I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7499 

To amend chapters 95 and 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 

reform the system of public financing for Presidential election campaigns, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 

Mr. LIEU (for himself and Mrs. FOUSHEE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition 

to the Committees on Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend chapters 95 and 96 of the Internal Revenue Code 

of 1986 to reform the system of public financing for 

Presidential election campaigns, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Empower Act of 2024’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 7499 IH

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 

Sec. 101. Increase in and modifications to matching payments. 

Sec. 102. Eligibility requirements for matching payments. 

Sec. 103. Repeal of expenditure limitations. 

Sec. 104. Period of availability of matching payments. 

Sec. 105. Examination and audits of matchable contributions. 

Sec. 106. Modification to limitation on contributions for Presidential primary 

candidates. 

Sec. 107. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments. 

TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 

Sec. 201. Modification of eligibility requirements for public financing. 

Sec. 202. Repeal of expenditure limitations and use of qualified campaign contributions. 

Sec. 203. Matching payments and other modifications to payment amounts. 

Sec. 204. Increase in limit on coordinated party expenditures. 

Sec. 205. Establishment of uniform date for release of payments. 

Sec. 206. Amounts in Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 

Sec. 207. Use of general election payments for general election legal and accounting compliance. 

Sec. 208. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments. 

TITLE III—FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND 

Sec. 301. Freedom From Influence Fund. 

Sec. 302. Assessments against fines and penalties. 

TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE 

Sec. 401. Effective date. 

1 TITLE I—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 

2 SEC. 101. INCREASE IN AND MODIFICATIONS TO MATCHING 

3 PAYMENTS. 

4 (a) INCREASE AND MODIFICATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section 

6 9034(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

7 amended— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘an amount equal to the 

9 amount of each contribution’’ and inserting ‘‘an 

10 amount equal to 600 percent of the amount of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 7499 IH

1 each matchable contribution (disregarding any 

2 amount of contributions from any person to the 

3 extent that the total of the amounts contributed 

4 by such person for the election exceeds $200)’’; 

5 and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘authorized committees’’ 

7 and all that follows through ‘‘$250’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘authorized committees’’. 

9 (2) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 

10 9034 of such Code is amended— 

11 (A) by striking the last sentence of sub12 section (a); and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

14 subsection: 

15 ‘‘(c) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION DEFINED.—For 

16 purposes of this section and section 9033(b)— 

17 ‘‘(1) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

18 ‘matchable contribution’ means, with respect to the 

19 nomination for election to the office of President of 

20 the United States, a contribution by an individual to 

21 a candidate or an authorized committee of a can22 didate with respect to which the candidate has cer23 tified in writing that— 

24 ‘‘(A) the individual making such contribu25 tion has not made aggregate contributions (inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 7499 IH

1 cluding such matchable contribution) to such 

2 candidate and the authorized committees of 

3 such candidate in excess of $1,000 for the elec4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(B) such candidate and the authorized 

6 committees of such candidate will not accept 

7 contributions from such individual (including 

8 such matchable contribution) aggregating more 

9 than the amount described in subparagraph 

10 (A); and 

11 ‘‘(C) such contribution was a direct con12 tribution. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION.—For purposes of this 

14 subsection, the term ‘contribution’ means a gift of 

15 money made by a written instrument which identi16 fies the individual making the contribution by full 

17 name and mailing address, but does not include a 

18 subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money, or 

19 anything of value or anything described in subpara20 graph (B), (C), or (D) of section 9032(4). 

21 ‘‘(3) DIRECT CONTRIBUTION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

23 subsection, the term ‘direct contribution’ 

24 means, with respect to a candidate, a contribu25 tion which is made directly by an individual to 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 7499 IH

1 the candidate or an authorized committee of the 

2 candidate and is not— 

3 ‘‘(i) forwarded from the individual 

4 making the contribution to the candidate 

5 or committee by another person; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com7 mittee with the knowledge that the con8 tribution was made at the request, sugges9 tion, or recommendation of another person. 

10 ‘‘(B) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In subpara11 graph (A)— 

12 ‘‘(i) the term ‘person’ does not include 

13 an individual (other than an individual de14 scribed in section 304(i)(7) of the Federal 

15 Election Campaign Act of 1971), a polit16 ical committee of a political party, or any 

17 political committee which is not a separate 

18 segregated fund described in section 

19 316(b) of the Federal Election Campaign 

20 Act of 1971 and which does not make con21 tributions or independent expenditures, 

22 does not engage in lobbying activity under 

23 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

24 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and is not estab25 lished by, controlled by, or affiliated with 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 7499 IH

1 a registered lobbyist under such Act, an 

2 agent of a registered lobbyist under such 

3 Act, or an organization which retains or 

4 employs a registered lobbyist under such 

5 Act; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) a contribution is not ‘made at 

7 the request, suggestion, or recommendation 

8 of another person’ solely on the grounds 

9 that the contribution is made in response 

10 to information provided to the individual 

11 making the contribution by any person, so 

12 long as the candidate or authorized com13 mittee does not know the identity of the 

14 person who provided the information to 

15 such individual.’’. 

