I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1427

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to control House

of Representatives campaign spending, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 6, 1995

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

Committee on House Oversight

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to

control House of Representatives campaign spending,

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 ‘‘Campaign Finance

5 System Reform Act’’.
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1 TITLE I—CONTROL OF HOUSE

2 OF REPRESENTATIVES CAM3 PAIGN SPENDING

4 SEC. 101. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES PRO5 HIBITED FROM ACCEPTING CONTRIBUTIONS

6 FROM POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES AND

7 OTHER SOURCES EXCEPT INDIVIDUALS.

8 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

10 the following new subsection:

11 ‘‘(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,

12 a candidate for the office of Representative in, or Delegate

13 or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress may not ac14 cept any contribution from a multicandidate political com15 mittee or any other person other than an individual.’’.

16 SEC. 102. CONTRIBUTIONS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTA17 TIVES CANDIDATES REQUIRED TO BE FROM

18 INDIVIDUAL RESIDENTS OF THE CONGRES19 SIONAL DISTRICT.

20 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

21 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

22 end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘CONTRIBUTIONS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CAN2 DIDATES REQUIRED TO BE FROM INDIVIDUAL RESI3 DENTS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

4 ‘‘SEC. 323. Notwithstanding any other provision of

5 this Act, a candidate for the office of Representative in,

6 or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress

7 may not accept contributions from any person other than

8 an individual resident of the congressional district in9 volved.’’.

10 SEC. 103. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ELIGIBLE HOUSE

11 OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES.

12 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is

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

14 ‘‘TITLE V—EXPENDITURE LIMI15 TATIONS AND CONTRIBUTION

16 LIMITATIONS FOR ELIGIBLE

17 HOUSE OF REPRESENTA18 TIVES CANDIDATES

19 ‘‘SEC. 501. EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible House of Representa21 tives candidate may not, in an election cycle, make expend22 itures aggregating more than $600,000, of which not more

23 than $500,000 may be expended in the general election

24 period.
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1 ‘‘(b) RUNOFF ELECTION AND SPECIAL ELECTION

2 AMOUNTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) RUNOFF ELECTION AMOUNT.—In addition

4 to the expenditures under subsection (a), an eligible

5 House of Representatives candidate who is a can6 didate in a runoff election may make expenditures

7 aggregating not more than 20 percent of the general

8 election period limit under subsection (a).

9 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL ELECTION AMOUNT.—An eligible

10 House of Representatives candidate who is a can11 didate in a special election may make expenditures

12 aggregating not more than $500,000 with respect to

13 the special election.

14 ‘‘(c) CLOSELY CONTESTED PRIMARY.—If, as deter15 mined by the Commission, an eligible House of Represent16 atives candidate in a contested primary election wins that

17 primary election by a margin of 10 percentage points or

18 less, subject to the general election period limitation in

19 subsection (a), the candidate may make additional expend20 itures of not more than $150,000 in the general election

21 period.

22 ‘‘(d) NONPARTICIPATING OPPONENT PROVISIONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION EXCEPTION.—The limitations

24 imposed by subsections (a) and (b) do not apply in

25 the case of an eligible House of Representatives can-
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1 didate if any other candidate seeking nomination or

2 election to that office—

3 ‘‘(A) is not an eligible House of Represent4 atives candidate; and

5 ‘‘(B) makes expenditures in excess of 80

6 percent of the general election period limitation

7 specified in subsection (a).

8 ‘‘(2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—A candidate

9 for the office of Representative in, or Delegate or

10 Resident Commissioner to, the Congress—

11 ‘‘(A) who is not an eligible House of Rep12 resentatives candidate; and

13 ‘‘(B) who—

14 ‘‘(i) receives contributions in excess of

15 50 percent of the general election period

16 limitation specified in subsection (a)(1); or

17 ‘‘(ii) makes expenditures in excess of

18 80 percent of such limit;

19 shall report that the threshold has been reached to

20 the Clerk of the House of Representatives not later

21 than 48 hours after reaching the threshold. The

22 Clerk shall transmit a report received under this

23 paragraph to the Commission as soon as possible

24 (but no later than 4 working hours of the Commis25 sion) after such receipt, and the Commission shall
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1 transmit a copy to each other candidate in the elec2 tion within 48 hours of receipt.

3 ‘‘(e) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN COSTS AND

4 TAXES.—Payments for legal and accounting compliance

5 costs, and Federal, State, or local taxes with respect to

6 a candidate’s authorized committees, shall not be consid7 ered in the computation of amounts subject to limitation

8 under this section.

9 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTION FOR FUNDRAISING COSTS.—

10 ‘‘(1) Any costs incurred by an eligible House of

11 Representatives candidate or his or her authorized

12 committee in connection with the solicitation of con13 tributions on behalf of such candidate shall not be

14 considered in the computation of amounts subject to

15 limitation under this section to the extent that the

16 aggregate of such costs does not exceed 5 percent of

17 the limitation under subsection (a) or subsection (b).

18 ‘‘(2) An amount equal to 5 percent of salaries

19 and overhead expenditures of an eligible House of

20 Representatives candidate’s campaign headquarters

21 and offices shall not be considered in the computa22 tion of amounts subject to limitation under this sec23 tion. Any amount excluded under this paragraph

24 shall be applied against the fundraising expenditure

25 exemption under paragraph (1).
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1 ‘‘(g) INDEXING.—The dollar amounts specified in

2 subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e) shall be adjusted at the

3 beginning of each calendar year based on the increase in

4 the price index determined under section 315(c), except

5 that, for the purposes of such adjustment, the base period

6 shall be calendar year 1996.

7 ‘‘SEC. 502. CONTRIBUTION LIMITATIONS.

8 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CAN9 DIDATE LIMITATION.—An eligible House of Representa10 tives candidate may not, with respect to an election cycle,

11 accept contributions aggregating in excess of $600,000.

12 ‘‘(b) NONPARTICIPATING OPPONENT PROVISIONS.—

13 The limitations imposed by subsection (a) do not apply

14 in the case of an eligible House of Representatives can15 didate if any other candidate seeking nomination or elec16 tion to that office—

17 ‘‘(1) is not an eligible House of Representatives

18 candidate; and

19 ‘‘(2) receives contributions in excess of 50 per20 cent of the general election period limitation speci21 fied in section 501(a).

22 ‘‘(c) TRANSFER PROVISION.—If an eligible House of

23 Representatives candidate transfers any amount from an

24 election cycle to a later election cycle, the limitation with

25 respect to the candidate under subsection (a) for the later
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1 cycle shall be an amount equal to the difference between

2 the amount specified in that subsection and the amount

3 transferred.

4 ‘‘(d) RUNOFF AMOUNT.—In addition to the contribu5 tions under subsection (a), an eligible House of Represent6 atives candidate who is a candidate in a runoff election

7 may accept contributions aggregating not more than 20

8 percent of the general election expenditure limit under sec9 tion 501(a) in the general election period.

10 ‘‘(e) PERSONAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible House of Rep12 resentatives candidate may not, with respect to an

13 election cycle, make contributions to his or her own

14 campaign totaling more than $50,000 from the per15 sonal funds of the candidate.

16 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION EXCEPTION.—The limitation

17 imposed by paragraph (1) does not apply in the case

18 of an eligible House of Representatives candidate if

19 any other candidate—

20 ‘‘(A) is not an eligible House of Represent21 atives candidate; and

22 ‘‘(B) receives contributions in excess of 50

23 percent of the general election period limitation

24 specified in section 501(a).
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1 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN COSTS.—(1) Any

2 amount—

3 ‘‘(A) accepted by a candidate for the office of

4 Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis5 sioner to the Congress; and

6 ‘‘(B) used for legal and accounting compliance

7 costs, or used to pay Federal, State, or local taxes

8 with respect to a candidate’s authorized committees

9 shall not be considered in the computation of

10 amounts subject to limitation under subsection (a).

11 ‘‘(2) The balance of funds maintained for legal and

12 accounting compliance costs by the authorized committees

13 of an eligible House of Representatives candidate shall not

14 exceed 20 percent of the limit under subsection (a) at any

15 time.

16 ‘‘(g) INDEXING.—The dollar amounts specified in

17 subsections (a) and (e) shall be adjusted at the beginning

18 of the calendar year based on the increase in the price

19 index determined under section 315(c), except that, for

20 the purposes of such adjustment, the base period shall be

21 calendar year 1996.’’.
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1 TITLE II—PROVISIONS RELAT2 ING TO SOFT MONEY OF PO3 LITICAL PARTIES

4 SEC. 201. CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT5 TEES.

6 (a) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO STATE

7 PARTY.—Paragraph (1) of section 315(a) of the Federal

8 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)) is

9 amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (B),

10 by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D),

11 and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new

12 subparagraph:

13 ‘‘(C) to political committees established and

14 maintained by a State committee of a political party

15 in any calendar year which, in the aggregate, exceed

16 $10,000; or’’.

17 (b) MULTICANDIDATE COMMITTEE CONTRIBUTIONS

18 TO STATE PARTY.—Paragraph (2) of section 315(a) of

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

20 441a(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of sub21 paragraph (B), by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub22 paragraph (D), and by inserting after subparagraph (B)

23 the following new subparagraph:

24 ‘‘(C) to political committees established and

25 maintained by a State committee of a political party
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1 in any calendar year which, in the aggregate, exceed

2 $10,000; or’’.

3 (c) INCREASE IN OVERALL LIMIT.—Paragraph (3) of

4 section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

5 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the

6 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The limitation under this

7 paragraph shall be increased (but not by more than

8 $5,000) by the amount of contributions made by an indi9 vidual during a calendar year to political committees

10 which are taken into account for purposes of paragraph

11 (1)(C).’’.

12 SEC. 202. PROVISIONS RELATING TO NATIONAL, STATE,

13 AND LOCAL PARTY COMMITTEES.

14 (a) EXPENDITURES BY STATE COMMITTEES IN CON15 NECTION WITH PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS.—Section

16 315(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

17 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is amended by inserting at the end the

18 following new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(4) A State committee of a political party, including

20 subordinate committees of that State committee, shall not

21 make expenditures in connection with the general election

22 campaign of a candidate for President of the United

23 States who is affiliated with such party which, in the ag24 gregate, exceed an amount equal to 4 cents multiplied by

25 the voting age population of the State, as certified under
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1 subsection (e). This paragraph shall not authorize a com2 mittee to make expenditures for audio broadcasts (includ3 ing television broadcasts) in excess of the amount which

4 could have been made without regard to this paragraph.’’.

5 (b) CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE EXCEP6 TIONS.—(1) Section 301(8)(B) of the Federal Election

7 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)) is amend8 ed—

9 (A) in clause (xi), by striking ‘‘direct mail’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘mail’’; and

11 (B) by repealing clauses (x) and (xii).

12 (2) Section 301(9)(B) of the Federal Election Cam13 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)) is amended by

14 repealing clauses (viii) and (ix).

15 (c) SOFT MONEY OF COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL

16 PARTIES.—(1) Title III of the Federal Election Campaign

17 Act of 1971, as amended by section 102, is further amend18 ed by adding at the end the following new section:

19 ‘‘POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES

20 ‘‘SEC. 324. (a) Any amount solicited, received, or ex21 pended directly or indirectly by a national, State, district,

22 or local committee of a political party (including any sub23 ordinate committee) with respect to an activity which, in

24 whole or in part, is in connection with an election to Fed25 eral office shall be subject in its entirety to the limitations,

26 prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act.
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1 ‘‘(b) For purposes of subsection (a)—

2 ‘‘(1) Any activity which is solely for the purpose

3 of influencing an election for Federal office is in

4 connection with an election for Federal office.

5 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), any

6 of the following activities during a Federal election

7 period shall be treated as in connection with an elec8 tion for Federal office:

9 ‘‘(A) Voter registration and get-out-the10 vote activities.

11 ‘‘(B) Campaign activities, including broad12 casting, newspaper, magazine, billboard, mass

13 mail, and newsletter communications, and simi14 lar kinds of communications or public advertis15 ing that—

16 ‘‘(i) are generic campaign activities; or

17 ‘‘(ii) identify a Federal candidate re18 gardless of whether a State or local can19 didate is also identified.

20 ‘‘(C) The preparation and dissemination of

21 campaign materials that are part of a generic

22 campaign activity or that identify a Federal

23 candidate, regardless of whether a State or

24 local candidate is also identified.
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1 ‘‘(D) Development and maintenance of

2 voter files.

3 ‘‘(E) Any other activity affecting (in whole

4 or in part) an election for Federal office.

5 ‘‘(3) The following shall not be treated as in

6 connection with a Federal election:

7 ‘‘(A) Any amount described in section

8 301(8)(B)(viii).

9 ‘‘(B) Any amount contributed to a can10 didate for other than Federal office.

11 ‘‘(C) Any amount received or expended in

12 connection with a State or local political con13 vention.

14 ‘‘(D) Campaign activities, including broad15 casting, newspaper, magazine, billboard, mass

16 mail, and newsletter communications, and simi17 lar kinds of communications or public advertis18 ing that are exclusively on behalf of State or

19 local candidates and are not activities described

20 in paragraph (2)(A).

21 ‘‘(E) Administrative expenses of a State or

22 local committee of a political party, including

23 expenses for—

24 ‘‘(i) overhead;
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1 ‘‘(ii) staff (other than individuals de2 voting a substantial portion of their activi3 ties to elections for Federal office);

4 ‘‘(iii) meetings; and

5 ‘‘(iv) conducting party elections or

6 caucuses.

7 ‘‘(F) Research pertaining solely to State

8 and local candidates and issues.

9 ‘‘(G) Development and maintenance of

10 voter files other than during a Federal election

11 period.

12 ‘‘(H) Activities described in paragraph

13 (2)(A) which are conducted other than during

14 a Federal election period.

15 ‘‘(I) Any other activity which is solely for

16 the purpose of influencing, and which solely af17 fects, an election for non-Federal office.

18 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term

19 ‘Federal election period’ means the period—

20 ‘‘(A) beginning on June 1, of any even21 numbered calendar year (April 1 if an election

22 to the office of President occurs in such year),

23 and
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1 ‘‘(B) ending on the date during such year

2 on which regularly scheduled general elections

3 for Federal office occur.

4 In the case of a special election, the Federal election

5 period shall include at least the 60-day period end6 ing on the date of the election.

7 ‘‘(c) SOLICITATION OF COMMITTEES.—(1) A national

8 committee of a political party may not solicit or accept

9 contributions not subject to the limitations, prohibitions,

10 and reporting requirements of this Act.

11 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to contributions

12 that—

13 ‘‘(A) are to be transferred to a State committee

14 of a political party for use directly for activities de15 scribed in subsection (b)(3); or

16 ‘‘(B) are to be used by the committee primarily

17 to support such activities.

18 ‘‘(d) AMOUNTS RECEIVED FROM STATE AND LOCAL

19 CANDIDATE COMMITTEES.—(1) For purposes of sub20 section (a), any amount received by a national, State, dis21 trict, or local committee of a political party (including any

22 subordinate committee) from a State or local candidate

23 committee shall be treated as meeting the requirements

24 of subsection (a) and section 304(d) if—
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1 ‘‘(A) such amount is derived from funds which

2 meet the requirements of this Act with respect to

3 any limitation or prohibition as to source or dollar

4 amount, and

5 ‘‘(B) the State or local candidate committee—

6 ‘‘(i) maintains, in the account from which

7 payment is made, records of the sources and

8 amounts of funds for purposes of determining

9 whether such requirements are met, and

10 ‘‘(ii) certifies to the other committee that

11 such requirements were met.

12 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any committee

13 receiving any contribution described in paragraph (1) from

14 a State or local candidate committee shall be required to

15 meet the reporting requirements of this Act with respect

16 to receipt of the contribution from such candidate commit17 tee.

18 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, a State or local

19 candidate committee is a committee established, financed,

20 maintained, or controlled by a candidate for other than

21 Federal office.’’.

22 (2) Section 315(d) of the Federal Election Campaign

23 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)), as amended by subsection

24 (a), is amended by adding at the end the following new

25 paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(5)(A) The national committee of a political

2 party, the congressional campaign committees of a

3 political party, and a State or local committee of a

4 political party, including a subordinate committee of

5 any of the preceding committees, shall not make ex6 penditures during any calendar year for activities

7 described in section 324(b)(2) with respect to such

8 State which, in the aggregate, exceed an amount

9 equal to 30 cents multiplied by the voting age popu10 lation of the State (as certified under subsection

11 (e)).

12 ‘‘(B) Expenditures authorized under this para13 graph shall be in addition to other expenditures al14 lowed under this subsection, except that this para15 graph shall not authorize a committee to make ex16 penditures to which paragraph (3) or (4) applies in

17 excess of the limit applicable to such expenditures

18 under paragraph (3) or (4).

19 ‘‘(C) No adjustment to the limitation under this

20 paragraph shall be made under subsection (c) before

21 1996 and the base period for purposes of any such

22 adjustment shall be 1994.

23 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this paragraph—
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1 ‘‘(i) a local committee of a political party

2 shall only include a committee that is a political

3 committee (as defined in section 301(4)); and

4 ‘‘(ii) a State committee shall not be re5 quired to record or report under this Act the

6 expenditures of any other committee which are

7 made independently from the State commit8 tee.’’.

9 (3) Section 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign

10 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(4)) is amended by adding at

11 the end the following new sentence: ‘‘For purposes of sub12 paragraph (C), any payments for get-out-the-vote activi13 ties on behalf of candidates for office other than Federal

14 office shall be treated as payments exempted from the def15 inition of expenditure under paragraph (9).’’.

16 (d) GENERIC ACTIVITIES.—Section 301 of the Fed17 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431), as

18 amended by section 402, is further amended by adding

19 at the end the following new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(25) The term ‘generic campaign activity’

21 means a campaign activity the preponderant purpose

22 or effect of which is to promote a political party

23 rather than any particular Federal or non-Federal

24 candidate.’’.
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1 SEC. 203. RESTRICTIONS ON FUNDRAISING BY CANDIDATES

2 AND OFFICEHOLDERS.

3 (a) STATE FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES.—Section 315

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

5 441a), as amended by section 101, is further amended by

6 adding at the end the following new subsection:

7 ‘‘(j) LIMITATIONS ON FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES OF

8 FEDERAL CANDIDATES AND OFFICEHOLDERS AND CER9 TAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—(1) For purposes of this

10 Act, a candidate for Federal office (or an individual hold11 ing Federal office) may not solicit funds to, or receive

12 funds on behalf of, any Federal or non-Federal candidate

13 or political committee—

14 ‘‘(A) which are to be expended in connection

15 with any election for Federal office unless such

16 funds are subject to the limitations, prohibitions,

17 and requirements of this Act; or

18 ‘‘(B) which are to be expended in connection

19 with any election for other than Federal office unless

20 such funds are not in excess of amounts permitted

21 with respect to Federal candidates and political com22 mittees under this Act, and are not from sources

23 prohibited by this Act with respect to elections to

24 Federal office.

25 ‘‘(2)(A) The aggregate amount which a person de26 scribed in subparagraph (B) may solicit from a
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1 multicandidate political committee for State committees

2 described in subsection (a)(1)(C) (including subordinate

3 committees) for any calendar year shall not exceed the dol4 lar amount in effect under subsection (a)(2)(B) for the

5 calendar year.

6 ‘‘(B) A person is described in this subparagraph if

7 such person is a candidate for Federal office, an individual

8 holding Federal office, or any national, State, district, or

9 local committee of a political party (including subordinate

10 committees).

11 ‘‘(3) The appearance or participation by a candidate

12 or individual in any activity (including fundraising) con13 ducted by a committee of a political party or a candidate

14 for other than Federal office shall not be treated as a so15 licitation for purposes of paragraph (1) if—

16 ‘‘(A) such appearance or participation is other17 wise permitted by law; and

18 ‘‘(B) such candidate or individual does not so19 licit or receive, or make expenditures from, any

20 funds resulting from such activity.

21 ‘‘(4) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the solicitation

22 or receipt of funds, or disbursements, by an individual who

23 is a candidate for other than Federal office if such activity

24 is permitted under State law.
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1 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection, an individual

2 shall be treated as holding Federal office if such individual

3 is described in section 101(f) of the Ethics in Government

4 Act of 1978.’’.

5 (b) TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 315 of

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

7 441a), as amended by section 101 and subsection (a) of

8 this section, is further amended by adding at the end the

9 following new subsection:

10 ‘‘(k) TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—(1) If during

11 any period an individual is a candidate for, or holds, Fed12 eral office, such individual may not during such period so13 licit contributions to, or on behalf of, any organization

14 which is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Reve15 nue Code of 1986 if a significant portion of the activities

16 of such organization include voter registration or get-out17 the-vote campaigns.

18 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, an individual

19 shall be treated as holding Federal office if such individual

20 is described in section 101(f) of the Ethics in Government

21 Act of 1978.’’.

22 SEC. 204. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

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

24 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434)
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1 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new

2 subsection:

3 ‘‘(d) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—(1) The national

4 committee of a political party and any congressional cam5 paign committee, and any subordinate committee of ei6 ther, shall report all receipts and disbursements during

7 the reporting period, whether or not in connection with

8 an election for Federal office.

9 ‘‘(2) A political committee (not described in para10 graph (1)) to which section 324 applies shall report all

11 receipts and disbursements in connection with a Federal

12 election (as determined under section 324).

13 ‘‘(3) Any political committee to which section 324 ap14 plies shall include in its report under paragraph (1) or

15 (2) the amount of any transfer described in section 324(c)

16 and the reason for the transfer.

17 ‘‘(4) Any political committee to which paragraph (1)

18 or (2) does not apply shall report any receipts or disburse19 ments which are used in connection with a Federal elec20 tion.

21 ‘‘(5) If any receipt or disbursement to which this sub22 section applies exceeds $200, the political committee shall

23 include identification of the person from whom, or to

24 whom, such receipt or disbursement was made.
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1 ‘‘(6) Reports required to be filed by this subsection

2 shall be filed for the same time periods required for politi3 cal committees under subsection (a).’’.

4 (b) REPORT OF EXEMPT CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

5 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

6 U.S.C. 431(8)) is amended by inserting at the end the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(C) The exclusions provided in clauses (v) and (viii)

9 of subparagraph (B) shall not apply for purposes of any

10 requirement to report contributions under this Act, and

11 all such contributions in excess of $200 shall be

12 reported.’’.

13 (c) REPORTING OF EXEMPT EXPENDITURES.—Sec14 tion 301(9) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

15 (2 U.S.C. 431(9)) is amended by inserting at the end the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(C) The exclusions provided in clause (iv) of sub18 paragraph (B) shall not apply for purposes of any require19 ment to report expenditures under this Act, and all such

20 expenditures in excess of $200 shall be reported.’’.

21 (d) CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES OF POLITI22 CAL COMMITTEES.—Section 301(4) of the Federal Elec23 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(4)) is amended

24 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For purposes of this

25 paragraph, the receipt of contributions or the making of,
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1 or obligating to make, expenditures shall be determined

2 by the Commission on the basis of facts and cir3 cumstances, in whatever combination, demonstrating a

4 purpose of influencing any election for Federal office, in5 cluding, but not limited to, the representations made by

6 any person soliciting funds about their intended uses; the

7 identification by name of individuals who are candidates

8 for Federal office or of any political party, in general pub9 lic political advertising; and the proximity to any primary,

10 runoff, or general election of general public political adver11 tising designed or reasonably calculated to influence voter

12 choice in that election.’’.

13 (e) REPORTS BY STATE COMMITTEES.—Section 304

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

15 434), as amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding

16 at the end the following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(e) FILING OF STATE REPORTS.—In lieu of any re18 port required to be filed by this Act, the Commission may

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

20 the Commission a report required to be filed under State

21 law if the Commission determines such reports contain

22 substantially the same information.’’.
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1 TITLE III—INDEPENDENT

2 EXPENDITURES

3 SEC. 301. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITIONS RELATING TO

4 INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.

5 (a) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE DEFINITION

6 AMENDMENT.—Section 301 of the Federal Election Cam7 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking

8 paragraphs (17) and (18) and inserting the following:

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

10 an expenditure for an advertisement or other communica11 tion that—

12 ‘‘(i) contains express advocacy; and

13 ‘‘(ii) is made without the participation or co14 operation of a candidate or a candidate’s representa15 tive.

16 ‘‘(B) The following shall not be considered an inde17 pendent expenditure:

18 ‘‘(i) An expenditure made by a political commit19 tee of a political party.

20 ‘‘(ii) An expenditure made by a person who,

21 during the election cycle, has communicated with or

22 received information from a candidate or a rep23 resentative of that candidate regarding activities

24 that have the purpose of influencing that candidate’s

25 election to Federal office, where the expenditure is
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1 in support of that candidate or in opposition to an2 other candidate for that office.

3 ‘‘(iii) An expenditure if there is any arrange4 ment, coordination, or direction with respect to the

5 expenditure between the candidate or the candidate’s

6 agent and the person making the expenditure.

7 ‘‘(iv) An expenditure if, in the same election

8 cycle, the person making the expenditure is or has

9 been—

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

11 behalf of the candidate or the candidate’s au12 thorized committees; or

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

14 agent of the candidate’s authorized committees

15 in an executive or policymaking position.

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

17 expenditure has advised or counseled the candidate

18 or the candidate’s agents at any time on the can19 didate’s plans, projects, or needs relating to the can20 didate’s pursuit of nomination for election, or elec21 tion, to Federal office, in the same election cycle, in22 cluding any advice relating to the candidate’s deci23 sion to seek Federal office.

24 ‘‘(vi) An expenditure if the person making the

25 expenditure retains the professional services of any
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1 individual or other person also providing those serv2 ices in the same election cycle to the candidate in

3 connection with the candidate’s pursuit of nomina4 tion for election, or election, to Federal office, in5 cluding any services relating to the candidate’s deci6 sion to seek Federal office.

7 ‘‘(vii) An expenditure if the person making the

8 expenditure has consulted at any time during the

9 same election cycle about the candidate’s plans,

10 projects, or needs relating to the candidate’s pursuit

11 of nomination for election, or election, to Federal of12 fice, with—

13 ‘‘(I) any officer, director, employee or

14 agent of a party committee that has made or

15 intends to make expenditures or contributions,

16 pursuant to subsections (a), (d), or (h) of sec17 tion 315 in connection with the candidate’s

18 campaign; or

19 ‘‘(II) any person whose professional serv20 ices have been retained by a political party com21 mittee that has made or intends to make ex22 penditures or contributions pursuant to sub23 sections (a), (d), or (h) of section 315 in con24 nection with the candidate’s campaign.
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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) The term ‘express advocacy’ means, when a

5 communication is taken as a whole, an expression of sup6 port for or opposition to a specific candidate, to a specific

7 group of candidates, or to candidates of a particular politi8 cal party, or a suggestion to take action with respect to

9 an election, such as to vote for or against, make contribu10 tions to, or participate in campaign activity.’’.

11 (b) CONTRIBUTION DEFINITION AMENDMENT.—Sec12 tion 301(8)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

13 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(A)) is amended—

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

15 semicolon at the end;

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

17 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

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

19 clause:

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

21 to in paragraph (17)(A)(i) that does not qualify as

22 an independent expenditure under paragraph

23 (17)(A)(ii).’’.
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1 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

2 PROVISIONS

3 SEC. 401. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

4 It is the sense of Congress that each candidate for

5 the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident

6 Commissioner to, the Congress should comply with the

7 contribution limitations and the expenditure limitations

8 under title V of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

9 1971.

10 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.

11 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

12 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking out para13 graph (19) and inserting in lieu thereof the following new

14 paragraphs:

15 ‘‘(19) The term ‘general election’ means any election

16 which will directly result in the election of a person to a

17 Federal office, but does not include an open primary elec18 tion.

19 ‘‘(20) The term ‘general election period’ means, with

20 respect to any candidate, the period beginning on the day

21 after the date of the primary or runoff election for the

22 specific office the candidate is seeking, whichever is later,

23 and ending on the earlier of—

24 ‘‘(A) the date of such general election; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate withdraws

2 from the campaign or otherwise ceases actively to

3 seek election.

4 ‘‘(21) The term ‘primary election’ means an election

5 which may result in the selection of a candidate for the

6 ballot in a general election for a Federal office.

7 ‘‘(22) The term ‘runoff election’ means an election

8 held after a primary election which is prescribed by appli9 cable State law as the means for deciding which candidate

10 will be on the ballot in the general election for a Federal

11 office.

12 ‘‘(23) The term ‘eligible House of Representatives

13 candidate’ means a candidate for election to the office of

14 Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner

15 to, the Congress, who, as determined by the Commission

16 agrees to comply with the requirements of title V.

17 ‘‘(24) The term ‘election cycle’ means—

18 ‘‘(A) in the case of a candidate or the author19 ized committees of a candidate, the term beginning

20 on the day after the date of the most recent general

21 election for the specific office or seat which such

22 candidate seeks and ending on the date of the next

23 general election for such office or seat; or

24 ‘‘(B) for all other persons, the term beginning

25 on the first day following the date of the last general
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1 election and ending on the date of the next general

2 election.’’.

3 TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE

4 SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amend6 ments made by, and the provisions of, this Act shall take

7 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act but shall

8 not apply with respect to activities in connection with any

9 election occurring before January 1, 1997.

Æ

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