II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1585 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, 

Super PACs and other entities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2017 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. LEAHY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. REED, Mr. NELSON, Mr. CARPER, Ms. 

STABENOW, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BROWN, 

Mr. CASEY, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. TESTER, Mr. 

UDALL, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, 

Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. COONS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. KING, Mr. KAINE, 

Ms. WARREN, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. PETERS, 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. 

CORTEZ MASTO, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, Super PACs and other 

entities, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spend4 ing in Elections Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘DISCLOSE Act 

5 of 2017’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REGULATION OF CERTAIN POLITICAL SPENDING 

Sec. 101. Application of ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals to domestic corporations that are foreign-controlled, foreign-influenced, and foreign-owned. 

Sec. 102. Clarification of application of foreign money ban to certain disbursements and activities. 

TITLE II—CAMPAIGN DISBURSEMENT REPORTING 

Sec. 201. Campaign disbursement reporting. 

Sec. 202. Effective date. 

TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Severability. 

8 TITLE I—REGULATION OF 

9 CERTAIN POLITICAL SPENDING 

10 SEC. 101. APPLICATION OF BAN ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND 

11 EXPENDITURES BY FOREIGN NATIONALS TO 

12 DOMESTIC CORPORATIONS THAT ARE FOR13 EIGN-CONTROLLED, FOREIGN-INFLUENCED, 

14 AND FOREIGN-OWNED. 

15 (a) APPLICATION OF BAN.—Section 319(b) of the 

16 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

17 30121(b)) is amended— 


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

2 (1); 

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(3) any corporation which is not a foreign na8 tional described in paragraph (1) and— 

9 ‘‘(A) in which a foreign national described 

10 in paragraph (1) or (2) directly or indirectly 

11 owns or controls— 

12 ‘‘(i) 5 percent or more of the voting 

13 shares, if the foreign national is a foreign 

14 country, a foreign government official, or a 

15 corporation principally owned or controlled 

16 by a foreign country or foreign government 

17 official; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) 20 percent or more of the voting 

19 shares, if the foreign national is not de20 scribed in clause (i); 

21 ‘‘(B) in which two or more foreign nation22 als described in paragraph (1) or (2), each of 

23 whom owns or controls at least 5 percent of the 

24 voting shares, directly or indirectly own or con25 trol 50 percent or more of the voting shares; 


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1 ‘‘(C) over which one or more foreign na2 tionals described in paragraph (1) or (2) has 

3 the power to direct, dictate, or control the deci4 sionmaking process of the corporation with re5 spect to its interests in the United States; or 

6 ‘‘(D) over which one or more foreign na7 tionals described in paragraph (1) or (2) has 

8 the power to direct, dictate, or control the deci9 sionmaking process of the corporation with re10 spect to activities in connection with a Federal, 

11 State, or local election, including— 

12 ‘‘(i) the making of a contribution, do13 nation, expenditure, independent expendi14 ture, or disbursement for an electioneering 

15 communication (within the meaning of sec16 tion 304(f)(3)); or 

17 ‘‘(ii) the administration of a political 

18 committee established or maintained by the 

19 corporation.’’. 

20 (b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.—Section 319 

21 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at 

22 the end the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE REQUIRED

24 PRIOR TO CARRYING OUT ACTIVITY.—Prior to the mak25 ing in connection with an election for Federal office of any 


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1 contribution, donation, expenditure, independent expendi2 ture, or disbursement for an electioneering communication 

3 by a corporation during a year, the chief executive officer 

4 of the corporation (or, if the corporation does not have 

5 a chief executive officer, the highest ranking official of the 

6 corporation), shall file a certification with the Commission, 

7 under penalty of perjury, that the corporation is not pro8 hibited from carrying out such activity under subsection 

9 (b)(3), unless the chief executive officer has previously 

10 filed such a certification during that calendar year.’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 

13 180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, and shall take effect without regard to whether 

15 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

16 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

17 SEC. 102. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN 

18 MONEY BAN TO CERTAIN DISBURSEMENTS 

19 AND ACTIVITIES. 

20 (a) APPLICATION TO DISBURSEMENTS TO SUPER

21 PACS.—Section 319(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election 

22 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)(A)) is 

23 amended by striking the semicolon and inserting the fol24 lowing: ‘‘, including any disbursement to a political com25 mittee which accepts donations or contributions that do 


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1 not comply with the limitations, prohibitions, and report2 ing requirements of this Act (or any disbursement to or 

3 on behalf of any account of a political committee which 

4 is established for the purpose of accepting such donations 

5 or contributions);’’. 

6 (b) CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH CORPORATE PACS

7 MAY MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.—Sec8 tion 316(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30118(b)) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(8) A separate segregated fund established by a cor11 poration may not make a contribution or expenditure dur12 ing a year unless the fund has certified to the Commission 

13 the following during the year: 

14 ‘‘(A) Each individual who manages the fund, 

15 and who is responsible for exercising decisionmaking 

16 authority for the fund, is a citizen of the United 

17 States or is lawfully admitted for permanent resi18 dence in the United States. 

19 ‘‘(B) No foreign national under section 319 

20 participates in any way in the decisionmaking proc21 esses of the fund with regard to contributions or ex22 penditures under this Act. 

23 ‘‘(C) The fund does not solicit or accept rec24 ommendations from any foreign national under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jul 26, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1585.IS S1585

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1 tion 319 with respect to the contributions or expend2 itures made by the fund. 

3 ‘‘(D) Any member of the board of directors of 

4 the corporation who is a foreign national under sec5 tion 319 abstains from voting on matters concerning 

6 the fund or its activities.’’. 

7 TITLE II—CAMPAIGN 

8 DISBURSEMENT REPORTING 

9 SEC. 201. CAMPAIGN DISBURSEMENT REPORTING. 

10 (a) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED.— 

11 (1) TREATMENT OF FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT

12 OF EXPRESS ADVOCACY AS INDEPENDENT EXPENDI13 TURE.—Subparagraph (A) of section 301(17) of the 

14 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

15 30101(17)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(A) that expressly advocates the election 

17 or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is 

18 the functional equivalent of express advocacy 

19 because, when taken as a whole, it can be inter20 preted by a reasonable person only as advo21 cating the election or defeat of a candidate, tak22 ing into account whether the communication in23 volved mentions a candidacy, a political party, 

24 or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a posiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jul 26, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1585.IS S1585

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1 tion on a candidate’s character, qualifications, 

2 or fitness for office; and’’. 

3 (2) EXPANSION OF PERIOD DURING WHICH

4 COMMUNICATIONS ARE TREATED AS ELECTION5 EERING COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 304(f)(3)(A)(i) 

6 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)(i)) is amend7 ed— 

8 (A) by redesignating subclause (III) as 

9 subclause (IV); and 

10 (B) by striking subclause (II) and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(II) in the case of a communica13 tion which refers to a candidate for an 

14 office other than the President or Vice 

15 President, is made during the period 

16 beginning on January 1 of the cal17 endar year in which a general or run18 off election is held and ending on the 

19 date of the general or runoff election 

20 (or in the case of a special election, 

21 during the period beginning on the 

22 date on which the announcement with 

23 respect to such election is made and 

24 ending on the date of the special elec25 tion); 


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1 ‘‘(III) in the case of a commu2 nication which refers to a candidate 

3 for the office of President or Vice 

4 President, is made in any State dur5 ing the period beginning 120 days be6 fore the first primary election, caucus, 

7 or preference election held for the se8 lection of delegates to a national 

9 nominating convention of a political 

10 party is held in any State (or, if no 

11 such election or caucus is held in any 

12 State, the first convention or caucus 

13 of a political party which has the au14 thority to nominate a candidate for 

15 the office of President or Vice Presi16 dent) and ending on the date of the 

17 general election; and’’. 

18 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION FOR ELEC19 TIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS MADE PRIOR TO EN20 ACTMENT.—The amendment made by paragraph (2) 

21 shall apply with respect to communications made on 

22 or after January 1, 2018, except that no commu23 nication which is made prior to such date shall be 

24 treated as an electioneering communication under 

25 subclause (II) or (III) of section 304(f)(3)(A)(i) of 


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1 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as 

2 amended by paragraph (2)) unless the communica3 tion would be treated as an electioneering commu4 nication under such section if the amendment made 

5 by paragraph (2) did not apply. 

6 (b) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CORPORA7 TIONS, LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, AND CERTAIN OTHER

8 ENTITIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 324 of the Federal 

10 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30126) 

11 is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 324. DISCLOSURE OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE13 MENTS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS. 

14 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any covered organization 

16 that makes campaign-related disbursements aggre17 gating more than $10,000 in an election reporting 

18 cycle shall, not later than 24 hours after each disclo19 sure date, file a statement with the Commission 

20 made under penalty of perjury that contains the in21 formation described in paragraph (2)— 

22 ‘‘(A) in the case of the first statement filed 

23 under this subsection, for the period beginning 

24 on the first day of the election reporting cycle 


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1 and ending on the first such disclosure date; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent state4 ment filed under this subsection, for the period 

5 beginning on the previous disclosure date and 

6 ending on such disclosure date. 

7 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa8 tion described in this paragraph is as follows: 

9 ‘‘(A) The name of the covered organization 

10 and the principal place of business of such or11 ganization and, in the case of a covered organi12 zation that is a corporation (other than a busi13 ness concern that is an issuer of a class of secu14 rities registered under section 12 of the Securi15 ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l) or 

16 that is required to file reports under section 

17 15(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 78o(d))) or an en18 tity described in subsection (e)(2), a list of the 

19 beneficial owners (as defined in paragraph 

20 (4)(A)) of the entity that— 

21 ‘‘(i) identifies each beneficial owner by 

22 name and current residential or business 

23 street address; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) if any beneficial owner exercises 

25 control over the entity through another 


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1 legal entity, such as a corporation, partner2 ship, limited liability company, or trust, 

3 identifies each such other legal entity and 

4 each such beneficial owner who will use 

5 that other entity to exercise control over 

6 the entity. 

7 ‘‘(B) The amount of each campaign-related 

8 disbursement made by such organization during 

9 the period covered by the statement of more 

10 than $1,000, and the name and address of the 

11 person to whom the disbursement was made. 

12 ‘‘(C) In the case of a campaign-related dis13 bursement that is not a covered transfer, the 

14 election to which the campaign-related disburse15 ment pertains and if the disbursement is made 

16 for a public communication, the name of any 

17 candidate identified in such communication and 

18 whether such communication is in support of or 

19 in opposition to a candidate. 

20 ‘‘(D) A certification by the chief executive 

21 officer or person who is the head of the covered 

22 organization that the campaign-related dis23 bursement is not made in cooperation, consulta24 tion, or concert with or at the request or sug25 gestion of a candidate, authorized committee, or 


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1 agent of a candidate, political party, or agent of 

2 a political party. 

3 ‘‘(E) If the covered organization makes 

4 campaign-related disbursements using exclu5 sively funds in a segregated bank account con6 sisting of funds that were paid directly to such 

7 account by persons other than the covered orga8 nization that controls the account, for each 

9 such payment to the account— 

10 ‘‘(i) the name and address of each 

11 person who made such payment during the 

12 period covered by the statement; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the date and amount of such 

14 payment; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the aggregate amount of all such 

16 payments made by the person during the 

17 period beginning on the first day of the 

18 election reporting cycle and ending on the 

19 disclosure date, 

20 but only if such payment was made by a person 

21 who made payments to the account in an aggre22 gate amount of $10,000 or more during the pe23 riod beginning on the first day of the election 

24 reporting cycle and ending on the disclosure 

25 date. 


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1 ‘‘(F) If the covered organization makes 

2 campaign-related disbursements using funds 

3 other than funds in a segregated bank account 

4 described in subparagraph (E), for each pay5 ment to the covered organization— 

6 ‘‘(i) the name and address of each 

7 person who made such payment during the 

8 period covered by the statement; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the date and amount of such 

10 payment; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the aggregate amount of all such 

12 payments made by the person during the 

13 period beginning on the first day of the 

14 election reporting cycle and ending on the 

15 disclosure date, 

16 but only if such payment was made by a person 

17 who made payments to the covered organization 

18 in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more 

19 during the period beginning on the first day of 

20 the election reporting cycle and ending on the 

21 disclosure date. 

22 ‘‘(G) Such other information as required in 

23 rules established by the Commission to promote 

24 the purposes of this section. 

25 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) AMOUNTS RECEIVED IN ORDINARY

2 COURSE OF BUSINESS.—The requirement to in3 clude in a statement filed under paragraph (1) 

4 the information described in paragraph (2) 

5 shall not apply to amounts received by the cov6 ered organization in commercial transactions in 

7 the ordinary course of any trade or business 

8 conducted by the covered organization or in the 

9 form of investments (other than investments by 

10 the principal shareholder in a limited liability 

11 corporation) in the covered organization. 

12 ‘‘(B) DONOR RESTRICTION ON USE OF

13 FUNDS.—The requirement to include in a state14 ment submitted under paragraph (1) the infor15 mation described in subparagraph (F) of para16 graph (2) shall not apply if— 

17 ‘‘(i) the person described in such sub18 paragraph prohibited, in writing, the use of 

19 the payment made by such person for cam20 paign-related disbursements; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the covered organization agreed 

22 to follow the prohibition and deposited the 

23 payment in an account which is segregated 

24 from any account used to make campaign25 related disbursements. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AMOUNTS RECEIVED FROM AFFILI2 ATES.—The requirement to include in a state3 ment submitted under paragraph (1) the infor4 mation described in subparagraph (F) of para5 graph (2) shall not apply to any amount which 

6 is described in subsection (f)(3)(A)(i). 

7 ‘‘(4) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

8 this section: 

9 ‘‘(A) BENEFICIAL OWNER DEFINED.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro11 vided in clause (ii), the term ‘beneficial 

12 owner’ means, with respect to any entity, 

13 a natural person who, directly or indi14 rectly— 

15 ‘‘(I) exercises substantial control 

16 over an entity through ownership, vot17 ing rights, agreement, or otherwise; or 

18 ‘‘(II) has a substantial interest in 

19 or receives substantial economic bene20 fits from the assets of an entity. 

21 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘bene22 ficial owner’ shall not include— 

23 ‘‘(I) a minor child; 


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1 ‘‘(II) a person acting as a nomi2 nee, intermediary, custodian, or agent 

3 on behalf of another person; 

4 ‘‘(III) a person acting solely as 

5 an employee of an entity and whose 

6 control over or economic benefits from 

7 the entity derives solely from the em8 ployment status of the person; 

9 ‘‘(IV) a person whose only inter10 est in an entity is through a right of 

11 inheritance, unless the person also 

12 meets the requirements of clause (i); 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(V) a creditor of an entity, un15 less the creditor also meets the re16 quirements of clause (i). 

17 ‘‘(iii) ANTI-ABUSE RULE.—The excep18 tions under clause (ii) shall not apply if 

19 used for the purpose of evading, circum20 venting, or abusing the provisions of clause 

21 (i) or paragraph (2)(A). 

22 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE DATE.—The term ‘dis23 closure date’ means— 

24 ‘‘(i) the first date during any election 

25 reporting cycle by which a person has 


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1 made campaign-related disbursements ag2 gregating more than $10,000; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) any other date during such elec4 tion reporting cycle by which a person has 

5 made campaign-related disbursements ag6 gregating more than $10,000 since the 

7 most recent disclosure date for such elec8 tion reporting cycle. 

9 ‘‘(C) ELECTION REPORTING CYCLE.—The 

10 term ‘election reporting cycle’ means the 2-year 

11 period beginning on the date of the most recent 

12 general election for Federal office. 

13 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ in14 cludes any contribution, donation, transfer, pay15 ment of dues, or other payment. 

16 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) OTHER REPORTS FILED WITH THE COM18 MISSION.—Information included in a statement filed 

19 under this section may be excluded from statements 

20 and reports filed under section 304. 

21 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT AS SEPARATE SEGREGATED

22 FUND.—A segregated bank account referred to in 

23 subsection (a)(2)(E) may be treated as a separate 

24 segregated fund for purposes of section 527(f)(3) of 

25 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 


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1 ‘‘(c) FILING.—Statements required to be filed under 

2 subsection (a) shall be subject to the requirements of sec3 tion 304(d) to the same extent and in the same manner 

4 as if such reports had been required under subsection (c) 

5 or (g) of section 304. 

6 ‘‘(d) CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT DE7 FINED.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

9 ‘campaign-related disbursement’ means a disburse10 ment by a covered organization for any of the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(A) An independent expenditure con13 sisting of a public communication. 

14 ‘‘(B) An electioneering communication, as 

15 defined in section 304(f)(3). 

16 ‘‘(C) A covered transfer. 

17 ‘‘(2) INTENT NOT REQUIRED.—A disbursement 

18 for an item described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

19 (C) of paragraph (1) shall be treated as a campaign20 related disbursement regardless of the intent of the 

21 person making the disbursement. 

22 ‘‘(e) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this 

23 section, the term ‘covered organization’ means any of the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) A corporation (other than an organization 

2 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986). 

4 ‘‘(2) A limited liability corporation that is not 

5 otherwise treated as a corporation for purposes of 

6 this Act (other than an organization described in 

7 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986). 

9 ‘‘(3) An organization described in section 

10 501(c) of such Code and exempt from taxation 

11 under section 501(a) of such Code (other than an 

12 organization described in section 501(c)(3) of such 

13 Code). 

14 ‘‘(4) A labor organization (as defined in section 

15 316(b)). 

16 ‘‘(5) Any political organization under section 

17 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other 

18 than a political committee under this Act (except as 

19 provided in paragraph (6)). 

20 ‘‘(6) A political committee with an account that 

21 accepts donations or contributions that do not com22 ply with the contribution limits or source prohibi23 tions under this Act, but only with respect to such 

24 accounts. 

25 ‘‘(f) COVERED TRANSFER DEFINED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

2 ‘covered transfer’ means any transfer or payment of 

3 funds by a covered organization to another person if 

4 the covered organization— 

5 ‘‘(A) designates, requests, or suggests that 

6 the amounts be used for— 

7 ‘‘(i) campaign-related disbursements 

8 (other than covered transfers); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

10 person for the purpose of making or pay11 ing for such campaign-related disburse12 ments; 

13 ‘‘(B) made such transfer or payment in re14 sponse to a solicitation or other request for a 

15 donation or payment for— 

16 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam17 paign-related disbursements (other than 

18 covered transfers); or 

19 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

20 person for the purpose of making or pay21 ing for such campaign-related disburse22 ments; 

23 ‘‘(C) engaged in discussions with the re24 cipient of the transfer or payment regarding— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam2 paign-related disbursements (other than 

3 covered transfers); or 

4 ‘‘(ii) donating or transferring any 

5 amount of such transfer or payment to an6 other person for the purpose of making or 

7 paying for such campaign-related disburse8 ments; 

9 ‘‘(D) made campaign-related disburse10 ments (other than a covered transfer) in an ag11 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

12 2-year period ending on the date of the transfer 

13 or payment, or knew or had reason to know 

14 that the person receiving the transfer or pay15 ment made such disbursements in such an ag16 gregate amount during that 2-year period; or 

17 ‘‘(E) knew or had reason to know that the 

18 person receiving the transfer or payment would 

19 make campaign-related disbursements in an ag20 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

21 2-year period beginning on the date of the 

22 transfer or payment. 

23 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered transfer’ 

24 does not include any of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A disbursement made by a covered 

2 organization in a commercial transaction in the 

3 ordinary course of any trade or business con4 ducted by the covered organization or in the 

5 form of investments made by the covered orga6 nization. 

7 ‘‘(B) A disbursement made by a covered 

8 organization if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the covered organization prohib10 ited, in writing, the use of such disburse11 ment for campaign-related disbursements; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the recipient of the disbursement 

14 agreed to follow the prohibition and depos15 ited the disbursement in an account which 

16 is segregated from any account used to 

17 make campaign-related disbursements. 

18 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TRANSFERS

19 AMONG AFFILIATES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TRANS21 FERS AMONG AFFILIATES.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 

23 transfer’ does not include an amount 

24 transferred by one covered organization to 


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1 another covered organization if such trans2 fer— 

3 ‘‘(I) is not made directly into a 

4 separate segregated bank account de5 scribed in subsection (a)(2)(E); and 

6 ‘‘(II) is treated as a transfer be7 tween affiliates under subparagraph 

8 (B). 

9 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—If the aggre10 gate amount of transfers described in 

11 clause (i) exceeds $50,000 in any election 

12 reporting cycle— 

13 ‘‘(I) the covered organization 

14 which makes such transfers shall pro15 vide to the covered organization re16 ceiving such transfers the information 

17 required under subsection (a)(2)(F) 

18 (applied by substituting ‘the period 

19 beginning on the first day of the elec20 tion reporting cycle and ending on the 

21 date of the most recent transfer de22 scribed in subsection (f)(3)(A)(i)’ for 

23 ‘the period covered by the statement’ 

24 in clause (i) thereof); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the covered organization re2 ceiving such transfers shall report the 

3 information described in subclause (I) 

4 on any statement filed under sub5 section (a)(1) as if any contribution, 

6 donation, or transfer to which such 

7 information relates was made directly 

8 to the covered organization receiving 

9 the transfer. 

10 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFERS BE11 TWEEN AFFILIATES.—A transfer of amounts 

12 from one covered organization to another cov13 ered organization shall be treated as a transfer 

14 between affiliates if— 

15 ‘‘(i) one of the organizations is an af16 filiate of the other organization; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) each of the organizations is an 

18 affiliate of the same organization, 

19 except that the transfer shall not be treated as 

20 a transfer between affiliates if one of the orga21 nizations is established for the purpose of mak22 ing campaign-related disbursements. 

23 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AFFILIATE STA24 TUS.—For purposes of this paragraph, the folVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jul 26, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1585.IS S1585

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•S 1585 IS

1 lowing organizations shall be considered to be 

2 affiliated with each other: 

3 ‘‘(i) A membership organization, in4 cluding a trade or professional association, 

5 and the related State and local entities of 

6 that organization. 

7 ‘‘(ii) A national or international labor 

8 organization and its State or local unions, 

9 or an organization of national or inter10 national unions and its State and local en11 tities. 

12 ‘‘(iii) A corporation and its wholly 

13 owned subsidiaries. 

14 ‘‘(D) COVERAGE OF TRANSFERS TO AF15 FILIATED SECTION 501(c)(3) ORGANIZA16 TIONS.—This paragraph shall apply with re17 spect to an amount transferred by a covered or18 ganization to an organization described in para19 graph (3) of section 501(c) of the Internal Rev20 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 

21 section 501(a) of such Code in the same man22 ner as this paragraph applies to an amount 

23 transferred by a covered organization to an24 other covered organization.’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

2 304(f)(6) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended 

3 by striking ‘‘Any requirement’’ and inserting ‘‘Ex4 cept as provided in section 324(b), any require5 ment’’. 

6 (3) COORDINATION WITH FINCEN.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Fi8 nancial Crimes Enforcement Network of the 

9 Department of the Treasury shall provide the 

10 Federal Election Commission with such infor11 mation as necessary to assist in administering 

12 and enforcing section 324 of the Federal Elec13 tion Campaign Act of 1971, as added by this 

14 subsection. 

15 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

17 Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, 

18 in consultation with the Director of the Finan19 cial Crimes Enforcement Network of the De20 partment of the Treasury, shall submit to Con21 gress a report with recommendations for pro22 viding further legislative authority to assist in 

23 the administration and enforcement of such sec24 tion 324. 


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1 SEC. 202. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 Except as provided in section 201(a)(3), the amend3 ments made by this title shall apply with respect to dis4 bursements made on or after January 1, 2018, and shall 

5 take effect without regard to whether or not the Federal 

6 Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry 

7 out such amendments. 

8 TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

9 SEC. 301. SEVERABILITY. 

10 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

11 this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment 

12 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu13 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

14 by this Act, and the application of the provisions and 

15 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

16 affected by the holding. 

Æ 


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