16 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (A) Section 9032(4) of such Code is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘section 9034(a)’’ and in19 serting ‘‘section 9034’’. 

20 (B) Section 9033(b)(3) of such Code is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘matching contributions’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘matchable contributions’’. 

23 (b) MODIFICATION OF PAYMENT LIMITATION.—Sec24 tion 9034(b) of such Code is amended— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 7499 IH

1 (1) by striking ‘‘The total’’ and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The total’’; 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘shall not exceed’’ and all that 

5 follows and inserting ‘‘shall not exceed 

6 $250,000,000.’’; and 

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

8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any ap11 plicable period beginning after 2029, the dollar 

12 amount in paragraph (1) shall be increased by 

13 an amount equal to— 

14 ‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 

15 ‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de16 termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal17 endar year following the year which such 

18 applicable period begins, determined by 

19 substituting ‘calendar year 2028’ for ‘cal20 endar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 

21 thereof. 

22 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes 

23 of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable period’ 

24 means the 4-year period beginning with the 

25 first day following the date of the general elecVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 7499 IH

1 tion for the office of President and ending on 

2 the date of the next such general election. 

3 ‘‘(C) ROUNDING.—If any amount as ad4 justed under subparagraph (1) is not a multiple 

5 of $10,000, such amount shall be rounded to 

6 the nearest multiple of $10,000.’’. 

7 SEC. 102. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING 

8 PAYMENTS. 

9 (a) AMOUNT OF AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTIONS PER

10 STATE; DISREGARDING OF AMOUNTS CONTRIBUTED IN

11 EXCESS OF $200.—Section 9033(b)(3) of the Internal 

12 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘20 States’’ and inserting the 

16 following: ‘‘20 States (disregarding any amount of 

17 contributions from any such resident to the extent 

18 that the total of the amounts contributed by such 

19 resident for the election exceeds $200)’’. 

20 (b) CONTRIBUTION LIMIT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 

22 9033(b) of such Code is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(4) the candidate and the authorized commit24 tees of the candidate will not accept aggregate con25 tributions from any person with respect to the nomiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 7499 IH

1 nation for election to the office of President of the 

2 United States in excess of $1,000 for the election.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (A) Section 9033(b) of such Code is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following 

6 new flush sentence: 

7 ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (4), the term ‘contribution’ 

8 has the meaning given such term in section 301(8) of the 

9 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

10 (B) Section 9032(4) of such Code, as 

11 amended by section 101(a)(3)(A), is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘section 9034’’ and inserting ‘‘sec13 tion 9033(b) or 9034’’. 

14 (c) PARTICIPATION IN SYSTEM FOR PAYMENTS FOR

15 GENERAL ELECTION.—Section 9033(b) of such Code is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

18 (3); 

19 (2) by striking the period at the end of para20 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

21 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol22 lowing new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(5) if the candidate is nominated by a political 

24 party for election to the office of President, the can25 didate will apply for and accept payments with reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 7499 IH

1 spect to the general election for such office in ac2 cordance with chapter 95.’’. 

3 (d) PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT4 TEES.—Section 9033(b) of such Code, as amended by sub5 section (c), is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

7 (4); 

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of para9 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol11 lowing new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(6) the candidate will not establish a joint 

13 fundraising committee with a political committee 

14 other than another authorized committee of the can15 didate, except that candidate established a joint 

16 fundraising committee with respect to a prior elec17 tion for which the candidate was not eligible to re18 ceive payments under section 9037 and the can19 didate does not terminate the committee, the can20 didate shall not be considered to be in violation of 

21 this paragraph so long as that joint fundraising 

22 committee does not receive any contributions or 

23 make any disbursements during the election cycle for 

24 which the candidate is eligible to receive payments 

25 under such section.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•HR 7499 IH

1 SEC. 103. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 9035 of 

3 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘(a) PERSONAL EXPENDITURE LIMITATION.—No 

6 candidate shall knowingly make expenditures from his per7 sonal funds, or the personal funds of his immediate family, 

8 in connection with his campaign for nomination for elec9 tion to the office of President in excess of, in the aggre10 gate, $50,000.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 

12 section 9033(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

13 amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(1) the candidate will comply with the per15 sonal expenditure limitation under section 9035,’’. 

16 SEC. 104. PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF MATCHING PAY17 MENTS. 

18 Section 9032(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘the beginning of the cal20 endar year in which a general election for the office of 

21 President of the United States will be held’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘the date that is 6 months prior to the date of the earliest 

23 State primary election’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•HR 7499 IH

1 SEC. 105. EXAMINATION AND AUDITS OF MATCHABLE CON2 TRIBUTIONS. 

3 Section 9038(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘and matchable contribu5 tions accepted by’’ after ‘‘qualified campaign expenses of’’. 

6 SEC. 106. MODIFICATION TO LIMITATION ON CONTRIBU7 TIONS FOR PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY CAN8 DIDATES. 

9 Section 315(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign 

10 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(6)) is amended by strik11 ing ‘‘calendar year’’ and inserting ‘‘four-year election 

12 cycle’’. 

13 SEC. 107. USE OF FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND AS 

14 SOURCE OF PAYMENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 96 of subtitle H of the 

16 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

17 the end the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 9043. USE OF FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND AS 

19 SOURCE OF PAYMENTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro21 vision of this chapter, effective with respect to the Presi22 dential election held in 2028 and each succeeding Presi23 dential election, all payments made to candidates under 

24 this chapter shall be made from the Freedom From Influ25 ence Fund established under title III of the Empower Act 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•HR 7499 IH

1 of 2024 (hereafter in this section referred to as the 

2 ‘Fund’). 

3 ‘‘(b) MANDATORY REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS IN

4 CASE OF INSUFFICIENT AMOUNTS IN FUND.— 

5 ‘‘(1) ADVANCE AUDITS BY COMMISSION.—Not 

6 later than 90 days before the first day of each Presi7 dential election cycle (beginning with the cycle for 

8 the election held in 2028), the Commission shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) audit the Fund to determine whether 

10 the amounts remaining in the Fund will be suf11 ficient to make payments to candidates under 

12 this chapter in the amounts provided under this 

13 chapter during such election cycle; and 

14 ‘‘(B) submit a report to Congress describ15 ing the results of the audit. 

16 ‘‘(2) REDUCTIONS IN AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) AUTOMATIC REDUCTION ON PRO

18 RATA BASIS.—If, on the basis of the audit de19 scribed in paragraph (1), the Commission deter20 mines that the amount anticipated to be avail21 able in the Fund with respect to the Presi22 dential election cycle involved is not, or may not 

23 be, sufficient to satisfy the full entitlements of 

24 candidates to payments under this chapter for 

25 such cycle, the Commission shall reduce each 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•HR 7499 IH

1 amount which would otherwise be paid to a can2 didate under this chapter by such pro rata 

3 amount as may be necessary to ensure that the 

4 aggregate amount of payments anticipated to 

5 be made with respect to the cycle will not ex6 ceed the amount anticipated to be available for 

7 such payments in the Fund with respect to such 

8 cycle. 

9 ‘‘(B) RESTORATION OF REDUCTIONS IN

10 CASE OF AVAILABILITY OF SUFFICIENT FUNDS

11 DURING ELECTION CYCLE.—If, after reducing 

12 the amounts paid to candidates with respect to 

13 an election cycle under subparagraph (A), the 

14 Commission determines that there are sufficient 

15 amounts in the Fund to restore the amount by 

16 which such payments were reduced (or any por17 tion thereof), to the extent that such amounts 

18 are available, the Commission may make a pay19 ment on a pro rata basis to each such candidate 

20 with respect to the election cycle in the amount 

21 by which such candidate’s payments were re22 duced under subparagraph (A) (or any portion 

23 thereof, as the case may be). 

24 ‘‘(C) NO USE OF AMOUNTS FROM OTHER

25 SOURCES.—In any case in which the CommisVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•HR 7499 IH

1 sion determines that there are insufficient mon2 eys in the Fund to make payments to can3 didates under this chapter, moneys shall not be 

4 made available from any other source for the 

5 purpose of making such payments. 

6 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED

7 FOR PEDIATRIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.—This sec8 tion does not apply to the transfer of funds under 

9 section 9008(i). 

10 ‘‘(4) PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CYCLE DE11 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘Presidential elec12 tion cycle’ means, with respect to a Presidential elec13 tion, the period beginning on the day after the date 

14 of the previous Presidential general election and 

15 ending on the date of the Presidential election.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

17 for chapter 96 of subtitle H of such Code is amended by 

18 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 9043. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments.’’. 

19 TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 

20 SEC. 201. MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 

21 FOR PUBLIC FINANCING. 

22 Subsection (a) of section 9003 of the Internal Rev23 enue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to receive 

25 any payments under section 9006, the candidates of a poVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•HR 7499 IH

1 litical party in a Presidential election shall meet the fol2 lowing requirements: 

3 ‘‘(1) PARTICIPATION IN PRIMARY PAYMENT

4 SYSTEM.—The candidate for President received pay5 ments under chapter 96 for the campaign for nomi6 nation for election to be President. 

7 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS WITH COMMISSION.—The 

8 candidates, in writing— 

9 ‘‘(A) agree to obtain and furnish to the 

10 Commission such evidence as it may request of 

11 the qualified campaign expenses of such can12 didates, 

13 ‘‘(B) agree to keep and furnish to the 

14 Commission such records, books, and other in15 formation as it may request, and 

16 ‘‘(C) agree to an audit and examination by 

17 the Commission under section 9007 and to pay 

18 any amounts required to be paid under such 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING

21 COMMITTEES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—The candidates cer23 tify in writing that the candidates will not es24 tablish a joint fundraising committee with a poVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•HR 7499 IH

1 litical committee other than another authorized 

2 committee of the candidate. 

3 ‘‘(B) STATUS OF EXISTING COMMITTEES

4 FOR PRIOR ELECTIONS.—If a candidate estab5 lished a joint fundraising committee described 

6 in subparagraph (A) with respect to a prior 

7 election for which the candidate was not eligible 

8 to receive payments under section 9006 and the 

9 candidate does not terminate the committee, 

10 the candidate shall not be considered to be in 

11 violation of subparagraph (A) so long as that 

12 joint fundraising committee does not receive 

13 any contributions or make any disbursements 

14 with respect to the election for which the can15 didate is eligible to receive payments under sec16 tion 9006.’’. 

17 SEC. 202. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS AND USE 

18 OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS. 

19 (a) USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

20 WITHOUT EXPENDITURE LIMITS; APPLICATION OF SAME

21 REQUIREMENTS FOR MAJOR, MINOR, AND NEW PAR22 TIES.—Section 9003 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

23 1986 is amended by striking subsections (b) and (c) and 

24 inserting the following: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•HR 7499 IH

1 ‘‘(b) USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

2 TO DEFRAY EXPENSES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to 

4 receive any payments under section 9006, the can5 didates of a party in a Presidential election shall 

6 certify to the Commission, under penalty of perjury, 

7 that— 

8 ‘‘(A) such candidates and their authorized 

9 committees have not and will not accept any 

10 contributions to defray qualified campaign ex11 penses other than— 

12 ‘‘(i) qualified campaign contributions, 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ii) contributions to the extent nec15 essary to make up any deficiency payments 

16 received out of the fund on account of the 

17 application of section 9006(c), and 

18 ‘‘(B) such candidates and their authorized 

19 committees have not and will not accept any 

20 contribution to defray expenses which would be 

21 qualified campaign expenses but for subpara22 graph (C) of section 9002(11). 

23 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF CERTIFICATION.—The can24 didate shall make the certification required under 

25 this subsection at the same time the candidate 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•HR 7499 IH

1 makes the certification required under subsection 

2 (a)(3).’’. 

3 (b) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CON4 TRIBUTION.—Section 9002 of such Code is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(13) QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION.— 

7 The term ‘qualified campaign contribution’ means, 

8 with respect to any election for the office of Presi9 dent of the United States, a contribution from an in10 dividual to a candidate or an authorized committee 

11 of a candidate which— 

12 ‘‘(A) does not exceed $1,000 for the elec13 tion; and 

14 ‘‘(B) with respect to which the candidate 

15 has certified in writing that— 

16 ‘‘(i) the individual making such con17 tribution has not made aggregate contribu18 tions (including such qualified contribu19 tion) to such candidate and the authorized 

20 committees of such candidate in excess of 

21 the amount described in subparagraph (A), 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) such candidate and the author24 ized committees of such candidate will not 

25 accept contributions from such individual 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•HR 7499 IH

1 (including such qualified contribution) ag2 gregating more than the amount described 

3 in subparagraph (A) with respect to such 

4 election.’’. 

5 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Fed8 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

9 30116) is amended by striking subsection (b). 

10 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

11 315(c) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (i) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 

14 ‘‘, (b)’’; and 

15 (ii) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking 

16 ‘‘subsections (b) and (d)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 

18 (2) REPEAL OF REPAYMENT REQUIREMENT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 9007(b) of the 

20 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

21 striking paragraph (2) and redesignating para22 graphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), 

23 and (4), respectively. 

24 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Para25 graph (2) of section 9007(b) of such Code, as 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•HR 7499 IH

1 redesignated by subparagraph (A), is amend2 ed— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘a major party’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘a party’’; 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘contributions (other 

6 than’’ and inserting ‘‘contributions (other 

7 than qualified contributions’’; and 

8 (iii) by striking ‘‘(other than qualified 

9 campaign expenses with respect to which 

10 payment is required under paragraph 

11 (2))’’. 

12 (3) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

13 (A) REPEAL OF PENALTY FOR EXCESS EX14 PENSES.—Section 9012 of the Internal Revenue 

15 Code of 1986 is amended by striking subsection 

16 (a). 

17 (B) PENALTY FOR ACCEPTANCE OF DIS18 ALLOWED CONTRIBUTIONS; APPLICATION OF

19 SAME PENALTY FOR CANDIDATES OF MAJOR, 

20 MINOR, AND NEW PARTIES.—Subsection (b) of 

21 section 9012 of such Code is amended to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ACCEPTANCE OF DISALLOWED CONTRIBU25 TIONS.—It shall be unlawful for an eligible canVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•HR 7499 IH

1 didate of a party in a Presidential election or any of 

2 his authorized committees knowingly and willfully to 

3 accept— 

4 ‘‘(A) any contribution other than a quali5 fied campaign contribution to defray qualified 

6 campaign expenses, except to the extent nec7 essary to make up any deficiency in payments 

8 received out of the fund on account of the ap9 plication of section 9006(c); or 

10 ‘‘(B) any contribution to defray expenses 

11 which would be qualified campaign expenses but 

12 for subparagraph (C) of section 9002(11). 

13 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para14 graph (1) shall be fined not more than $5,000, or 

15 imprisoned not more than one year, or both. In the 

16 case of a violation by an authorized committee, any 

17 officer or member of such committee who knowingly 

18 and willfully consents to such violation shall be fined 

19 not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than 

20 one year, or both.’’. 

21 SEC. 203. MATCHING PAYMENTS AND OTHER MODIFICA22 TIONS TO PAYMENT AMOUNTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

24 (1) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS; APPLICATION OF

25 SAME AMOUNT FOR CANDIDATES OF MAJOR, MINOR, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•HR 7499 IH

1 AND NEW PARTIES.—Subsection (a) of section 9004 

2 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to 

3 read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of this 

5 chapter, the eligible candidates of a party in a Presidential 

6 election shall be entitled to equal payment under section 

7 9006 in an amount equal to 600 percent of the amount 

8 of each matchable contribution received by such candidate 

9 or by the candidate’s authorized committees (disregarding 

10 any amount of contributions from any person to the extent 

11 that the total of the amounts contributed by such person 

12 for the election exceeds $200), except that total amount 

13 to which a candidate is entitled under this paragraph shall 

14 not exceed $250,000,000.’’. 

15 (2) REPEAL OF SEPARATE LIMITATIONS FOR

16 CANDIDATES OF MINOR AND NEW PARTIES; INFLA17 TION ADJUSTMENT.—Subsection (b) of section 9004 

18 of such Code is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any applica21 ble period beginning after 2029, the $250,000,000 

22 dollar amount in subsection (a) shall be increased by 

23 an amount equal to— 

24 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount; multiplied by 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•HR 7499 IH

1 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter2 mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 

3 year following the year which such applicable 

4 period begins, determined by substituting ‘cal5 endar year 2028’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in 

6 subparagraph (B) thereof. 

7 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes of 

8 this subsection, the term ‘applicable period’ means 

9 the 4-year period beginning with the first day fol10 lowing the date of the general election for the office 

11 of President and ending on the date of the next such 

12 general election. 

13 ‘‘(3) ROUNDING.—If any amount as adjusted 

14 under paragraph (1) is not a multiple of $10,000, 

15 such amount shall be rounded to the nearest mul16 tiple of $10,000.’’. 

17 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

18 9005(a) of such Code is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Commission 

20 shall make such additional certifications as may be 

21 necessary to receive payments under section 9004.’’. 

22 (b) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION.—Section 9002 of 

23 such Code, as amended by section 202(b), is amended by 

24 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•HR 7499 IH

1 ‘‘(14) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

2 ‘matchable contribution’ means, with respect to the 

3 election to the office of President of the United 

4 States, a contribution by an individual to a can5 didate or an authorized committee of a candidate 

6 with respect to which the candidate has certified in 

7 writing that— 

8 ‘‘(A) the individual making such contribu9 tion has not made aggregate contributions (in10 cluding such matchable contribution) to such 

11 candidate and the authorized committees of 

12 such candidate in excess of $1,000 for the elec13 tion; 

14 ‘‘(B) such candidate and the authorized 

15 committees of such candidate will not accept 

16 contributions from such individual (including 

17 such matchable contribution) aggregating more 

18 than the amount described in subparagraph (A) 

19 with respect to such election; and 

20 ‘‘(C) such contribution was a direct con21 tribution (as defined in section 9034(c)(3)).’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•HR 7499 IH

1 SEC. 204. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COORDINATED PARTY EX2 PENDITURES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(d)(2) of the Federal 

4 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(d)(2)) 

5 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(2)(A) The national committee of a political party 

7 may not make any expenditure in connection with the gen8 eral election campaign of any candidate for President of 

9 the United States who is affiliated with such party which 

10 exceeds $100,000,000. 

11 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph— 

12 ‘‘(i) any expenditure made by or on behalf of a 

13 national committee of a political party and in con14 nection with a Presidential election shall be consid15 ered to be made in connection with the general elec16 tion campaign of a candidate for President of the 

17 United States who is affiliated with such party; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) any communication made by or on behalf 

19 of such party shall be considered to be made in con20 nection with the general election campaign of a can21 didate for President of the United States who is af22 filiated with such party if any portion of the commu23 nication is in connection with such election. 

24 ‘‘(C) Any expenditure under this paragraph shall be 

25 in addition to any expenditure by a national committee 

26 of a political party serving as the principal campaign comVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
27 

•HR 7499 IH

1 mittee of a candidate for the office of President of the 

2 United States.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO TIM4 ING OF COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(c)(1) of such 

6 Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(1)) is amended— 

7 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(d)’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘(d)(2)’’; and 

9 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

10 subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(D) In any calendar year after 2028— 

12 ‘‘(i) the dollar amount in subsection (d)(2) shall 

13 be increased by the percent difference determined 

14 under subparagraph (A); 

15 ‘‘(ii) the amount so increased shall remain in 

16 effect for the calendar year; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) if the amount after adjustment under 

18 clause (i) is not a multiple of $100, such amount 

19 shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $100.’’. 

20 (2) BASE YEAR.—Section 315(c)(2)(B) of such 

21 Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(2)(B)) is amended— 

22 (A) in clause (i)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘(d)(3)’’; and 

25 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
28 

•HR 7499 IH

1 (B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 clause: 

5 ‘‘(iii) for purposes of subsection (d)(2), cal6 endar year 2027.’’. 

7 SEC. 205. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM DATE FOR RE8 LEASE OF PAYMENTS. 

9 (a) DATE FOR PAYMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9006(b) of the In11 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS FROM THE FUND.—If the Secretary 

14 of the Treasury receives a certification from the Commis15 sion under section 9005 for payment to the eligible can16 didates of a political party, the Secretary shall pay to such 

17 candidates out of the fund the amount certified by the 

18 Commission on the later of— 

19 ‘‘(1) the last Friday occurring before the first 

20 Monday in September; or 

21 ‘‘(2) 24 hours after receiving the certifications 

22 for the eligible candidates of all major political par23 ties. 

24 Amounts paid to any such candidates shall be under the 

25 control of such candidates.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
29 

•HR 7499 IH

1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first sen2 tence of section 9006(c) of such Code is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘the time of a certification by the Commis4 sion under section 9005 for payment’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘the time of making a payment under subsection 

6 (b)’’. 

7 (b) TIME FOR CERTIFICATION.—Section 9005(a) of 

8 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘10 days’’ and inserting ‘‘24 hours’’. 

10 SEC. 206. AMOUNTS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAM11 PAIGN FUND. 

12 Section 9006(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

13 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

14 sentence: ‘‘In making a determination of whether there are 

15 insufficient moneys in the fund for purposes of the pre16 vious sentence, the Secretary shall take into account in 

17 determining the balance of the fund for a Presidential 

18 election year the Secretary’s best estimate of the amount 

19 of moneys which will be deposited into the fund during 

20 the year, except that the amount of the estimate may not 

21 exceed the average of the annual amounts deposited in the 

22 fund during the previous 3 years.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
30 

•HR 7499 IH

1 SEC. 207. USE OF GENERAL ELECTION PAYMENTS FOR GEN2 ERAL ELECTION LEGAL AND ACCOUNTING 

3 COMPLIANCE. 

4 Section 9002(11) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

6 sentence: ‘‘For purposes of subparagraph (A), an expense 

7 incurred by a candidate or authorized committee for gen8 eral election legal and accounting compliance purposes 

9 shall be considered to be an expense to further the election 

10 of such candidate.’’. 

11 SEC. 208. USE OF FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND AS 

12 SOURCE OF PAYMENTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 95 of subtitle H of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

15 the end the following new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 9013. USE OF FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND AS 

17 SOURCE OF PAYMENTS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro19 vision of this chapter, effective with respect to the Presi20 dential election held in 2028 and each succeeding Presi21 dential election, all payments made under this chapter 

22 shall be made from the Freedom From Influence Fund 

23 established under title III of the Empower Act of 2024. 

24 ‘‘(b) MANDATORY REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS IN

25 CASE OF INSUFFICIENT AMOUNTS IN FUND.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
31 

•HR 7499 IH

1 ‘‘(1) ADVANCE AUDITS BY COMMISSION.—Not 

2 later than 90 days before the first day of each Presi3 dential election cycle (beginning with the cycle for 

4 the election held in 2028), the Commission shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) audit the Fund to determine whether, 

6 after first making payments to candidates 

7 under chapter 96, the amounts remaining in 

8 the Fund will be sufficient to make payments to 

9 candidates under this chapter in the amounts 

10 provided under this chapter during such elec11 tion cycle; and 

12 ‘‘(B) submit a report to Congress describ13 ing the results of the audit. 

14 ‘‘(2) REDUCTIONS IN AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) AUTOMATIC REDUCTION ON PRO

16 RATA BASIS.—If, on the basis of the audit de17 scribed in paragraph (1), the Commission deter18 mines that the amount anticipated to be avail19 able in the Fund with respect to the Presi20 dential election cycle involved is not, or may not 

21 be, sufficient to satisfy the full entitlements of 

22 candidates to payments under this chapter for 

23 such cycle, the Commission shall reduce each 

24 amount which would otherwise be paid to a can25 didate under this chapter by such pro rata 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
32 

•HR 7499 IH

1 amount as may be necessary to ensure that the 

2 aggregate amount of payments anticipated to 

3 be made with respect to the cycle will not ex4 ceed the amount anticipated to be available for 

5 such payments in the Fund with respect to such 

6 cycle. 

7 ‘‘(B) RESTORATION OF REDUCTIONS IN

8 CASE OF AVAILABILITY OF SUFFICIENT FUNDS

9 DURING ELECTION CYCLE.—If, after reducing 

10 the amounts paid to candidates with respect to 

11 an election cycle under subparagraph (A), the 

12 Commission determines that there are sufficient 

13 amounts in the Fund to restore the amount by 

14 which such payments were reduced (or any por15 tion thereof), to the extent that such amounts 

16 are available, the Commission may make a pay17 ment on a pro rata basis to each such candidate 

18 with respect to the election cycle in the amount 

19 by which such candidate’s payments were re20 duced under subparagraph (A) (or any portion 

21 thereof, as the case may be). 

22 ‘‘(C) NO USE OF AMOUNTS FROM OTHER

23 SOURCES.—In any case in which the Commis24 sion determines that there are insufficient mon25 eys in the Fund to make payments to canVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
33 

•HR 7499 IH

1 didates under this chapter, moneys shall not be 

2 made available from any other source for the 

3 purpose of making such payments. 

4 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED

5 FOR PEDIATRIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.—This sec6 tion does not apply to the transfer of funds under 

7 section 9008(i). 

8 ‘‘(4) PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CYCLE DE9 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘Presidential elec10 tion cycle’ means, with respect to a Presidential elec11 tion, the period beginning on the day after the date 

12 of the previous Presidential general election and 

13 ending on the date of the Presidential election.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

15 for chapter 95 of subtitle H of such Code is amended by 

16 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 9013. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments.’’. 

17 TITLE III—FREEDOM FROM 

18 INFLUENCE FUND 

19 SEC. 301. FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

21 Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘‘Freedom From In22 fluence Fund’’. 

23 (b) AMOUNTS HELD BY FUND.—The Fund shall con24 sist of amounts transferred under section 3015 of title 18, 

25 United States Code (as added by section 302(a)), section 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
34 

•HR 7499 IH

1 9706 of title 31, United States Code (as added by section 

2 302(b)), and section 6761 of the Internal Revenue Code 

3 of 1986 (as added by section 302(c)). 

4 (c) USE OF FUND TO MAKE PAYMENTS TO CAN5 DIDATES.—Amounts in the Fund shall be available with6 out further appropriation or fiscal year limitation— 

7 (1) to make payments to candidates under 

8 chapter 95 of subtitle H of the Internal Revenue 

9 Code of 1986, subject to reductions under section 

10 9013(b) of such Code; and 

11 (2) to make payments to candidates under 

12 chapter 96 of subtitle H of the Internal Revenue 

13 Code of 1986, subject to reductions under section 

14 9043(b) of such Code. 

15 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

16 on the date of the enactment of this title. 

17 SEC. 302. ASSESSMENTS AGAINST FINES AND PENALTIES. 

18 (a) ASSESSMENTS RELATING TO CRIMINAL OF19 FENSES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 201 of title 18, 

21 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following new section: 

23 ‘‘§ 3015. Special assessments for Freedom From Influ24 ence Fund 

25 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENTS.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
35 

•HR 7499 IH

1 ‘‘(1) CONVICTIONS OF CRIMES.—In addition to 

2 any assessment imposed under this chapter, the 

3 court shall assess on any organizational defendant or 

4 any defendant who is a corporate officer or person 

5 with equivalent authority in any other organization 

6 who is convicted of a criminal offense under Federal 

7 law an amount equal to 4.75 percent of any fine im8 posed on that defendant in the sentence imposed for 

9 that conviction. 

10 ‘‘(2) SETTLEMENTS.—The court shall assess on 

11 any organizational defendant or defendant who is a 

12 corporate officer or person with equivalent authority 

13 in any other organization who has entered into a 

14 settlement agreement or consent decree with the 

15 United States in satisfaction of any allegation that 

16 the defendant committed a criminal offense under 

17 Federal law an amount equal to 4.75 percent of the 

18 amount of the settlement. 

19 ‘‘(b) MANNER OF COLLECTION.—An amount as20 sessed under subsection (a) shall be collected in the man21 ner in which fines are collected in criminal cases. 

22 ‘‘(c) TRANSFERS.—In a manner consistent with sec23 tion 3302(b) of title 31, there shall be transferred from 

24 the General Fund of the Treasury to the Freedom From 

25 Influence Fund under title III of the Empower Act of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
36 

•HR 7499 IH

1 2024 an amount equal to the amount of the assessments 

2 collected under this section.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions of chapter 201 of title 18, United States Code, 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3015. Special assessments for Freedom From Influence Fund.’’. 

6 (b) ASSESSMENTS RELATING TO CIVIL PEN7 ALTIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 97 of title 31, 

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 9706. Special assessments for Freedom From Influ12 ence Fund 

13 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Any entity of the Fed15 eral Government which is authorized under any law, 

16 rule, or regulation to impose a civil penalty shall as17 sess on each person, other than a natural person 

18 who is not a corporate officer or person with equiva19 lent authority in any other organization, on whom 

20 such a penalty is imposed an amount equal to 4.75 

21 percent of the amount of the penalty. 

22 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES.—Any entity 

23 of the Federal Government which is authorized 

24 under any law, rule, or regulation to impose an ad25 ministrative penalty shall assess on each person, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
37 

•HR 7499 IH

1 other than a natural person who is not a corporate 

2 officer or person with equivalent authority in any 

3 other organization, on whom such a penalty is im4 posed an amount equal to 4.75 percent of the 

5 amount of the penalty. 

6 ‘‘(3) SETTLEMENTS.—Any entity of the Federal 

7 Government which is authorized under any law, rule, 

8 or regulation to enter into a settlement agreement or 

9 consent decree with any person, other than a natural 

10 person who is not a corporate officer or person with 

11 equivalent authority in any other organization, in 

12 satisfaction of any allegation of an action or omis13 sion by the person which would be subject to a civil 

14 penalty or administrative penalty shall assess on 

15 such person an amount equal to 4.75 percent of the 

16 amount of the settlement. 

17 ‘‘(b) MANNER OF COLLECTION.—An amount as18 sessed under subsection (a) shall be collected— 

19 ‘‘(1) in the case of an amount assessed under 

20 paragraph (1) of such subsection, in the manner in 

21 which civil penalties are collected by the entity of the 

22 Federal Government involved; 

23 ‘‘(2) in the case of an amount assessed under 

24 paragraph (2) of such subsection, in the manner in 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
38 

•HR 7499 IH

1 which administrative penalties are collected by the 

2 entity of the Federal Government involved; and 

3 ‘‘(3) in the case of an amount assessed under 

4 paragraph (3) of such subsection, in the manner in 

5 which amounts are collected pursuant to settlement 

6 agreements or consent decrees entered into by the 

7 entity of the Federal Government involved. 

8 ‘‘(c) TRANSFERS.—In a manner consistent with sec9 tion 3302(b) of this title, there shall be transferred from 

10 the General Fund of the Treasury to the Freedom From 

11 Influence Fund under title III of the Empower Act of 

12 2024 an amount equal to the amount of the assessments 

13 collected under this section. 

14 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION FOR PENALTIES AND SETTLE15 MENTS UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE

16 CODE OF 1986.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No assessment shall be 

18 made under subsection (a) with respect to any civil 

19 or administrative penalty imposed, or any settlement 

20 agreement or consent decree entered into, under the 

21 authority of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

22 ‘‘(2) CROSS REFERENCE.—For application of 

23 special assessments for the Freedom From Influence 

24 Fund with respect to certain penalties under the InVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
39 

•HR 7499 IH

1 ternal Revenue Code of 1986, see section 6761 of 

2 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions of chapter 97 of title 31, United States Code, 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘9706. Special assessments for Freedom From Influence Fund.’’. 

6 (c) ASSESSMENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN PEN7 ALTIES UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF

8 1986.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 68 of the Internal 

10 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following new subchapter: 

12 ‘‘Subchapter D—Special Assessments for 

13 Freedom From Influence Fund 

14 ‘‘SEC. 6761. SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR FREEDOM FROM 

15 INFLUENCE FUND. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each person required to pay a 

17 covered penalty shall pay an additional amount equal to 

18 4.75 percent of the amount of such penalty. 

19 ‘‘(b) COVERED PENALTY.—For purposes of this sec20 tion, the term ‘covered penalty’ means any addition to tax, 

21 additional amount, penalty, or other liability provided 

22 under subchapter A or B. 

23 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a taxpayer 

25 who is an individual, subsection (a) shall not apply 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
40 

•HR 7499 IH

1 to any covered penalty if such taxpayer is an exempt 

2 taxpayer for the taxable year for which such covered 

3 penalty is assessed. 

4 ‘‘(2) EXEMPT TAXPAYER.—For purposes of ths 

5 subsection, a taxpayer is an exempt taxpayer for any 

6 taxable year if the taxable income of such taxpayer 

7 for such taxable year does not exceed the dollar 

8 amount at which begins the highest rate bracket in 

9 effect under section 1 with respect to such taxpayer 

10 for such taxable year. 

11 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN RULES.—Except as 

12 provided in subsection (e), the additional amount deter13 mined under subsection (a) shall be treated for purposes 

14 of this title in the same manner as the covered penalty 

15 to which such additional amount relates. 

16 ‘‘(e) TRANSFER TO FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE

17 FUND.—The Secretary shall deposit any additional 

18 amount under subsection (a) in the General Fund of the 

19 Treasury and shall transfer from such General Fund to 

20 the Freedom From Influence Fund established under sec21 tion title III of the Empower Act of 2024 an amount equal 

22 to the amounts so deposited (and, notwithstanding sub23 section (d), such additional amount shall not be the basis 

24 for any deposit, transfer, credit, appropriation, or any 

25 other payment, to any other trust fund or account). Rules 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
41 

•HR 7499 IH

1 similar to the rules of section 9601 shall apply for pur2 poses of this subsection.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sub4 chapters for chapter 68 of such Code is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER D—SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE

FUND’’. 

6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

9 shall apply with respect to convictions, agreements, 

10 and penalties which occur on or after the date of the 

11 enactment of this Act. 

12 (2) ASSESSMENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN PEN13 ALTIES UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF

14 1986.—The amendments made by subsection (c) 

15 shall apply to covered penalties assessed after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE 

18 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided, this 

20 Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply 

21 with respect to the Presidential election held in 2028 and 

22 each succeeding Presidential election, without regard to 

23 whether or not the Federal Election Commission has pro24 mulgated the final regulations necessary to carry out this 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
42 

•HR 7499 IH

1 Act and the amendments made by this Act by the deadline 

2 set forth in subsection (b). 

3 (b) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

4 June 30, 2026, the Federal Election Commission shall 

5 promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

6 out this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB