II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1931 

To reform public financing for Presidential elections and provide for public 

financing for Congressional elections. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 5, 2017 

Mr. UDALL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To reform public financing for Presidential elections and 

provide for public financing for Congressional elections. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Empowering Citizens Act’’. 

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—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 

Sec. 1001. Increase in and modifications to matching payments. 

Sec. 1002. Eligibility requirements for matching payments. 

Sec. 1003. Repeal of expenditure limitations. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1931 IS

Sec. 1004. Period of availability of matching payments. 

Sec. 1005. Examination and audits of matchable contributions. 

Sec. 1006. Modification to limitation on contributions for Presidential primary 

candidates. 

TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 

Sec. 2001. Modification of eligibility requirements for public financing. 

Sec. 2002. Repeal of expenditure limitations and use of qualified campaign contributions. 

Sec. 2003. Matching payments and other modifications to payment amounts. 

Sec. 2004. Increase in limit on coordinated party expenditures. 

Sec. 2005. Establishment of uniform date for release of payments. 

Sec. 2006. Amounts in Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 

Sec. 2007. Use of general election payments for general election legal and accounting compliance. 

TITLE III—PUBLIC FINANCING FOR CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION 

CAMPAIGNS 

Sec. 3001. Benefits and eligibility requirements for Congressional candidates. 

Sec. 3002. Permitting unlimited coordinated expenditures by political party 

committees on behalf of participating candidates if expenditures are derived from small dollar contributions. 

Sec. 3003. Prohibiting use of contributions by participating candidates for purposes other than campaign for election. 

TITLE IV—USE OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN FUND 

FOR PUBLIC FINANCING OF FEDERAL ELECTIONS 

Sec. 4001. Use of Presidential Election Campaign Fund for Congressional candidates. 

Sec. 4002. Revisions to designation of income tax payments by individual taxpayers. 

Sec. 4003. Donation to Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 

TITLE V—OTHER CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORMS 

Sec. 5001. Regulations with respect to best efforts for identifying persons making contributions. 

Sec. 5002. Rules relating to joint fundraising committees. 

Sec. 5003. Disclosure of bundled contributions to Presidential campaigns; increase in threshold for bundled contributions by lobbyists. 

Sec. 5004. Repeal of special contribution limits for contributions to national 

parties for certain purposes. 

Sec. 5005. Judicial review of actions related to campaign finance laws. 

Sec. 5006. Treatment of internet communications made by political committees 

as public communications. 

Sec. 5007. Application of limitations on contributions to political committees 

making only independent expenditures. 

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 6001. Severability. 

Sec. 6002. Effective date. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1931 IS

1 TITLE I—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 

2 SEC. 1001. INCREASE IN AND MODIFICATIONS TO MATCH3 ING PAYMENTS. 

4 (a) INCREASE AND MODIFICATION.— 

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

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

7 amended— 

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

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

10 amount equal to 600 percent of the amount of 

11 each matchable contribution (disregarding any 

12 amount of contributions from any person to the 

13 extent that the total of the amounts contributed 

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

15 and 

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

17 and all that follows through ‘‘$250’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘authorized committees’’. 

19 (2) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 

20 9034 of such Code is amended— 

21 (A) by striking the last sentence of sub22 section (a); and 

23 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 

24 following new subsection: 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1931 IS

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

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

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

4 ‘matchable contribution’ means, with respect to the 

5 nomination for election to the office of President of 

6 the United States, a contribution by an individual to 

7 a candidate or an authorized committee of a can8 didate with respect to which the candidate has cer9 tified in writing that— 

10 ‘‘(A) the individual making such contribu11 tion has not made aggregate contributions (in12 cluding such matchable contribution) to such 

13 candidate and the authorized committees of 

14 such candidate in excess of $1,000 for the elec15 tion; 

16 ‘‘(B) such candidate and the authorized 

17 committees of such candidate will not accept 

18 contributions from such individual (including 

19 such matchable contribution) aggregating more 

20 than the amount described in subparagraph 

21 (A); and 

22 ‘‘(C) such contribution was not— 

23 ‘‘(i) forwarded from the contributor 

24 by any person other than an individual, or 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com2 mittee from a contributor or contributors, 

3 but credited by the committee or candidate 

4 to another person who is not an individual 

5 through records, designations, or other 

6 means of recognizing (whether in writing 

7 or not in writing) that a certain amount of 

8 money has been raised by such person. 

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

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

11 money made by a written instrument which identi12 fies the individual making the contribution by full 

13 name and mailing address, but does not include a 

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

15 anything of value or anything described in subpara16 graph (B), (C), or (D) of section 9032(4).’’. 

17 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

19 amended by striking ‘‘section 9034(a)’’ and in20 serting ‘‘section 9034’’. 

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

22 amended by striking ‘‘matching contributions’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘matchable contributions’’. 

24 (b) MODIFICATION OF PAYMENT LIMITATION.— 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1931 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9034(b) of such 

2 Code is amended— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘Every’’ and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Every’’, 

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

7 follows and inserting ‘‘shall not exceed 

8 $300,000,000.’’, and 

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

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(3) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any ap13 plicable period beginning after 2019, the dollar 

14 amount in paragraph (1) shall be increased by 

15 an amount equal to— 

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

17 ‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de18 termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal19 endar year following the year which such 

20 applicable period begins, determined by 

21 substituting ‘calendar year 2018’ for ‘cal22 endar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 

23 thereof. 

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

25 of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable period’ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1931 IS

1 means the 4-year period beginning with the 

2 first day following the date of the general elec3 tion for the office of President and ending on 

4 the date of the next such general election. 

5 ‘‘(C) ROUNDING.—If any amount as ad6 justed under subparagraph (1) is not a multiple 

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

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

9 SEC. 1002. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING 

10 PAYMENTS. 

11 (a) AMOUNT OF AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTIONS PER

12 STATE; DISREGARDING OF AMOUNTS CONTRIBUTED IN

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

14 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

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

16 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

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

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

19 contributions from any such resident to the extent 

20 that the total of the amounts contributed by such 

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

22 (b) CONTRIBUTION LIMIT.— 

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

24 9033(b) of such Code is amended to read as follows: 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(4) the candidate and the authorized commit2 tees of the candidate will not accept aggregate con3 tributions from any person with respect to the nomi4 nation for election to the office of President of the 

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

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

8 amended by adding at the end the following 

9 new flush sentence: 

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

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

12 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

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

14 amended by section 1001(a)(3)(A) is amended 

15 by inserting ‘‘or 9033(b)’’ after ‘‘9034’’. 

16 (c) BAN ON ACCEPTANCE OF BUNDLED CONTRIBU17 TIONS.—Section 9033(b) of such Code, as amended by 

18 subsection (b), is amended— 

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

20 (3); 

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

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

24 paragraph: 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(5) the candidate and the authorized com2 mittee of the candidate will not accept any bundled 

3 contribution (as defined in section 304(i)(8) of the 

4 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971) forwarded 

5 by or credited to a person described in section 

6 304(i)(7) of such Act.’’. 

7 (d) PARTICIPATION IN SYSTEM FOR PAYMENTS FOR

8 GENERAL ELECTION.—Section 9033(b) of such Code, as 

9 amended by subsection (c), is amended— 

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

11 (4); 

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of para13 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

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

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(6) if the candidate is nominated by a political 

17 party for election to the office of President, the can18 didate will apply for and accept payments with re19 spect to the general election for such office in ac20 cordance with chapter 95.’’. 

21 SEC. 1003. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS. 

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

23 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 

24 as follows: 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1931 IS

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

2 candidate shall knowingly make expenditures from his per3 sonal funds, or the personal funds of his immediate family, 

4 in connection with his campaign for nomination for elec5 tion to the office of President in excess of, in the aggre6 gate, $50,000.’’. 

