 

19 Section 307(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign 

20 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30107(a)(6)) is amended by in21 serting ‘‘(including a proceeding before the Supreme 

22 Court on certiorari)’’ after ‘‘appeal’’. 

23 SEC. 402. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ACTIONS RELATED TO CAM24 PAIGN FINANCE LAWS. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Federal Election 

26 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30141 et seq.) is 


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1 amended by inserting after section 406 the following new 

2 section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 407. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 310, if 

5 any action is brought for declaratory or injunctive relief 

6 to challenge, whether facially or as-applied, the constitu7 tionality of any provision of this Act or of chapter 95 or 

8 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or is brought 

9 to with respect to any action of the Commission under 

10 chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

11 the following rules shall apply: 

12 ‘‘(1) The action shall be filed in the United 

13 States District Court for the District of Columbia 

14 and an appeal from the decision of the district court 

15 may be taken to the Court of Appeals for the Dis16 trict of Columbia Circuit. 

17 ‘‘(2) In the case of an action relating to declar18 atory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu19 tionality of a provision, the party filing the action 

20 shall concurrently deliver a copy of the complaint to 

21 the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 

22 Secretary of the Senate. 

23 ‘‘(3) It shall be the duty of the United States 

24 District Court for the District of Columbia, the 

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1 cuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States to 

2 advance on the docket and to expedite to the great3 est possible extent the disposition of the action and 

4 appeal. 

5 ‘‘(b) INTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

6 In any action described in subsection (a) relating to de7 claratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu8 tionality of a provision, any Member of the House of Rep9 resentatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commis10 sioner to the Congress) or Senate shall have the right to 

11 intervene either in support of or opposition to the position 

12 of a party to the case regarding the constitutionality of 

13 the provision. To avoid duplication of efforts and reduce 

14 the burdens placed on the parties to the action, the court 

15 in any such action may make such orders as it considers 

16 necessary, including orders to require interveners taking 

17 similar positions to file joint papers or to be represented 

18 by a single attorney at oral argument. 

19 ‘‘(c) CHALLENGE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Any 

20 Member of Congress may bring an action, subject to the 

21 special rules described in subsection (a), for declaratory 

22 or injunctive relief to challenge, whether facially or as-ap23 plied, the constitutionality of any provision of this Act or 

24 chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) Section 9011 of the Internal Revenue Code 

2 of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 9011. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

4 ‘‘For provisions relating to judicial review of certifi5 cations, determinations, and actions by the Commission 

6 under this chapter, see section 407 of the Federal Election 

7 Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

8 (2) Section 9041 of the Internal Revenue Code 

9 of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 9041. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

11 ‘‘For provisions relating to judicial review of actions 

12 by the Commission under this chapter, see section 407 of 

13 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

14 (3) Section 403 of the Bipartisan Campaign 

15 Reform Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 30110 note) is re16 pealed. 

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall apply to actions brought on or after Jan19 uary 1, 2021. 

20 TITLE V—OTHER PROVISIONS 

21 SEC. 501. SEVERABILITY. 

22 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

23 this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment 

24 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu25 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 


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1 by this Act, and the application of the provisions and 

2 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

3 affected by the holding. 

Æ 


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