I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1878

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for public 

funding for House of Representatives elections, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2003

Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on House Administration 

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

provide for public funding for House of Representatives 

elections, 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Campaign Fi5 nancing Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PUBLIC FUNDING FOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTA7 TIVES ELECTIONS. 

8 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following new title: 
2

•HR 1878 IH 

1 ‘‘TITLE V—PUBLIC FUNDING FOR 

2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTA3 TIVES ELECTIONS 

4 ‘‘SEC. 501. QUALIFICATIONS FOR PUBLIC FUNDING. 

5 ‘‘A House of Representatives candidate qualifies for 

6 public funding if, as determined by the Commission—

7 ‘‘(1) at least 6 weeks before the general elec8 tion, the candidate obtains the signatures of 3 per9 cent of the registered voters in the congressional dis10 trict involved; or 

11 ‘‘(2) the candidate is the candidate of a political 

12 party, the candidate of which, in the preceding gen13 eral election, received more than 25 percent of the 

14 vote. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 502. LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS TO QUALI16 FYING HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CAN17 DIDATES. 

18 ‘‘(a) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS REQUIREMENT.—

19 A qualifying House of Representatives candidate may not 

20 accept contributions other than contributions from individ21 uals that total not more than $100 per individual per elec22 tion cycle. 

23 ‘‘(b) IN-STATE CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT.— 

24 With respect to each reporting period for an election, at 

25 least 80 percent of the total sum of contributions accepted 
3

•HR 1878 IH 

1 by a qualifying House of Representatives candidate shall 

2 be from the State in which the congressional district in3 volved is located. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 503. USE OF PUBLIC FUNDING. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A qualifying House of Rep6 resentatives candidate may use public funds only for—

7 ‘‘(1) buying time on radio, cable, or television 

8 broadcast stations; 

9 ‘‘(2) buying rental space on billboards or other 

10 outdoor signs; 

11 ‘‘(3) buying advertising space in magazines, 

12 newspapers, periodicals, and other advertising 

13 media, including theaters, the Internet, and the 

14 worldwide web; 

15 ‘‘(4) payment of the cost of producing adver16 tisements for media referred to in paragraphs (1), 

17 (2), and (3); 

18 ‘‘(5) procurement of computerized campaign 

19 software, voter lists, and other voter contact tools; 

20 ‘‘(6) payment of the cost of printing and mail21 ing campaign literature; 

22 ‘‘(7) payment of the cost of telephone expenses; 

23 ‘‘(8) payment of legal and accounting costs as24 sociated with campaigning; 

25 ‘‘(9) payment of campaign employees’ salaries; 
4

•HR 1878 IH 

1 ‘‘(10) payment of the cost of campaign office 

2 equipment and supplies; and 

3 ‘‘(11) payment of incidental expenses of the 

4 candidate, such as travel and food. 

5 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC EXCLUSION.—A qualifying House of 

6 Representatives candidate may not use public funds under 

7 this title to pay the candidate a salary or personal mort8 gages. 

9 ‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF PUBLIC DISBURSEMENT.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A qualifying House of Rep11 resentatives candidate shall receive public funds 

closely approximating the cost of procuring 21 12 ⁄2

13 hours of television commercial time on local tele14 vision stations in the district’s media markets. 

15 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING AMOUNT.—

16 An exact amount of the funds provided to a can17 didate under this section shall be determined by the 

18 Commission, using—

19 ‘‘(A) the average cost of a media point per 

20 media market, as defined by Arbitron Area of 

21 Dominant Influence, for the 4th quarter of the 

22 preceding calendar year; and

23 ‘‘(B) a multiplier of 5,000 media points. 
5

•HR 1878 IH 

1 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds provided 

2 under this section may be used for any purpose 

3 specified in subsection (a). 

4 ‘‘(d) DISBURSEMENTS.—The Commission shall make 

5 disbursements of public funds under this title upon sub6 mission of evidence that an eligible expense has been in7 curred. No disbursement may be made with respect to an 

8 expense incurred more than 4 months before the election 

9 involved. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 504. MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PUBLIC FUNDING. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The maximum amount of public 

12 funding that a qualifying House of Representatives can13 didate may receive is $750,000. 

