I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2944

To reform the financing of Federal elections, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 1, 1996

Mrs. MALONEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committees on Commerce, the Judiciary, Government Reform and Oversight, and Ways and

Means, 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 reform the financing of Federal elections, and for other

purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Election Re5 form Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.
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TITLE I—HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION SPENDING

LIMITS AND BENEFITS

Sec. 101. House of Representatives election spending limits and benefits.

Sec. 102. Broadcast rates and preemption.

Sec. 103. Reduced postage rates.

Sec. 104. Contribution limitations for House of Representatives candidates.

Sec. 105. Reporting requirements.

TITLE II—REDUCTION OF SPECIAL INTEREST INFLUENCE

Subtitle A—Provisions Relating to Political Action Committees

Sec. 201. Prohibition of leadership committees; excess contributions.

Sec. 202. Aggregate limit on certain contributions.

Sec. 203. Contributions by lobbyists.

Sec. 204. Limitation on financial support provided to political committees by

connected organizations.

Subtitle B—Provisions Relating to Soft Money of Political Parties

Sec. 211. Soft money of political parties.

Sec. 212. Reporting requirements.

Sec. 213. Building fund exception to the definition of the term ‘‘contribution’’.

Subtitle C—Soft Money of Persons Other Than Political Parties

Sec. 221. Soft money of persons other than political parties.

Subtitle D—Contributions

Sec. 231. Restrictions on bundling.

Sec. 232. Contributions by dependents not of voting age.

Subtitle E—Additional Prohibitions on Contributions

Sec. 241. Allowable contributions for candidates.

Subtitle F—Independent Expenditures

Sec. 251. Provisions relating to independent expenditures.

Sec. 252. Mandatory limitation on independent expenditures in House of Representatives elections.

Sec. 253. Reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures.

Sec. 254. Designation of income tax payments to Independent Expenditure Response Fund.

Sec. 255. Independent Expenditure Response Fund.

Sec. 256. Registration fee for multicandidate political committees.

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Audits.

Sec. 302. Change in certain reporting from a calendar year basis to an election

cycle basis.

Sec. 303. Expedited procedures.

Sec. 304. Official Mass Mailing Allowance.

Sec. 305. Provisions relating to Members’ Official Mail Allowance.

Sec. 306. Intent of Congress.

Sec. 307. Expedited review of constitutional issues.
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Sec. 308. Effective date.

Sec. 309. Regulations.

1 TITLE I—HOUSE OF REPRESENT2 ATIVES ELECTION SPENDING

3 LIMITS AND BENEFITS

4 SEC. 101. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION SPEND5 ING LIMITS AND BENEFITS.

6 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is

7 amended by adding at the end the following new title:

8 ‘‘TITLE V—SPENDING LIMITS

9 AND BENEFITS FOR HOUSE

10 OF REPRESENTATIVES ELEC11 TION CAMPAIGNS

12 ‘‘SEC. 501. CANDIDATES ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE BENEFITS.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title, a can14 didate is an eligible House of Representatives candidate

15 if the Commission has certified, pursuant to section 504,

16 that the candidate—

17 ‘‘(1) meets the election cycle filing requirements

18 of subsection (b); and

19 ‘‘(2) meets the threshold contribution require20 ments of subsection (c).

21 ‘‘(b) FILING REQUIREMENTS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

23 subsection are met if the candidate files with the
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1 Commission under penalty of perjury a declaration

2 that—

3 ‘‘(A) the candidate and the candidate’s au4 thorized committees—

5 ‘‘(i) will not exceed the expenditure

6 limits under section 502(a) and (b);

7 ‘‘(ii) will not, in the event of a runoff

8 election, accept contributions in excess of

9 the runoff expenditure limit, reduced by

10 any amounts transferred to this election

11 cycle from a preceding election cycle; and

12 ‘‘(iii) will not accept any contributions

13 in violation of section 315; and

14 ‘‘(B) the candidate intends to make use of

15 the benefits provided under section 503.

16 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR FILING DECLARATION.—

17 The declaration under paragraph (1) shall be filed

18 the date the candidate files as a candidate for the

19 primary election. In the case of a candidate who is

20 not eligible to participate in a primary election but

21 qualifies for the general election ballot under State

22 law, the declaration under paragraph (1) shall be

23 filed not later than the date the candidate qualifies

24 for the general election ballot under State law.

25 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION.—A candidate who—
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1 ‘‘(A) files a declaration pursuant to sub2 section (b)(1) of this Act; and

3 ‘‘(B) subsequently acts in a manner incon4 sistent with any of the limitations or require5 ments of the declaration filed under subsection

6 (b)(1) shall file a notification regarding such

7 acts with the Commission not later than 24

8 hours after the first such act inconsistent with

9 any of the limitations or requirements and shall

10 at the same time notify all other candidates for

11 the same office by sending a copy of the notifi12 cation filed with the Commission by certified

13 mail, return receipt requested.

14 ‘‘(c) THRESHOLD CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

16 subsection are met if the candidate and the can17 didate’s authorized committees have received allow18 able contributions during the applicable period in an

19 amount equal to 10 percent of the election cycle ex20 penditure limit under section 502(a), and file with

21 the Commission under penalty of perjury a state22 ment with supporting materials demonstrating that

23 this requirement has been met.

24 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

25 Act—
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1 ‘‘(A) the term ‘allowable contributions’

2 means contributions that are made as gifts of

3 money by an individual pursuant to a written

4 instrument identifying such individual as the

5 contributor, except that such term shall not in6 clude contributions from individuals residing

7 outside the candidate’s State to the extent such

8 contributions exceed 25 percent of the amount

9 set forth in paragraph (1), provided that—

10 ‘‘(i) no more than $200 of any con11 tribution from an individual shall be taken

12 in account; and

13 ‘‘(ii) such term shall not include any

14 contribution within the meaning of section

15 315(a)(8), as amended by section 231; and

16 ‘‘(B) the term ‘applicable period’ means—

17 ‘‘(i) the period beginning on January

18 1 of the calendar year preceding the cal19 endar year of the general election involved

20 and ending on the date of the general elec21 tion; or

22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a special election

23 for the office of Representative in, or Dele24 gate or Resident Commissioner to, the

25 Congress, the period beginning on the date
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1 the vacancy in such office occurs and end2 ing on the date of the general election.

3 ‘‘SEC. 502. LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES.

4 ‘‘(a) ELECTION CYCLE EXPENDITURE LIMIT.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro6 vided in this title, the aggregate amount of expendi7 tures (other than expenditures for legal fees) for an

8 election cycle by an eligible House of Representatives

9 candidate and the candidate’s authorized committees

10 shall not exceed $600,000.

11 ‘‘(2) INDEXING.—The amount under paragraph

12 (1) shall be increased as of the beginning of each

13 calendar year based on the increase in the price

14 index determined under section 315(c), except that

15 the base period shall be calendar year 1996.

16 ‘‘(b) RUNOFF EXPENDITURE LIMITS.—The aggre17 gate amount of expenditures for a runoff election by an

18 eligible House of Representatives candidate and the can19 didate’s authorized committees shall not exceed 20 percent

20 of the election cycle expenditure limit under subsection

21 (a).

22 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT OF TAXES.—The limitation under

23 subsection (a) shall not apply to any expenditure for Fed24 eral, State, or local taxes with respect to earnings on con25 tributions raised.
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1 ‘‘(d) CONTESTED PRIMARY.—If, as determined by

2 the Commission, an eligible House of Representatives can3 didate in a contested primary wins that primary election

4 by a margin of 15 percent or less, the limitation contained

5 in subsection (a)(1) shall be increased by $200,000 for

6 such candidate, and such candidate shall be entitled to

7 raise additional contributions not to exceed this amount.

8 ‘‘(e) RULES APPLICABLE WHEN MANDATORY ELEC9 TION CYCLE EXPENDITURE LIMIT NOT IN EFFECT.—(1)

10 For purposes of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

11 1971, during any period beginning after the effective date

12 of this Act in which the requirement of paragraph (1) is

13 not in effect, there shall be in effect a voluntary election

14 cycle expenditure limit which shall operate in the same

15 manner as subsection (a), except that paragraph (2) shall

16 also be in effect.

17 ‘‘(2) COMPLYING CANDIDATES RUNNING AGAINST

18 NONCOMPLYING CANDIDATES.—(A) If in the case of an

19 election with more than one candidate where any can20 didate either—

21 ‘‘(i) fails to be certified as an eligible candidate

22 by the Commission and has expended personal funds

23 in excess of 5 percent of the election cycle limits

24 contained in subsection (a) or has received contribu25 tions or expended personal funds which in the aggre-
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1 gate exceed 50 percent of the election cycle limits

2 contained in subsection (a); or

3 ‘‘(ii) violates the limitations on expenditures of

4 this Act;

5 an eligible candidate shall be treated as provided in sub6 paragraph (B) and a candidate referred to in clause (i)

7 or (ii) shall be treated as provided in subparagraph (C).

8 ‘‘(B) The treatment referred to in subparagraph (A)

9 with respect to an eligible candidate is that the limitations

10 under subsection (a), section 323, and section 325, shall

11 not apply with respect to the candidate.

12 ‘‘(C) The treatment referred to in subparagraph (A)

13 with respect to a candidate referred to in subparagraph

14 (A) (i) or (ii) is that the candidate shall pay to the Inde15 pendent Expenditure Response Fund an amount equal to

16 35 percent of any amount expended in excess of the limita17 tion amount under subsection (a)(1) and the candidate

18 shall not receive benefits under section 503 or payments

19 under section 252(b) of the Federal Election Reform Act

20 of 1996.

21 ‘‘SEC. 503. BENEFITS ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES ENTITLED TO

22 RECEIVE.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), for

24 any election in which an eligible House of Representatives

25 candidate has at least one opponent who has qualified for
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1 the ballot and who has raised in contributions or expended

2 an amount equal to 10 percent of the election cycle limit

3 in section 502(a), such eligible candidate shall be entitled

4 to receive—

5 ‘‘(1) the broadcast media rates provided under

6 section 315(b) of the Communications Act of 1934;

7 and

8 ‘‘(2) the reduced postage rates provided in sec9 tion 3626(e) of title 39, United States Code.

10 ‘‘(b) PERSONAL SOURCES RULE.—(1) The aggregate

11 amount of expenditures that may be made during an elec12 tion cycle by an eligible House of Representatives can13 didate or such candidate’s authorized committees from the

14 sources described in paragraph (2) shall not exceed 5 per15 cent of the election cycle expenditure limit under sub16 section (b).

17 ‘‘(2) A source is described in this subsection if it is—

18 ‘‘(A) personal funds of the candidate and

19 members of the candidate’s immediate family;

20 or

21 ‘‘(B) personal loans incurred by the can22 didate and members of the candidate’s imme23 diate family.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 504. CERTIFICATION BY COMMISSION.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall determine

3 whether a candidate has met the requirements of this title

4 and, based upon that determination, shall issue a certifi5 cation stating whether or not such candidate is eligible to

6 receive benefits under this title.

7 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—Upon receipt of the declara8 tion required under section 501(b) and the statement re9 quired under section 501(c), and such other information

10 as the Commission may by regulation require, the Com11 mission shall determine if such candidate meets the eligi12 bility requirements in section 501 and, if so, shall certify

13 the candidate’s eligibility for the benefits referred to in

14 section 503. The Commission shall revoke such certifi15 cation if, based on relevant information submitted in such

16 form and manner as the Commission may require or based

17 on relevant information that otherwise comes to its atten18 tion, it determines a candidate fails to continue to meet

19 any of the requirements of this title, including the limita20 tions on expenditures set forth in section 502(a) and (b).

21 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION BY COMMISSION.—All deter22 minations (including certifications under this section)

23 made by the Commission under this title shall be final,

24 except to the extent that they are subject to examination

25 and audit by the Commission under section 505 and sub26 ject to judicial review.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 505. REPAYMENTS; ADDITIONAL CIVIL PENALTIES.

2 ‘‘(a) MISUSE OF BENEFITS.—If the Commission de3 termines that any benefit made available to an eligible

4 House of Representatives candidate under this title was

5 not used as provided for in this title, or that an eligible

6 candidate has violated any of the spending limits con7 tained in this Act or otherwise revokes the certification

8 of a candidate as an eligible House of Representatives can9 didate, the Commission shall so notify the candidate and

10 the candidate shall pay to the provider of such benefits

11 received an amount equal to the value of the benefits re12 ceived under this title.

13 ‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—

14 ‘‘(1) LOW AMOUNT OF EXCESS EXPENDI15 TURES.—Any eligible House of Representatives can16 didate who makes expenditures that exceed a limita17 tion under this title by 2.5 percent or less shall pay

18 to the Commission an amount equal to the amount

19 of the excess expenditures.

20 ‘‘(2) MEDIUM AMOUNT OF EXCESS EXPENDI21 TURES.—Any eligible House of Representatives can22 didate who makes expenditures that exceed a limita23 tion under this title by more than 2.5 percent and

24 less than 5 percent shall pay to the Commission an

25 amount equal to 3 times the amount of the excess

26 expenditures.
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1 ‘‘(3) LARGE AMOUNT OF EXCESS EXPENDI2 TURES.—Any eligible House of Representatives can3 didate who makes expenditures that exceed a limita4 tion under this title by 5 percent or more shall pay

5 to the Commission an amount equal to 3 times the

6 amount of the excess expenditures plus a civil pen7 alty to be imposed pursuant to the procedures of

8 section 309 of this Act (2 U.S.C. 437(g)).’’.

9 SEC. 102. BROADCAST RATES AND PREEMPTION.

10 (a) BROADCAST RATES.—Section 315(b) of the Com11 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) The charges’’ and inserting

13 ‘‘(b)(1) The charges’’;

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

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

16 (3) in paragraph (1)(A), as redesignated—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘forty-five’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘30’’; and

19 (B) by striking ‘‘lowest unit charge of the

20 station for the same class and amount of time

21 for the same period’’ and inserting ‘‘lowest

22 charge of the station for the same amount of

23 time for the same period on the same date’’;

24 and
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1 (4) by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraph:

3 ‘‘(2) In the case of an eligible House of Representa4 tives candidate (as described in section 501(a) of the Fed5 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971), the charges for the

6 use of a television or radio broadcasting station during

7 the 30-day period and 60-day period referred to in para8 graph (1)(A) shall not exceed 50 percent of the lowest

9 charge described in paragraph (1)(A).’’.

10 (b) PREEMPTION; ACCESS.—Section 315 of such Act

11 (47 U.S.C. 315) is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as

13 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and

14 (2) by inserting immediately after subsection

15 (b) the following subsection:

16 ‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a li17 censee shall not preempt the use, during any period speci18 fied in subsection (b)(1)(A), of a broadcasting station by

19 an eligible House of Representatives candidate who has

20 purchased and paid for such use pursuant to subsection

21 (b)(2).

22 ‘‘(2) If a program to be broadcast by a broadcasting

23 station is preempted because of circumstances beyond the

24 control of the broadcasting station, any candidate adver-
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1 tising spot scheduled to be broadcast during that program

2 may also be preempted.’’.

3 (c) REVOCATION OF LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PER4 MIT ACCESS.—Section 312(a)(7) of the Communications

5 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 312(a)(7)) is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘or repeated’’;

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘or cable system’’ after ‘‘broad8 casting station’’; and

9 (3) by striking ‘‘his candidacy’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘the candidacy of such person, under the same

11 terms, conditions, and business practices as apply to

12 its most favored advertiser’’.

13 (d) JURISDICTION OVER TAKINGS CHALLENGE TO

14 BROADCAST RATES.—The United States Court of Federal

15 Claims shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any action

16 challenging the constitutionality of the broadcast media

17 rates required to be offered to political candidates under

18 section 503(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

19 1971 and section 315(b) of the Communications Act of

20 1934. Money damages shall be the sole and exclusive rem21 edy in such cases, and only individuals or entities suffering

22 actual financial injury shall have standing to maintain

23 such an action.

24 (e) CONDITION OF RENEWAL OR NEW LICENSE.—

25 Section 307 of the Communications Act of 1934 is amend-
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1 ed by adding the following: ‘‘The continuation of an exist2 ing license, the renewal of an expiring license, and the is3 suance of a new license shall be expressly conditioned on

4 the agreement by the licensee to abide by the provisions

5 of section 503(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

6 of 1971 and section 315(b) of this Act. The Commission

7 shall take such action as it deems appropriate to assure

8 compliance with this requirement.’’.

9 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Commission, in consultation

10 with the Federal Communications Commission, shall issue

11 regulations to modify the requirements of this section in

12 any cases where a licensee establishes that such require13 ments would impose significant economic hardship.

14 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

15 this section shall apply to the general elections occurring

16 after December 31, 1996 (and the election cycles relating

17 thereto).

18 SEC. 103. REDUCED POSTAGE RATES.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3626(e) of title 39, Unit20 ed States Code, is amended—

21 (1) in paragraph (2)—

22 (A) in subparagraph (A)—

23 (i) by striking ‘‘and the National’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘the National’’; and
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1 (ii) by inserting before the semicolon

2 the following: ‘‘, and, subject to paragraph

3 (3), the principal campaign committee of

4 an eligible House of Representatives can5 didate;’’;

6 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking

7 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;

8 (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking the

9 period and inserting a semicolon; and

10 (D) by adding after subparagraph (C) the

11 following new subparagraphs:

12 ‘‘(D) the term ‘principal campaign committee’

13 has the meaning given such term in section 301 of

14 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971; and

15 ‘‘(E) the term ‘eligible House of Representa16 tives candidate’ has the meaning given such term in

17 section 501(a) of the Federal Election Campaign

18 Act of 1971.’’; and

19 (2) by adding after paragraph (2) the following

20 new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(3) The rate made available under this subsection

22 with respect to an eligible House of Representatives can23 didate shall apply only to that number of pieces of mail

24 equal to 3 times the number of individuals in the voting
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1 age population (as certified under section 315(e) of such

2 Act) of the congressional district.’’.

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

4 this section shall apply to the general elections occurring

5 after December 31, 1996 (and the election cycles relating

6 thereto).

7 SEC. 104. CONTRIBUTION LIMITATIONS FOR HOUSE OF

8 REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES.

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

10 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a) is amended by adding at the

11 end the following new paragraphs:

12 ‘‘(9)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(A), the limi13 tation described in that paragraph shall be $500 with re14 spect to any election for the office of Representative in,

15 or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.

16 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A), the limita17 tion described in that paragraph shall be $500 with re18 spect to any election for the office of Representative in,

19 or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.

20 ‘‘(10)(A) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1), (3), and

21 (9), no citizens committee shall make contributions to any

22 candidate and the authorized political committees of such

23 candidate with respect to any election for the office of

24 Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner

25 to, the Congress which, in the aggregate, exceed $1,000.
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1 ‘‘(B) As used in this Act, the term ‘citizens commit2 tee’ means a political committee which, in each calendar

3 year, receives contributions of not more than $100 from

4 each of at least 25 individuals.’’.

5 SEC. 105. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

6 (a) Any candidate for the House of Representatives

7 who during the election cycle expends more than the limi8 tation under section 503(b) of the Federal Election Cam9 paign Act of 1971 during the election cycle from his per10 sonal funds, the funds of his immediate family, and per11 sonal loans incurred by the candidate and the candidate’s

12 immediate family shall report such expenditures to the

13 Commission within 48 hours after such expenditures have

14 been made or loans incurred. An additional report shall

15 be filed within 48 hours of the date such candidate makes

16 expenditures of such personal funds aggregating 25 per17 cent of the election cycle limit under section 502(a) of the

18 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

19 (b) Any candidate for the House of Representatives

20 who has failed to be certified as an eligible candidate by

21 the Commission and who during the election cycle has re22 ceived contributions or expended personal funds which, in

23 the aggregate, exceed 50 percent of the election cycle lim24 its contained in section 502(a) of the Federal Election

25 Campaign Act of 1971, shall file a report with the Com-
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1 mission within 48 hours after such contributions have

2 been received or such expenditures have been made. Addi3 tional reports shall be filed within 48 hours after such can4 didate has received contributions or expended personal

5 funds which, in the aggregate, exceed 70 percent and 120

6 percent of the election cycle limit. Additional reports shall

7 be filed within 48 hours after the candidate spends an

8 amount equal to 105 percent and 155 percent of the elec9 tion cycle limit contained in section 502(a) of the Federal

10 Election Campaign Act of 1971.

11 (c) The Commission within 48 hours after any report

12 has been filed under subsections (a) and (b) shall notify

13 each eligible House of Representatives candidate in the

14 election about each such report.

15 (d) If any act which requires the filing of any report

16 under subsection (a) or (b) occurs after the 20th day, but

17 more than 24 hours before an election, such report shall

18 be filed by the candidate within 24 hours of the occurrence

19 of such act. For any such report filed pursuant to this

20 subsection, the Commission shall notify the appropriate el21 igible House of Representatives candidate within 24 hours

22 after the filing of such report.
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1 TITLE II—REDUCTION OF

2 SPECIAL INTEREST INFLUENCE

3 Subtitle A—Provisions Relating to

4 Political Action Committees

5 SEC. 201. PROHIBITION OF LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES; EX6 CESS CONTRIBUTIONS.

7 (a) PROHIBITION OF LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES.—

8 Section 302(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

9 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(e)) is amended—

10 (1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol11 lows:

12 ‘‘(3) No political committee that supports or has sup13 ported more than one candidate may be designated as an

14 authorized committee, except that—

15 ‘‘(A) a candidate for the office of President

16 nominated by a political party may designate the na17 tional committee of such political party as the can18 didate’s principal campaign committee, but only if

19 that national committee maintains separate books of

20 account with respect to its functions as a principal

21 campaign committee; and

22 ‘‘(B) a candidate may designate a political com23 mittee established solely for the purpose of joint

24 fundraising by such candidates as an authorized

25 committee.’’; and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraph:

3 ‘‘(6)(A) A candidate for Federal office or any individ4 ual holding Federal office may not directly or indirectly

5 establish, finance, maintain, or control any Federal or

6 non-Federal political committee other than a principal

7 campaign committee of the candidate, authorized commit8 tee, party committee, or other political committee des9 ignated in accordance with paragraph (3). A candidate for

10 more than one Federal office may designate a separate

11 principal campaign committee for each Federal office.

12 This paragraph shall not preclude a Federal officeholder

13 who is a candidate for State or local office from establish14 ing, financing, maintaining, or controlling a political com15 mittee for election of the individual to such State or local

16 office.

17 ‘‘(B) For one year after the effective date of this

18 paragraph, any political committee established before such

19 date but which is prohibited under subparagraph (A) may

20 continue to make contributions. At the end of that period

21 such political committee shall disburse all funds by one

22 or more of the following means: making contributions to

23 an entity qualified under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal

24 Revenue Code of 1986 that is not established, maintained,

25 financed, or controlled directly or indirectly by any can-
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1 didate for Federal office or any individual holding Federal

2 office; making a contribution to the treasury of the United

3 States; contributing to the national, State, or local com4 mittees of a political party; or making contributions not

5 to exceed $1,000 to candidates for elective office.’’.

6 (b) EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS.—A candidate (or au7 thorized committees of such candidate) who receives a con8 tribution from a multicandidate political committee in ex9 cess of the amount allowed under subsection (d)(1) shall

10 return the amount of such excess contribution to the con11 tributor.

12 SEC. 202. AGGREGATE LIMIT ON CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS.

13 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

14 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

15 end the following new section:

16 ‘‘SEC. 323. For purposes of the Federal Election

17 Campaign Act of 1971, during any period beginning after

18 the effective date of this Act, it shall be unlawful for a

19 candidate for election for the office of Representative in,

20 or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress

21 (or the authorized committees of such candidate) to ac22 cept—

23 ‘‘(1) any contribution from an individual in ex24 cess of $200 to the extent that the acceptance of

25 such contribution will cause the aggregate amount of
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1 contributions from individuals in excess of $200 re2 ceived by the candidate and the candidate’s author3 ized committees to exceed $200,000;

4 ‘‘(2) contributions from multicandidate political

5 committees in excess of $200,000 for an election

6 cycle; or

7 ‘‘(3) contributions from citizens committees in

8 excess of $200,000 for an election cycle.’’

9 SEC. 203. CONTRIBUTIONS BY LOBBYISTS.

10 Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

11 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)), as amended by section 104,

12 is further amended by adding at the end the following new

13 paragraph:

14 ‘‘(11) Notwithstanding section 315(a)(1)(A), any

15 person required to register under section 4 of the Lobby16 ing Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603) or the Foreign

17 Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et

18 seq.)—

19 ‘‘(A) shall not make contributions to, or solicit

20 contributions for, any candidate and his authorized

21 political committees with respect to any election for

22 Federal office, if such person has had a lobbying

23 contact with the candidate during the preceding

24 year; and
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1 ‘‘(B) shall not have any lobbying contact with

2 any individual who holds a Federal office, if, during

3 the preceding year, such person has made, or solic4 ited contributions for, such individual as a candidate

5 (and his authorized political committees) with re6 spect to any election for Federal office.’’.

7 SEC. 204. LIMITATION ON FINANCIAL SUPPORT PROVIDED

8 TO POLITICAL COMMITTEES BY CONNECTED

9 ORGANIZATIONS.

10 Section 316(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

11 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)) is amended by adding at the

12 end the following new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec14 tion, a connected organization may provide financial sup15 port to a political committee only to the extent that such

16 support does not exceed an amount equal to 20 percent

17 of the fundraising expenses of the political committee.’’.

18 Subtitle B—Provisions Relating to

19 Soft Money of Political Parties

20 SEC. 211. SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES.

21 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

22 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended by section 202,

23 is further amended by adding at the end the following new

24 section:
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1 ‘‘SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES

2 ‘‘SEC. 324. (a) A national committee of a political

3 party, including the national congressional campaign com4 mittees of a political party, and any officers or agents of

5 such party committees, shall not solicit or receive any con6 tributions, donations, or transfers of funds, or spend any

7 funds, not subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and re8 porting requirements of this Act. This subsection shall

9 apply to any entity that is established, financed, main10 tained, or controlled by a national committee of a political

11 party, including the national congressional campaign com12 mittees of a political party, and any officers or agents of

13 such party committees.

14 ‘‘(b)(1) Any amount expended or disbursed by a

15 State, district, or local committee of a political party, dur16 ing a calendar year in which a Federal election is held,

17 for any activity which might affect the outcome of a Fed18 eral election, including but not limited to any voter reg19 istration and get-out-the-vote activity, any generic cam20 paign activity, and any communication that identifies a

21 Federal candidate (regardless of whether a State or local

22 candidate is also mentioned or identified) shall be made

23 from funds subject to the limitations, prohibitions and re24 porting requirements of this Act.
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1 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to expenditures

2 or disbursements made by a State, district or local com3 mittee of a political party for—

4 ‘‘(A) a contribution to a candidate other than

5 for Federal office, provided that such contribution is

6 not designated or otherwise earmarked to pay for ac7 tivities described in paragraph (1);

8 ‘‘(B) the costs of a State or district/local politi9 cal convention;

10 ‘‘(C) the non-Federal share of a State, district

11 or local party committee’s administrative and over12 head expenses (but not including the compensation

13 in any month of any individual who spends more

14 than 20 percent of his or her time on activity during

15 such month which may affect the outcome of a Fed16 eral election). For purposes of this provision, the

17 non-Federal share of a party committee’s adminis18 trative and overhead expenses shall be determined by

19 applying the ratio of the non-Federal disbursements

20 to the total Federal expenditures and non-Federal

21 disbursements made by the committee during the

22 previous presidential election year to the committee’s

23 administrative and overhead expenses in the election

24 year in question;
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•HR 2944 IH

1 ‘‘(D) the costs of grassroots campaign mate2 rials, including buttons, bumper stickers, and yard

3 signs, which materials solely name or depict a State

4 or local candidate; or

5 ‘‘(E) the cost of any campaign activity con6 ducted solely on behalf of a clearly identified State

7 or local candidate, provided that such activity is not

8 a get out the vote activity or any other activity cov9 ered by paragraph (1).

10 ‘‘(3) Any amount spent by a national, State, district

11 or local committee or entity of a political party to raise

12 funds that are used, in whole or in part, to pay the costs

13 of any activity covered by paragraph (1) shall be made

14 from funds subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and re15 porting requirements of this Act. This paragraph shall

16 apply to any entity that is established, financed, main17 tained, or controlled by a State, district or local committee

18 of a political party or any agent or officer of such party

19 committee in the same manner as it applies to that com20 mittee.

21 ‘‘(c) No national, State, district or local committee

22 of a political party shall solicit any funds for or make any

23 donations to any organization that is exempt from Federal

24 taxation under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue

25 Code of 1986.
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1 ‘‘(d)(1) No candidate for Federal office, individual

2 holding Federal office, or any agent of such candidate or

3 officeholder, may solicit or receive (A) any funds in con4 nection with any Federal election unless such funds are

5 subject to the limitations, prohibitions and reporting re6 quirements of this Act; (B) any funds that are to be ex7 pended in connection with any election for other than a

8 Federal election unless such funds are not in excess of

9 the amounts permitted with respect to contributions to

10 Federal candidates and political committees under section

11 315(a)(1) and (2), and are not from sources prohibited

12 from making contributions by this Act with respect to elec13 tion for Federal office. This paragraph shall not apply to

14 the solicitation or receipt of funds by an individual who

15 is a candidate for a non-Federal office if such activity is

16 permitted under State law for such individual’s non-Fed17 eral campaign committee.

18 ‘‘(2)(A) No candidate for Federal office or individual

19 holding Federal office may directly or indirectly establish,

20 maintain, finance or control any organization described in

21 section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 if

22 such organization raises funds from the public.

23 ‘‘(B) No candidate for Federal office or individual

24 holding Federal office may raise funds for any organiza25 tion described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue
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•HR 2944 IH

1 Code of 1986 if the activities of the organization include

2 voter registration or get-out-the-vote campaigns.

3 ‘‘(C) For purposes of this paragraph, an individual

4 shall be treated as holding Federal office if such individ5 ual—

6 ‘‘(i) holds a Federal office; or

7 ‘‘(ii) holds a position described in level I of the

8 Executive Schedule under 5312 of title 5, United

9 States Code.’’.

10 SEC. 212. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

11 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of the

12 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434)

13 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub14 section:

15 ‘‘(d) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—(1) A political com16 mittee other than a national committee of a political party,

17 any congressional campaign committee of a political party,

18 and any subordinate committee of either, to which section

19 325(b)(1) applies shall report all receipts and disburse20 ments.

21 ‘‘(2) Any political committee other than the commit22 tees of a political party shall report any receipts or dis23 bursements that are used in connection with a Federal

24 election.
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1 ‘‘(3) If a political committee has receipts or disburse2 ments to which this subsection applies from any person

3 aggregating in excess of $200 for any calendar year, the

4 political committee shall separately itemize its reporting

5 for such person in the same manner as required in sub6 section (b)(3)(A), (5), or (6).

7 ‘‘(4) Reports required to be filed under this sub8 section shall be filed for the same time periods required

9 for political committees under subsection (a).’’.

10 (b) REPORTS BY STATE COMMITTEES.—Section 304

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

12 434), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended

13 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

14 ‘‘(e) FILING OF STATE REPORTS.—In lieu of any re15 port required to be filed by this Act, the Commission may

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

17 the Commission a report required to be filed under State

18 law if the Commission determines such reports contain

19 substantially the same information.’’.

20 (c) OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

21 (1) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—Section

22 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

23 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub25 paragraph (H);
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•HR 2944 IH

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

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

4 subparagraph:

5 ‘‘(J) in the case of an authorized commit6 tee, disbursements for the primary election, the

7 general election, and any other election in which

8 the candidate participates;’’.

9 (2) NAMES AND ADDRESSES.—Section

10 304(b)(5)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

11 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended—

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

13 and

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

15 which the operating expenditure relates’’ after

16 ‘‘operating expenditure’’.

17 SEC. 213. BUILDING FUND EXCEPTION TO THE DEFINITION

18 OF THE TERM ‘‘CONTRIBUTION’’.

19 Section 301(8)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign

20 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking out clause (viii); and

22 (2) by redesignating clauses (ix) through (xiv)

23 as clauses (viii) through (xiii), respectively.
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•HR 2944 IH

1 Subtitle C—Soft Money of Persons

2 Other Than Political Parties

3 SEC. 221. SOFT MONEY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN POLITI4 CAL PARTIES.

5 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

6 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 212(a)

7 and (b), is further amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new subsection:

9 ‘‘(f) ELECTION ACTIVITY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN

10 POLITICAL PARTIES.—(1)(A)(i) If any person to which

11 section 325 does not apply makes (or obligates to make)

12 disbursements for activities described in section 325(b)(1)

13 in excess of $2,000, such person shall file a statement—

14 ‘‘(I) within 48 hours after the disbursements

15 (or obligations) are made; or

16 ‘‘(II) in the case of disbursements (or obliga17 tions) that are required to be made within 20 days

18 of the election, within 24 hours after such disburse19 ment (or obligations) are made.

20 ‘‘(ii) An additional statement shall be filed each time

21 additional disbursements aggregating $2,000 are made (or

22 obligated to be made) by a person described in clause (i).

23 ‘‘(B) This paragraph shall not apply to—

24 ‘‘(i) a candidate or a candidate’s authorized

25 committees; or
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•HR 2944 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) an independent expenditure (as defined in

2 section 301(17)).

3 ‘‘(2) Any statement under this section shall be filed

4 with the Commission and shall contain such information

5 as the Commission shall prescribe, including whether the

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

7 more candidates or any political party.’’.

8 Subtitle D—Contributions

9 SEC. 231. RESTRICTIONS ON BUNDLING.

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

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

12 as follows:

13 ‘‘(8)(A) No person, either directly or indirectly, may

14 act as a conduit or intermediary for any contribution to

15 a candidate.

16 ‘‘(B)(i) Nothing in this section shall prohibit—

17 ‘‘(I) joint fundraising conducted in accordance

18 with rules prescribed by the Commission by 2 or

19 more candidates; or

20 ‘‘(II) fundraising for the benefit of a candidate

21 that is conducted by another candidate.

22 ‘‘(ii) No other person may conduct or otherwise par23 ticipate in joint fundraising activities with or on behalf

24 of any candidate.
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•HR 2944 IH

1 ‘‘(C) The term ‘conduit or intermediary’ means a per2 son who transmits a contribution to a candidate or can3 didate’s committee or representative from another person,

4 except that—

5 ‘‘(i) a House of Representatives candidate or

6 representative of a House of Representatives can7 didate is not a conduit or intermediary for the pur8 pose of transmitting contributions to the candidate’s

9 principal campaign committee or authorized commit10 tee;

11 ‘‘(ii) a professional fundraiser is not a conduit

12 or intermediary, if the fundraiser is compensated for

13 fundraising services at the usual and customary

14 rate;

15 ‘‘(iii) a volunteer hosting a fundraising event at

16 the volunteer’s home, in accordance with section

17 301(8)(b), is not a conduit or intermediary for the

18 purposes of that event; and

19 ‘‘(iv) an individual is not a conduit or

20 intermediary for the purpose of transmitting a con21 tribution from the individual’s spouse.

22 For purposes of this section a conduit or intermediary

23 transmits a contribution when receiving or otherwise tak24 ing possession of the contribution and forwarding it di-
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•HR 2944 IH

1 rectly to the candidate or the candidate’s committee or

2 representative.

3 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this section, the term ‘rep4 resentative’—

5 ‘‘(i) shall mean a person who is expressly au6 thorized by the candidate to engage in fundraising,

7 and who, in the case of an individual, is not acting

8 as an officer, employee, or agent of any other per9 son;

10 ‘‘(ii) shall not include—

11 ‘‘(I) a political committee with a connected

12 organization;

13 ‘‘(II) a political party;

14 ‘‘(III) a partnership or sole proprietorship;

15 ‘‘(IV) an organization prohibited from

16 making contributions under section 316; or

17 ‘‘(V) a person required to register under

18 section 4 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of

19 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603) or the Foreign Agents

20 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et

21 seq.).

22 ‘‘(E) For purposes of this section, the term ‘acting

23 as an officer, employee, or agent of any other person’ in24 cludes the following activities by a salaried officer, em-
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•HR 2944 IH

1 ployee, or paid agent of a person described in subpara2 graph (D)(ii)(IV):

3 ‘‘(i) Soliciting contributions to a particular can4 didate in the name of, or by using the name of, such

5 a person.

6 ‘‘(ii) Soliciting contributions to a particular

7 candidate using other than the incidental resources

8 of such a person.

9 ‘‘(iii) Soliciting contributions to a particular

10 candidate under the direction or control of other sal11 aried officers, employees, or paid agents of such a

12 person.

13 For purposes of this subparagraph, the term ‘agent’ shall

14 include any person (other than individual members of an

15 organization described in subparagraph (b)(4)(C) of sec16 tion 316) acting on authority or under the direction of

17 such organization.’’.

18 SEC. 232. CONTRIBUTIONS BY DEPENDENTS NOT OF VOT19 ING AGE.

20 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

21 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended by adding at the end

22 the following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(i) For purposes of this section, any contribution by

24 an individual who—

25 ‘‘(1) is a dependent of another individual; and
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•HR 2944 IH

1 ‘‘(2) has not, as of the time of such contribu2 tion, attained the legal age for voting for elections

3 to Federal office in the State in which such individ4 ual resides,

5 shall be treated as having been made by such other indi6 vidual. If such individual is the dependent of another indi7 vidual and such other individual’s spouse, the contribution

8 shall be allocated among such individuals in the manner

9 determined by them.’’.

10 Subtitle E—Additional Prohibitions

11 on Contributions

12 SEC. 241. ALLOWABLE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR CANDIDATES.

13 (a) IN STATE REQUIREMENT.—Title III of the Fed14 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431, et

15 seq.), as amended by sections 202 and 211 is further

16 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

17 ‘‘SEC. 325. With regard to any candidate for election

18 for the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident

19 Commissioner to, the Congress, by the end of the election

20 cycle not less than 75 percent of the total dollar amount

21 of all contributions from individuals to a candidate or a

22 candidate’s authorized committees, not including any ex23 penditures, contributions or loans made by the candidate,

24 shall come from individuals legally residing in the can25 didate’s State.’’.
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1 (b) RULES APPLICABLE WHEN IN STATE REQUIRE2 MENT NOT IN EFFECT.—For purposes of the Federal

3 Election Campaign Act of 1971, during any period begin4 ning after the effective date on which the requirement of

5 section 325 of the Act (as added by subsection (a)) is not

6 in effect, a new clause (iv) shall be inserted in section

7 501(b)(1) as follows:

8 ‘‘(iv) will comply with the requirement

9 that, by the end of the election cycle, not

10 less than 75 percent of the total dollar

11 amount of all contributions from individ12 uals to a candidate or a candidate’s au13 thorized committees, including any expend14 itures, contributions, or loans made by a

15 candidate shall come from individuals le16 gally residing in the candidate’s State.’’.

17 Subtitle F—Independent

18 Expenditures

19 SEC. 251. PROVISIONS RELATING TO INDEPENDENT EX20 PENDITURES.

21 (a) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE DEFINITION

22 AMENDMENT.—Section 301 of the Federal Election Cam23 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking

24 out paragraphs (17) and (18) and inserting in lieu thereof

25 the following:
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•HR 2944 IH

1 ‘‘(17)(A) The term ‘independent expenditure’ means

2 an expenditure that—

3 ‘‘(i) contains express advocacy; and

4 ‘‘(ii) is made without the participation or co5 operation of, or without the consultation of, a can6 didate or a candidate’s representative.

7 ‘‘(B) The following shall not be considered an inde8 pendent expenditure:

9 ‘‘(i) An expenditure made by—

10 ‘‘(I) an authorized committee of a can11 didate for Federal office, or

12 ‘‘(II) a political committee of a political

13 party.

14 ‘‘(ii) An expenditure if there is any arrange15 ment, coordination, or direction with respect to the

16 expenditure between the candidate or the candidate’s

17 agent and the person making the expenditure.

18 ‘‘(iii) An expenditure if, in the same election

19 cycle, the person making the expenditure is or has

20 been—

21 ‘‘(I) authorized to raise or expend funds on

22 behalf of the candidate or the candidate’s au23 thorized committees; or
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•HR 2944 IH

1 ‘‘(II) serving as a member, employee, or

2 agent of the candidate’s authorized committees

3 in an executive or policymaking position.

4 ‘‘(iv) An expenditure if the person making the

5 expenditure has advised or counseled the candidate

6 or the candidate’s agents at any time on the can7 didate’s plans, projects, or needs relating to the can8 didate’s pursuit of nomination for election, or elec9 tion, to Federal office, in the same election cycle, in10 cluding any advice relating to the candidate’s deci11 sion to seek Federal office.

12 ‘‘(v) An expenditure if the person making the

13 expenditure retains the professional services of any

14 individual or other person also providing services in

15 the same election cycle to the candidate in connec16 tion with the candidate’s pursuit of nomination for

17 election, or election, to Federal office, including any

18 services relating to the candidate’s decision to seek

19 Federal office. For purposes of this clause, the term

20 ‘professional services’ shall include any services

21 (other than legal and accounting services solely for

22 purposes of ensuring compliance with any Federal

23 law) in support of any candidate’s or candidates’

24 pursuit of nomination for election, or election, to

25 Federal office.
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1 For purposes of this subparagraph, the person making the

2 expenditure shall include any officer, director, employee,

3 or agent of such person.

4 ‘‘(18)(A) The term ‘express advocacy’ means, when

5 a communication is taken as a whole and with limited ref6 erence to external events, an expression of support for or

7 opposition to a specific candidate, to a specific group of

8 candidates, or to candidates of a particular political party.

9 ‘‘(B) The term ‘expression of support for or opposi10 tion to’ includes a suggestion to take action with respect

11 to an election, such as to vote for or against, make con12 tributions to, or participate in campaign activity, or to re13 frain from taking action.’’.

14 (b) CONTRIBUTION DEFINITION AMENDMENT.—Sec15 tion 301(8)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

16 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(A)) is amended—

17 (1) in clause (i), by striking out ‘‘or’’ after the

18 semicolon at the end;

19 (2) in clause (ii), by striking out the period at

20 the end and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; or’’; and

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

22 clause:

23 ‘‘(iii) any payment or other transaction referred

24 to in paragraph (17)(A)(i) that is not an independ25 ent expenditure under paragraph (17).’’.
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1 SEC. 252. MANDATORY LIMITATION ON INDEPENDENT EX2 PENDITURES IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTA3 TIVES ELECTIONS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Federal Elec5 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended

6 by section 232 is further amended by adding at the end

7 the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(j) No person may make independent expenditures

9 totaling more than $30,000 expressly advocating the elec10 tion or defeat of a clearly identified candidate in an elec11 tion for the office of Representative in, or Delegate or

12 Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.’’.

13 (b) RULES APPLICABLE WHEN MANDATORY INDE14 PENDENT EXPENDITURE LIMITATION NOT IN EFFECT.—

15 For purposes of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

16 1971, during any period beginning after the effective date

17 of this Act in which the requirement of section 315(j) of

18 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as added by

19 subsection (a), is not in effect, if independent expenditures

20 totaling in the aggregate $30,000 have been made in the

21 same election in favor of another candidate or against an

22 eligible House of Representatives candidate, the Federal

23 Election Commission shall, within 2 business days, notify

24 the eligible candidate that the candidate is eligible for pay25 ments from the Independent Expenditure Response Fund
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1 equal to the total amount of the independent expenditure,

2 as determined by the Commission.

3 SEC. 253. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN INDE4 PENDENT EXPENDITURES.

5 Section 304(c) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

6 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(c)) is amended—

7 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking the undesig8 nated matter after subparagraph (C);

9 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para10 graph (7); and

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2), as amend12 ed by paragraph (1), the following new paragraphs:

13 ‘‘(3)(A) Any person (including a political com14 mittee) making independent expenditures as defined

15 in section 301(17) and (18) with respect to a can16 didate in an election aggregating $1,000 or more

17 made after the 20th day, but more than 24 hours,

18 before the election shall file a report within 24 hours

19 after such independent expenditures are made. An

20 additional report shall be filed each time independ21 ent expenditures aggregating $1,000 are made with

22 respect to the same candidate after the latest report

23 filed under this subparagraph.

24 ‘‘(B) Any person (including a political commit25 tee) making independent expenditures with respect
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1 to a candidate in an election aggregating $10,000 or

2 more made at any time up to and including the 20th

3 day before the election shall file a report within 48

4 hours after such independent expenditures are made.

5 An additional report shall be filed each time inde6 pendent expenditures aggregating $10,000 are made

7 with respect to the same candidate after the latest

8 report filed under this paragraph.

9 ‘‘(C) A report under subparagraph (A) or (B)

10 shall be filed with the Commission and shall identify

11 each candidate whom the expenditure is actually in12 tended to support or to oppose. Not later than 2

13 business days after the Commission receives a re14 port, the Commission shall transmit a copy of the

15 report to each candidate seeking nomination or elec16 tion to that office.

17 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this section, an independ18 ent expenditure shall be considered to have been

19 made upon the making of any payment or the taking

20 of any action to incur an obligation for payment.

21 ‘‘(4) The Commission may, upon a request of a

22 candidate or on its own initiative, make its own de23 termination that a person, including a political com24 mittee, has made, or has incurred obligations to

25 make, independent expenditures with respect to any
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1 candidate in any election which in the aggregate ex2 ceed the applicable amounts under paragraph (3).

3 The Commission shall notify each candidate in such

4 election of such determination made within 2 busi5 ness days after making it. Any determination made

6 at the request of a candidate shall be made within

7 48 hours of the request.

8 ‘‘(5)(A) A person who reserves broadcast time

9 the payment for which would constitute an inde10 pendent expenditure within the meaning of section

11 301(17) of this Act (2 U.S.C. 431(17), shall at the

12 time of the reservation—

13 ‘‘(i) inform the broadcast licensee that pay14 ment for the broadcast time will constitute an

15 independent expenditure;

16 ‘‘(ii) inform the broadcast licensee of the

17 names of all candidates for the office to which

18 the proposed broadcast relates and state wheth19 er the message to be broadcast is intended to

20 be made in support of or in opposition to each

21 such candidate; and

22 ‘‘(iii) provide the broadcast licensee a copy

23 of the report described in paragraph (3).

24 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term

25 ‘broadcast’ includes any cablecast.
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•HR 2944 IH

1 ‘‘(C) A licensee who is informed as described in

2 subparagraph (A) shall—

3 ‘‘(i) notify each such candidate described

4 in subparagraph (A)(ii) of the proposed making

5 of the independent expenditure; and

6 ‘‘(ii) allow any such candidate (other than

7 a candidate for whose benefit the independent

8 expenditure is made) to purchase the same

9 amount of broadcast time immediately after the

10 broadcast time paid for by the independent ex11 penditure, at the cost specified in section

12 315(b) of title 47, as amended by section 102

13 of this Act.’’.

14 SEC. 254. DESIGNATION OF INCOME TAX PAYMENTS TO

15 INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE RESPONSE

16 FUND.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 61 of the

18 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to information

19 and returns) is amended by adding at the end the follow20 ing new part:

21 ‘‘PART IX—DESIGNATION OF INCOME TAX PAY22 MENTS TO INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE RE23 SPONSE FUND

‘‘Sec. 6098. Designation to Independent Expenditure Response

Fund.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 6098. DESIGNATION TO INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE

2 RESPONSE FUND.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Every individual (other than a

4 nonresident alien) whose adjusted income tax liability for

5 the taxable year is $5 or more may designate that $5 shall

6 be paid over to the Independent Expenditure Response

7 Fund in accordance with the provisions of section 9512.

8 In the case of a joint return of husband and wife having

9 an adjusted income tax liability of $10 or more, each

10 spouse may designate that $10 shall be paid to the fund.

11 ‘‘(b) ADJUSTED INCOME TAX LIABILITY.—For pur12 poses of subsection (a), the term ‘adjusted income tax li13 ability’ means, for any individual for any taxable year, the

14 excess (if any) of—

15 ‘‘(1) the income tax liability (as defined in sec16 tion 6096(b)) of the individual for the taxable year,

17 over

18 ‘‘(2) any amount designated by the individual

19 (and, in the case of a joint return, any amount des20 ignated by the individual’s spouse) under section

21 6096(a) for such taxable year.

22 ‘‘(c) MANNER AND TIME OF DESIGNATION.—A des23 ignation under subsection (a) may be made with respect

24 to any taxable year—

25 ‘‘(1) at the time of filing the return of the tax

26 imposed by chapter 1 for such taxable year, or
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1 ‘‘(2) at any other time (after the time of filing

2 the return of the tax imposed by chapter 1 for such

3 taxable year) specified in regulations prescribed by

4 the Secretary.

5 Such designation shall be made in such manner as the

6 Secretary prescribes by regulations except that, if such

7 designation is made at the time of filing the return of the

8 tax imposed by chapter 1 for such taxable year, such des9 ignation shall be made either on the first page of the re10 turn or on the page bearing the taxpayer’s signature.

11 ‘‘(d) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—There are hereby ap12 propriated to the Independent Expenditure Response

13 Fund amounts equivalent to the amounts designated

14 under subsection (c).’’.

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of parts for

16 subchapter A of chapter 61 of such Code is amended by

17 adding at the end the following new item:

‘‘PART IX. DESIGNATION OF INCOME TAX PAYMENTS TO INDEPENDENT

EXPENDITURE RESPONSE FUND.’’

18 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

19 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

20 December 31 of the year in which this Act is enacted.

21 SEC. 255. INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE RESPONSE FUND.

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

23 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended
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1 by sections 202, 211, and 241, is amended by adding at

2 the end the following new section:

3 ‘‘SEC. 326. (a) There is established in the Treasury

4 of the United States a trust fund to be known as the

5 ‘Independent Expenditure Response Fund’, consisting

6 of—

7 ‘‘(1) such amounts as may be appropriated or

8 credited to the fund under section 6098 of the Inter9 nal Revenue Code of 1986;

10 ‘‘(2) payments under section 502(e); and

11 ‘‘(3) registration fees under section 302(j).

12 ‘‘(b) Amounts in the Independent Expenditure Re13 sponse Fund shall be available, as provided in appropria14 tion Acts, for the purposes specified in section 252(b) of

15 the Federal Election Reform Act of 1996.

16 ‘‘(c) Payments from the Independent Expenditure

17 Response Fund shall not be taken into consideration in

18 the computation of expenditures for the purposes of the

19 election cycle expenditure limit under section 502(a).’’.

20 SEC. 256. REGISTRATION FEE FOR MULTICANDIDATE PO21 LITICAL COMMITTEES.

22 Section 302 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

23 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432) is amended by adding at the end

24 the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(j) The Commission shall impose on each political

2 committee a registration fee of $500.’’.

3 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

4 PROVISIONS

5 SEC. 301. AUDITS.

6 (a) RANDOM AUDITS.—Section 311(b) of the Federal

7 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(b)) is

8 amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Commis10 sion’’; and

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new

12 paragraph:

13 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Com14 mission may conduct random audits and investiga15 tions to ensure voluntary compliance with this Act.

16 The subjects of such audits and investigations shall

17 be selected on the basis of criteria established by

18 vote of at least 4 members of the Commission to en19 sure impartiality in the selection process. This para20 graph does not apply to an authorized committee of

21 a candidate for President or Vice President subject

22 to audit under chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Rev23 enue Code of 1986.’’.

24 (b) EXTENSION OF PERIOD DURING WHICH CAM25 PAIGN AUDITS MAY BE BEGUN.—Section 311(b) of the
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1 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(b))

2 is amended by striking out ‘‘6 months’’ and inserting in

3 lieu thereof ‘‘12 months’’.

4 SEC. 302. CHANGE IN CERTAIN REPORTING FROM A CAL5 ENDAR YEAR BASIS TO AN ELECTION CYCLE

6 BASIS.

7 Paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (6), and (7) of section

8 304(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

9 U.S.C. 434(b)(2)–(7)) are amended by inserting ‘‘(election

10 cycle, in the case of an authorized committee of a can11 didate for Federal office)’’ after ‘‘calendar year’’ each

12 place it appears.

13 SEC. 303. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.

14 Section 309(a) of Federal Election Campaign Act of

15 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is amended by adding at the end

16 the following new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(14)(A) If the complaint in a proceeding was

18 filed within 60 days immediately preceding a general

19 election, the Commission may take action described

20 in this subparagraph.

21 ‘‘(B) If the Commission determines, on the

22 basis of facts alleged in the complaint and other

23 facts available to it, that there is clear and convinc24 ing evidence that a violation of this Act has oc25 curred, is occurring, or is about to occur and it ap-
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1 pears that the requirements for relief stated in para2 graph (13)(A) (ii), (iii), and (iv) are met, the Com3 mission may—

4 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings, shorten5 ing the time periods for proceedings under

6 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as necessary

7 to allow the matter to be resolved in sufficient

8 time before the election to avoid harm or preju9 dice to the interests of the parties; or

10 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines that

11 there is insufficient time to conduct proceedings

12 before the election, immediately seek relief

13 under paragraph (13)(A).

14 ‘‘(C) If the Commission determines, on the

15 basis of facts alleged in the complaint and other

16 facts available to it, that the complaint is clearly

17 without merit, the Commission may—

18 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings, shorten19 ing the time periods for proceedings under

20 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as necessary

21 to allow the matter to be resolved in sufficient

22 time before the election to avoid harm or preju23 dice to the interests of the parties; or

24 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines that

25 there is insufficient time to conduct proceedings
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1 before the election, summarily dismiss the com2 plaint.’’.

3 SEC. 304. OFFICIAL MASS MAILING ALLOWANCE.

4 Section 311(f) of the Legislative Branch Appropria5 tions Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 59e(f)) is amended to read as

6 follows:

7 ‘‘(f)(1) There is established in the House of Rep8 resentatives an Official Mass Mailing Allowance for Mem9 bers of the House of Representatives.

10 ‘‘(2) The Official Mass Mailing Allowance of a Mem11 ber of the House of Representatives—

12 ‘‘(A) shall be available only for postage for any

13 mass mailing sent by such Member as franked mail;

14 ‘‘(B) shall be the sole source of funding for any

15 such postage; and

16 ‘‘(C) shall be available, in a session of Congress

17 (subject to paragraph (5)(A)(ii)), in an amount not

18 to exceed the total amount allocated to the Official

19 Mail Allowance of such Member in such session.

20 ‘‘(3) No amount may be transferred to or from the

21 Official Mass Mailing Allowance of a Member of the

22 House of Representatives (including as described in the

23 parenthetical matter in subsection (a)(2)(A)), except as

24 provided in subsection (e)(3)(B).
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1 ‘‘(4) For purposes of subsection (b), the Official Mass

2 Mailing Allowance of (and any mass mailing sent by) a

3 Member of the House of Representatives shall be treated

4 separately from the Official Mail Allowance of (and any

5 other official mail sent by) such Member.

6 ‘‘(5)(A) Otherwise applicable provisions of law relat7 ing to mass mailings sent by a Member of (or Member8 elect to) the House of Representatives shall continue to

9 govern such mass mailings—

10 ‘‘(i) except that—

11 ‘‘(I) for purposes of carrying out those

12 other provisions of law, the term ‘mass mailing’

13 shall have the meaning given it under para14 graph (8); and

15 ‘‘(II) a mass mailing may not be sent if it

16 would be postmarked during any session that

17 begins in an even-numbered calendar year, sub18 ject to subparagraph (B); and

19 ‘‘(ii) except as otherwise provided in this sub20 section.

21 ‘‘(B) Nothing in subclause (II) of subparagraph

22 (A)(i) shall be considered to preclude the mailing of any

23 mail matter—

24 ‘‘(i) sent after the Tuesday next after the 1st

25 Monday in November of such year, and any mass
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1 mailing described in section 3210(a)(6)(B) of title

2 39, United States Code; or

3 ‘‘(ii) which relates to an emergency or disaster

4 declared by the President, if—

5 ‘‘(I) the mailing is sent within 60 days

6 after the emergency or disaster is declared;

7 ‘‘(II) the recipients of the mailing are lo8 cated in a congressional district any portion of

9 which is within (or adjacent to) an area in10 cluded in the President’s declaration;

11 ‘‘(III) the mailing complies with clauses

12 (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (8)(C);

13 ‘‘(IV) the mailing complies with clauses (i)

14 and (ii)(II) of section 3210(a)(6)(A) of title 39,

15 United States Code; and

16 ‘‘(V) the mailing relates solely to the emer17 gency or disaster.

18 ‘‘(6) A Member of the House of Representatives

19 shall—

20 ‘‘(A) before making any mass mailing, submit a

21 sample of the mail matter involved to the House

22 Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards for

23 an advisory opinion as to whether such proposed

24 mailing is in compliance with applicable provisions of

25 law, rule, or regulation;
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1 ‘‘(B) before making any mailing of substantially

2 identical mail which totals 250 pieces or less (but

3 more than 50) in the same session, and which in

4 every other respect meets the definition of a mass

5 mailing (determined disregarding the exclusion

6 under subclause (II) of paragraph (8)(A)(i)), submit

7 a sample of the mail matter involved to such Com8 mission; and

9 ‘‘(C) before making any mailing of substantially

10 identical mail, in the nature of a town meeting no11 tice, which totals more than 50 pieces in the same

12 session, and which in every other respect (aside from

13 such nature and number) meets the definition of a

14 mass mailing, submit a sample of the mail matter

15 involved to such Commission.

16 ‘‘(7)(A) The regulations prescribed in connection with

17 subsection (a)(3) shall be amended to require, in addition

18 to the information otherwise required to be included in the

19 quarterly report referred to therein, a statement of—

20 ‘‘(i) costs charged against the Official Mass

21 Mailing Allowance of each Member; and

22 ‘‘(ii) the number of pieces of mail in any mass

23 mailing sent by a Member.

24 ‘‘(B)(i) The House Commission on Congressional

25 Mailing Standards shall by regulation establish procedures
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1 under which there shall be made available to the public

2 for review and copying any matter submitted to the Com3 mission under paragraph (6). Any copying under the pre4 ceding sentence shall be at the expense of the person who

5 requests the copying.

6 ‘‘(ii) Under the regulations, mail matter shall be

7 made available within 2 weeks after the date on which it

8 is requested in accordance with applicable procedures.

9 ‘‘(8) For the purpose of this subsection—

10 ‘‘(A) the term ‘mass mailing’ means, with re11 spect to a session of Congress, any mailing of news12 letters or other pieces of mail with substantially

13 identical content (whether such mail is deposited sin14 gly or in bulk, or at the same time or different

15 times), totaling more than 250 pieces in that ses16 sion, except that such term does not include—

17 ‘‘(i)(I) any mailing of matter in direct re18 sponse to a communication from a person to

19 whom the matter is mailed; or

20 ‘‘(II) a single follow-up to any such direct

21 response, if it is made before the end of the

22 Congress in which the direct response was

23 made, it occurs within 6 weeks after any signifi24 cant congressional action (as defined by the

25 House Commission on Congressional Mailing
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1 Standards) on the subject matter involved, and

2 it complies with any requirements which would

3 be applicable to it under clause (i) or (ii)(II)

4 of section 3210(a)(6)(A) of title 39, United

5 States Code, if it were a mass mailing;

6 ‘‘(ii) any mailing from a Member of Con7 gress to other Members of Congress, or to Fed8 eral, State, or local government officials;

9 ‘‘(iii) any mailing of a news release to the

10 communications media; or

11 ‘‘(iv) any mailing described in clause (iv)

12 or (v) of section 6(b)(1)(B) of the Legislative

13 Branch Appropriations Act, 1995 (39 U.S.C.

14 3210 note), subject to the same restriction as

15 specified in such clause (iv) with respect to a

16 Member of the Senate;

17 ‘‘(B) the term ‘franked mail’ has the meaning

18 given such term by section 3201(4) of title 39,

19 United States Code; and

20 ‘‘(C) the term ‘town meeting notice’ means (in21 cluding for purposes of subparagraph (A)(iv)) any

22 mailing which—

23 ‘‘(i) relates solely to a notice of the time

24 and place at which a Member of the House of

25 Representatives or 1 or more members of the
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1 Member’s staff will be available to meet con2 stituents regarding legislative issues or prob3 lems with Federal programs;

‘‘(ii) appears on a mailing 51 4 ⁄2′′ x 8′′ or

5 smaller;

6 ‘‘(iii) includes not more than 3 references

7 to the Member (excluding any reference appear8 ing as the frank, consisting of the signature

9 and name at the end of the mailing, or other10 wise specified in regulations of the House Com11 mission on Congressional Mailing Standards);

12 and

13 ‘‘(iv) does not include any picture, sketch,

14 or other likeness of the Member.’’.

15 SEC. 305. PROVISIONS RELATING TO MEMBERS’ OFFICIAL

16 MAIL ALLOWANCE.

17 (a) REDUCTION IN MAXIMUM ALLOCATION.—Section

18 311(e)(2)(B)(i) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations

19 Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 59e(e)(2)(B)(i)) is amended by strik20 ing ‘‘3’’ and inserting ‘‘0.5’’.

21 (b) LIMITATION ON TRANSFERS.—Paragraph (3) of

22 section 311(e) of such Act is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), no

24 amount may be transferred to or from the Official Mail

25 Allowance of a Member of the House of Representatives.
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1 ‘‘(B) A Member of the House of Representatives may

2 transfer amounts from the Official Mass Mailing Allow3 ance of the Member to the Official Mail Allowance of the

4 Member.’’.

5 SEC. 306. INTENT OF CONGRESS.

6 It is the intent of Congress that any funds realized

7 by section 304 of the Federal Election Reform Act of 1996

8 shall be designated to pay for the benefits provided in sec9 tion 103.

10 SEC. 307. EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES.

11 (a) DIRECT APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT.—An ap12 peal may be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the

13 United States from any interlocutory order or final judg14 ment, decree, or order issued by any court ruling on the

15 constitutionality of any provision of this Act or amend16 ment made by this Act.

17 (b) ACCEPTANCE AND EXPEDITION.—The Supreme

18 Court shall, if it has not previously ruled on the question

19 addressed in the ruling below, accept jurisdiction over, ad20 vance on the docket, and expedite the appeal to the great21 est extent possible.

22 SEC. 308. EFFECTIVE DATE.

23 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amend24 ments made by, and the provisions of, this Act shall take

25 effect on January 1, 1997.
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1 SEC. 309. REGULATIONS.

2 The Federal Election Commission shall prescribe any

3 regulations required to carry out this Act not later than

4 9 months after the effective date of this Act.

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