In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

May 23, 2006.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 2349) entitled ‘‘An Act to provide greater transparency in the legislative process’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENTS:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006’’ 

4 and ‘‘527 Reform Act of 2006’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

Sec. 101. Quarterly filing of lobbying disclosure reports. 

Sec. 102. Electronic filing of lobbying registrations and disclosure reports. 

Sec. 103. Public database of lobbying disclosure information. 

Sec. 104. Disclosure by registered lobbyists of past executive branch and congressional employment. 

Sec. 105. Disclosure of lobbyist contributions and gifts. 

Sec. 106. Increased penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. 

Sec. 107. Penalties for offering gifts. 

TITLE II—SLOWING THE REVOLVING DOOR 

Sec. 201. Notification of post-employment restrictions. 

Sec. 202. Disclosure by Members of the House of Representatives of employment 

negotiations. 

Sec. 203. Wrongfully influencing, on a partisan basis, an entity’s employment decisions or practices. 
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TITLE III—SUSPENSION OF PRIVATELY-FUNDED TRAVEL; CURBING 

LOBBYIST GIFTS 

Sec. 301. Pre-certification of privately funded travel. 

Sec. 302. Recommendations from the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 

on gifts. 

Sec. 303. Prohibiting registered lobbyists on corporate flights. 

Sec. 304. Valuation of tickets to sporting and entertainment events. 

TITLE IV—OVERSIGHT OF LOBBYING AND ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 401. Audits of lobbying reports by House Inspector General. 

Sec. 402. House Inspector General review and annual reports. 

TITLE V—INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS 

Sec. 501. Earmarking reform. 

Sec. 502. Mandatory ethics training for House employees. 

Sec. 503. Biennial publication of ethics manual. 

TITLE VI—FORFEITURE OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS 

Sec. 601. Loss of pensions accrued during service as a Member of Congress for 

abusing the public trust. 

TITLE VII—LEADERSHIP PACS 

Sec. 701. Restrictions on disposition of funds by leadership PACS. 

TITLE VIII—ETHICS TRAINING FOR LOBBYISTS 

Sec. 801. Ethics training for lobbyists. 

TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 901. Bribery. 

TITLE X—527 REFORM ACT OF 2006

Sec. 1001. Short title. 

Sec. 1002. Treatment of section 527 organizations. 

Sec. 1003. Rules for allocation of expenses between Federal and non-Federal activities. 

Sec. 1004. Repeal of limit on amount of party expenditures on behalf of candidates in general elections. 

Sec. 1005. Construction. 

Sec. 1006. Judicial review. 

Sec. 1007. Effective date.
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1 TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING 

2 DISCLOSURE 

3 SEC. 101. QUARTERLY FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

4 REPORTS. 

5 (a) QUARTERLY FILING REQUIRED.—Section 5 of the 

6 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (in this title referred to 

7 as the ‘‘Act’’) (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SEMI10 ANNUAL’’ and inserting ‘‘QUARTERLY’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘45’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’; 

12 (C) by striking ‘‘the semiannual period’’ 

13 and all that follows through ‘‘July of each year’’ 

14 and insert ‘‘the quarterly period beginning on 

15 the first day of January, April, July, and Octo16 ber of each year’’; and 

17 (D) by striking ‘‘such semiannual period’’ 

18 and insert ‘‘such quarterly period’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

21 by striking ‘‘semiannual report’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘quarterly report’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘semi24 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

25 period’’; 
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1 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘semi2 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe3 riod’’; and 

4 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘semi5 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

6 period’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 3(10) of the Act (2 

9 U.S.C. 1602(10)) is amended by striking ‘‘six month 

10 period’’ and inserting ‘‘3-month period’’. 

11 (2) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act (2 

12 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

13 (A) in subsection (a)(3)(A), by striking 

14 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

15 period’’; and 

16 (B) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by striking 

17 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

18 period’’. 

19 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 6(6) of the Act (2 

20 U.S.C. 1605(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘semiannual 

21 period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly period’’. 

22 (4) ESTIMATES.—Section 15 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

23 1610) is amended— 
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1 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘semi2 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe3 riod’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘semi5 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe6 riod’’. 

7 (5) DOLLAR AMOUNTS.— 

8 (A) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act (2 

9 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

10 (i) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), by strik11 ing ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500’’; 

12 (ii) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii), by 

13 striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; 

14 (iii) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by strik15 ing ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; and 

16 (iv) in subsection (b)(4), by striking 

17 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

18 (B) REPORTS.—Section 5(c) of the Act (2 

19 U.S.C. 1604(c)) is amended— 

20 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

21 ‘‘$10,000’’ and ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘$5,000’’ and ‘‘$1,000’’, respectively; and 

23 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 

24 ‘‘$10,000’’ both places such term appears 

25 and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 
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1 SEC. 102. ELECTRONIC FILING OF LOBBYING REGISTRA2 TIONS AND DISCLOSURE REPORTS. 

3 (a) REGISTRATIONS.—Section 4 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

4 1603) is amended—

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 

6 (e); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.—A registration 

10 required to be filed under this section on or after the date 

11 of enactment of the Lobbying Accountability and Trans12 parency Act of 2006 shall be filed in electronic form, in 

13 addition to any other form that may be required by the 

14 Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Rep15 resentatives. The due date for a registration filed in elec16 tronic form shall be no later than the due date for a reg17 istration filed in any other form.’’. 

18 (b) REPORTS.—Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604) 

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A report required to be filed 

22 under this section shall be filed in electronic form, in 

23 addition to any other form that may be required by 

24 the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House 

25 of Representatives. The due date for a report filed in 

26 electronic form shall be no later than the due date for 
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1 a report filed in any other form, except as provided 

2 in paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE IN ELEC4 TRONIC FORM.—The Secretary of the Senate or the 

5 Clerk of the House of Representatives may establish a 

6 later due date for the filing of a report in electronic 

7 form by a registrant, if and only if—

8 ‘‘(A) on or before the original due date, the 

9 registrant—

10 ‘‘(i) timely files the report in every 

11 form required, other than electronic form; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) makes a request for such a later 

14 due date to the Secretary or the Clerk, as 

15 the case may be; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the request is supported by good cause 

17 shown.’’. 

18 SEC. 103. PUBLIC DATABASE OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE IN19 FORMATION. 

20 (a) DATABASE REQUIRED.—Section 6 of the Act (2 

21 U.S.C. 1605) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

23 end; 

24 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period and 

25 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(9) maintain, and make available to the public 

3 over the Internet, without a fee or other access charge, 

4 in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable manner, 

5 an electronic database that— 

6 ‘‘(A) includes the information contained in 

7 registrations and reports filed under this Act; 

8 ‘‘(B) directly links the information it con9 tains to the information disclosed in reports filed 

10 with the Federal Election Commission under sec11 tion 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

12 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434); and 

13 ‘‘(C) is searchable and sortable, at a min14 imum, by each of the categories of information 

15 described in sections 4(b) and 5(b).’’. 

16 (b) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Section 6(4) of the 

17 Act is amended by inserting before the semicolon the fol18 lowing: ‘‘and, in the case of a registration filed in electronic 

19 form pursuant to section 4(d) or a report filed in electronic 

20 form pursuant to section 5(d), shall make such registration 

21 or report (as the case may be) available for public inspec22 tion over the Internet not more than 48 hours after the reg23 istration or report (as the case may be) is approved as re24 ceived by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the 

25 House of Representatives (as the case may be)’’. 
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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

2 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec3 essary to carry out paragraph (9) of section 6 of the Act, 

4 as added by subsection (a) of this section. 