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

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

9 amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) the candidate will comply with the per11 sonal expenditure limitation under section 9035,’’. 

12 SEC. 1004. PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF MATCHING PAY13 MENTS. 

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

15 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘the beginning of the cal16 endar year in which a general election for the office of 

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

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

19 State primary election’’. 

20 SEC. 1005. EXAMINATION AND AUDITS OF MATCHABLE CON21 TRIBUTIONS. 

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

23 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘and matchable contribu24 tions accepted by’’ after ‘‘qualified campaign expenses of’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1931 IS

1 SEC. 1006. MODIFICATION TO LIMITATION ON CONTRIBU2 TIONS FOR PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY CAN3 DIDATES. 

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

5 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(6)) is amended by strik6 ing ‘‘calendar year’’ and inserting ‘‘four-year election 

7 cycle’’. 

8 TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 

9 SEC. 2001. MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 

10 FOR PUBLIC FINANCING. 

11 Subsection (a) of section 9003 of the Internal Rev12 enue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

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

14 any payments under section 9006, the candidates of a po15 litical party in a presidential election shall meet the fol16 lowing requirements: 

17 ‘‘(1) PARTICIPATION IN PRIMARY PAYMENT

18 SYSTEM.—The candidate for President received pay19 ments under chapter 96 for the campaign for nomi20 nation for election to be President. 

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

22 candidates, in writing— 

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

24 Commission such evidence as it may request of 

25 the qualified campaign expenses of such can26 didates, 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1931 IS

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

2 Commission such records, books, and other in3 formation as it may request, and 

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

5 the Commission under section 9007 and to pay 

6 any amounts required to be paid under such 

7 section. 

8 ‘‘(3) BAN ON BUNDLED CONTRIBUTIONS.—The 

9 candidates certify to the Commission, under penalty 

10 of perjury and within such time prior to the day of 

11 the presidential election as the Commission shall 

12 prescribe by rules or regulations, that the candidates 

13 and the authorized committees of such candidates 

14 will not accept any bundled contribution (as defined 

15 in section 304(i)(8) of the Federal Election Cam16 paign Act of 1971) forwarded by or credited to a 

17 person described in section 304(i)(7) of such Act.’’. 

18 SEC. 2002. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS AND 

19 USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBU20 TIONS. 

21 (a) USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

22 WITHOUT EXPENDITURE LIMITS; APPLICATION OF SAME

23 REQUIREMENTS FOR MAJOR, MINOR, AND NEW PAR24 TIES.—Section 9003 of the Internal Revenue Code of 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1931 IS

1 1986 is amended by striking subsections (b) and (c) and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(b) USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

4 TO DEFRAY EXPENSES.— 

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

6 receive any payments under section 9006, the can7 didates of a party in a presidential election shall cer8 tify to the Commission, under penalty of perjury, 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(A) such candidates and their authorized 

11 committees have not and will not accept any 

12 contributions to defray qualified campaign ex13 penses other than— 

14 ‘‘(i) qualified campaign contributions, 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) contributions to the extent nec17 essary to make up any deficiency payments 

18 received out of the fund on account of the 

19 application of section 9006(c), and 

20 ‘‘(B) such candidates and their authorized 

21 committees have not and will not accept any 

22 contribution to defray expenses which would be 

23 qualified campaign expenses but for subpara24 graph (C) of section 9002(11). 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF CERTIFICATION.—The can2 didate shall make the certification required under 

3 this subsection at the same time the candidate 

4 makes the certification required under subsection 

5 (a)(3).’’. 

6 (b) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CON7 TRIBUTION.—Section 9002 of such Code is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(13) QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION.— 

10 The term ‘qualified campaign contribution’ means, 

11 with respect to any election for the office of Presi12 dent of the United States, a contribution from an in13 dividual to a candidate or an authorized committee 

14 of a candidate which— 

15 ‘‘(A) does not exceed $1,000 for the elec16 tion; and 

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

18 has certified in writing that— 

19 ‘‘(i) the individual making such con20 tribution has not made aggregate contribu21 tions (including such qualified contribu22 tion) to such candidate and the authorized 

23 committees of such candidate in excess of 

24 the amount described in subparagraph (A), 

25 and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) such candidate and the author2 ized committees of such candidate will not 

3 accept contributions from such individual 

4 (including such qualified contribution) ag5 gregating more than the amount described 

6 in subparagraph (A) with respect to such 

7 election.’’. 

8 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Fed11 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

12 30116) is amended by striking subsection (b). 

13 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

14 315(c) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)) is 

15 amended— 

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

17 ‘‘, (b)’’; and 

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

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

20 ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 

21 (2) REPEAL OF REPAYMENT REQUIREMENT.— 

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

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

24 striking paragraph (2) and redesignating paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Oct 07, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1931.IS S1931

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1931 IS

1 graphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), 

2 and (4), respectively. 

3 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Para4 graph (2) of section 9007(b) of such Code, as 

5 redesignated by subparagraph (A), is amend6 ed— 

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

8 inserting ‘‘a party’’; 

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘qualified contribu10 tions and’’ after ‘‘contributions (other 

11 than’’; and 

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

13 campaign expenses with respect to which 

14 payment is required under paragraph 

15 (2))’’. 

16 (3) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

17 (A) REPEAL OF PENALTY FOR EXCESS EX18 PENSES.—Section 9012 of the Internal Revenue 

19 Code of 1986 is amended by striking subsection 

20 (a). 

21 (B) PENALTY FOR ACCEPTANCE OF DIS22 ALLOWED CONTRIBUTIONS; APPLICATION OF

23 SAME PENALTY FOR CANDIDATES OF MAJOR, 

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


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1931 IS

1 section 9012 of such Code is amended to read 

2 as follows: 

3 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ACCEPTANCE OF DISALLOWED CONTRIBU5 TIONS.—It shall be unlawful for an eligible can6 didate of a party in a presidential election or any of 

7 his authorized committees knowingly and willfully to 

8 accept any contribution to defray qualified campaign 

9 expenses, except to the extent necessary to make up 

10 any deficiency in payments received out of the fund 

11 on account of the application of section 9006(c), or 

12 to defray expenses which would be qualified cam13 paign expenses but for subparagraph (C) of section 

14 9002(11). 

15 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para16 graph (1) shall be fined not more than $5,000, or 

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

18 case of a violation by an authorized committee, any 

19 officer or member of such committee who knowingly 

20 and willfully consents to such violation shall be fined 

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

22 one year, or both.’’. 

23 SEC. 2003. MATCHING PAYMENTS AND OTHER MODIFICA24 TIONS TO PAYMENT AMOUNTS. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1931 IS

1 (1) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS; APPLICATION OF

2 SAME AMOUNT FOR CANDIDATES OF MAJOR, MINOR, 

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

4 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

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

7 chapter, the eligible candidates of a party in a presidential 

8 election shall be entitled to equal payment under section 

9 9006 in an amount equal to 600 percent of the amount 

10 of each matchable contribution received by such candidate 

11 or by the candidate’s authorized committees (disregarding 

12 any amount of contributions from any person to the extent 

13 that the total of the amounts contributed by such person 

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

15 to which a candidate is entitled under this paragraph shall 

16 not exceed $300,000,000.’’. 

17 (2) REPEAL OF SEPARATE LIMITATIONS FOR

18 CANDIDATES OF MINOR AND NEW PARTIES; INFLA19 TION ADJUSTMENT.—Subsection (b) of section 9004 

20 of such Code is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any applica23 ble period beginning after 2019, the $300,000,000 

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

25 an amount equal to— 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1931 IS

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

2 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter3 mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 

4 year following the year which such applicable 

5 period begins, determined by substituting ‘cal6 endar year 2018’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in 

7 subparagraph (B) thereof. 