14 ‘‘(b) INDEXING.—The amount under subsection (a) 

15 shall be increased as of the beginning of each even-num16 bered calendar year, based on the increase in the price 

17 index determined under section 315(c), except that the 

18 base period shall be calendar year 2003. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 505. TELEVISION DEBATE REQUIREMENT. 

20 ‘‘A qualifying House of Representatives candidate 

21 shall be required to participate in at least 2 televised de22 bates, organized by a bipartisan or nonpartisan group, in 

23 the congressional district media market. 
6

•HR 1878 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 506. REQUIREMENT FOR ACCEPTANCE OF ADVER2 TISING BY RADIO AND TELEVISION STA3 TIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each radio station and each tele5 vision station shall be—

6 ‘‘(1) required to accept orders for advertise7 ments to be paid for under this title until such ad8 vertising constitutes 40 percent of the station’s total 

9 advertising time; and 

10 ‘‘(2) subject to random periodic examination of 

11 advertising charges paid under this title to ensure 

12 that such charges are correct. 

13 ‘‘(b) CONDITION OF LICENSE.—The continuation of 

14 an existing license, the renewal of an expiring license, and 

15 the issuance of a new license under section 307 of the 

16 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 307) shall be 

17 conditioned on the agreement by the licensee to abide by 

18 the provisions of subsection (a)(1). 

19 ‘‘SEC. 507. DEFINITIONS. 

20 ‘‘As used in this title—

21 ‘‘(1) the term ‘House of Representatives can22 didate’ means a candidate for the office of Rep23 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis24 sioner to, the Congress; 

25 ‘‘(2) the term ‘qualifying House of Representa26 tives candidate’ means a House of Representatives 
7

•HR 1878 IH 

1 candidate who qualifies for public funding under this 

2 title; and 

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘congressional district media mar4 ket’ means, with respect to a congressional district, 

5 the media market of that district, as determined 

6 from the licensing records of the Federal Commu7 nications Commission.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

9 (a) REPORTS BY STATE COMMITTEES.—Section 304 

10 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 

11 434) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

12 subsection: 

13 ‘‘(i) FILING OF STATE REPORTS.—In lieu of any re14 port required to be filed by this Act, the Commission may 

15 allow a State committee of a political party to file with 

16 the Commission a report required to be filed under State 

17 law if the Commission determines such reports contain 

18 substantially the same information.’’. 

19 (b) OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

20 (1) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—Section 

21 304(b)(4) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is 

22 amended—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub24 paragraph (H); 
8

•HR 1878 IH 

1 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub2 paragraph (I); and 

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

4 subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(J) in the case of an authorized com6 mittee, disbursements for the primary election, 

7 the general election, and any other election in 

8 which the candidate participates;’’. 

9 (2) NAMES AND ADDRESSES.—Section 

10 304(b)(5)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is 

11 amended—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘within the calendar year’’; 

13 and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and the election to 

15 which the operating expenditure relates’’ after 

16 ‘‘operating expenditure’’. 

17 SEC. 4. REPORTING OF ELECTION ACTIVITY OF PERSONS 

18 OTHER THAN POLITICAL PARTIES. 

19 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

20 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 3(a), is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(j) ELECTION ACTIVITY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN

24 POLITICAL PARTIES.—
9

•HR 1878 IH 

1 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT DESCRIBED.—(A) If any 

2 person to which section 323 does not apply makes 

3 (or obligates to make) disbursements for Federal 

4 election activities (as defined in section 301(20)) in 

5 excess of $2,000, such person shall file a state6 ment—

7 ‘‘(i) on or before the date that is 48 hours 

8 before the disbursements (or obligations) are 

9 made; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of disbursements (or obli11 gations) that are required to be made within 14 

12 days of the election, on or before such 14th day. 

13 ‘‘(B) An additional statement shall be filed each 

14 time additional disbursements aggregating $2,000 

15 are made (or obligated to be made) by a person de16 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF STATEMENT.—Any state18 ment under this section shall be filed with the Sec19 retary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of 

20 Representatives, and the Secretary of State (or 

21 equivalent official) of the State involved, as appro22 priate, and shall contain such information as the 

23 Commission shall prescribe, including whether the 

24 disbursement is in support of, or in opposition to, 1 

25 or more candidates or any political party. The Sec-
10

•HR 1878 IH 

1 retary of the Senate or Clerk of the House of Rep2 resentatives shall, as soon as possible (but not later 

3 than 24 hours after receipt), transmit a statement 

4 to the Commission. Not later than 48 hours after re5 ceipt, the Commission shall transmit the statement 

6 to—

7 ‘‘(A) the candidates or political parties in8 volved; or 

9 ‘‘(B) if the disbursement is not in support 

10 of, or in opposition to, a candidate or political 

11 party, the State committees of each political 

12 party in the State involved. 

13 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS BY COMMISSION.—The 

14 Commission may make its own determination that 

15 disbursements described in paragraph (1) have been 

16 made or are obligated to be made. The Commission 

17 shall notify the candidates or political parties de18 scribed in paragraph (2) not later than 24 hours 

19 after its determination. 

20 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—This subsection shall not 

21 apply to—

22 ‘‘(A) a candidate or a candidate’s author23 ized committees; or 

24 ‘‘(B) an independent expenditure (as de25 fined in section 301(17)).’’. 
11

•HR 1878 IH 

1 SEC. 5. CONTRIBUTIONS THROUGH INTERMEDIARIES AND 

2 CONDUITS. 

3 Section 315(a)(8) of the Federal Election Campaign 

4 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(8)) is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(8) For the purposes of this subsection: 

7 ‘‘(A) Contributions made by a person, either di8 rectly or indirectly, to or on behalf of a particular 

9 candidate, including contributions that are in any 

10 way earmarked or otherwise directed through an 

11 intermediary or conduit to a candidate, shall be 

12 treated as contributions from the person to the can13 didate. If a contribution is made to a candidate 

14 through an intermediary or conduit, the inter15 mediary or conduit shall report the original source 

16 and the intended recipient of the contribution to the 

17 Commission and the intended recipient. 

18 ‘‘(B) Contributions made directly or indirectly 

19 by a person to or on behalf of a particular candidate 

20 through an intermediary or conduit, including con21 tributions arranged to be made by an intermediary 

22 or conduit, shall be treated as contributions from the 

23 intermediary or conduit to the candidate if—

24 ‘‘(i) the contributions made through the 

25 intermediary or conduit are in the form of a 

26 check or other negotiable instrument made pay-
12

•HR 1878 IH 

1 able to the intermediary or conduit rather than 

2 the intended recipient; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the intermediary or conduit is—

4 ‘‘(I) a political committee, a political 

5 party, or an officer, employee, or agent of 

6 either; 

7 ‘‘(II) a person whose activities are re8 quired to be reported under section 4 of 

9 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

10 U.S.C. 1603), the Foreign Agents Reg11 istration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et 

12 seq.), or any successor Federal law requir13 ing a person who is a lobbyist or foreign 

14 agent to report the activities of such per15 son; 

16 ‘‘(III) a person who is prohibited from 

17 making contributions under section 316 or 

18 a partnership; or 

19 ‘‘(IV) an officer, employee, or agent of 

20 a person described in subclause (II) or 

21 (III) acting on behalf of such person. 

22 ‘‘(C) The term ‘contributions arranged to be 

23 made’ includes—

24 ‘‘(i) contributions delivered directly or indi25 rectly to a particular candidate or the can-
13

•HR 1878 IH 

1 didate’s authorized committee or agent by the 

2 person who facilitated the contribution; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) contributions made directly or indi4 rectly to a particular candidate or the can5 didate’s authorized committee or agent that are 

6 provided at a fundraising event sponsored by an 

7 intermediary or conduit described in subpara8 graph (B). 

9 ‘‘(D) This paragraph shall not prohibit—

10 ‘‘(i) fundraising efforts for the benefit of a 

11 candidate that are conducted by another can12 didate or Federal officeholder; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the solicitation by an individual using 

14 the individual’s resources and acting in the in15 dividual’s own name of contributions from other 

16 persons in a manner not described in para17 graphs (B) and (C).’’. 

18 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

19 The amendments made by this Act shall apply with 

20 respect to elections occurring after December 31, 2004.

Æ