5 SEC. 104. DISCLOSURE BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS OF PAST 

6 EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND CONGRESSIONAL 

7 EMPLOYMENT. 

8 Section 4(b)(6) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6)) is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting ‘‘7 years’’. 

10 SEC. 105. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYIST CONTRIBUTIONS AND 

11 GIFTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(b) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

13 1604(b)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

15 semicolon; 

16 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 

17 inserting a semicolon; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) for each registrant (and for any political 

20 committee, as defined in 301(4) of the Federal Elec21 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(4)), affili22 ated with the registrant), and for each employee listed 

23 as a lobbyist by the registrant under paragraph 

24 (2)(C), the name of each Federal candidate or office25 holder, and of each leadership PAC, political party 
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1 committee, or other political committee to whom a 

2 contribution was made which is required to be re3 ported to the Federal Election Commission by the re4 cipient, and the date and amount of such contribu5 tion; 

6 ‘‘(6) the date, recipient, and amount of any gift 

7 that under the Rules of the House of Representatives 

8 counts towards the cumulative annual limit described 

9 in such rules and is given to a covered legislative 

10 branch official by the registrant or an employee listed 

11 as a lobbyist by the registrant under paragraph 

12 (2)(C); and 

13 ‘‘(7) the date, recipient, and amount of funds 

14 contributed by the registrant or an employee listed as 

15 a lobbyist by the registrant under paragraph (2)(C)—

16 ‘‘(A) to, or on behalf of, an entity that is 

17 named for a covered legislative branch official, or 

18 to a person or entity in recognition of such offi19 cial; or 

20 ‘‘(B) to an entity established, financed, 

21 maintained, or controlled by a covered legislative 

22 branch official; 

23 except that this paragraph shall not apply to any 

24 payment or reimbursement made from funds required 
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1 to be reported under section 304 of the Federal Elec2 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434).’’. 

3 (b) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED TO DETERMINE RE4 LATIONSHIP BETWEEN OFFICIALS AND OTHER ENTI5 TIES.—Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604), as amended 

6 by section 102(b) of this Act, is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(e) FACTORS TO DETERMINE RELATIONSHIP BE9 TWEEN OFFICIALS AND OTHER ENTITIES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In determining under sub11 section (b)(7)(B) whether a covered legislative branch 

12 official directly or indirectly established, finances, 

13 maintains, or controls an entity, the factors described 

14 in paragraph (2) shall be examined in the context of 

15 the overall relationship between that covered official 

16 and the entity to determine whether the presence of 

17 any such factor or factors is evidence that the covered 

18 official directly or indirectly established, finances, 

19 maintains, or controls the entity. 

20 ‘‘(2) FACTORS.—The factors referred to in para21 graph (1) include, but are not limited to, the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(A) Whether the covered official, directly or 

24 through its agent, owns a controlling interest in 

25 the voting stock or securities of the entity. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Whether the covered official, directly or 

2 through its agent, has the authority or ability to 

3 direct or participate in the governance of the en4 tity through provisions of constitutions, bylaws, 

5 contracts, or other rules, or through formal or in6 formal practices or procedures. 

7 ‘‘(C) Whether the covered official, directly or 

8 through its agent, has the authority or ability to 

9 hire, appoint, demote, or otherwise control the of10 ficers or other decisionmaking employees or 

11 members of the entity. 

12 ‘‘(D) Whether the covered official has a com13 mon or overlapping membership with the entity 

14 that indicates a formal or ongoing relationship 

15 between the covered official and the entity. 

16 ‘‘(E) Whether the covered official has com17 mon or overlapping officers or employees with 

18 the entity that indicates a formal or ongoing re19 lationship between the covered official and the 

20 entity. 

21 ‘‘(F) Whether the covered official has any 

22 members, officers, or employees who were mem23 bers, officers, or employees of the entity that in24 dicates a formal or ongoing relationship between 
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1 the covered official and the entity, or that indi2 cates the creation of a successor entity. 

3 ‘‘(G) Whether the covered official, directly 

4 or through its agent, provides funds or goods in 

5 a significant amount or on an ongoing basis to 

6 the entity, such as through direct or indirect 

7 payments for administrative, fundraising, or 

8 other costs. 

9 ‘‘(H) Whether the covered official, directly 

10 or through its agent, causes or arranges for funds 

11 in a significant amount or on an ongoing basis 

12 to be provided to the entity. 

13 ‘‘(I) Whether the covered official, directly or 

14 through its agent, had an active or significant 

15 role in the formation of the entity. 

16 ‘‘(J) Whether the covered official and the en17 tity have similar patterns of receipts or disburse18 ments that indicate a formal or ongoing rela19 tionship between the covered official and the en20 tity.’’. 

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3 of the Act 

22 (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing new paragraphs: 

24 ‘‘(17) GIFT.—The term ‘gift’ means a gratuity, 

25 favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, for-
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1 bearance, or other item having monetary value. The 

2 term includes gifts of services, training, and meals, 

3 whether provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, 

4 payment in advance, or reimbursement after the ex5 pense has been incurred. 

6 ‘‘(18) LEADERSHIP PAC.—The term ‘leadership 

7 PAC’ means, with respect to an individual holding 

8 Federal office, an unauthorized political committee 

9 (as defined in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

10 1971) which is associated with such individual.’’. 

11 SEC. 106. INCREASED PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 

12 WITH LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIRE13 MENTS. 

14 Section 7 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1606) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

16 CIVIL PENALTY.—Whoever’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly and 

22 willfully fails to comply with any provision of this 

23 Act shall be imprisoned not more than 3 years, or 

24 fined under title 18, United States Code, or both. 
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1 ‘‘(2) CORRUPTLY.—Whoever knowingly, willfully, 

2 and corruptly fails to comply with any provision of 

3 this Act shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, 

4 or fined under title 18, United States Code, or both.’’. 

5 SEC. 107. PENALTIES FOR OFFERING GIFTS. 

6 Section 7 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1606), as amended by 

7 section 106, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(c) PENALTIES FOR OFFERING GIFTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is—

10 ‘‘(A) a lobbyist registered under this Act, 

11 ‘‘(B) a lobbyist who is an employee of an 

12 organization registered under this Act, or 

13 ‘‘(C) the client of any such lobbyist or orga14 nization, 

15 and who offers to a covered legislative branch official 

16 of the House of Representatives any gift, knowing that 

17 such gift violates the rules of the House of Representa18 tives, shall, upon proof thereof by a preponderance of 

19 the evidence, be subject to a civil fine of not more 

20 than $50,000. 

21 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

22 ‘covered legislative branch official of the House of 

23 Representatives’ means—

24 ‘‘(A) a Representative in, or Delegate or 

25 Resident Commissioner to, the Congress; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) an employee of, or any other indi2 vidual functioning in the capacity of an em3 ployee of—

4 ‘‘(i) an individual described in sub5 paragraph (A); 

6 ‘‘(ii) a committee of the House of Rep7 resentatives; 

8 ‘‘(iii) the leadership staff of the House 

9 of Representatives; 

10 ‘‘(iv) a joint committee of Congress; or 

11 ‘‘(v) a working group or caucus orga12 nized to provide legislative services to indi13 viduals described in subparagraph (A).’’. 