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

9 this subsection, the term ‘applicable period’ means 

10 the 4-year period beginning with the first day fol11 lowing the date of the general election for the office 

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

13 general election. 

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

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

16 such amount shall be rounded to the nearest mul17 tiple of $10,000.’’. 

18 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

19 9005(a) of such Code is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Commission 

21 shall make such additional certifications as may be 

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

23 (b) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION.—Section 9002 of 

24 such Code, as amended by section 2002, is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 1931 IS

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

2 ‘matchable contribution’ means, with respect to the 

3 election to the office of President of the United 

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

6 with respect to which the candidate has certified in 

7 writing that— 

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

11 candidate and the authorized committees of 

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

14 ‘‘(B) such candidate and the authorized 

15 committees of such candidate will not accept 

16 contributions from such individual (including 

17 such matchable contribution) aggregating more 

18 than the amount described in subparagraph (A) 

19 with respect to such election; and 

20 ‘‘(C) such contribution was not— 

21 ‘‘(i) forwarded from the contributor 

22 by any person other than an individual, or 

23 ‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com24 mittee from a contributor or contributors, 

25 but credited by the committee or candidate 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 1931 IS

1 to another person who is not an individual 

2 through records, designations, or other 

3 means of recognizing (whether in writing 

4 or not in writing) that a certain amount of 

5 money has been raised by such person.’’. 

6 SEC. 2004. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COORDINATED PARTY 

7 EXPENDITURES. 

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

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

10 is amended to read as follows: 

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

12 may not make any expenditure in connection with the gen13 eral election campaign of any candidate for President of 

14 the United States who is affiliated with such party which 

15 exceeds $100,000,000. 

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

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

18 national committee of a political party and in con19 nection with a presidential election shall be consid20 ered to be made in connection with the general elec21 tion campaign of a candidate for President of the 

22 United States who is affiliated with such party; and 

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

24 of such party shall be considered to be made in con25 nection with the general election campaign of a canVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Oct 07, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1931.IS S1931

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 1931 IS

1 didate for President of the United States who is af2 filiated with such party if any portion of the commu3 nication is in connection with such election. 

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

5 in addition to any expenditure by a national committee 

6 of a political party serving as the principal campaign com7 mittee of a candidate for the office of President of the 

8 United States.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO TIM10 ING OF COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT.— 

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

12 Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(1)), as amended by section 

13 2002(c)(1)(B), is amended— 

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

15 and inserting ‘‘(d)(3)’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting at the end the following 

17 new subparagraph: 

18 ‘‘(D) In any calendar year after 2018— 

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

20 be increased by the percent difference determined 

21 under subparagraph (A); 

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

23 effect for the calendar year; and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 1931 IS

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

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

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

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

5 Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(2)(B)), as amended by sec6 tion 2002(c)(1)(B), is amended— 

7 (A) in clause (i)— 

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

9 ‘‘(d)(3)’’; and 

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

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

12 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

14 clause: 

15 ‘‘(iii) for purposes of subsection (d)(2), cal16 endar year 2017.’’. 

17 SEC. 2005. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM DATE FOR RE18 LEASE OF PAYMENTS. 

19 (a) DATE FOR PAYMENTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9006(b) of the In21 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as 

22 follows: 

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

24 of the Treasury receives a certification from the Commis25 sion under section 9005 for payment to the eligible canVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Oct 07, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1931.IS S1931

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 1931 IS

1 didates of a political party, the Secretary shall pay to such 

2 candidates out of the fund the amount certified by the 

3 Commission on the later of— 

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

5 Monday in September; or 

6 ‘‘(2) 24 hours after receiving the certifications 

7 for the eligible candidates of all major political par8 ties. 

9 Amounts paid to any such candidates shall be under the 

10 control of such candidates.’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first sen12 tence of section 9006(c) of such Code is amended by 

13 striking ‘‘the time of a certification by the Commis14 sion under section 9005 for payment’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘the time of making a payment under subsection 

16 (b)’’. 

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

18 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘10 days’’ and inserting ‘‘24 hours’’. 

20 SEC. 2006. AMOUNTS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAM21 PAIGN FUND. 

22 (a) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS IN FUND.—Sec23 tion 9006(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 

25 ‘‘In making a determination of whether there are insuffiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Oct 07, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1931.IS S1931

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 1931 IS

1 cient moneys in the fund for purposes of the previous sen2 tence, the Secretary shall take into account in determining 

3 the balance of the fund for a Presidential election year 

4 the Secretary’s best estimate of the amount of moneys 

5 which will be deposited into the fund during the year, ex6 cept that the amount of the estimate may not exceed the 

7 average of the annual amounts deposited in the fund dur8 ing the previous 3 years.’’. 

9 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR FIRST CAMPAIGN CYCLE

10 UNDER THIS ACT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9006 of the Internal 

12 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL AUTHORITY TO BORROW.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

16 (c), there are authorized to be appropriated to the 

17 fund, as repayable advances, such sums as are nec18 essary to carry out the purposes of the fund during 

19 the period ending on the first presidential election 

20 occurring after the date of the enactment of this 

21 subsection. 

22 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT OF ADVANCES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Advances made to the 

24 fund shall be repaid, and interest on such ad25 vances shall be paid, to the general fund of the 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 1931 IS

1 Treasury when the Secretary determines that 

2 moneys are available for such purposes in the 

3 fund. 

4 ‘‘(B) RATE OF INTEREST.—Interest on ad5 vances made to the fund shall be at a rate de6 termined by the Secretary of the Treasury (as 

7 of the close of the calendar month preceding the 

8 month in which the advance is made) to be 

9 equal to the current average market yield on 

10 outstanding marketable obligations of the 

11 United States with remaining periods to matu12 rity comparable to the anticipated period during 

13 which the advance will be outstanding and shall 

14 be compounded annually.’’. 

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

16 by this subsection shall take effect January 1, 2018. 

17 SEC. 2007. USE OF GENERAL ELECTION PAYMENTS FOR 

18 GENERAL ELECTION LEGAL AND ACCOUNT19 ING COMPLIANCE. 

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

21 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

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

23 incurred by a candidate or authorized committee for gen24 eral election legal and accounting compliance purposes 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 1931 IS

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

2 of such candidate.’’. 

3 TITLE III—PUBLIC FINANCING 

4 FOR CONGRESSIONAL ELEC5 TION CAMPAIGNS 

6 SEC. 3001. BENEFITS AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 

7 FOR CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES. 

8 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

9 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘TITLE V—PUBLIC FINANCING 

12 OF CONGRESSIONAL ELEC13 TION CAMPAIGNS 

14 ‘‘Subtitle A—Benefits 

15 ‘‘SEC. 501. BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a candidate for election to the 

17 office of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resi18 dent Commissioner to, the Congress is a participating can19 didate under this title with respect to an election for such 

20 office, the candidate shall be entitled to payments under 

21 this title, to be used only for authorized expenditures in 

22 connection with the election. 

23 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) MATCH OF QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

25 Subject to paragraph (2), the amount of a payment 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 1931 IS

1 made to a participating candidate under this title 

2 shall be equal to 600 percent of the amount of quali3 fied contributions received by the candidate since the 

4 most recent payment made to the candidate under 

5 this title with respect to the election, as set forth— 

6 ‘‘(A) in the case of the first payment made 

7 to the candidate with respect to the election, in 

8 the report filed under section 511(a)(2); and 

9 ‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent pay10 ment made to the candidate with respect to the 

11 election, in the report of qualified contributions 

12 filed under subsection (c). 

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—In determining the amount 

14 of qualified contributions received by a candidate for 

15 purposes of making a payment under this section, 

16 there shall be disregarded any amount of contribu17 tions from any person to the extent that the total of 

18 the amounts contributed by such person for the elec19 tion exceeds $200. 

