II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 791 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 to require the disclosure of contributions and 

expenditures for independent Federal election-related activity, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 23, 2013 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and 

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require the disclosure of contributions and expenditures for independent 

Federal election-related activity, 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, ETC. 

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

5 ‘‘Follow the Money Act of 2013’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title, etc. 

TITLE I—COMPREHENSIVE REPORTING OF INDEPENDENT FEDERAL ELECTION-RELATED EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS 

Sec. 101. Reporting of independent Federal election-related activity expenditures and covered contributions. 

Sec. 102. Increase in reporting thresholds for candidate only political committees. 

Sec. 103. Instant disclosure system for contributions. 

Sec. 104. Modification of rules relating to disclaimer statements required for 

certain communications. 

Sec. 105. Statements disavowing communications. 

Sec. 106. Filing by Senate candidates with commission. 

TITLE II—REGULATION OF INDEPENDENT FEDERAL ELECTIONRELATED ACTIVITY BY TAX-EXEMPT ENTITIES 

Sec. 201. Excise tax on certain tax-exempt organizations failing to report election-related expenditures. 

Sec. 202. Loss of tax-exempt status for certain organizations failing to register 

or report election-related expenditures and contributions. 

Sec. 203. Section 527 political organizations required to file with FEC. 

Sec. 204. Application of whistleblower protections. 

TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Joint regulatory authority and advisory opinions. 

Sec. 302. Denial of business expense deductions for certain businesses failing 

to report donations and independent Federal election-related 

activity expenditures. 

Sec. 303. Prohibition on discrimination against donors. 

Sec. 304. Severability. 


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1 TITLE I—COMPREHENSIVE RE2 PORTING OF INDEPENDENT 

3 FEDERAL ELECTION-RE4 LATED EXPENDITURES AND 

5 CONTRIBUTIONS 

6 SEC. 101. REPORTING OF INDEPENDENT FEDERAL ELEC7 TION-RELATED ACTIVITY EXPENDITURES 

8 AND COVERED CONTRIBUTIONS. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 7701(a) of the Internal 

10 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following new paragraphs: 

12 ‘‘(51) INDEPENDENT FEDERAL ELECTION-RE13 LATED ACTIVITY EXPENDITURE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘inde15 pendent Federal election-related activity ex16 penditure’ means— 

17 ‘‘(i) any expenditure that— 

18 ‘‘(I) considering the facts and 

19 circumstances, a reasonable person 

20 would conclude is made solely or sub21 stantially for the purpose of influ22 encing or attempting to influence the 

23 nomination or election of any indi24 vidual to any Federal office (including 

25 an expenditure for a public commuVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:29 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S791.IS S791

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1 nication that promotes, attacks, sup2 ports, or opposes a candidate); and 

3 ‘‘(II) that is not made in concert 

4 or cooperation with, or at the sugges5 tion of a candidate, the candidate’s 

6 authorized committee, or a political 

7 party committee; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) any payment made to another 

9 person if the transferor knows or has rea10 son to know that such payment will be 

11 used to fund an expenditure described in 

12 clause (i). 

13 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS AND ADVISORY OPIN14 IONS.—For authority with respect joint regula15 tions and advisory opinions, see section 301 of 

16 the Follow the Money Act of 2013. 

17 ‘‘(C) OTHER TERMS.—For purposes of this 

18 paragraph, the terms ‘candidate’, ‘Federal of19 fice’, ‘election’, and ‘public communication’ have 

20 the meaning given such terms under section 

21 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

22 1971. 

23 ‘‘(52) COVERED CONTRIBUTION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 

25 contribution’ means anything of value received 


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1 by an independent political actor (as defined in 

2 section 351(1) of the Federal Election Cam3 paign Act of 1971) which can be used by such 

4 person to make an independent Federal elec5 tion-related activity expenditure. 

6 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—A receipt from an7 other person shall not be taken into account 

8 under subparagraph (A)— 

9 ‘‘(i) if such receipt occurred in a com10 mercial transaction in the ordinary course 

11 of business; 

12 ‘‘(ii) to the extent of the fair market 

13 value of any goods or services provided by 

14 the organization to such person in consid15 eration for such amount; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) if such receipt was derived from 

17 investments made by the independent polit18 ical actor (as so defined). 

19 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS AND ADVISORY OPIN20 IONS.—For authority with respect joint regula21 tions and advisory opinions, see section 301 of 

22 the Follow the Money Act of 2013.’’. 

23 (b) REGISTRATION AND REPORTING.—Title III of 

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

25 431) is amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting before section 301 the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘Subtitle A—Funds Provided to 

4 Candidates’’, 

5 and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub7 title: 

8 ‘‘Subtitle B—Disclosure of Other 

9 Election-related Expenditures 

10 and Receipts 

11 ‘‘SEC. 351. DEFINITIONS. 

12 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

13 ‘‘(1) INDEPENDENT POLITICAL ACTOR.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘inde15 pendent political actor’ means, with respect to 

16 any Federal election cycle, any person that— 

17 ‘‘(i) makes independent Federal elec18 tion-related activity expenditures of 

19 $10,000 or more during such Federal elec20 tion cycle; 

21 ‘‘(ii) receives contributions which— 

22 ‘‘(I) are intended by the trans23 feror and understood by the recipient 

24 to be substantially used for making 


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1 Independent Federal election-related 

2 activity expenditures, and 

3 ‘‘(II) aggregate $10,000 or more 

4 during such Federal election cycle; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) makes qualified solicitations to 

6 500 or more persons during such Federal 

7 election cycle. 

8 For purposes of clause (iii), the term ‘qualified 

9 solicitation’ means any solicitation which dis10 closes to contributors that a portion of funds 

11 received in response to the solicitation will be 

12 utilized for independent Federal election-related 

13 activity expenditures. 

14 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION OF CANDIDATE-ONLY PO15 LITICAL COMMITTEES.—The term ‘independent 

16 political actor’ shall not include any political 

17 committee that exclusively makes contributions 

18 (whether direct, in-kind, or via coordinated 

19 communications) to candidates. 

20 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL ELECTION CYCLE.—The term 

21 ‘Federal election cycle’ means the period beginning 

22 on January 1 of any odd numbered year and ending 

23 on December 31 of the following year. 

24 ‘‘(3) INDEPENDENT FEDERAL ELECTION-RE25 LATED ACTIVITY EXPENDITURE.—The term ‘indeVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:48 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S791.IS S791

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1 pendent Federal election-related activity expenditure’ 

2 has the meaning given such term under section 

3 7701(51) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

4 ‘‘(4) COVERED CONTRIBUTION.—The term ‘cov5 ered contribution’ has the meaning given such term 

6 under section 7701(52) of the Internal Revenue 

7 Code of 1986. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 352. ORGANIZATION OF INDEPENDENT POLITICAL 

9 ACTORS. 

10 ‘‘(a) PERSONNEL.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each independent political 

12 actor shall designate— 

13 ‘‘(A) a treasurer; and 

14 ‘‘(B) a responsible individual. 

15 ‘‘(2) TREASURER.—As provided by the Com16 mission in regulations— 

17 ‘‘(A) the treasurer of an independent polit18 ical actor shall have similar duties and respon19 sibilities of the treasurer of a political com20 mittee under subsections (b), (c), and (d) of 

21 section 302; and 

22 ‘‘(B) rules similar to the rules of section 

23 302(i) shall apply. 

24 ‘‘(3) JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY.—The 

25 treasurer and responsible individual shall be jointly 


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1 and severally liable with the independent political 

2 actor for any acts or omissions to which this Act ap3 plies. 

4 ‘‘(b) ORGANIZATION OF ACCOUNTS OF INDE5 PENDENT POLITICAL ACTORS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) SAFE HARBOR ACCOUNT.—Each inde7 pendent political actor may elect to have a seg8 regated safe harbor account with respect to each 

9 Federal election cycle consisting of so much of the 

10 covered contributions (including dues) received from 

11 a person during the Federal election cycle as does 

12 not exceed the lesser of— 

13 ‘‘(A) $1,000; or 

14 ‘‘(B) the amount of covered contributions 

15 (including dues) received from such person. 

16 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS AC17 COUNT.—Each independent political actor may elect 

18 to have a segregated supplemental contribution ac19 count consisting of the dues and other covered con20 tributions that— 

21 ‘‘(A) are received in that account; and 

22 ‘‘(B) are to be used only for the purpose 

23 of making independent Federal election-related 

24 activity expenditures. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 353. REGISTRATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Every person who is an inde3 pendent political actor with respect to a Federal election 

4 cycle shall file a registration statement with the Commis5 sion not later than 10 days after such person becomes an 

6 independent political actor within the meaning of section 

7 351(1). 

8 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF REGISTRATION STATEMENT.— 

9 The registration statement shall include the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) REGISTRANT INFORMATION.—The name 

11 and address of the independent political actor, the 

12 treasurer of the independent political actor, the re13 sponsible individual with respect to the independent 

14 political actor, and such other information as the 

15 Commission may require. 

16 ‘‘(2) METHOD FOR REPORTING CONTRIBU17 TIONS.—An election with respect to which of the fol18 lowing methods the independent political actor elects 

19 to use for reporting covered contributions received 

20 during the federal election cycle: 

21 ‘‘(A) ALL RECEIPTS.—A method under 

22 which the independent political actor elects to 

23 report all covered contributions received during 

24 the Federal election cycle. 

25 ‘‘(B) USE OF SAFE HARBOR CONTRIBU26 TION ACCOUNT.—A method under which the 


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1 independent political actor elects to make inde2 pendent Federal election-related activity ex3 penditures only from amounts allocated to the 

4 safe harbor account of the independent political 

5 actor. 

6 ‘‘(C) USE OF SUPPLEMENTAL CONTRIBU7 TION ACCOUNTS.—A method under which the 

8 independent political actor— 

9 ‘‘(i) elects to make independent Fed10 eral election-related expenditures only from 

11 amounts allocated to the supplemental con12 tributions account of such independent po13 litical actor; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) reports all covered contributions 

15 made to the supplemental contribution ac16 count of such independent political actor. 

17 ‘‘(D) USE OF SAFE HARBOR AND SUPPLE18 MENTAL CONTRIBUTION ACCOUNTS.—A method 

19 under which the independent political actor— 

20 ‘‘(i) elects make independent Federal 

21 election-related expenditures only from 

22 amounts allocated to the safe harbor and 

23 supplemental contributions account of such 

24 independent political actor; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) reports all covered contributions 

2 made to the supplemental contribution ac3 count of such independent political actor. 

4 ‘‘(E) ALTERNATIVE ALLOCATION PLAN.— 

5 A method under which the independent political 

6 actor elects to make independent Federal elec7 tion-related expenditures and reports covered 

8 contributions under an alternative allocation 

9 plan approved by the Commission. 

10 An election under this subsection shall apply to a 

11 Federal election cycle and shall be irrevocable for 

12 such Federal election cycle. 

13 ‘‘(c) REGISTRATION NUMBER.—The Commission 

14 shall designate a registration number for each independent 

15 political actor registered under this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(d) AMENDMENTS.—Any change in information pre17 viously submitted in a registration statement of an inde18 pendent political actor shall be reported not later than 10 

19 days after the date of the change. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 354. REPORTING BY INDEPENDENT POLITICAL AC21 TORS. 

22 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO FILE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Every treasurer of an inde24 pendent political actor shall file a statement with the 


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1 Commission containing the information described in 

2 subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF REPORTING.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The statement re5 quired to be made under paragraph (1) shall be 

6 filed with the Commission at the times such 

7 statement would be required to be filed if such 

8 person were an authorized political committee 

9 of a candidate. 

10 ‘‘(B) COVERED CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On and after the 

12 date the Commission establishes the in13 stant disclosure system described in section 

14 103(a) of the Follow the Money Act of 

15 2013, each treasurer of an independent po16 litical actor which accepts a covered con17 tribution shall file, not later than the time 

18 provided under clause (ii), a statement 

19 with the Commission containing the infor20 mation described in clause (iii). 

21 ‘‘(ii) TIMING OF REPORTING.—The 

22 statement required to be made under 

23 clause (i) shall be filed with the Commis24 sion— 


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1 ‘‘(I) in the case of a covered con2 tribution made by check, before the 

3 date on which such check has been 

4 cashed or deposited into an account of 

5 the independent political actor; 

6 ‘‘(II) in the case of a covered 

7 contribution made by credit card or 

8 debit card, within 48 hours of the re9 ceipt of such contribution; and 

10 ‘‘(III) in any other case, within 

11 10 days of the receipt of such con12 tribution. 

13 ‘‘(iii) CONTENTS OF STATEMENT.— 

14 Each statement required to be filed under 

15 this clause shall contain the information 

16 required under subsection (b)(2). 

17 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF STATEMENT.—Each statement 

18 required to be filed under this subsection shall contain the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(1) INDEPENDENT FEDERAL ELECTION-RE21 LATED ACTIVITY EXPENDITURES.—With respect to 

22 each independent Federal election-related activity ex23 penditure made by the person— 

24 ‘‘(A) The date and amount of such expend25 iture. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The name and address of the person 

2 to whom such expenditure is made. 

3 ‘‘(C) The purpose of the expenditure. 

4 ‘‘(D) Whether such expenditure is in sup5 port of, or in opposition to, a candidate, as well 

6 as the name and office sought by such can7 didate. 

8 ‘‘(E) Whether the source of any Federal9 related activity expenditures was from— 

10 ‘‘(i) the safe harbor account of the 

11 independent political actor, 

12 ‘‘(ii) a supplemental contributions ac13 count of the independent political actor, or 

14 ‘‘(iii) another source. 

15 ‘‘(2) COVERED CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each 

17 covered contribution, subject to subparagraphs 

18 (A), (B), and (C), the date and amount of each 

19 covered contribution received by an independent 

20 political actor. 

21 ‘‘(i) ALL RECEIPTS METHOD.—In the 

22 case of any independent political actor who 

23 has made an election under section 

24 352(b)(2)(A), the identification of each 

25 person who made covered contributions to 


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1 such independent political actor during the 

2 Federal election cycle. 

3 ‘‘(ii) SUPPLEMENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS

4 ACCOUNTS.—In the case of an independent 

5 political actor who has made an election 

6 under section 353(b)(2)(B), the identifica7 tion of each person who made a covered 

8 contribution deposited into any such ac9 count during the Federal election cycle. 

10 ‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE ALLOCATION

11 PLAN.—In the case of an independent po12 litical actor who enters into an alternative 

13 allocation plan with the Commission under 

14 section 353(b)(2)(C), the information re15 quired to be reported under such alter16 native allocation plan. 

17 ‘‘(B) LOOK THROUGH REPORTING FOR

18 CERTAIN TRANSFERS.—In the case of any cov19 ered contribution received by an independent 

20 political actor which is a independent Federal 

21 election-related activity expenditure of another 

22 independent political actor (hereinafter in this 

23 subparagraph referred to as the ‘transferor’) 

24 which is described in clause (ii) of section 

25 7701(a)(51)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 


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1 1986, the independent political actor receiving 

2 such covered contribution shall attribute the 

3 amount of the covered contribution to the 

4 transferee and to each person identified in a re5 port of the transferee under this paragraph be6 fore the date of such contribution in the propor7 tion that the amount of covered contributions 

8 so identified by the transferee in such reports 

9 bears to the amount of the covered contribution 

10 received by the independent political actor. 

11 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY PROTECTIONS.—The Com12 mission may prescribe regulations to provide for an excep13 tion to the public disclosure of the identity of a person 

14 who makes a covered contribution under this section if— 

15 ‘‘(1) the aggregate such contributions made by 

16 such person was $5,000 or less; and 

17 ‘‘(2) such person has demonstrated that disclo18 sure of the person’s identity will place the person at 

19 a particularized and specific risk of substantial in20 jury to his or her person or business as a con21 sequence of the disclosure. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 355. ENFORCEMENT. 

23 ‘‘For purposes of section 309— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a violation of section 354(a) shall be treat2 ed as a violation of section 304(a) for purposes of 

3 subsection (4)(C) thereof, and 

4 ‘‘(2) the amount required to be paid under any 

5 conciliation agreement or civil penalty imposed for a 

6 violation of section 304 or section 354 shall be re7 duced by the amount of any tax imposed and paid 

8 under section 4969 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

9 1986.’’. 

10 (c) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING REQUIRE11 MENTS.— 

12 (1) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL COMMITTEE.— 

13 Section 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign 

14 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(4)) is amended by add15 ing at the end the following flush sentence: 

16 ‘‘Such term shall not include any person who is an 

17 independent political actor, as defined in section 

18 351(1).’’. 

19 (2) PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OF FUNDS

20 FROM POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Section 313(b) of 

21 such Act (2 U.S.C. 439a(b)) is amended by adding 

22 at the end the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(3) TRANSFERS FOR INDEPENDENT FEDERAL

24 ELECTION-RELATED ACTIVITY EXPENDITURES.—A 

25 contribution to a political committee may not be— 


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1 ‘‘(A) transferred to a safe harbor account 

2 or a supplemental contribution account of an 

3 independent political actor (as defined by sec4 tion 351); or 

5 ‘‘(B) otherwise used for an independent 

6 Federal election-related activity expenditure (as 

7 defined in section 351).’’. 

8 (3) TERMINATION OF DUPLICATE REPORTING

9 REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 (A) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(c) of 

12 such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(c)) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following new para14 graph: 

15 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—This subsection shall not 

16 apply to expenditures made after December 31, 

17 2014.’’. 

18 (ii) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Sec19 tion 304((g) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(g)) 

20 is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(5) TERMINATION.—This subsection shall not 

23 apply to expenditures made after December 31, 

24 2014.’’. 


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1 (B) ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICA2 TIONS.—Section 304(f) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

3 434(f)) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(8) TERMINATION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

6 apply to expenditures made after December 31, 

7 2014.’’. 

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

9 this section shall apply to contributions and expenditures 

10 made after December 31, 2014. 

11 SEC. 102. INCREASE IN REPORTING THRESHOLDS FOR CAN12 DIDATE ONLY POLITICAL COMMITTEES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraphs (A) and (F) of 

14 section 304(b)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

15 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(3)(A)) are each amended by 

16 striking ‘‘ in excess of $200’’ and inserting ‘‘in excess of 

17 $1,000’’. 

18 (b) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Paragraph (3) of sec19 tion 304(e) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(e)) is amended to 

20 read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(3) ITEMIZATION.—If a political committee 

22 has— 

23 ‘‘(A) receipts to which this subsection ap24 plies from any person in excess of $200 for any 

25 calendar year, or 


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1 ‘‘(B) disbursements to which this sub2 section applies to any person in excess of 

3 $1,000 for any calendar year, 

4 the political committee shall separately itemize its 

5 reporting for such person in the same manner as re6 quired in paragraphs (3)(A), (5), and (6) of sub7 section (b).’’. 

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

9 this section shall apply to contributions and expenditures 

10 made after December 31, 2014. 

11 SEC. 103. INSTANT DISCLOSURE SYSTEM FOR CONTRIBU12 TIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2015, 

14 the Federal Election Commission shall make available an 

15 instant disclosure system for use in reporting contribu16 tions under section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign 

17 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) and covered contributions 

18 under section 354 of such Act. Such system shall include 

19 a free internet-based system or free software through 

20 which participants may report. 

21 (b) USE OF SYSTEM BY POLITICAL COMMITTEES.— 

22 Section 304(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

23 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(13) REPORTING OF CONTRIBUTIONS FOR

2 CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date 

4 the Commission establishes the instant disclo5 sure system described in section 103(a) of the 

6 Follow the Money Act of 2013, each treasurer 

7 of a political committee which accepts a report8 able contribution shall file, not later than the 

9 time provided under subparagraph (B), a state10 ment with the Commission containing the infor11 mation described in subparagraph (C). 

12 ‘‘(B) TIMING OF REPORTING.—The state13 ment required to be made under subparagraph 

14 (A) shall be filed with the Commission— 

15 ‘‘(i) in the case of a reportable con16 tribution made by check, before the date 

17 on which such check has been cashed or 

18 deposited into an account of the inde19 pendent political actor; 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a reportable con21 tribution made by credit card or debit 

22 card, within 48 hours of the receipt of 

23 such contribution; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) in any other case, within 10 

25 days of the receipt of such contribution. 


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1 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS OF STATEMENT.—Each 

2 statement required to be filed under this sub3 section shall contain— 

4 ‘‘(i) the identification of the person 

5 who made the contribution, and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the date and amount of each 

7 contribution made by such person during 

8 the federal election cycle. 

9 ‘‘(D) REPORTABLE CONTRIBUTION.—For 

10 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘reportable 

11 contribution’ means any contribution which 

12 would be required to be reported by the political 

13 committee under subparagraphs (A) or (B) of 

14 subsection (b)(3) on a report submitted under 

15 paragraph (2), (3), or (4) if such report covered 

16 activity through the day the statement under 

17 subparagraph (A) were filed.’’. 

18 SEC. 104. MODIFICATION OF RULES RELATING TO DIS19 CLAIMER STATEMENTS REQUIRED FOR CER20 TAIN COMMUNICATIONS. 

21 (a) APPLYING REQUIREMENTS TO ALL INDE22 PENDENT FEDERAL ELECTION-RELATED ACTIVITY EX23 PENDITURES.—Section 318(a) of the Federal Election 

24 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441d(a)) is amended by 

25 striking ‘‘ or whenever any person makes a disbursement 


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1 for the purpose of financing communications expressly ad2 vocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified can3 didate, or’’ and inserting ‘‘whenever an independent polit4 ical actor makes a independent Federal election-related ac5 tivity expenditure consisting of a public communication, 

6 or whenever any person’’. 

7 (b) STAND BY YOUR AD REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (1) MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING REQUIRE9 MENTS FOR COMMUNICATIONS BY POLITICAL PAR10 TIES AND OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Section 

11 318(d)(2) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441d(d)(2)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OTHERS’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘POLITICAL COMMITTEES’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and in16 serting ‘‘subsection (a) which is paid for by a 

17 political committee (including a political com18 mittee of a political party)’’; and 

19 (C) by striking ‘‘or other person’’ each 

20 place it appears. 

21 (2) SPECIAL DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

22 RADIO AND TELEVISION COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 

23 318 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended by add24 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

25 ‘‘(e) COMMUNICATIONS BY OTHERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any communication de2 scribed in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) which is 

3 paid for by an independent political actor and trans4 mitted through radio or television shall include, in 

5 addition to the requirements of that paragraph, the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(A) The name of the independent political 

8 actor, conveyed by audio. 

9 ‘‘(B) The registration number of the inde10 pendent political actor, conveyed by audio. 

11 ‘‘(C) The top 3 funders with respect to the 

12 registrant (as described in paragraph (2)), to13 gether with the city or residence of each such 

14 funder, unless, on the basis of criteria estab15 lished in regulations promulgated by the Com16 mission, the communication is of such short du17 ration that including the top 3 funders with re18 spect to the registrant would constitute a hard19 ship to the person paying for the communica20 tion by requiring a disproportionate amount of 

21 the communication’s content to consist of the 

22 top 3 funders. 

23 ‘‘(2) TOP 3 FUNDERS.—For purposes of para24 graph (1), the top 3 funders described in this para25 graph are the 3 persons who provided the largest 


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1 covered contributions to the independent political 

2 actor during the Federal election cycle. The Com3 mission shall provide for rules determining the top 

4 3 funders in any case in which 2 or more persons 

5 are reported as having provided covered contribu6 tions. 

7 ‘‘(3) MANNER OF STATEMENT.—The informa8 tion required under paragraph (1)’’. 

9 (3) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN MASS MAIL10 INGS.—Section 318(a)(3) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

11 441d(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(3) if not authorized by a candidate, an au13 thorized political committee of a candidate, or its 

14 agents, shall clearly state— 

15 ‘‘(A) the name and permanent street ad16 dress, telephone number, and, if applicable, the 

17 World Wide Web address of the person who 

18 paid for the communication; 

19 ‘‘(B) if the communication is a inde20 pendent Federal election-related activity ex21 penditure made by an independent political 

22 actor— 

23 ‘‘(i) the name, registration number, 

24 and permanent street address, telephone 

25 number, and, if applicable, the World Wide 


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1 Web address of the independent political 

2 actor; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the name of the treasurer of the 

4 independent political actor; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) each person who would be in6 cluded in the top 3 funders which would be 

7 submitted with respect to the communica8 tion if the communication were transmitted 

9 through television, if any (as determined in 

10 accordance with subsection (e)(2); and 

11 ‘‘(C) that the communication is not au12 thorized by any candidate or candidate’s com13 mittee.’’. 

14 (4) APPLICATION TO POLITICAL ROBOCALLS.— 

15 Section 318 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441d), as amend16 ed by paragraph (2), is further amended by adding 

17 at the end the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES FOR POLITICAL ROBOCALLS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) REQUIRING COMMUNICATIONS TO INCLUDE

20 CERTAIN DISCLAIMER STATEMENTS.—Any commu21 nication consisting of a political robocall which 

22 would be subject to the requirements of subsection 

23 (e) if the communication were transmitted through 

24 radio or television shall include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The name and city and state of resi2 dence of the independent political actor. 

3 ‘‘(B) The registration number of the inde4 pendent political actor. 

5 ‘‘(C) A phone number associated with the 

6 independent political actor where individuals 

7 may call with questions and comments and 

8 which is staffed during all hours in which such 

9 political robocalls are made and for 1 hour after 

10 the last such political robocall was made. 

11 ‘‘(D) The top 3 funders with respect to the 

12 registrant (as described in subsection (e)(2)). 

13 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF CERTAIN STATEMENT.—The 

14 statements required to be included under paragraph 

15 (1) shall be made at the beginning of the political 

16 robocall, unless, on the basis of criteria established 

17 in regulations promulgated by the Commission, the 

18 communication is of such short duration that includ19 ing the statement in the communication would con20 stitute a hardship to the person paying for the com21 munication by requiring a disproportionate amount 

22 of the communication’s content to consist of the 

23 statement. 


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1 ‘‘(3) POLITICAL ROBOCALL DEFINED.—In this 

2 subsection, the term ‘political robocall’ means any 

3 outbound telephone call— 

4 ‘‘(A) in which a person is not available to 

5 speak with the person answering the call, and 

6 the call instead plays a recorded message; and 

7 ‘‘(B) which promotes, supports, attacks, or 

8 opposes a candidate for election for Federal of9 fice.’’. 

10 (5) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 318 of such 

12 Act (2 U.S.C. 441d), as amended by paragraph 

13 (4), is further amended by adding at the end 

14 the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(g) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS DETERMINED BY THE

16 COMMISSION.—The Commission may by regulation pre17 scribe disclosure requirements in addition to those re18 quired by this section for communications paid for through 

19 independent Federal election-related activity expenditures, 

20 including requirements for communications using new 

21 technologies.’’. 

22 (B) RULEMAKING.—Not later than August 

23 1 of each odd numbered year beginning with 

24 calendar year 2015, the Federal Election Com25 mission shall issue an advanced notice of proVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:29 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S791.IS S791

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1 posed rulemaking with respect to regulations 

2 under section 318(g) of the Federal Election 

3 Campaign Act of 1971. 

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

5 this section shall apply to communications made after De6 cember 31, 2014, and shall take effect without regard to 

7 whether or not the Federal Election Commission has pro8 mulgated regulations to carry out such amendments. 

9 SEC. 105. STATEMENTS DISAVOWING COMMUNICATIONS. 

10 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

11 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by this Act, is amend12 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(k) STATEMENTS OF DISAVOWAL.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate or an author15 ized committee of a candidate may file with the 

16 Commission a statement disavowing any public com17 munication which is not made in cooperation, con18 sultation, or concert with such candidate or author19 ized committee. 

20 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION OF STATEMENT.—The Com21 mission shall make such statement publicly available 

22 on the Commission’s website.’’. 


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1 SEC. 106. FILING BY SENATE CANDIDATES WITH COMMIS2 SION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302(g) of the Federal 

4 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(g)) is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(g) FILING WITH THE COMMISSION.—All designa7 tions, statements, and reports required to be filed under 

8 this Act shall be filed with the Commission.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

10 subsection (a) shall apply to designations, statements, and 

11 reports required to be filed after the date that is 2 months 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 TITLE II—REGULATION OF INDE14 PENDENT FEDERAL ELEC15 TION-RELATED ACTIVITY BY 

16 TAX-EXEMPT ENTITIES 

17 SEC. 201. EXCISE TAX ON CERTAIN TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZA18 TIONS FAILING TO REPORT ELECTION-RE19 LATED EXPENDITURES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 42 of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following new subchapter: 

23 ‘‘Subchapter H—Reporting Election-related 

24 Activity 

‘‘Sec. 4968. Taxes on failure to report certain election-related activity. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 4968. TAXES ON FAILURE TO REPORT CERTAIN ELEC2 TION-RELATED ACTIVITY. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ON THE ORGANIZATION.—There is hereby 

5 imposed on each failure to report described in sub6 section (b) by a covered tax-exempt organization a 

7 tax equal to 10 percent of the unreported amount. 

8 The tax imposed by this paragraph shall be paid by 

9 the organization. 

10 ‘‘(2) ON THE RESPONSIBLE PERSON.—Unless a 

11 failure to report described in subsection (b) is not 

12 due to negligence or intentional disregard, there is 

13 hereby imposed on the responsible individual with 

14 respect to the organization to which the failure to 

report relates, a tax equal to 21 15 ⁄2 percent of the 

16 amount thereof. The tax imposed by this paragraph 

17 shall be paid by the responsible individual. 

18 ‘‘(b) FAILURES TO REPORT DESCRIBED IN THIS

19 SUBSECTION.—A failure to report is described in this sub20 section if such failure is a failure to report a covered con21 tribution or an independent Federal election-related activ22 ity expenditure under section 354 of such Act. For pur23 poses of this section, a failure to accurately report an 

24 amount shall be treated as a failure to report such amount 

25 to the extent of the difference between the amount re26 quired to be reported and the amount so reported. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REDUCTION IN AMOUNT OF TAX.— 

2 ‘‘(1) TAXES ON THE ORGANIZATION.—The tax 

3 imposed under subsection (a)(1) shall be reduced by 

4 any amount paid by such organization in connection 

5 with the failure to report described in subsection 

6 (b)— 

7 ‘‘(A) under any conciliation agreement 

8 with the Federal Election Commission under 

9 section 309 of the Federal Election Campaign 

10 Act of 1971, or 

11 ‘‘(B) under a civil penalty imposed by the 

12 Commission. 

13 ‘‘(2) TAXES ON THE RESPONSIBLE INDI14 VIDUAL.—The tax imposed under subsection (a)(2) 

15 shall be reduced by any amount paid by such re16 sponsible individual in connection with the failure to 

17 report described in subsection (b)— 

18 ‘‘(A) under any conciliation agreement 

19 with the Federal Election Commission under 

20 section 309 of the Federal Election Campaign 

21 Act of 1971, or 

22 ‘‘(B) under a civil penalty imposed by the 

23 Commission. 

24 ‘‘(d) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

25 section— 


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1 ‘‘(1) COVERED TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATION.— 

2 The term ‘covered tax-exempt organization’ means 

3 any organization which— 

4 ‘‘(A) without regard to any failure de5 scribed in subsection (b)— 

6 ‘‘(i) would be described in section 

7 501(c) and exempt from taxation under 

8 section 501(a), or 

9 ‘‘(ii) is a political organization (as de10 fined in section 527), and 

11 ‘‘(B) is an independent political actor (as 

12 defined in section 351(1) of such Act). 

13 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘re14 sponsible individual’ means, with respect to any cov15 ered tax-exempt organization, the individual des16 ignated as a responsible individual under section 

17 352(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

18 1971. 

19 ‘‘(e) ABATEMENT.—If it is established to the satisfac20 tion of the Secretary that a failure to report described in 

21 subsection (b) was due to reasonable cause and not neg22 ligence or intentional disregard, then any tax imposed 

23 under subsection (a) with respect to such failure (includ24 ing interest) shall not be assessed and, if assessed, the 


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•S 791 IS

1 assessment shall be abated and, if collected, shall be cred2 ited or refunded as an overpayment.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sub4 chapters for chapter 42 of such Code is amended by add5 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER H—REPORTING ELECTION-RELATED ACTIVITY’’. 

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

7 this section shall apply to contributions and expenditures 

8 made after December 31, 2014. 

9 SEC. 202. LOSS OF TAX-EXEMPT STATUS FOR CERTAIN OR10 GANIZATIONS FAILING TO REGISTER OR RE11 PORT ELECTION-RELATED EXPENDITURES 

12 AND CONTRIBUTIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of subchapter F of chapter 

14 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 506. REQUIREMENT TO REGISTER AND REPORT INDE17 PENDENT FEDERAL ELECTION-RELATED AC18 TIVITY EXPENDITURES. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 ‘‘(1) LOSS OF TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.—An orga21 nization described in section 501(c) shall not be ex22 empt from taxation under section 501(a), and a po23 litical organization described in section 527 shall not 

24 be exempt from tax under such section, for any pe25 riod after the date described in paragraph (2) if 


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•S 791 IS

1 such organization is required to register under sec2 tion 303 or 353 of the Federal Election Campaign 

3 Act of 1971 or report under section 304 or 354 of 

4 such Act and fails to do so or, in the case of a re5 port under such section 304 or 354, files an inac6 curate report. 

7 ‘‘(2) TIME OF LOSS OF EXEMPTION.—The date 

8 described in this paragraph is the date on which the 

9 first failure described in paragraph (1) occurred. 

10 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) SAFE HARBOR.—Notwithstanding sub12 section (a), an organization shall not fail to be treat13 ed as exempt from tax under section 501(a) or sec14 tion 527 if the sums for which there was a failure 

15 to report under section 304 or 354 of the Federal 

16 Election Campaign Act of 1971 aggregates $25,000 

17 or less. 

18 ‘‘(2) BEST EFFORTS.—An organization shall 

19 not fail to be treated as exempt from tax under sec20 tion 501(a) or section 527 if the Secretary deter21 mines that the treasurer or responsible person with 

22 respect to such organization (within the meaning of 

23 section 352 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

24 1971) has made best efforts to comply with the re25 quirements to which the failure relates. In any case 


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1 in which such failure relates to a failure to report 

2 the identification (as defined in section 301 of such 

3 Act) of a person, such best efforts shall not be con4 sidered to have been made unless the treasurer or 

5 responsible person made efforts to contact the per6 son through multiple means of communication and 

7 attempted to use publicly available information to 

8 establish such identification. 

9 ‘‘(c) DENIAL OF REINSTATEMENT.—Any organiza10 tion to which subsection (a) applies, and any responsible 

11 individual with respect to such organization (as defined 

12 in section 4968(d)(2))— 

13 ‘‘(1) shall not be eligible to apply for exemption 

14 from taxation under section 501(a), and 

15 ‘‘(2) shall not be treated as a political organiza16 tion under section 527, 

17 before the end of the Federal election cycle (as defined 

18 in section 351(2) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

19 of 1971) in which the failure described in subsection (a) 

20 occurred. 

21 ‘‘(d) REASONABLE CAUSE EXCEPTION.—If it is es22 tablished to the satisfaction of the Secretary that a failure 

23 described in subsection (a)(1) was due to reasonable cause 

24 and not negligence or intentional disregard, then sub25 section (a) shall not apply.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) Section 501(a) of such Code is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘or 503’’ and inserting ‘‘503, or 506’’. 

4 (2) The table of sections for part I of sub5 chapter F of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 506. Requirement to register and report independent Federal election-related activity expenditures.’’. 

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

8 this section shall apply to contributions and expenditures 

9 made after December 31, 2014. 

10 SEC. 203. SECTION 527 POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS RE11 QUIRED TO FILE WITH FEC. 

12 Section 527(j) of such Code is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(8) NONAPPLICATION TO INDEPENDENT PO15 LITICAL ACTORS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a polit17 ical organization which is an independent polit18 ical actor (as defined in section 351 of the Fed19 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971)— 

20 ‘‘(i) such political organization shall 

21 file statements and reports in accordance 

22 with section 354 of the Federal Election 

23 Campaign Act of 1971, and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) this subsection shall not apply 

2 with respect to information required to be 

3 included on such statements. 

4 ‘‘(B) CROSS-REFERENCE.—For failure to 

5 meet the requirements of subparagraph (A), see 

6 sections 506 and 4968.’’. 

7 SEC. 204. APPLICATION OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC8 TIONS. 

9 Paragraph (5) of section 7623(b) of the Internal Rev10 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘any action’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘any action which relates to a violation of 

12 section 506 or to any other action’’. 

13 TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

14 SEC. 301. JOINT REGULATORY AUTHORITY AND ADVISORY 

15 OPINIONS. 

16 (a) REGULATIONS AND FORMS.— 

17 (1) JOINT REGULATIONS.—Not later than Sep18 tember 30, 2014, the Secretary of the Treasury, or 

19 the Secretary’s delegate, and the Federal Election 

20 Commission shall prescribe joint regulations with re21 spect to— 

22 (A) the definitions of the terms ‘‘inde23 pendent Federal election-related activity ex24 penditure’’ and ‘‘covered contribution’’, as de25 fined in section 7701(a) of the Internal RevVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:29 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S791.IS S791

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1 enue Code of 1986 and section 351 of the Fed2 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971, as added 

3 by this Act, and 

4 (B) forms and regulations necessary to 

5 carry out the registration and reports required 

6 under sections 353 and 354 of the Federal 

7 Election Campaign Act of 1971. 

8 (2) TREASURY REGULATIONS.—In the case that 

9 the joint regulations described in paragraph (1) have 

10 not been prescribed by September 31, 2014, the Sec11 retary of the Treasury, or the Secretary’s delegate, 

12 shall prescribe such regulations not later than De13 cember 1, 2014, and such regulations shall apply 

14 with respect to the administration, application, and 

15 enforcement of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

16 of 1971. 

17 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The regulations 

18 promulgated under this subsection shall prescribe 

19 that the substance of any transaction shall control 

20 over the form of the transaction. 

21 (b) ADVISORY OPINIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas23 ury, or the Secretary’s delegate, in consultation with 

24 the Federal Election Commission, shall issue adviVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:29 Apr 30, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S791.IS S791

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1 sory opinions on requests relating to the matters de2 scribed under subsection (a)(1). 

3 (2) USER FEES.—The Secretary of the Treas4 ury is authorized to impose user fees to cover the 

5 costs of any advisory opinions requested under para6 graph (1), and the Secretary is authorized to trans7 fer to the Federal Election Commission, and the 

8 Commission is authorized to accept, the portion of 

9 such fees which is determined to be related to costs 

10 incurred by the Commission in connection with an 

11 advisory opinion. 

12 (3) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

13 Congress that advisory opinions under this section 

14 shall be furnished within 30 days of the request un15 less public interest requires otherwise. 

16 SEC. 302. DENIAL OF BUSINESS EXPENSE DEDUCTIONS FOR 

17 CERTAIN BUSINESSES FAILING TO REPORT 

18 DONATIONS AND INDEPENDENT FEDERAL 

19 ELECTION-RELATED ACTIVITY EXPENDI20 TURES. 

21 (a) DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR ELECTION-RE22 LATED ACTIVITY EXPENDITURES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 

24 162(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

25 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No deduction shall be al2 lowed under subsection (a) for— 

3 ‘‘(A) any independent Federal election-re4 lated activity expenditure (as defined in section 

5 7701(a)(51)), or 

6 ‘‘(B) any amount paid or incurred in con7 nection with— 

8 ‘‘(i) influencing legislation, 

9 ‘‘(ii) participation in, or intervention 

10 in, any political campaign on behalf of (or 

11 in opposition to) any candidate for public 

12 office, 

13 ‘‘(iii) any attempt to influence the 

14 general public, or segments thereof, with 

15 respect to elections, legislative matters, or 

16 referendums, or 

17 ‘‘(iv) any direct communication with a 

18 covered executive branch official in an at19 tempt to influence the official actions or 

20 positions of such official.’’. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (A) Section 162(e)(2)(A) of such Code is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(A)’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)(i)’’. 


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1 (B) Section 162(e)(5)(B) of such Code is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(A) and 

3 (D)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘para4 graph (1)(B)(i) and (iv)’’. 

5 (C) Section 6033(e)(1)(B)(ii) of such Code 

6 is amended by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and 

7 (D) of section 162(e)(1)’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘clauses (i) and (iv) of section 162(e)(1)(B)’’. 

9 (b) EXCEPTION TO ALLOWANCE OF DEDUCTION FOR

10 AMOUNTS EXPENDED ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER PER11 SON.—Subparagraph (A) of section 162(e)(5) of the Inter12 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘In the case of’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro16 vided in clause (ii), in the case of’’, and 

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

18 clauses: 

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION NOT TO APPLY WITH

20 RESPECT TO CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS

21 FAILING TO FILE REPORTS.—Clause (i) 

22 shall not apply to any activity described in 

23 paragraph (1) which is a independent Fed24 eral election-related activity expenditure 

25 (as defined in section 7701(a)(51)) unless 


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1 the taxpayer has complied with the re2 quirements of sections 303, 304, 353 and 

3 354 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

4 of 1971.’’. 

5 (c) PENALTY FOR IMPROPERLY CLAIMING DEDUC6 TION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6662(b) of the In8 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by insert9 ing after paragraph (7) the following new para10 graph: 

11 ‘‘(8) Any improper independent Federal elec12 tion-related activity expenditure deduction.’’. 

13 (2) IMPROPER ELECTION-RELATED ACTIVITY

14 EXPENDITURE DEDUCTION.—Section 6662 of such 

15 Code is amended by adding at the end the following 

16 new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(k) IMPROPER INDEPENDENT FEDERAL ELECTION18 RELATED ACTIVITY EXPENDITURE DEDUCTION.—For 

19 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘improper inde20 pendent Federal election-related activity expenditure de21 duction’ means, for any taxable year, any portion of an 

22 understatement for such taxable year which is attributable 

23 to any independent Federal election-related activity ex24 penditure (as defined in section 7701(a)(51)) improperly 

25 claimed as a deduction under section 162.’’. 


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1 (d) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE ON TAX RE2 TURN.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas4 ury, or the Secretary’s delegate, shall revise appro5 priate tax forms to provide that the chief executive 

6 officer (or the equivalent) of any person claiming a 

7 trade or business expense as a deduction under sec8 tion 162 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 on 

9 an income tax return provide an answer to the fol10 lowing questions on such return: 

11 ‘‘(1) Has the taxpayer made a independent 

12 Federal election-related activity expenditure (as de13 fined in section 7701(a)(51) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986) during the period covered by the tax 

15 return? 

16 ‘‘(2) Has the taxpayer claimed a deduction for 

17 any independent Federal election-related activity ex18 penditure (as so defined) on the tax return?’’. 

19 (2) PENALTY.—Section 7207 of the Internal 

20 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following new sentence: ‘‘Any person re22 quired to provide an answer with respect to election23 related activity expenditures pursuant to section 

24 303(d)(1) of the Follow the Money Act of 2013 who 

25 willfully provides a false or fraudulent answer with 


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1 respect to such expenditures shall be fined not more 

2 than $1,000,0000, or imprisoned not more than 10 

3 years, or both.’’. 

4 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

7 shall apply to taxable years beginning after Decem8 ber 31, 2014. 

9 (2) CERTIFICATION AND PENALTY.—The 

10 amendments made by subsection (d) shall apply to 

11 returns required to be filed after December 31, 

12 2014. 

13 SEC. 303. PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DO14 NORS. 

15 Chapter 43 of title 18, United States Code, is amend16 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 1925. PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST 

18 DONORS IN CONNECTION WITH FEDERAL 

19 ELECTIONS. 

20 ‘‘Whoever, being an officer or employee of the 

21 United States or of any department or agency there22 of, discriminates against any person on the basis of 

23 any information reported under section 304 or 354 

24 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 shall 

25 be fined under this title 18, or imprisoned not more 


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•S 791 IS

1 than one year, or both; and shall be removed from 

2 office or employment.’’. 

3 SEC. 304. SEVERABILITY. 

4 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 

5 by this Act, or the application of a provision to any person 

6 or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the re7 mainder of this Act and the amendments made by this 

8 Act, and the application of the provisions to any person 

9 or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding. 

Æ 


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