14 TITLE II—SLOWING THE 

15 REVOLVING DOOR 

16 SEC. 201. NOTIFICATION OF POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRIC17 TIONS. 

18 Section 207(e) of title 18, United States Code, is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(8) NOTIFICATION OF POST-EMPLOYMENT RE21 STRICTIONS.—After a Member of the House of Rep22 resentatives or an elected officer of the House of Rep23 resentatives leaves office, or after the termination of 

24 employment with the House of Representatives of an 

25 employee of the House of Representatives covered 
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1 under paragraph (2), (3), or (4), the Clerk of the 

2 House of Representatives, after consultation with the 

3 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, shall in4 form the Member, officer, or employee of the beginning 

5 and ending date of the prohibitions that apply to the 

6 Member, officer, or employee under this subsection, 

7 and also inform each office of the House of Represent8 atives with respect to which such prohibitions apply 

9 of those dates.’’. 

10 SEC. 202. DISCLOSURE BY MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF 

11 REPRESENTATIVES OF EMPLOYMENT NEGO12 TIATIONS. 

13 The Code of Official Conduct set forth in rule XXIII 

14 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 

15 redesignating clause 14 as clause 15 and by inserting after 

16 clause 13 the following new clause: 

17 ‘‘14. (a) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Com18 missioner shall file with the Committee on Standards 

19 of Official Conduct a statement that he or she is nego20 tiating compensation for prospective employment or 

21 has any arrangement concerning prospective employ22 ment if a conflict of interest or the appearance of a 

23 conflict of interest may exist. Such statement shall be 

24 made within 5 days (other than Saturdays, Sundays, 
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1 or public holidays) after commencing the negotiation 

2 for compensation or entering into the arrangement. 

3 ‘‘(b) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commis4 sioner should refrain from voting on any legislative 

5 measure pending before the House or any committee 

6 thereof if the negotiation described in subparagraph 

7 (a) may create a conflict of interest.’’. 

8 SEC. 203. WRONGFULLY INFLUENCING, ON A PARTISAN 

9 BASIS, AN ENTITY’S EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS 

10 OR PRACTICES. 

11 The Code of Official Conduct set forth in rule XXIII 

12 of the Rules of the House of Representatives (as amended 

13 by section 202) is further amended by redesignating clause 

14 15 as clause 16 and by inserting after clause 14 the fol15 lowing new clause: 

16 ‘‘15. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commis17 sioner, officer, or employee of the House may not, 

18 with the intent to influence on the basis of political 

19 party affiliation an employment decision or employ20 ment practice of any private or public entity (except 

21 for the Congress)—

22 ‘‘(a) take or withhold, or offer or threaten to 

23 take or withhold, an official act; or 

24 ‘‘(b) influence, or offer or threaten to influ25 ence, the official act of another.’’. 
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1 TITLE III—SUSPENSION OF PRI2 VATELY-FUNDED TRAVEL; 

3 CURBING LOBBYIST GIFTS 

4 SEC. 301 PRE-CERTIFICATION OF PRIVATELY FUNDED 

5 TRAVEL. 

6 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF PRIVATELY FUNDED TRAVEL.—

7 Notwithstanding clause 5 of rule XXV of the Rules of the 

8 House of Representatives, no Member, Delegate, Resident 

9 Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may accept 

10 a gift of travel related to his official duties (including any 

11 transportation, lodging, and meals during such travel) from 

12 any private source unless the private source first obtains 

13 a certification in writing from the Committee on Standards 

14 of Official Conduct that the gift of travel complies with all 

15 House rules and standards of conduct. 

16 (b) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—(1) The Com17 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct may not issue any 

18 such certification until it reports its recommendations on 

19 changes to rule XXV to the Committee on Rules unless two20 thirds of the Members of the Committee, present and voting 

21 in the affirmative, vote to issue such certification. The Com22 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct shall report its rec23 ommendations to the Committee on Rules not later than 

24 June 15, 2006. 
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1 (2) In developing such recommendations, the Com2 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct shall—

3 (A) survey public reports of registered lobbyist 

4 and registered foreign agent-related private travel, as 

5 well as public reports of late or inaccurate disclosure 

6 of private travel; and 

7 (B) consider—

8 (i) The ability of the current provisions of 

9 rule XXV regarding travel to protect the House, 

10 its Members, officers, and employees, from the 

11 appearance of impropriety. 

12 (ii) With respect to the allowance for pri13 vately-funded travel contained in clause 5(b) of 

14 rule XXV—

15 (I) the degree to which the privately16 funded travel meets the representational 

17 needs of the House, its Members, officers, 

18 and employees; 

19 (II) whether certain entities should or 

20 should not be permitted to fund the travel 

21 of the Members, officers, and employees of 

22 the House, what sources of funding may be 

23 permissible, and what other individuals 

24 may participate in that travel; and 
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1 (III) the adequacy of the current sys2 tem of approval and disclosure of such trav3 el. 

4 SEC. 302 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE ON 

5 STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT ON 

6 GIFTS. 

7 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall 

8 report its recommendations on changes to rule XXV of the 

9 Rules of the House of Representatives regarding the excep10 tions to the limitation on the acceptance of gifts contained 

11 in clause 5(a) of that rule to the Committee on Rules. In 

12 developing its recommendations, the Committee on Stand13 ards of Official Conduct shall consider the following: 

14 SEC. 303. PROHIBITING REGISTERED LOBBYISTS ON COR15 PORATE FLIGHTS. 

16 The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 is amended by 

17 inserting after section 5 the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 5A. PROHIBITING REGISTERED LOBBYISTS ON COR19 PORATE FLIGHTS. 

20 ‘‘If a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com21 missioner to, the Congress, or an officer or employee of the 

22 House of Representatives, is a passenger or crew member 

23 on a flight of an aircraft that is not licensed by the Federal 

24 Aviation Administration to operate for compensation or 

25 hire and that is owned or operated by a person who is the 
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1 client of a lobbyist or a lobbying firm, then such lobbyist 

2 may not be a passenger or crew member on that flight.’’. 

3 SEC. 304. VALUATION OF TICKETS TO SPORTING AND EN4 TERTAINMENT EVENTS. 

5 Clause 5(a)(2)(A) of rule XXV of the Rules of the 

6 House of Representatives is amended by— 

7 (1) inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(A)’’; and 

8 (2) adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(ii) A gift of a ticket to a sporting or entertainment 

10 event shall be valued at the face value of the ticket, provided 

11 that in the case of a ticket without a face value, the ticket 

12 shall be valued at the highest cost of a ticket with a face 

13 value for the event.’’. 

14 TITLE IV—OVERSIGHT OF 

15 LOBBYING AND ENFORCEMENT 

16 SEC. 401. AUDITS OF LOBBYING REPORTS BY HOUSE IN17 SPECTOR GENERAL. 

18 (a) ACCESS TO LOBBYING REPORTS.—The Office of 

19 Inspector General of the House of Representatives shall have 

20 access to all lobbyists’ disclosure information received by 

21 the Clerk of the House of Representatives under the Lob22 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 and shall conduct random au23 dits of lobbyists’ disclosure information as necessary to en24 sure compliance with that Act. 
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1 (b) REFERRAL AUTHORITY.—The Office of the Inspec2 tor General of the House of Representatives may refer po3 tential violations by lobbyists of the Lobbying Disclosure 

4 Act of 1995 to the Department of Justice for disciplinary 

5 action. 

6 SEC. 402. HOUSE INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW AND AN7 NUAL REPORTS. 

8 (a) ONGOING REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Inspector 

9 General of the House of Representatives shall review on an 

10 ongoing basis the activities carried out by the Clerk of the 

11 House of Representatives under section 6 of the Lobbying 

12 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605). The review shall 

13 emphasize— 

14 (1) the effectiveness of those activities in securing 

15 the compliance by lobbyists with the requirements of 

16 that Act; and 

17 (2) whether the Clerk has the resources and au18 thorities needed for effective oversight and enforcement 

19 of that Act. 

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than December 31 

21 of each year, the Inspector General of the House of Rep22 resentatives shall submit to the House of Representatives a 

23 report on the review required by subsection (a). The report 

24 shall include the Inspector General’s assessment of the mat-
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1 ters required to be emphasized by that subsection and any 

2 recommendations of the Inspector General to— 

3 (1) improve the compliance by lobbyists with the 

4 requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995; 

5 and 

6 (2) provide the Clerk of the House of Representa7 tives with the resources and authorities needed for ef8 fective oversight and enforcement of that Act. 

9 TITLE V—INSTITUTIONAL 

10 REFORMS 

11 SEC. 501. EARMARKING REFORM. 

12 (a) In the House of Representatives, it shall not be in 

13 order to consider—

14 (1) a general appropriation bill reported by the 

15 Committee on Appropriations unless the report in16 cludes a list of earmarks in the bill or in the report 

17 (and the names of Members who submitted requests to 

18 the Committee on Appropriations for earmarks in19 cluded in such list); or 

20 (2) a conference report to accompany a general 

21 appropriation bill unless the joint explanatory state22 ment prepared by the managers on the part of the 

23 House and the managers on the part of the Senate in24 cludes a list of earmarks in the conference report or 

25 joint statement (and the names of Members who sub-
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1 mitted requests to the Committee on Appropriations 

2 for earmarks included in such list) that were—

3 (A) not committed to the conference com4 mittee by either House; 

5 (B) not in the report specified in paragraph 

6 (1); and 

7 (C) not in a report of a committee of the 

8 Senate on a companion measure. 

9 (b) In the House of Representatives, it shall not be in 

10 order to consider a rule or order that waives the application 

11 of subsection (a)(2). 

12 (c)(1) A point of order raised under subsection (a)(1) 

13 may be based only on the failure of a report of the Com14 mittee on Appropriations to include the list required by 

15 subsection (a)(1). 

16 (2) As disposition of a point of order under sub17 section (a), the Chair shall put the question of consid18 eration with respect to the proposition that is the sub19 ject of the point of order. 

20 (3) As disposition of a point of order under sub21 section (b) with respect to a rule or order relating to 

22 a conference report, the Chair shall put the question 

23 of consideration as follows: ‘‘Shall the House now con24 sider the resolution notwithstanding the assertion of 

25 [the maker of the point of order] that the object of the 
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1 resolution introduces a new earmark or new ear2 marks?’’. 

3 (4) The question of consideration under this sub4 section shall be debatable for 15 minutes by the Mem5 ber initiating the point of order and for 15 minutes 

6 by an opponent, but shall otherwise be decided with7 out intervening motion except one that the House ad8 journ. 

9 (d)(1) For the purpose of this resolution, the term ‘‘ear10 mark’’ means a provision in a bill or conference report, or 

11 language in an accompanying committee report or joint 

12 statement of managers, providing or recommending a spe13 cific amount of discretionary budget authority to a non14 Federal entity, if such entity is specifically identified in 

15 the report or bill; or if the discretionary budget authority 

16 is allocated outside of the normal formula-driven or com17 petitive bidding process and is targeted or directed to an 

18 identifiable person, specific State, or congressional district. 

19 (2) For the purpose of subsection (a), government20 sponsored enterprises, Federal facilities, and Federal lands 

21 shall be considered Federal entities. 

22 (3) For the purpose of subsection (a), to the extent that 

23 the non-Federal entity is a State or territory, an Indian 

24 tribe, a foreign government or an intergovernmental inter25 national organization, the provision or language shall not 
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1 be considered an earmark unless the provision or language 

2 also specifies the specific purpose for which the designated 

3 budget authority is to be expended. 

4 SEC. 502. MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING FOR HOUSE EM5 PLOYEES. 

6 (a) MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING FOR HOUSE EM7 PLOYEES.—

8 (1) CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER.—Clause 4 

9 of rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives 

10 is amended by inserting the following new paragraph 

11 at the end: 

12 ‘‘(d) The Chief Administrative Officer may not pay 

13 any compensation to any employee of the House with re14 spect to any pay period during which the employee, as de15 termined by the Committee on Standards of Official Con16 duct, is not in compliance with the applicable requirements 

17 of regulations promulgated pursuant to clause 3(r) of Rule 

18 XI.’’. 

19 (2) MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING PROGRAM.—

20 Clause 3 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Rep21 resentatives is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(r) The committee shall establish a program of reg24 ular ethics training for employees of the House and promul25 gate regulations providing for the following: 
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1 ‘‘(1)(A) Except as otherwise provided, all em2 ployees of the House are required to complete ethics 

3 training offered by the committee at least once during 

4 each congress. Any employee who is hired after the 

5 date of adoption of such rules is required to complete 

6 such training within 30 days of being hired. 

7 ‘‘(B) Any employee of the House who works in 

8 a Member’s district office shall not be required to 

9 complete such ethics training until 30 days after the 

10 district office has received a notice from the Com11 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct that the re12 quired ethics training program is available on the 

13 Internet. 

14 ‘‘(2) After any employee of the House completes 

15 such ethics training, that employee shall file a written 

16 certification with the committee that he is familiar 

17 with the contents of any pertinent publications that 

18 are so designated by the committee and has completed 

19 the required ethics training. 

20 ‘‘(3) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘em21 ployee of the House’ refers to any individual whose 

22 compensation is disbursed by the Chief Administra23 tive Officer, including any staff assigned to a Mem24 ber’s personal office, any staff of a committee or lead25 ership office, or any employee of the Office of the 
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1 Clerk, of the Office of the Chief Administrative Offi2 cer, or of the Sergeant-at-Arms, but does not include 

3 a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner.’’. 

4 (b) ETHICS TRAINING FOR MEMBERS, DELEGATES, 

5 AND THE RESIDENT COMMISSIONER.—Clause 3 of rule XI 

6 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 

7 inserting at the end: 

8 ‘‘(s)(1) The committee shall establish a program of reg9 ular ethics training for Members, Delegates, and the Resi10 dent Commissioner similar to the program established in 

11 paragraph (r). 

12 ‘‘(2) The committee shall publish a list of Members who 

13 have and have not completed such ethics training within 

14 the first one hundred calendar days after being sworn-in 

15 during each Congress. The committee shall update this list 

16 with the names of Members who complete the training after 

17 the deadline with the date on which the training was com18 pleted. 

19 ‘‘(3) Publication of the list of Members who have and 

20 have not completed the ethics training shall be made avail21 able on the official website of the committee and published 

22 in the Congressional Record.’’. 

23 SEC. 503. BIENNIAL PUBLICATION OF ETHICS MANUAL. 

24 Within 120 days after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act and during each Congress thereafter, the Committee on 
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1 Standards of Official Conduct shall publish an up-to-date 

2 ethics manual for Members, officers, and employees of the 

3 House of Representatives and make such manual available 

4 to all such individuals. The committee has a duty to keep 

5 all Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, officers, 

6 and employees of the House of Representatives apprised of 

7 current rulings or advisory opinions when potentially con8 stituting changes to or interpretations of existing policies. 

9 TITLE VI—FORFEITURE OF 

10 RETIREMENT BENEFITS 

11 SEC. 601. LOSS OF PENSIONS ACCRUED DURING SERVICE 

12 AS A MEMBER OF CONGRESS FOR ABUSING 

13 THE PUBLIC TRUST. 

14 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—Section 

15 8332 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(o)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

18 subchapter, the service of an individual finally convicted 

19 of an offense described in paragraph (2) shall not be taken 

20 into account for purposes of this subchapter, except that this 

21 sentence applies only to service rendered as a Member (irre22 spective of when rendered). Any such individual (or other 

23 person determined under section 8342(c), if applicable) 

24 shall be entitled to be paid so much of such individual’s 
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1 lump-sum credit as is attributable to service to which the 

2 preceding sentence applies. 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) An offense described in this paragraph is any 

4 offense described in subparagraph (B) for which the fol5 lowing apply: 

6 ‘‘(i) Every act or omission of the individual (re7 ferred to in paragraph (1)) that is needed to satisfy 

8 the elements of the offense occurs while the individual 

9 is a Member. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Every act or omission of the individual 

11 that is needed to satisfy the elements of the offense di12 rectly relates to the performance of the individual’s of13 ficial duties as a Member. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The offense is committed after the date of 

15 enactment of this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(B) An offense described in this subparagraph is only 

17 the following, and only to the extent that the offense is a 

18 felony under title 18: 

19 ‘‘(i) An offense under section 201 of title 18 

20 (bribery of public officials and witnesses). 

21 ‘‘(ii) An offense under section 219 of title 18 (of22 ficers and employees acting as agents of foreign prin23 cipals). 

24 ‘‘(iii) An offense under section 371 of title 18 

25 (conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United 
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1 States) to the extent of any conspiracy to commit an 

2 act which constitutes an offense under clause (i) or 

3 (ii). 

4 ‘‘(3) An individual convicted of an offense described 

5 in paragraph (2) shall not, after the date of the final convic6 tion, be eligible to participate in the retirement system 

7 under this subchapter or chapter 84 while serving as a 

8 Member. 

9 ‘‘(4) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre10 scribe any regulations necessary to carry out this sub11 section. Such regulations shall include—

12 ‘‘(A) provisions under which interest on any 

13 lump-sum payment under the second sentence of 

14 paragraph (1) shall be limited in a manner similar 

15 to that specified in the last sentence of section 

16 8316(b); and 

17 ‘‘(B) provisions under which the Office may pro18 vide for—

19 ‘‘(i) the payment, to the spouse or children 

20 of any individual referred to in the first sentence 

21 of paragraph (1), of any amounts which (but for 

22 this clause) would otherwise have been nonpay23 able by reason of such first sentence, but only to 

24 the extent that the application of this clause is 
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1 considered necessary given the totality of the cir2 cumstances; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) an appropriate adjustment in the 

4 amount of any lump-sum payment under the 

5 second sentence of paragraph (1) to reflect the 

6 application of clause (i). 

7 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection—

8 ‘‘(A) the term ‘Member’ has the meaning given 

9 such term by section 2106, notwithstanding section 

10 8331(2); and 

11 ‘‘(B) the term ‘child’ has the meaning given such 

12 term by section 8341.’’. 

13 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

14 Section 8411 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(l)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

17 chapter, the service of an individual finally convicted of an 

18 offense described in paragraph (2) shall not be taken into 

19 account for purposes of this chapter, except that this sen20 tence applies only to service rendered as a Member (irre21 spective of when rendered). Any such individual (or other 

22 person determined under section 8424(d), if applicable) 

23 shall be entitled to be paid so much of such individual’s 

24 lump-sum credit as is attributable to service to which the 

25 preceding sentence applies. 
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1 ‘‘(2) An offense described in this paragraph is any of2 fense described in section 8332(o)(2)(B) for which the fol3 lowing apply: 

4 ‘‘(A) Every act or omission of the individual (re5 ferred to in paragraph (1)) that is needed to satisfy 

6 the elements of the offense occurs while the individual 

7 is a Member. 

8 ‘‘(B) Every act or omission of the individual 

9 that is needed to satisfy the elements of the offense di10 rectly relates to the performance of the individual’s of11 ficial duties as a Member. 

12 ‘‘(C) The offense is committed after the date of 

13 enactment of this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(3) An individual finally convicted of an offense de15 scribed in paragraph (2) shall not, after the date of the con16 viction, be eligible to participate in the retirement system 

17 under this chapter while serving as a Member. 

18 ‘‘(4) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre19 scribe any regulations necessary to carry out this sub20 section. Such regulations shall include—

21 ‘‘(A) provisions under which interest on any 

22 lump-sum payment under the second sentence of 

23 paragraph (1) shall be limited in a manner similar 

24 to that specified in the last sentence of section 

25 8316(b); and 
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1 ‘‘(B) provisions under which the Office may pro2 vide for—

3 ‘‘(i) the payment, to the spouse or children 

4 of any individual referred to in the first sentence 

5 of paragraph (1), of any amounts which (but for 

6 this clause) would otherwise have been nonpay7 able by reason of such first sentence, but only to 

8 the extent that the application of this clause is 

9 considered necessary given the totality of the cir10 cumstances; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) an appropriate adjustment in the 

12 amount of any lump-sum payment under the 

13 second sentence of paragraph (1) to reflect the 

14 application of clause (i). 

15 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection—

16 ‘‘(A) the term ‘Member’ has the meaning given 

17 such term by section 2106, notwithstanding section 

18 8401(20); and 

19 ‘‘(B) the term ‘child’ has the meaning given such 

20 term by section 8341.’’. 

21 TITLE VII—LEADERSHIP PACS 

22 SEC. 701. RESTRICTIONS ON DISPOSITION OF FUNDS BY 

23 LEADERSHIP PACS. 

24 (a) RESTRICTIONS.—Section 313 of the Federal Elec25 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 439a) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 

2 (c); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 

4 new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS BY LEADERSHIP PACS.—

6 ‘‘(1) USES PERMITTED.—The funds of a leader7 ship PAC may be used by the leadership PAC—

8 ‘‘(A) for otherwise authorized expenditures 

9 in connection with campaigns for election for 

10 Federal office; 

11 ‘‘(B) for charitable contributions described 

12 in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

13 1986; or 

14 ‘‘(C) for transfers to a national, State, or 

15 local committee of a political party (subject to 

16 the applicable limitations of this Act). 

17 ‘‘(2) LEADERSHIP PAC DEFINED.—In this sub18 section, the term ‘leadership PAC’ means a political 

19 committee which is directly or indirectly established, 

20 maintained, or controlled by a candidate for election 

21 for Federal office or an individual holding Federal of22 fice but is not an authorized committee of the can23 didate or individual, except that such term does not 

24 include any political committee of a political party.’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT REGARDING CONVER2 SION OF FUNDS TO PERSONAL USE.—Section 313(c) of 

3 such Act (2 U.S.C. 439a(c)), as redesignated by subsection 

4 (a), is amended by inserting after ‘‘subsection (a)’’ the fol5 lowing: ‘‘or funds of a leadership PAC described in sub6 section (b)’’. 

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

8 section shall apply with respect to elections occurring after 

9 December 2006. 

10 TITLE VIII—ETHICS TRAINING 

11 FOR LOBBYISTS 

12 SEC. 801. ETHICS TRAINING FOR LOBBYISTS. 

13 (a) TRAINING COURSE.—During each Congress, the 

14 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House 

15 of Representatives shall provide an 8-hour ethics training 

16 course to persons registered as lobbyists under the Lobbying 

17 Disclosure Act of 1995. 

18 (b) CONTENTS OF COURSE.—Training under sub19 section (a) shall cover information on the code of conduct 

20 and disclosure requirements applicable to Members, officers, 

21 and employees of the House of Representatives, including 

22 rules relating to acceptance of gifts (including travel and 

23 meals), and financial disclosure requirements under the 

24 Ethics in Government Act of 1978. 
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1 (c) PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE TRAIN2 ING.—Any person who is registered or required to register 

3 as a lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 

4 and who fails to complete the training course under sub5 section (a) at least once during each Congress shall be sub6 ject to the penalties under section 7 of that Act to the same 

7 extent as a failure to comply with any provision of that 

8 Act. 

9 TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS 

10 PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 901. BRIBERY. 

12 Section 201(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is 

13 amended by inserting ‘‘including an earmark as defined in 

14 section 501(d) of the Lobbying Accountability and Trans15 parency Act of 2006,’’ after ‘‘controversy,’’. 

16 TITLE X—527 REFORM ACT OF 

17 2006

18 SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This title may be cited as the ‘‘527 Reform Act of 

20 2006’’. 

21 SEC. 1002. TREATMENT OF SECTION 527 ORGANIZATIONS. 

22 (a) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL COMMITTEE.—Section 

23 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 

24 U.S.C. 431(4)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking the period at the end of subpara2 graph (C) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(D) any applicable 527 organization.’’. 

5 (b) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE 527 ORGANIZA6 TION.—Section 301 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended 

7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(27) APPLICABLE 527 ORGANIZATION.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of paragraph 

10 (4)(D), the term ‘applicable 527 organization’ means 

11 a committee, club, association, or group of persons 

12 that—

13 ‘‘(i) has given notice to the Secretary of the 

14 Treasury under section 527(i) of the Internal 

15 Revenue Code of 1986 that it is to be treated as 

16 an organization described in section 527 of such 

17 Code; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) is not described in subparagraph (B). 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTED ORGANIZATIONS.—A committee, 

20 club, association, or other group of persons described 

21 in this subparagraph is—

22 ‘‘(i) an organization described in section 

23 527(i)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

24 ‘‘(ii) an organization which is a committee, 

25 club, association or other group of persons that 
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1 is organized, operated, and makes disbursements 

2 exclusively for paying expenses described in the 

3 last sentence of section 527(e)(2) of the Internal 

4 Revenue Code of 1986 or expenses of a newsletter 

5 fund described in section 527(g) of such Code; 

6 ‘‘(iii) an organization which is a com7 mittee, club, association, or other group that con8 sists solely of candidates for State or local office, 

9 individuals holding State or local office, or any 

10 combination of either, but only if the organiza11 tion refers only to one or more non-Federal can12 didates or applicable State or local issues in all 

13 of its voter drive activities and does not refer to 

14 a Federal candidate or a political party in any 

15 of its voter drive activities; or 

16 ‘‘(iv) an organization described in subpara17 graph (C). 

18 ‘‘(C) APPLICABLE ORGANIZATION.—For purposes 

19 of subparagraph (B)(iv), an organization described in 

20 this subparagraph is a committee, club, association, 

21 or other group of persons whose election or nomina22 tion activities relate exclusively to—

23 ‘‘(i) elections where no candidate for Fed24 eral office appears on the ballot; or 

25 ‘‘(ii) one or more of the following purposes: 
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1 ‘‘(I) Influencing the selection, nomina2 tion, election, or appointment of one or 

3 more candidates to non-Federal offices. 

4 ‘‘(II) Influencing one or more applica5 ble State or local issues. 

6 ‘‘(III) Influencing the selection, ap7 pointment, nomination, or confirmation of 

8 one or more individuals to non-elected of9 fices. 

10 ‘‘(D) EXCLUSIVITY TEST.—A committee, club, as11 sociation, or other group of persons shall not be treat12 ed as meeting the exclusivity requirement of subpara13 graph (C) if it makes disbursements aggregating more 

14 than $1,000 for any of the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) A public communication that promotes, 

16 supports, attacks, or opposes a clearly identified 

17 candidate for Federal office during the 1-year 

18 period ending on the date of the general election 

19 for the office sought by the clearly identified can20 didate (or, if a runoff election is held with re21 spect to such general election, on the date of the 

22 runoff election). 

23 ‘‘(ii) Any voter drive activity during a cal24 endar year, except that no disbursements for any 

25 voter drive activity shall be taken into account 
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1 under this subparagraph if the committee, club, 

2 association, or other group of persons during 

3 such calendar year—

4 ‘‘(I) makes disbursements for voter 

5 drive activities with respect to elections in 

6 only 1 State and complies with all applica7 ble election laws of that State, including 

8 laws related to registration and reporting 

9 requirements and contribution limitations; 

10 ‘‘(II) refers to one or more non-Federal 

11 candidates or applicable State or local 

12 issues in all of its voter drive activities and 

13 does not refer to any Federal candidate or 

14 any political party in any of its voter drive 

15 activities; 

16 ‘‘(III) does not have a candidate for 

17 Federal office, an individual who holds any 

18 Federal office, a national political party, or 

19 an agent of any of the foregoing, control or 

20 materially participate in the direction of 

21 the organization, solicit contributions to the 

22 organization (other than funds which are 

23 described under clauses (i) and (ii) of sec24 tion 323(e)(1)(B)), or direct disbursements, 
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1 in whole or in part, by the organization; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(IV) makes no contributions to Fed4 eral candidates. 

5 ‘‘(E) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO FEDERAL CAN6 DIDATES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes of 

7 subparagraphs (B)(iii) and (D)(ii)(II), a voter drive 

8 activity shall not be treated as referring to a clearly 

9 identified Federal candidate if the only reference to 

10 the candidate in the activity is—

11 ‘‘(i) a reference in connection with an elec12 tion for a non-Federal office in which such Fed13 eral candidate is also a candidate for such non14 Federal office; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) a reference to the fact that the can16 didate has endorsed a non-Federal candidate or 

17 has taken a position on an applicable State or 

18 local issue, including a reference that constitutes 

19 the endorsement or position itself. 

20 ‘‘(F) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO POLITICAL PAR21 TIES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes of 

22 subparagraphs (B)(iii) and (D)(ii)(II), a voter drive 

23 activity shall not be treated as referring to a political 

24 party if the only reference to the party in the activity 

25 is—
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1 ‘‘(i) a reference for the purpose of identi2 fying a non-Federal candidate; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a reference for the purpose of identi4 fying the entity making the public communica5 tion or carrying out the voter drive activity; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) a reference in a manner or context 

7 that does not reflect support for or opposition to 

8 a Federal candidate or candidates and does re9 flect support for or opposition to a State or local 

10 candidate or candidates or an applicable State 

11 or local issue. 

12 ‘‘(G) APPLICABLE STATE OR LOCAL ISSUE.—For 

13 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable State 

14 or local issue’ means any State or local ballot initia15 tive, State or local referendum, State or local con16 stitutional amendment, State or local bond issue, or 

17 other State or local ballot issue.’’. 

18 (c) DEFINITION OF VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—Section 

19 301 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431), as amended by subsection 

20 (b), is further amended by adding at the end the following 

21 new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(28) VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘voter drive 

23 activity’ means any of the following activities conducted in 

24 connection with an election in which a candidate for Fed25 eral office appears on the ballot (regardless of whether a 
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1 candidate for State or local office also appears on the bal2 lot): 

3 ‘‘(A) Voter registration activity. 

4 ‘‘(B) Voter identification. 

5 ‘‘(C) Get-out-the-vote activity. 

6 ‘‘(D) Generic campaign activity. 

7 ‘‘(E) Any public communication related to ac8 tivities described in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 

9 Such term shall not include any activity described in sub10 paragraph (A) or (B) of section 316(b)(2).’’. 

11 SEC. 1003. RULES FOR ALLOCATION OF EXPENSES BE12 TWEEN FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL ACTIVI13 TIES. 

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

15 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended 

16 by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 325. ALLOCATION AND FUNDING RULES FOR CERTAIN 

18 EXPENSES RELATING TO FEDERAL AND NON19 FEDERAL ACTIVITIES. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any disbursements 

21 by any political committee that is a separate segregated 

22 fund or nonconnected committee for which allocation rules 

23 are provided under subsection (b)—

24 ‘‘(1) the disbursements shall be allocated between 

25 Federal and non-Federal accounts in accordance with 
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1 this section and regulations prescribed by the Com2 mission; and 

3 ‘‘(2) in the case of disbursements allocated to 

4 non-Federal accounts, may be paid only from a quali5 fied non-Federal account. 

6 ‘‘(b) COSTS TO BE ALLOCATED AND ALLOCATION

7 RULES.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Disbursements by any sepa9 rate segregated fund or nonconnected committee, other 

10 than an organization described in section 323(b)(1), 

11 for any of the following categories of activity shall be 

12 allocated as follows: 

13 ‘‘(A) 100 percent of the expenses for public 

14 communications or voter drive activities that 

15 refer to one or more clearly identified Federal 

16 candidates, but do not refer to any clearly iden17 tified non-Federal candidates, shall be paid with 

18 funds from a Federal account, without regard to 

19 whether the communication refers to a political 

20 party. 

21 ‘‘(B) At least 50 percent, or a greater per22 centage if the Commission so determines by regu23 lation, of the expenses for public communications 

24 and voter drive activities that refer to one or 

25 more clearly identified candidates for Federal of-
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1 fice and one or more clearly identified non-Fed2 eral candidates shall be paid with funds from a 

3 Federal account, without regard to whether the 

4 communication refers to a political party. 

5 ‘‘(C) At least 50 percent, or a greater per6 centage if the Commission so determines by regu7 lation, of the expenses for public communications 

8 or voter drive activities that refer to a political 

9 party, but do not refer to any clearly identified 

10 Federal or non-Federal candidate, shall be paid 

11 with funds from a Federal account, except that 

12 this paragraph shall not apply to communica13 tions or activities that relate exclusively to elec14 tions where no candidate for Federal office ap15 pears on the ballot. 

16 ‘‘(D) At least 50 percent, or a greater per17 centage if the Commission so determines by regu18 lation, of the expenses for public communications 

19 or voter drive activities that refer to a political 

20 party and refer to one or more clearly identified 

21 non-Federal candidates, but do not refer to any 

22 clearly identified Federal candidates, shall be 

23 paid with funds from a Federal account, except 

24 that this paragraph shall not apply to commu25 nications or activities that relate exclusively to 
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1 elections where no candidate for Federal office 

2 appears on the ballot. 

3 ‘‘(E) Unless otherwise determined by the 

4 Commission in its regulations, at least 50 per5 cent of any administrative expenses, including 

6 rent, utilities, office supplies, and salaries not 

7 attributable to a clearly identified candidate, 

8 shall be paid with funds from a Federal account, 

9 except that for a separate segregated fund such 

10 expenses may be paid instead by its connected 

11 organization. 

12 ‘‘(F) At least 50 percent, or a greater per13 centage if the Commission so determines by regu14 lation, of the direct costs of a fundraising pro15 gram or event, including disbursements for solic16 itation of funds and for planning and adminis17 tration of actual fundraising events, where Fed18 eral and non-Federal funds are collected through 

19 such program or event shall be paid with funds 

20 from a Federal account, except that for a sepa21 rate segregated fund such costs may be paid in22 stead by its connected organization. This para23 graph shall not apply to any fundraising solici24 tations or any other activity that constitutes a 

25 public communication. 
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1 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO FEDERAL CAN2 DIDATES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes of 

3 paragraph (1), a public communication or voter drive 

4 activity shall not be treated as referring to a clearly 

5 identified Federal candidate if the only reference to 

6 the candidate in the communication or activity is—

7 ‘‘(A) a reference in connection with an elec8 tion for a non-Federal office in which such Fed9 eral candidate is also a candidate for such non10 Federal office; or 

11 ‘‘(B) a reference to the fact that the can12 didate has endorsed a non-Federal candidate or 

13 has taken a position on an applicable State or 

14 local issue (as defined in section 301(27)(G)), in15 cluding a reference that constitutes the endorse16 ment or position itself. 

17 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO POLITICAL PAR18 TIES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes of 

19 paragraph (1), a public communication or voter drive 

20 activity shall not be treated as referring to a political 

21 party if the only reference to the party in the commu22 nication or activity is—

23 ‘‘(A) a reference for the purpose of identi24 fying a non-Federal candidate; 
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1 ‘‘(B) a reference for the purpose of identi2 fying the entity making the public communica3 tion or carrying out the voter drive activity; or 

4 ‘‘(C) a reference in a manner or context 

5 that does not reflect support for or opposition to 

6 a Federal candidate or candidates and does re7 flect support for or opposition to a State or local 

8 candidate or candidates or an applicable State 

9 or local issue. 

10 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNT.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 

12 the term ‘qualified non-Federal account’ means an ac13 count which consists solely of amounts—

14 ‘‘(A) that, subject to the limitations of para15 graphs (2) and (3), are raised by the separate 

16 segregated fund or nonconnected committee only 

17 from individuals, and 

18 ‘‘(B) with respect to which all requirements 

19 of Federal, State, or local law (including any 

20 law relating to contribution limits) are met. 

21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A separate segregated 

23 fund or nonconnected committee may not accept 

24 more than $25,000 in funds for its qualified 
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1 non-Federal account from any one individual in 

2 any calendar year. 

3 ‘‘(B) AFFILIATION.—For purposes of this 

4 paragraph, all qualified non-Federal accounts of 

5 separate segregated funds or nonconnected com6 mittees which are directly or indirectly estab7 lished, financed, maintained, or controlled by the 

8 same person or persons shall be treated as one 

9 account. 

10 ‘‘(3) FUNDRAISING LIMITATION.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No donation to a quali12 fied non-Federal account may be solicited, re13 ceived, directed, transferred, or spent by or in the 

14 name of any person described in subsection (a) 

15 or (e) of section 323. 

16 ‘‘(B) FUNDS NOT TREATED AS SUBJECT TO

17 ACT.—Except as provided in subsection (a)(2) 

18 and this subsection, any funds raised for a 

19 qualified non-Federal account in accordance 

20 with the requirements of this section shall not be 

21 considered funds subject to the limitations, pro22 hibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act 

23 for any purpose (including for purposes of sub24 section (a) or (e) of section 323 or subsection 

25 (d)(1) of this section). 
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1 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—

2 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL ACCOUNT.—The term ‘Federal ac3 count’ means an account which consists solely of con4 tributions subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and 

5 reporting requirements of this Act. Nothing in this 

6 section or in section 323(b)(2)(B)(iii) shall be con7 strued to infer that a limit other than the limit under 

8 section 315(a)(1)(C) applies to contributions to the 

9 account. 

10 ‘‘(2) NONCONNECTED COMMITTEE.—The term 

11 ‘nonconnected committee’ shall not include a political 

12 committee of a political party. 

13 ‘‘(3) VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘voter 

14 drive activity’ has the meaning given such term in 

15 section 301(28).’’. 

16 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304(e) of 

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

18 434(e)) is amended—

19 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

20 paragraphs (4) and (5); and 

21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol22 lowing new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(3) RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FROM

24 QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNTS.—In addition to 

25 any other reporting requirement applicable under this 
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1 Act, a political committee to which section 325(a) ap2 plies shall report all receipts and disbursements from 

3 a qualified non-Federal account (as defined in section 

4 325(c)).’’. 

5 SEC. 1004. REPEAL OF LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF PARTY EX6 PENDITURES ON BEHALF OF CANDIDATES IN 

7 GENERAL ELECTIONS. 

8 (a) REPEAL OF LIMIT.—Section 315(d) of the Federal 

9 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is 

10 amended—

11 (1) in paragraph (1)—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any 

13 other provision of law with respect to limitations 

14 on expenditures or limitations on contributions, 

15 the national committee’’ and inserting ‘‘Notwith16 standing any other provision of law with respect 

17 to limitations on amounts of expenditures or 

18 contributions, a national committee’’, 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘the general’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘any’’, and 

21 (C) by striking ‘‘Federal office, subject to 

22 the limitations contained in paragraphs (2), (3), 

23 and (4) of this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘Fed24 eral office in any amount’’; and 

25 (2) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4). 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

2 (1) INDEXING.—Section 315(c) of such Act (2 

3 U.S.C. 441a(c)) is amended—

4 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 

5 ‘‘(d),’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking 

7 ‘‘subsections (b) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub8 section (b)’’. 

9 (2) INCREASE IN LIMITS FOR SENATE CAN10 DIDATES FACING WEALTHY OPPONENTS.—Section 

11 315(i) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(i)(1)) is amend12 ed—

13 (A) in paragraph (1)(C)(iii)—

14 (i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub15 clause (I), 

16 (ii) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘; 

17 and’’ and inserting a period, and 

18 (iii) by striking subclause (III); 

19 (B) in paragraph (2)(A) in the matter pre20 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and a party 

21 committee shall not make any expenditure,’’; 

22 (C) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), by striking 

23 ‘‘and party expenditures previously made’’; and 

24 (D) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘and 

25 a party shall not make any expenditure’’. 
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1 (3) INCREASE IN LIMITS FOR HOUSE CAN2 DIDATES FACING WEALTHY OPPONENTS.—Section 

3 315A(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a–1(a)) is amend4 ed—

5 (A) in paragraph (1)—

6 (i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub7 paragraph (A), 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

9 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period, and 

10 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

11 (B) in paragraph (3)(A) in the matter pre12 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and a party 

13 committee shall not make any expenditure,’’; 

14 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), by striking 

15 ‘‘and party expenditures previously made’’; and 

16 (D) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘and 

17 a party shall not make any expenditure’’. 

18 SEC. 1005. CONSTRUCTION. 

19 No provision of this title, or amendment made by this 

20 title, shall be construed—

21 (1) as approving, ratifying, or endorsing a regu22 lation promulgated by the Federal Election Commis23 sion; 
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1 (2) as establishing, modifying, or otherwise af2 fecting the definition of political organization for 

3 purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

4 (3) as affecting the determination of whether a 

5 group organized under section 501(c) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is a political committee under 

7 section 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

8 of 1971. 

9 SEC. 1006. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

10 (a) SPECIAL RULES FOR ACTIONS BROUGHT ON CON11 STITUTIONAL GROUNDS.—If any action is brought for de12 claratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu13 tionality of any provision of this title or any amendment 

14 made by this title, the following rules shall apply: 

15 (1) The action shall be filed in the United States 

16 District Court for the District of Columbia and shall 

17 be heard by a 3-judge court convened pursuant to sec18 tion 2284 of title 28, United States Code. 

19 (2) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered 

20 promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Secretary of the Senate. 

22 (3) A final decision in the action shall be review23 able only by appeal directly to the Supreme Court of 

24 the United States. Such appeal shall be taken by the 

25 filing of a notice of appeal within 10 days, and the 
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1 filing of a jurisdictional statement within 30 days, of 

2 the entry of the final decision. 

3 (4) It shall be the duty of the United States Dis4 trict Court for the District of Columbia and the Su5 preme Court of the United States to advance on the 

6 docket and to expedite to the greatest possible extent 

7 the disposition of the action and appeal. 

8 (b) INTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—In 

9 any action in which the constitutionality of any provision 

10 of this title or any amendment made by this title is raised 

11 (including but not limited to an action described in sub12 section (a)), any Member of the House of Representatives 

13 (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Con14 gress) or Senate shall have the right to intervene either in 

15 support of or opposition to the position of a party to the 

16 case regarding the constitutionality of the provision or 

17 amendment. To avoid duplication of efforts and reduce the 

18 burdens placed on the parties to the action, the court in 

19 any such action may make such orders as it considers nec20 essary, including orders to require intervenors taking simi21 lar positions to file joint papers or to be represented by a 

22 single attorney at oral argument. 

23 (c) CHALLENGE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Any 

24 Member of Congress may bring an action, subject to the spe25 cial rules described in subsection (a), for declaratory or in-
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1 junctive relief to challenge the constitutionality of any pro2 vision of this title or any amendment made by this title. 

3 (d) APPLICABILITY.—

4 (1) INITIAL CLAIMS.—With respect to any action 

5 initially filed on or before December 31, 2008, the 

6 provisions of subsection (a) shall apply with respect 

7 to each action described in such subsection. 

8 (2) SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS.—With respect to any 

9 action initially filed after December 31, 2008, the 

10 provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to any ac11 tion described in such subsection unless the person fil12 ing such action elects such provisions to apply to the 

13 action. 

14 SEC. 1007. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

15 The amendments made by this title shall take effect 

16 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

Amend the title so as to read ‘‘An Act to provide 

greater transparency with respect to lobbying activities, 

to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

clarify when organizations described in section 527 of the 

Internal Revenue Code of 1986 must register as political 

committees, and for other purposes.’’.

Attest:

Clerk. 
109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2349

AMENDMENTS