20 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each participating can22 didate shall file reports of receipts of qualified con23 tributions at such times and in such manner as the 

24 Commission may by regulations prescribe. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REPORTS.—Each report 

2 under this subsection shall disclose each qualified 

3 contribution received by the candidate since the most 

4 recent report filed under this section, and shall state 

5 the aggregate amount of all such qualified contribu6 tions received since the most recent report filed 

7 under this section. 

8 ‘‘(3) FREQUENCY OF REPORTS.—Reports under 

9 this subsection shall be made no more frequently 

10 than— 

11 ‘‘(A) once every month until the date that 

12 is 90 days before the date of the election; 

13 ‘‘(B) once every week after the period de14 scribed in subparagraph (A) and until the date 

15 that is 21 days before the election; and 

16 ‘‘(C) once every day after the period de17 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

18 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON REGULATIONS.—The 

19 Commission may not prescribe any regulations with 

20 respect to reporting under this subsection with re21 spect to any election after the date that is 180 days 

22 before the date of such election. 

23 ‘‘(d) LIMIT ON AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF PAY24 MENTS.—The aggregate amount of payments that may be 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 1931 IS

1 made under this title to a participating candidate during 

2 an election cycle may not exceed— 

3 ‘‘(1) $2,000,000, in the case of a candidate for 

4 the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resi5 dent Commissioner to, the Congress; or 

6 ‘‘(2) $10,000,000, in the case of a candidate for 

7 the office of Senator. 

8 ‘‘(e) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In each odd-num9 bered calendar year after 2018— 

10 ‘‘(1) each of the dollar amounts under sub11 sections (b)(2), (d)(1), and (d)(2) shall be increased 

12 by the percent difference determined under section 

13 315(c)(1)(A) (determined by substituting ‘calendar 

14 year 2017’ for ‘the base period’); 

15 ‘‘(2) each amount so increased shall remain in 

16 effect for the election cycle beginning on the first 

17 day following the year in which the amount is in18 creased; and 

19 ‘‘(3) if any amount after adjustment under 

20 paragraph (1) is— 

21 ‘‘(A) in the case of an amount under sub22 section (b)(2), not a multiple of $10, such 

23 amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple 

24 of $10, and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(B) in the case of an amount under sub2 section (d), not a multiple of $1,000, such 

3 amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple 

4 of $1,000. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 502. ADMINISTRATION OF PAYMENTS. 

6 ‘‘(a) TIMING.—The Commission shall make payments 

7 under this title to a participating candidate— 

8 ‘‘(1) in the case of the first payment made to 

9 the candidate with respect to the election, not later 

10 than 48 hours after the date on which such can11 didate is certified as a participating candidate under 

12 section 513; and 

13 ‘‘(2) in the case of any subsequent payment 

14 made to the candidate with respect to the election, 

15 not later than 5 business days after the receipt of 

16 a report made under section 501(c). 

17 ‘‘(b) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—The Commission shall 

18 distribute funds available to participating candidates 

19 under this title through the use of an electronic funds ex20 change or a debit card. 

21 ‘‘(c) APPEALS.—The Commission shall provide a 

22 written explanation with respect to any denial of any pay23 ment under this title and shall provide for the opportunity 

24 for review and reconsideration within 5 business days of 

25 such denial. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 503. QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTION DEFINED. 

2 ‘‘In this title, the term ‘qualified contribution’ means, 

3 with respect to a candidate, a contribution that meets each 

4 of the following requirements: 

5 ‘‘(1) The contribution is in an amount that is 

6 not greater than the limit on the amount of a con7 tribution that may be accepted by a participating 

8 candidate from an individual under section 521(a). 

9 ‘‘(2) The contribution is made by an individual 

10 who is not otherwise prohibited from making a con11 tribution under this Act. 

12 ‘‘(3) The contribution is not— 

13 ‘‘(A) forwarded from the contributor by 

14 any person other than an individual; or 

15 ‘‘(B) received by the candidate or an au16 thorized committee of the candidate from a con17 tributor or contributors, but credited by the 

18 committee or candidate to another person who 

19 is not an individual through records, designa20 tions, or other means of recognizing (whether in 

21 writing or not in writing) that a certain amount 

22 of money has been raised by such person. 

23 ‘‘(4) The contribution meets the requirements 

24 of section 512(b). 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
33 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘Subtitle B—Eligibility and 

2 Certification 

3 ‘‘SEC. 511. ELIGIBILITY. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A candidate for the office of 

5 Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident 

6 Commissioner to, the Congress is eligible to be certified 

7 as a participating candidate under this title with respect 

8 to an election if the candidate meets the following require9 ments: 

10 ‘‘(1) During the election cycle for the office in11 volved, the candidate files with the Commission a 

12 statement of intent to seek certification as a partici13 pating candidate. 

14 ‘‘(2) The candidate meets the qualified con15 tribution requirements of section 512 and submits to 

16 the Commission a report disclosing each qualified 

17 contribution received by the candidate and stating 

18 the aggregate amount of all such qualified contribu19 tions received. 

20 ‘‘(3) Not later than the last day of the quali21 fying period, the candidate files with the Commis22 sion an affidavit signed by the candidate and the 

23 treasurer of the candidate’s principal campaign com24 mittee declaring that the candidate— 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
34 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(A) has complied and, if certified, will 

2 comply with the contribution and expenditure 

3 requirements of section 521; 

4 ‘‘(B) if certified, will run only as a partici5 pating candidate for all elections for the office 

6 that such candidate is seeking during the elec7 tion cycle; and 

8 ‘‘(C) has either qualified or will take steps 

9 to qualify under State law to be on the ballot. 

10 ‘‘(b) GENERAL ELECTION.—Notwithstanding sub11 section (a), a candidate shall not be eligible to receive a 

12 payment under this title for a general election or a general 

13 runoff election unless the candidate’s party nominated the 

14 candidate to be placed on the ballot for the general elec15 tion or the candidate is otherwise qualified to be on the 

16 ballot under State law. 

17 ‘‘(c) QUALIFYING PERIOD DEFINED.—The term 

18 ‘qualifying period’ means, with respect to any candidate 

19 for the office of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate 

20 or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress, the 120-day 

21 period (during the election cycle for such office) which be22 gins on the date on which the candidate files a statement 

23 of intent under section 511(a)(1), except that such period 

24 may not continue after the date that is 60 days before— 

25 ‘‘(1) the date of the primary election; or 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
35 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(2) in the case of a State that does not hold 

2 a primary election, the date prescribed by State law 

3 as the last day to qualify for a position on the gen4 eral election ballot. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 512. QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS. 

6 ‘‘(a) RECEIPT OF QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate meets the re8 quirements of this section if, during the qualifying 

9 period described in section 511(c), the candidate ob10 tains— 

11 ‘‘(A) a single qualified contribution from a 

12 number of individuals equal to or greater 

13 than— 

14 ‘‘(i) in the case of a candidate for 

15 election the office of Representative in, or 

16 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 

17 Congress, 400, or 

18 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a candidate for the 

19 office of Senator, the product of 400 and 

20 the number of Congressional districts in 

21 the State involved as of the date of the 

22 election; and 

23 ‘‘(B) a total dollar amount of qualified 

24 contributions equal to or greater than— 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
36 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a candidate for 

2 election the office of Representative in, or 

3 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 

4 Congress, $40,000, disregarding any 

5 amount of contributions from any person 

6 to the extent that the total of the amounts 

7 contributed by such person for the election 

8 exceeds $200, or 

9 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a candidate for the 

10 office of Senator, the product of $40,000 

11 and the number of Congressional districts 

12 in the State involved as of the date of the 

13 election, disregarding any amount of con14 tributions from any person to the extent 

15 that the total of the amounts contributed 

16 by such person for the election exceeds 

17 $200. 

18 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION OF CONTRIBUTIONS FROM

19 OUT-OF-STATE RESIDENTS.—In determining the 

20 number of qualified contributions obtained by a can21 didate under paragraph (1)(A) and the dollar 

22 amount of qualified contributions obtained by a can23 didate under paragraph (1)(B), there shall be ex24 cluded any contributions made by an individual who 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
37 

•S 1931 IS

1 does not have a primary residence in the State in 

2 which such candidate is seeking election. 

3 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO RECEIPT OF

4 QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTION.—Each qualified contribu5 tion— 

6 ‘‘(1) may be made by means of a personal 

7 check, money order, debit card, credit card, or elec8 tronic payment account; 

9 ‘‘(2) shall be accompanied by a signed state10 ment containing the contributor’s name and the con11 tributor’s address in the State in which the primary 

12 residence of the contributor is located; and 

13 ‘‘(3) shall be acknowledged by a receipt that is 

14 sent to the contributor with a copy kept by the can15 didate for the Commission and a copy kept by the 

16 candidate for the election authorities in the State 

17 with respect to which the candidate is seeking elec18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITING PAYMENT ON COMMISSION BASIS

20 OF INDIVIDUALS COLLECTING QUALIFIED CONTRIBU21 TIONS.—No person may be paid a commission on a per 

22 qualified contribution basis for collecting qualified con23 tributions. 

24 ‘‘SEC. 513. CERTIFICATION. 

25 ‘‘(a) DEADLINE AND NOTIFICATION.— 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
38 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days 

2 after a candidate files an affidavit under section 

3 511(a)(3), the Commission shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) determine whether or not the can5 didate meets the requirements for certification 

6 as a participating candidate; 

7 ‘‘(B) if the Commission determines that 

8 the candidate meets such requirements, certify 

9 the candidate as a participating candidate; and 

10 ‘‘(C) notify the candidate of the Commis11 sion’s determination. 

12 ‘‘(2) DEEMED CERTIFICATION FOR ALL ELEC13 TIONS IN ELECTION CYCLE.—If the Commission cer14 tifies a candidate as a participating candidate with 

15 respect to the first election of the election cycle in16 volved, the Commissioner shall be deemed to have 

17 certified the candidate as a participating candidate 

18 with respect to all subsequent elections of the elec19 tion cycle. 

20 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may re22 voke a certification under subsection (a) if— 

23 ‘‘(A) a candidate fails to qualify to appear 

24 on the ballot at any time after the date of cer25 tification (other than a candidate certified as a 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
39 

•S 1931 IS

1 participating candidate with respect to a pri2 mary election who fails to qualify to appear on 

3 the ballot for a subsequent election in that elec4 tion cycle); or 

5 ‘‘(B) a candidate otherwise fails to comply 

6 with the requirements of this title, including 

7 any regulatory requirements prescribed by the 

8 Commission. 

9 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT OF BENEFITS.—If certifi10 cation is revoked under paragraph (1), the candidate 

11 shall repay to the Empowering Citizens Payment Ac12 count of the Presidential Election Campaign Fund 

13 (established under section 9051 of the Internal Rev14 enue Code of 1986) an amount equal to the value 

15 of benefits received under this title with respect to 

16 the election cycle involved plus interest (at a rate de17 termined by the Commission) on any such amount 

18 received. 

19 ‘‘(c) PARTICIPATING CANDIDATE DEFINED.—In this 

20 title, a ‘participating candidate’ means a candidate for the 

21 office of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resi22 dent Commissioner to, the Congress who is certified under 

23 this section as eligible to receive benefits under this title. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
40 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘Subtitle C—Requirements for Can2 didates Certified as Partici3 pating Candidates 

4 ‘‘SEC. 521. RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS 

5 AND EXPENDITURES. 

6 ‘‘(a) REDUCTION IN OTHERWISE APPLICABLE CON7 TRIBUTION LIMITS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a candidate 

9 who is certified as a participating candidate under 

10 this title with respect to an election, each limit appli11 cable under paragraph (1)(A) and paragraph (2)(A) 

12 of section 315(a) to the amount of a contribution 

13 which may be made to the candidate and any au14 thorized committee of the candidate with respect to 

15 the election shall be equal to $1,000 for the election. 

16 ‘‘(2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In each odd17 numbered calendar year after 2018— 

18 ‘‘(A) the $1,000 amount under paragraph 

19 (1) shall be increased by the percent difference 

20 determined under section 315(c)(1)(A) (deter21 mined by substituting ‘calendar year 2017’ for 

22 ‘the base period’); 

23 ‘‘(B) the amount so increased shall remain 

24 in effect for the election cycle beginning on the 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
41 

•S 1931 IS

1 first day following the year in which the amount 

2 is increased; and 

3 ‘‘(C) if any amount after adjustment under 

4 subparagraph (A) not a multiple of $100, such 

5 amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple 

6 of $100. 

7 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITING ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS

8 BUNDLED BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS.—A candidate 

9 who is certified as a participating candidate under this 

10 title with respect to an election, and any authorized com11 mittee of such a candidate, may not accept any contribu12 tion with respect to the election which is a bundled con13 tribution (as defined in section 304(i)(8)) forwarded by 

14 or credited to a person described in section 304(i)(7). 

15 ‘‘(c) LIMIT ON EXPENDITURES FROM PERSONAL

16 FUNDS.—A candidate who is certified as a participating 

17 candidate under this title may not make expenditures from 

18 personal funds (as defined in section 304(a)(6)(B)) in an 

19 aggregate amount exceeding $50,000 with respect to any 

20 election in the election cycle involved. 

21 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITING SOLICITATION OF FUNDS FOR PO22 LITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES.—A candidate who is cer23 tified as a participating candidate under this title may not 

24 solicit funds for any political committee of a political 

25 party, except that the candidate may solicit funds for a 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
42 

•S 1931 IS

1 separate account of the committee which is established 

2 under section 315(d)(5). 

3 ‘‘SEC. 522. REMITTING UNSPENT FUNDS AFTER ELECTION. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date that is 

5 60 days after the last election for which a candidate cer6 tified as a participating candidate qualifies to be on the 

7 ballot during the election cycle involved, such participating 

8 candidate shall remit to the Commission for deposit in the 

9 Empowering Citizens Payment Account of the Presi10 dential Election Campaign Fund (established under sec11 tion 9051 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) an 

12 amount equal to the lesser of— 

13 ‘‘(1) the amount of money in the candidate’s 

14 campaign account; or 

15 ‘‘(2) the amount of the payments received by 

16 the candidate under this title. 

17 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR EXPENDITURES INCURRED

18 BUT NOT PAID AS OF DATE OF REMITTANCE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (a), a 

20 candidate may withhold from the amount required to 

21 be remitted under paragraph (1) of such subsection 

22 the amount of any authorized expenditures which 

23 were incurred in connection with the candidate’s 

24 campaign but which remain unpaid as of the dead25 line applicable to the candidate under such subVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Oct 07, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1931.IS S1931

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
43 

•S 1931 IS

1 section, except that any amount withheld pursuant 

2 to this paragraph shall be remitted to the Commis3 sion not later than 120 days after the date of the 

4 election to which such subsection applies. 

5 ‘‘(2) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED.—A can6 didate may withhold an amount of an expenditure 

7 pursuant to paragraph (1) only if the candidate sub8 mits documentation of the expenditure and the 

9 amount to the Commission not later than the dead10 line applicable to the candidate under subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘Subtitle D—Administrative 

12 Provisions 

13 ‘‘SEC. 531. ADMINISTRATION BY COMMISSION. 

14 ‘‘The Commission shall prescribe regulations to carry 

15 out the purposes of this title, including regulations to es16 tablish procedures for— 

17 ‘‘(1) verifying the amount of qualified contribu18 tions with respect to a candidate; 

19 ‘‘(2) effectively and efficiently monitoring and 

20 enforcing the limits on the raising of qualified con21 tributions; 

22 ‘‘(3) effectively and efficiently monitoring and 

23 enforcing the limits on the use of personal funds by 

24 participating candidates; and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
44 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(4) monitoring the use of payments under this 

title through audits of not fewer than 1 2 ⁄3 of all par3 ticipating candidates or other mechanisms. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 532. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF CONTRIBU6 TION AND EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.—If a can7 didate who has been certified as a participating candidate 

8 accepts a contribution or makes an expenditure that is 

9 prohibited under section 521, the Commission shall assess 

10 a civil penalty against the candidate in an amount that 

11 is not more than 3 times the amount of the contribution 

12 or expenditure. Any amounts collected under this sub13 section shall be deposited into the Empowering Citizens 

14 Payment Account of the Presidential Election Campaign 

15 Fund (established under section 9051 of the Internal Rev16 enue Code of 1986). 

17 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR IMPROPER USE OF EMPOW18 ERING CITIZENS PAYMENT ACCOUNT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission deter20 mines that any benefit made available to a partici21 pating candidate was not used as provided for in 

22 this title or that a participating candidate has vio23 lated any of the dates for remission of funds con24 tained in this title, the Commission shall so notify 

25 the candidate and the candidate shall pay to the 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
45 

•S 1931 IS

1 Empowering Citizens Payment Account of the Presi2 dential Election Campaign Fund an amount equal 

3 to— 

4 ‘‘(A) the amount of benefits so used or not 

5 remitted, as appropriate; and 

6 ‘‘(B) interest on any such amounts (at a 

7 rate determined by the Commission). 

8 ‘‘(2) OTHER ACTION NOT PRECLUDED.—Any 

9 action by the Commission in accordance with this 

10 subsection shall not preclude enforcement pro11 ceedings by the Commission in accordance with sec12 tion 309(a), including a referral by the Commission 

13 to the Attorney General in the case of an apparent 

14 knowing and willful violation of this title. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 533. ELECTION CYCLE DEFINED. 

16 ‘‘In this title, the term ‘election cycle’ means, with 

17 respect to an election for the office of Senator or Rep18 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 

19 the Congress, the period beginning on the day after the 

20 date of the most recent general election for that office (or, 

21 if the general election resulted in a runoff election, the 

22 date of the runoff election) and ending on the date of the 

23 next general election for that office (or, if the general elec24 tion resulted in a runoff election, the date of the runoff 

25 election).’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
46 

•S 1931 IS

1 SEC. 3002. PERMITTING UNLIMITED COORDINATED EX2 PENDITURES BY POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT3 TEES ON BEHALF OF PARTICIPATING CAN4 DIDATES IF EXPENDITURES ARE DERIVED 

5 FROM SMALL DOLLAR CONTRIBUTIONS. 

6 Section 315(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

7 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(d)), as amended by section 

8 2101(b) of Division N of the Consolidated and Further 

9 Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Public Law 113– 

10 235; 128 Stat. 2773), is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(6) In determining the amount of expenditures 

13 made by a committee under paragraph (3) in connection 

14 with the campaign of a candidate who is certified as a 

15 participating candidate under title V, there shall be ex16 cluded any expenditures which are derived from a separate 

17 account established by the committee for which the only 

18 sources of funds are contributions made during the elec19 tion cycle in an amount which does not exceed $1,000 per 

20 contributor.’’. 

21 SEC. 3003. PROHIBITING USE OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY PAR22 TICIPATING CANDIDATES FOR PURPOSES 

23 OTHER THAN CAMPAIGN FOR ELECTION. 

24 Section 313 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

25 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114) is amended by adding at the 

26 end the following new subsection: 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
47 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(d) RESTRICTIONS ON PERMITTED USES OF FUNDS

2 BY CANDIDATES RECEIVING MATCHING PUBLIC

3 FUNDS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of 

4 subsection (a), if a candidate for election for the office 

5 of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident 

6 Commissioner to, the Congress is certified as a partici7 pating candidate under title V with respect to the election, 

8 any contribution which the candidate is permitted to ac9 cept under such title may be used only for authorized ex10 penditures in connection with the candidate’s campaign 

11 for such office.’’. 

12 TITLE IV—USE OF PRESI13 DENTIAL ELECTION CAM14 PAIGN FUND FOR PUBLIC FI15 NANCING OF FEDERAL ELEC16 TIONS 

17 SEC. 4001. USE OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 

18 FUND FOR CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES. 

19 Subtitle H of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following new chapter: 

21 ‘‘CHAPTER 97—EMPOWERING CITIZENS 

22 PAYMENT ACCOUNT 

‘‘Sec. 9051. Payments to Congressional candidates. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
48 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 9051. PAYMENTS TO CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES. 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—The Secretary 

3 shall maintain in the Presidential Election Campaign 

4 Fund established by section 9006(a), in addition to any 

5 account which he maintains under such section, a separate 

6 account to be known as the Empowering Citizens Payment 

7 Account (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘Ac8 count’). 

9 ‘‘(b) AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED TO ACCOUNT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall deposit 

11 into the Account the excess of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the balance of the Federal Election 

13 Campaign Fund (determined without regard to 

14 the Account), over 

15 ‘‘(B) the amount determined by the Sec16 retary to be required for payments under sec17 tion 9006(c) and for payments under section 

18 9037(b). 

19 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENTAL TRANSFERS.—There are 

20 hereby appropriated to the Account an amount equal 

21 to the excess (if any) of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the amount required to provide pay23 ments to candidates for election to the office of 

24 Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or 

25 Resident Commissioner to, the Congress who 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
49 

•S 1931 IS

1 are participating candidates under title V of the 

2 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, over 

3 ‘‘(B) the amounts transferred to such Ac4 count under paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘(c) USE OF ACCOUNT FOR PAYMENTS TO CONGRES6 SIONAL CANDIDATES PARTICIPATING IN PUBLIC FINANC7 ING PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall transfer amounts in 

8 the Account to the Federal Election Commission, at such 

9 times and in such amounts as the Federal Election Com10 mission may certify, for payments to candidates for elec11 tion to the office of Senator or Representative in, or Dele12 gate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress who are 

13 participating candidates under title V of the Federal Elec14 tion Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

15 SEC. 4002. REVISIONS TO DESIGNATION OF INCOME TAX 

16 PAYMENTS BY INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS. 

17 (a) INCREASE IN AMOUNT DESIGNATED.—Section 

18 6096(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend19 ed— 

20 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘$3’’ each 

21 place it appears and inserting ‘‘$20’’; and 

22 (2) in the second sentence— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘$6’’ and inserting ‘‘$40’’; 

24 and 

25 (B) by striking ‘‘$3’’ and inserting ‘‘$20’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
50 

•S 1931 IS

1 (b) INDEXING.—Section 6096 of such Code is amend2 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(d) INDEXING OF AMOUNT DESIGNATED.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each tax5 able year after 2017, each amount referred to in 

6 subsection (a) shall be increased by the percent dif7 ference described in paragraph (2), except that if 

8 any such amount after such an increase is not a 

9 multiple of $1, such amount shall be rounded to the 

10 nearest multiple of $1. 

11 ‘‘(2) PERCENT DIFFERENCE DESCRIBED.—The 

12 percent difference described in this paragraph with 

13 respect to a taxable year is the percent difference 

14 determined under section 315(c)(1)(A) of the Fed15 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 with respect to 

16 the calendar year during which the taxable year be17 gins, except that the base year involved shall be 

18 2016.’’. 

19 (c) ENSURING TAX PREPARATION SOFTWARE DOES

20 NOT PROVIDE AUTOMATIC RESPONSE TO DESIGNATION

21 QUESTION.—Section 6096 of such Code, as amended by 

22 subsection (b), is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(e) ENSURING TAX PREPARATION SOFTWARE DOES

25 NOT PROVIDE AUTOMATIC RESPONSE TO DESIGNATION


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
51 

•S 1931 IS

1 QUESTION.—The Secretary shall promulgate regulations 

2 to ensure that electronic software used in the preparation 

3 or filing of individual income tax returns does not auto4 matically accept or decline a designation of a payment 

5 under this section.’’. 

6 (d) PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM ON DESIGNA7 TION.—Section 6096 of such Code, as amended by sub8 sections (b) and (c), is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(f) PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Election Com12 mission shall conduct a program to inform and edu13 cate the public regarding the purposes of the Presi14 dential Election Campaign Fund, the procedures for 

15 the designation of payments under this section, and 

16 the effect of such a designation on the income tax 

17 liability of taxpayers. 

18 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS FOR PROGRAM.—Amounts 

19 in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund shall be 

20 made available to the Federal Election Commission 

21 to carry out the program under this subsection.’’. 

22 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall take effect January 1, 2018. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
52 

•S 1931 IS

1 SEC. 4003. DONATION TO PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAM2 PAIGN FUND. 

3 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Every taxpayer who makes a 

4 return of the tax imposed by subtitle A of the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986 for any taxable year ending after 

6 December 31, 2017, may donate an amount (not less than 

7 $1), in addition to any designation of income tax liability 

8 under section 6096 of such Code for such taxable year, 

9 which shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treas10 ury. 

11 (b) MANNER AND TIME OF DESIGNATION.—Any do12 nation under subsection (a) for any taxable year— 

13 (1) shall be made at the time of filing the re14 turn of the tax imposed by subtitle A of such Code 

15 for such taxable year and in such manner as the 

16 Secretary may by regulation prescribe, except that— 

17 (A) the designation for such donation shall 

18 be either on the first page of the return or on 

19 the page bearing the taxpayer’s signature, and 

20 (B) the designation shall be by a box 

21 added to the return, and the text beside the box 

22 shall provide: 

23 ‘‘By checking here, I signify that in 

24 addition to my tax liability (if any), I 

25 would like to donate the included payment 

26 to be used exclusively as a contribution to 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
53 

•S 1931 IS

1 the Presidential Election Campaign 

2 Fund.’’, and 

3 (2) shall be accompanied by a payment of the 

4 amount so designated. 

5 (c) TRANSFERS TO PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAM6 PAIGN FUND.—The Secretary shall, from time to time, 

7 transfer to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund es8 tablished under section 9006(a) of such Code amounts 

9 equal to the amounts donated under this section. 

10 TITLE V—OTHER CAMPAIGN 

11 FINANCE REFORMS 

12 SEC. 5001. REGULATIONS WITH RESPECT TO BEST EFFORTS 

13 FOR IDENTIFYING PERSONS MAKING CON14 TRIBUTIONS. 

15 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, the Federal Election Commission shall pro17 mulgate regulations with respect to what constitutes best 

18 efforts under section 302(i) of the Federal Election Cam19 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30102(i)) for determining 

20 the identification of persons making contributions to polit21 ical committees, including the identifications of persons 

22 making contributions over the Internet or by credit card. 

23 Such regulations shall include a requirement that in the 

24 case of contributions made by a credit card, the political 

25 committee shall ensure that the name on the credit card 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
54 

•S 1931 IS

1 used to make the contribution matches the name of the 

2 person making the contribution. 

3 SEC. 5002. RULES RELATING TO JOINT FUNDRAISING COM4 MITTEES. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT6 TEES FOR CANDIDATES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 302(e) of the Fed8 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

9 30102(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(6) No authorized committee of a candidate may es12 tablish, participate in, or have any involvement with any 

13 joint fundraising committee.’’. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

15 302(e)(3)(A) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30102(e)(3)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘except that’’ and all that 

18 follows through ‘‘the candidate’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘except that the candidate’’, 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a pe21 riod, and 

22 (C) by striking clause (ii). 

23 (b) LIMITATION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT24 TEES FOR PARTY COMMITTEES.—Section 302 of the Fed25 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30102) 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
55 

•S 1931 IS

1 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(j) PARTICIPATION OF PARTY COMMITTEES IN

4 JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMITTEES.—No committee of a 

5 political party may establish, participate in, or have any 

6 involvement with any joint fundraising committee other 

7 than a joint fundraising committee that consists of the 

8 national committee of a political party and one other com9 mittee of the political party.’’. 

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

11 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2018. 

12 SEC. 5003. DISCLOSURE OF BUNDLED CONTRIBUTIONS TO 

13 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS; INCREASE IN 

14 THRESHOLD FOR BUNDLED CONTRIBUTIONS 

15 BY LOBBYISTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraphs (1) through (3) of 

17 section 304(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

18 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(i)) are amended to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DISCLOSURE OF BUNDLED CON22 TRIBUTIONS BY LOBBYISTS.—Each committee 

23 described in paragraph (6) shall include in the 

24 first report required to be filed under this sec25 tion after each covered period (as defined in 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
56 

•S 1931 IS

1 paragraph (2)) a separate schedule setting forth 

2 the name, address, and employer of each person 

3 reasonably known by the committee to be a per4 son described in paragraph (7) who provided 

5 two or more bundled contributions to the com6 mittee in an aggregate amount greater than the 

7 applicable threshold (as defined in paragraph 

8 (3)) during the covered period, and the aggre9 gate amount of the bundled contributions pro10 vided by each such person during the covered 

11 period. 

12 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE OF BUNDLED CON13 TRIBUTIONS TO PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS.— 

14 Each committee which is an authorized com15 mittee of a candidate for the office of President 

16 or for nomination to such office shall include in 

17 the first report required to be filed under this 

18 section after each covered period (as defined in 

19 paragraph (2)) a separate schedule setting forth 

20 the name, address, and employer of each person 

21 who provided two or more bundled contribu22 tions to the committee in an aggregate amount 

23 greater than the applicable threshold (as de24 fined in paragraph (3)) during the election 

25 cycle, and the aggregate amount of the bundled 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
57 

•S 1931 IS

1 contributions provided by each such person dur2 ing the covered period and such election cycle. 

3 Such schedule shall include a separate listing of 

4 the name, address, and employer of each person 

5 included on such schedule who is reasonably 

6 known by the committee to be a person de7 scribed in paragraph (7), together with the ag8 gregate amount of bundled contributions pro9 vided by such person during such period and 

10 such cycle. 

11 ‘‘(2) COVERED PERIOD.—In this subsection, a 

12 ‘covered period’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) with respect to a committee which is 

14 an authorized committee of a candidate for the 

15 office of President or for nomination to such of16 fice— 

17 ‘‘(i) the 4-year election cycle ending 

18 with the date of the election for the office 

19 of the President; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) any reporting period applicable 

21 to the committee under this section during 

22 which any person provided two or more 

23 bundled contributions to the committee; 

24 and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
58 

•S 1931 IS

1 ‘‘(B) with respect to any other com2 mittee— 

3 ‘‘(i) the period beginning January 1 

4 and ending June 30 of each year; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the period beginning July 1 and 

6 ending December 31 of each year; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) any reporting period applicable 

8 to the committee under this section during 

9 which any person described in paragraph 

10 (7) provided two or more bundled contribu11 tions to the committee in an aggregate 

12 amount greater than the applicable thresh13 old. 

14 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE THRESHOLD.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 

16 ‘applicable threshold’ is— 

17 ‘‘(i) $50,000 in the case of a com18 mittee which is an authorized committee of 

19 a candidate for the office of President or 

20 for nomination to such office; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) $25,000 in the case of any other 

22 committee. 

23 In determining whether the amount of bundled 

24 contributions provided to a committee by a per25 son exceeds the applicable threshold, there shall 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
59 

•S 1931 IS

1 be excluded any contribution made to the com2 mittee by the person or the person’s spouse. 

3 ‘‘(B) INDEXING.—In any calendar year 

4 after 2018, section 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to 

5 each amount applicable under subparagraph 

6 (A) in the same manner as such section applies 

7 to the limitations established under subsections 

8 (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(3), and (h) of such 

9 section, except that for purposes of applying 

10 such section to the amount applicable under 

11 subparagraph (A), the ‘base period’ shall be 

12 2017. 

13 ‘‘(C) AGGREGATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS

14 FROM COSPONSORS OF FUNDRAISING EVENT.— 

15 For purposes of determining the amount of 

16 bundled contributions provided by a person to a 

17 committee which were received by the person at 

18 a fundraising event sponsored by the person, or 

19 in response to an invitation to attend a fund20 raising event sponsored by the person, each per21 son who is a sponsor of the event shall be con22 sidered to have provided to the committee the 

23 aggregate amount of all bundled contributions 

24 which were provided to the committee by all 

25 sponsors of the event.’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
60 

•S 1931 IS

1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 304(i) of 

2 such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104(i)) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘described in 

4 paragraph (7)’’ each place it appears in subpara5 graphs (C) and (D); 

6 (2) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘(other than 

7 a candidate for the office of President or for nomi8 nation to such office)’’ after ‘‘candidate’’; and 

9 (3) in paragraph (8)(A)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘, with respect to a com11 mittee described in paragraph (6) and a person 

12 described in paragraph (7),’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

13 with respect to a committee described in para14 graph (6) or an authorized committee of a can15 didate for the office of President or for nomina16 tion to such office,’’; 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘by the person’’ in clause 

18 (i) thereof and inserting ‘‘by any person’’; and 

19 (C) by striking ‘‘the person’’ each place it 

20 appears in clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘such per21 son’’. 

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

23 this section shall apply with respect to reports filed under 

24 section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

25 after January 1, 2018. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
61 

•S 1931 IS

1 SEC. 5004. REPEAL OF SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR 

2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO NATIONAL PARTIES FOR 

3 CERTAIN PURPOSES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(a) of the Federal 

5 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)), as 

6 amended by section 2101(b) of Division N of the Consoli7 dated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 

8 (Public Law 113–235; 128 Stat. 2773), is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘, or, in 

10 the case of contributions made to any of the ac11 counts described in paragraph (9), exceed 300 per12 cent of the amount otherwise applicable under this 

13 subparagraph with respect to such calendar year’’, 

14 (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘, or, in 

15 the case of contributions made to any of the ac16 counts described in paragraph (9), exceed 300 per17 cent of the amount otherwise applicable under this 

18 subparagraph with respect to such calendar year’’, 

19 and 

20 (3) by striking paragraph (9). 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 315(d) of 

22 such Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(d)), as amended by section 

23 3002, is amended by striking paragraph (5). 

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

25 this section shall apply to contributions made after the 

26 date of the enactment of this Act. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
62 

•S 1931 IS

1 (d) RETURN OF PREVIOUSLY CONTRIBUTED

2 AMOUNTS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the 

3 enactment of this Act, each political committee established 

4 and maintained by a political party shall distribute all 

5 amounts in accounts described in section 315(a)(9) of the 

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

7 30116(a)(9)) to individuals who made contributions to 

8 such accounts. The amount distributed to any contributor 

9 form any account shall bear the same ratio to the amount 

10 of contributions made by such contributor to such account 

11 as the balance of such account on the date of the enact12 ment of this Act bears to the total amount of contributions 

13 made to such account. 

14 SEC. 5005. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ACTIONS RELATED TO 

15 CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Federal Election 

17 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30141 et seq.) is 

18 amended by inserting after section 406 the following new 

19 section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 407. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 373(f), 

22 if any action is brought for declaratory or injunctive relief 

23 to challenge the constitutionality of any provision of this 

24 Act or of chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code 

25 of 1986, or is brought to with respect to any action of 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
63 

•S 1931 IS

1 the Commission under chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal 

2 Revenue Code of 1986, the following rules shall apply: 

3 ‘‘(1) The action shall be filed in the United 

4 States District Court for the District of Columbia 

5 and an appeal from the decision of the district court 

6 may be taken to the Court of Appeals for the Dis7 trict of Columbia Circuit. 

8 ‘‘(2) In the case of an action relating to declar9 atory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu10 tionality of a provision— 

11 ‘‘(A) a copy of the complaint shall be deliv12 ered promptly to the Clerk of the House of 

13 Representatives and the Secretary of the Sen14 ate; and 

15 ‘‘(B) it shall be the duty of the United 

16 States District Court for the District of Colum17 bia, the Court of Appeals for the District of Co18 lumbia, and the Supreme Court of the United 

19 States to advance on the docket and to expedite 

20 to the greatest possible extent the disposition of 

21 the action and appeal. 

22 ‘‘(b) INTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

23 In any action in which the constitutionality of any provi24 sion of this Act or chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986 is raised, any member of the House 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
64 

•S 1931 IS

1 of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Com2 missioner to the Congress) or Senate shall have the right 

3 to intervene either in support of or opposition to the posi4 tion of a party to the case regarding the constitutionality 

5 of the provision. To avoid duplication of efforts and reduce 

6 the burdens placed on the parties to the action, the court 

7 in any such action may make such orders as it considers 

8 necessary, including orders to require interveners taking 

9 similar positions to file joint papers or to be represented 

10 by a single attorney at oral argument. 

11 ‘‘(c) CHALLENGE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Any 

12 Member of Congress may bring an action, subject to the 

13 special rules described in subsection (a), for declaratory 

14 or injunctive relief to challenge the constitutionality of any 

15 provision of this Act or chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

19 (A) Section 9011 of the Internal Revenue 

20 Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 9011. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

22 ‘‘For provisions relating to judicial review of certifi23 cations, determinations, and actions by the Commission 

24 under this chapter, see section 407 of the Federal Election 

25 Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
65 

•S 1931 IS

1 (B) Section 9041 of the Internal Revenue 

2 Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 9041. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

4 ‘‘For provisions relating to judicial review of actions 

5 by the Commission under this chapter, see section 407 of 

6 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

7 (C) Section 403 of the Bipartisan Cam8 paign Finance Reform Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

9 30110 note) is repealed. 

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

11 this section shall apply to actions brought on or after Jan12 uary 1, 2018. 

13 SEC. 5006. TREATMENT OF INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS 

14 MADE BY POLITICAL COMMITTEES AS PUB15 LIC COMMUNICATIONS. 

16 Paragraph (22) of section 301 of the Federal Elec17 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(22)) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 

19 ‘‘Such term shall include communications to the general 

20 public made over the Internet by a political committee.’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
66 

•S 1931 IS

1 SEC. 5007. APPLICATION OF LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBU2 TIONS TO POLITICAL COMMITTEES MAKING 

3 ONLY INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES. 

4 Section 315(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign 

5 Act of 1974 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(1)) is amended by strik6 ing subparagraph (C) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(C) to any other political committee 

8 (other than a committee described in subpara9 graph (D)), including to a political committee 

10 (or to an account of a political committee) that 

11 makes only independent expenditures, in any 

12 calendar year which, in the aggregate, exceed 

13 $5,000; or’’. 

14 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

15 PROVISIONS 

16 SEC. 6001. SEVERABILITY. 

17 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

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

19 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu20 tional, the remainder of this and amendments made by 

21 this Act, and the application of the provisions and amend22 ment to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected 

23 by the holding. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
67 

•S 1931 IS

1 SEC. 6002. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amend3 ments made by this Act shall apply with respect to elec4 tions occurring after January 1, 2018. 

Æ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS