I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2977 

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

Super PACs and other entities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2019 

Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. ALLRED, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. 

BARRAGA ́N, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BRENDAN F. 

BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. 

BROWNLEY of California, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, 

Mr. CASE, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. JUDY

CHU of California, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. 

CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COOPER, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Mr. COX of California, Mrs. CRAIG, Mr. CRIST, Mr. CROW, 

Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. 

DEAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. 

DELGADO, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Ms. FINKENAUER, Ms. FRANKEL, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GOLDEN, Mr. 

GOMEZ, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HECK, Mr. HIGGINS

of New York, Ms. HILL of California, Mr. HIMES, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN

of Oklahoma, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILDEE, 

Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIM, Mr. KIND, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. 

KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. LAMB, Mr. 

LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEE of 

California, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LEVIN of 

California, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. 

LOWEY, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mrs. 

CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of 

New York, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MCADAMS, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 

Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. 

MOULTON, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 


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O’HALLERAN, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. 

PASCRELL, Mr. PETERS, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PORTER, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. QUIGLEY, Miss RICE of 

New York, Mr. ROSE of New York, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 

Mr. RUIZ, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCHRADER, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 

SERRANO, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. 

SPANBERGER, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. STANTON, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. SUOZZI, 

Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of California, 

Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. VAN

DREW, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. 

WELCH, Ms. WILD, and Mr. YARMUTH) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in 

addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

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

entities, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spend6 ing in Elections Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘DISCLOSE Act 

7 of 2019’’. 

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

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—DISCLOSE ACT 

Subtitle A—Regulation of Certain Political Spending 

Sec. 101. Clarification of prohibition on participation by foreign nationals in 

election-related activities. 

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

Sec. 103. Audit and report on illicit foreign money in Federal elections. 

Sec. 104. Prohibition on contributions and donations by foreign nationals in 

connections with ballot initiatives and referenda. 

Sec. 105. Disbursements and activities subject to foreign money ban. 

Subtitle B—Reporting of Campaign-Related Disbursements 

Sec. 111. Reporting of campaign-related disbursements. 

Sec. 112. Application of foreign money ban to disbursements for campaign-related disbursements consisting of covered transfers. 

Sec. 113. Effective date. 

TITLE II—STAND BY EVERY AD ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Stand By Every Ad. 

Sec. 203. Disclaimer requirements for communications made through 

prerecorded telephone calls. 

Sec. 204. No expansion of persons subject to disclaimer requirements on Internet communications. 

Sec. 205. Effective date. 

TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Severability. 

1 TITLE I—DISCLOSE ACT 

2 Subtitle A—Regulation of Certain 

3 Political Spending 

4 SEC. 101. CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITION ON PARTICIPA5 TION BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN ELECTION6 RELATED ACTIVITIES. 

7 (a) CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITION.—Section 

8 319(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

9 U.S.C. 30121(a)) is amended— 

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

11 (1); 


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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) a foreign national to direct, dictate, con6 trol, or directly or indirectly participate in the deci7 sion making process of any person (including a cor8 poration, labor organization, political committee, or 

9 political organization) with regard to such person’s 

10 Federal or non-Federal election-related activity, in11 cluding any decision concerning the making of con12 tributions, donations, expenditures, or disbursements 

13 in connection with an election for any Federal, 

14 State, or local office or any decision concerning the 

15 administration of a political committee.’’. 

16 (b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.—Section 319 

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

18 the end the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE REQUIRED

20 PRIOR TO CARRYING OUT ACTIVITY.—Prior to the mak21 ing in connection with an election for Federal office of any 

22 contribution, donation, expenditure, independent expendi23 ture, or disbursement for an electioneering communication 

24 by a corporation, limited liability corporation, or partner25 ship during a year, the chief executive officer of the corVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2977.IH H2977

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1 poration, limited liability corporation, or partnership (or, 

2 if the corporation, limited liability corporation, or partner3 ship does not have a chief executive officer, the highest 

4 ranking official of the corporation, limited liability cor5 poration, or partnership), shall file a certification with the 

6 Commission, under penalty of perjury, that a foreign na7 tional did not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indi8 rectly participate in the decision making process relating 

9 to such activity in violation of subsection (a)(3), unless 

10 the chief executive officer has previously filed such a cer11 tification during that calendar year.’’. 

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

13 this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 

14 180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 

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

16 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

17 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

18 SEC. 102. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN 

19 MONEY BAN TO CERTAIN DISBURSEMENTS 

20 AND ACTIVITIES. 

21 (a) APPLICATION TO DISBURSEMENTS TO SUPER

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

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

24 amended by striking the semicolon and inserting the fol25 lowing: ‘‘, including any disbursement to a political comVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2977.IH H2977

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1 mittee which accepts donations or contributions that do 

2 not comply with the limitations, prohibitions, and report3 ing requirements of this Act (or any disbursement to or 

4 on behalf of any account of a political committee which 

5 is established for the purpose of accepting such donations 

6 or contributions);’’. 

7 (b) CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH CORPORATE PACS

8 MAY MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.—Sec9 tion 316(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30118(b)) is amended 

10 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(8) A separate segregated fund established by a cor12 poration may not make a contribution or expenditure dur13 ing a year unless the fund has certified to the Commission 

14 the following during the year: 

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

16 and who is responsible for exercising decisionmaking 

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

18 States or is lawfully admitted for permanent resi19 dence in the United States. 

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

21 participates in any way in the decisionmaking proc22 esses of the fund with regard to contributions or ex23 penditures under this Act. 

24 ‘‘(C) The fund does not solicit or accept rec25 ommendations from any foreign national under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2977.IH H2977

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

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

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

6 the fund or its activities.’’. 

7 SEC. 103. AUDIT AND REPORT ON ILLICIT FOREIGN MONEY 

8 IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 

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

10 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is 

11 amended by inserting after section 319 the following new 

12 section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 319A. AUDIT AND REPORT ON DISBURSEMENTS BY 

14 FOREIGN NATIONALS. 

15 ‘‘(a) AUDIT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con17 duct an audit after each Federal election cycle to de18 termine the incidence of illicit foreign money in such 

19 Federal election cycle. 

20 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.—In carrying out paragraph 

21 (1), the Commission shall conduct random audits of 

22 any disbursements required to be reported under 

23 this Act, in accordance with procedures established 

24 by the Commission. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the end 

2 of each Federal election cycle, the Commission shall sub3 mit to Congress a report containing— 

4 ‘‘(1) results of the audit required by subsection 

5 (a)(1); and 

6 ‘‘(2) recommendations to address the presence 

7 of illicit foreign money in elections, as appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal election cycle’ means 

10 the period which begins on the day after the date of 

11 a regularly scheduled general election for Federal of12 fice and which ends on the date of the first regularly 

13 scheduled general election for Federal office held 

14 after such date. 

15 ‘‘(2) The term ‘illicit foreign money’ means any 

16 disbursement by a foreign national (as defined in 

17 section 319(b)) prohibited under such section.’’. 

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

19 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the Federal elec20 tion cycle that began during November 2018, and each 

21 succeeding Federal election cycle. 


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1 SEC. 104. PROHIBITION ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONA2 TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN CONNEC3 TIONS WITH BALLOT INITIATIVES AND 

4 REFERENDA. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 319(a)(1)(A) of the Fed6 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

7 30121(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘election;’’ and 

8 inserting the following: ‘‘election, including a State or local 

9 ballot initiative or referendum;’’. 

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

11 this section shall apply with respect to elections held in 

12 2020 or any succeeding year. 

13 SEC. 105. DISBURSEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO 

14 FOREIGN MONEY BAN. 

15 (a) DISBURSEMENTS DESCRIBED.—Section 

16 319(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

17 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)) is amended— 

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

19 (B); and 

20 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) an expenditure; 

23 ‘‘(D) an independent expenditure; 

24 ‘‘(E) a disbursement for an electioneering 

25 communication (within the meaning of section 

26 304(f)(3)); 


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1 ‘‘(F) a disbursement for a paid internet or 

2 paid digital communication that refers to a 

3 clearly identified candidate for election for Fed4 eral office and is disseminated within 60 days 

5 before a general, special or runoff election for 

6 the office sought by the candidate or 30 days 

7 before a primary or preference election, or a 

8 convention or caucus of a political party that 

9 has authority to nominate a candidate for the 

10 office sought by the candidate; 

11 ‘‘(G) a disbursement for a broadcast, cable 

12 or satellite communication, or for a paid inter13 net or paid digital communication, that pro14 motes, supports, attacks or opposes the election 

15 of a clearly identified candidate for Federal, 

16 State, or local office (regardless of whether the 

17 communication contains express advocacy or the 

18 functional equivalent of express advocacy) and 

19 is for the purpose of influencing an election; or 

20 ‘‘(H) a disbursement for a broadcast, 

21 cable, or satellite communication, or for any 

22 communication which is placed or promoted for 

23 a fee on an online platform, that discusses a 

24 national legislative issue of public importance in 

25 a year in which a regularly scheduled general 


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1 election for Federal office is held, but only if 

2 the disbursement is made by a foreign principal 

3 who is a government of a foreign country or a 

4 foreign political party or an agent of such a for5 eign principal under the Foreign Agents Reg6 istration Act of 1938, as amended.’’. 

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

8 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to disbursements 

9 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 Subtitle B—Reporting of 

11 Campaign-Related Disbursements 

12 SEC. 111. REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE13 MENTS. 

14 (a) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CORPORA15 TIONS, LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, AND CERTAIN OTHER

16 ENTITIES.— 

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

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

19 is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 324. DISCLOSURE OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE21 MENTS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS. 

22 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.— 

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

24 that makes campaign-related disbursements aggre25 gating more than $10,000 in an election reporting 


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1 cycle shall, not later than 24 hours after each disclo2 sure date, file a statement with the Commission 

3 made under penalty of perjury that contains the in4 formation described in paragraph (2)— 

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

6 under this subsection, for the period beginning 

7 on the first day of the election reporting cycle 

8 (or, if earlier, the period beginning one year be9 fore the first such disclosure date) and ending 

10 on the first such disclosure date; and 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent state12 ment filed under this subsection, for the period 

13 beginning on the previous disclosure date and 

14 ending on such disclosure date. 

15 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa16 tion described in this paragraph is as follows: 

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

18 and the principal place of business of such or19 ganization and, in the case of a covered organi20 zation that is a corporation (other than a busi21 ness concern that is an issuer of a class of secu22 rities registered under section 12 of the Securi23 ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l) or 

24 that is required to file reports under section 

25 15(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 78o(d))) or an enVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2977.IH H2977

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1 tity described in subsection (e)(2), a list of the 

2 beneficial owners (as defined in paragraph 

3 (4)(A)) of the entity that— 

4 ‘‘(i) identifies each beneficial owner by 

5 name and current residential or business 

6 street address; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) if any beneficial owner exercises 

8 control over the entity through another 

9 legal entity, such as a corporation, partner10 ship, limited liability company, or trust, 

11 identifies each such other legal entity and 

12 each such beneficial owner who will use 

13 that other entity to exercise control over 

14 the entity. 

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

16 disbursement made by such organization during 

17 the period covered by the statement of more 

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

19 person to whom the disbursement was made. 

20 ‘‘(C) In the case of a campaign-related dis21 bursement that is not a covered transfer, the 

22 election to which the campaign-related disburse23 ment pertains and if the disbursement is made 

24 for a public communication, the name of any 

25 candidate identified in such communication and 


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1 whether such communication is in support of or 

2 in opposition to a candidate. 

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

4 officer or person who is the head of the covered 

5 organization that the campaign-related dis6 bursement is not made in cooperation, consulta7 tion, or concert with or at the request or sug8 gestion of a candidate, authorized committee, or 

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

10 a political party. 

11 ‘‘(E)(i) If the covered organization makes 

12 campaign-related disbursements using exclu13 sively funds in a segregated bank account con14 sisting of funds that were paid directly to such 

15 account by persons other than the covered orga16 nization that controls the account, for each 

17 such payment to the account— 

18 ‘‘(I) the name and address of each 

19 person who made such payment during the 

20 period covered by the statement; 

21 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 

22 payment; and 

23 ‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 

24 such payments made by the person during 

25 the period beginning on the first day of the 


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1 election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

2 period beginning one year before the dis3 closure date) and ending on the disclosure 

4 date, 

5 but only if such payment was made by a person 

6 who made payments to the account in an aggre7 gate amount of $10,000 or more during the pe8 riod beginning on the first day of the election 

9 reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the period begin10 ning one year before the disclosure date) and 

11 ending on the disclosure date. 

12 ‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2020, sec13 tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de14 scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 

15 such section applies to the limitations estab16 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 

17 (a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 

18 purposes of applying such section to the 

19 amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 

20 period’ shall be 2020. 

21 ‘‘(F)(i) If the covered organization makes 

22 campaign-related disbursements using funds 

23 other than funds in a segregated bank account 

24 described in subparagraph (E), for each pay25 ment to the covered organization— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the name and address of each 

2 person who made such payment during the 

3 period covered by the statement; 

4 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 

5 payment; and 

6 ‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 

7 such payments made by the person during 

8 the period beginning on the first day of the 

9 election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

10 period beginning one year before the dis11 closure date) and ending on the disclosure 

12 date, 

13 but only if such payment was made by a person 

14 who made payments to the covered organization 

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

16 during the period beginning on the first day of 

17 the election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

18 period beginning one year before the disclosure 

19 date) and ending on the disclosure date. 

20 ‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2020, sec21 tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de22 scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 

23 such section applies to the limitations estab24 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 

25 (a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 


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1 purposes of applying such section to the 

2 amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 

3 period’ shall be 2020. 

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

5 rules established by the Commission to promote 

6 the purposes of this section. 

7 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) AMOUNTS RECEIVED IN ORDINARY

9 COURSE OF BUSINESS.—The requirement to in10 clude in a statement filed under paragraph (1) 

11 the information described in paragraph (2) 

12 shall not apply to amounts received by the cov13 ered organization in commercial transactions in 

14 the ordinary course of any trade or business 

15 conducted by the covered organization or in the 

16 form of investments (other than investments by 

17 the principal shareholder in a limited liability 

18 corporation) in the covered organization. For 

19 purposes of this subparagraph, amounts re20 ceived by a covered organization as remittances 

21 from an employee to the employee’s collective 

22 bargaining representative shall be treated as 

23 amounts received in commercial transactions in 

24 the ordinary course of the business conducted 

25 by the covered organization. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DONOR RESTRICTION ON USE OF

2 FUNDS.—The requirement to include in a state3 ment submitted under paragraph (1) the infor4 mation described in subparagraph (F) of para5 graph (2) shall not apply if— 

6 ‘‘(i) the person described in such sub7 paragraph prohibited, in writing, the use of 

8 the payment made by such person for cam9 paign-related disbursements; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the covered organization agreed 

11 to follow the prohibition and deposited the 

12 payment in an account which is segregated 

13 from any account used to make campaign14 related disbursements. 

15 ‘‘(C) THREAT OF HARASSMENT OR RE16 PRISAL.—The requirement to include any infor17 mation relating to the name or address of any 

18 person (other than a candidate) in a statement 

19 submitted under paragraph (1) shall not apply 

20 if the inclusion of the information would subject 

21 the person to serious threats, harassment, or 

22 reprisals. 

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

24 this section: 

25 ‘‘(A) BENEFICIAL OWNER DEFINED.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro2 vided in clause (ii), the term ‘beneficial 

3 owner’ means, with respect to any entity, 

4 a natural person who, directly or indi5 rectly— 

6 ‘‘(I) exercises substantial control 

7 over an entity through ownership, vot8 ing rights, agreement, or otherwise; or 

9 ‘‘(II) has a substantial interest in 

10 or receives substantial economic bene11 fits from the assets of an entity. 

12 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘bene13 ficial owner’ shall not include— 

14 ‘‘(I) a minor child; 

15 ‘‘(II) a person acting as a nomi16 nee, intermediary, custodian, or agent 

17 on behalf of another person; 

18 ‘‘(III) a person acting solely as 

19 an employee of an entity and whose 

20 control over or economic benefits from 

21 the entity derives solely from the em22 ployment status of the person; 

23 ‘‘(IV) a person whose only inter24 est in an entity is through a right of 

25 inheritance, unless the person also 


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1 meets the requirements of clause (i); 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(V) a creditor of an entity, un4 less the creditor also meets the re5 quirements of clause (i). 

6 ‘‘(iii) ANTI-ABUSE RULE.—The excep7 tions under clause (ii) shall not apply if 

8 used for the purpose of evading, circum9 venting, or abusing the provisions of clause 

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

11 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE DATE.—The term ‘dis12 closure date’ means— 

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

14 reporting cycle by which a person has 

15 made campaign-related disbursements ag16 gregating more than $10,000; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) any other date during such elec18 tion reporting cycle by which a person has 

19 made campaign-related disbursements ag20 gregating more than $10,000 since the 

21 most recent disclosure date for such elec22 tion reporting cycle. 

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

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


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1 period beginning on the date of the most recent 

2 general election for Federal office. 

3 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ in4 cludes any contribution, donation, transfer, pay5 ment of dues, or other payment. 

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

7 ‘‘(1) OTHER REPORTS FILED WITH THE COM8 MISSION.—Information included in a statement filed 

9 under this section may be excluded from statements 

10 and reports filed under section 304. 

11 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT AS SEPARATE SEGREGATED

12 FUND.—A segregated bank account referred to in 

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

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

15 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

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

17 subsection (a) shall be subject to the requirements of sec18 tion 304(d) to the same extent and in the same manner 

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

20 or (g) of section 304. 

21 ‘‘(d) CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT DE22 FINED.— 

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

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1 ment by a covered organization for any of the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(A) An independent expenditure which ex4 pressly advocates the election or defeat of a 

5 clearly identified candidate for election for Fed6 eral office, or is the functional equivalent of ex7 press advocacy because, when taken as a whole, 

8 it can be interpreted by a reasonable person 

9 only as advocating the election or defeat of a 

10 candidate for election for Federal office. 

11 ‘‘(B) Any public communication which re12 fers to a clearly identified candidate for election 

13 for Federal office and which promotes or sup14 ports the election of a candidate for that office, 

15 or attacks or opposes the election of a candidate 

16 for that office, without regard to whether the 

17 communication expressly advocates a vote for or 

18 against a candidate for that office. 

19 ‘‘(C) An electioneering communication, as 

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

21 ‘‘(D) A covered transfer. 

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

23 for an item described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), 

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1 paign-related disbursement regardless of the intent 

2 of the person making the disbursement. 

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

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

5 following: 

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

7 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986). 

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

10 otherwise treated as a corporation for purposes of 

11 this Act (other than an organization described in 

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

13 1986). 

14 ‘‘(3) An organization described in section 

15 501(c) of such Code and exempt from taxation 

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

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

18 Code). 

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

20 316(b)). 

21 ‘‘(5) Any political organization under section 

22 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other 

23 than a political committee under this Act (except as 

24 provided in paragraph (6)). 


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

2 accepts donations or contributions that do not com3 ply with the contribution limits or source prohibi4 tions under this Act, but only with respect to such 

5 accounts. 

6 ‘‘(f) COVERED TRANSFER DEFINED.— 

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

8 ‘covered transfer’ means any transfer or payment of 

9 funds by a covered organization to another person if 

10 the covered organization— 

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

12 the amounts be used for— 

13 ‘‘(i) campaign-related disbursements 

14 (other than covered transfers); or 

15 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

16 person for the purpose of making or pay17 ing for such campaign-related disburse18 ments; 

19 ‘‘(B) made such transfer or payment in re20 sponse to a solicitation or other request for a 

21 donation or payment for— 

22 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam23 paign-related disbursements (other than 

24 covered transfers); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

2 person for the purpose of making or pay3 ing for such campaign-related disburse4 ments; 

5 ‘‘(C) engaged in discussions with the re6 cipient of the transfer or payment regarding— 

7 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam8 paign-related disbursements (other than 

9 covered transfers); or 

10 ‘‘(ii) donating or transferring any 

11 amount of such transfer or payment to an12 other person for the purpose of making or 

13 paying for such campaign-related disburse14 ments; 

15 ‘‘(D) made campaign-related disburse16 ments (other than a covered transfer) in an ag17 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

18 2-year period ending on the date of the transfer 

19 or payment, or knew or had reason to know 

20 that the person receiving the transfer or pay21 ment made such disbursements in such an ag22 gregate amount during that 2-year period; or 

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

24 person receiving the transfer or payment would 

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1 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

2 2-year period beginning on the date of the 

3 transfer or payment. 

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

5 does not include any of the following: 

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

7 organization in a commercial transaction in the 

8 ordinary course of any trade or business con9 ducted by the covered organization or in the 

10 form of investments made by the covered orga11 nization. 

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

13 organization if— 

14 ‘‘(i) the covered organization prohib15 ited, in writing, the use of such disburse16 ment for campaign-related disbursements; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the recipient of the disbursement 

19 agreed to follow the prohibition and depos20 ited the disbursement in an account which 

21 is segregated from any account used to 

22 make campaign-related disbursements. 

23 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING TRANSFERS

24 AMONG AFFILIATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) SPECIAL RULE.—A transfer of an 

2 amount by one covered organization to another 

3 covered organization which is treated as a 

4 transfer between affiliates under subparagraph 

5 (C) shall be considered a covered transfer by 

6 the covered organization which transfers the 

7 amount only if the aggregate amount trans8 ferred during the year by such covered organi9 zation to that same covered organization is 

10 equal to or greater than $50,000. 

11 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF

12 CERTAIN PAYMENTS AMONG AFFILIATES.—In 

13 determining the amount of a transfer between 

14 affiliates for purposes of subparagraph (A), to 

15 the extent that the transfer consists of funds 

16 attributable to dues, fees, or assessments which 

17 are paid by individuals on a regular, periodic 

18 basis in accordance with a per-individual cal19 culation which is made on a regular basis, the 

20 transfer shall be attributed to the individuals 

21 paying the dues, fees, or assessments and shall 

22 not be attributed to the covered organization. 

23 ‘‘(C) DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFERS BE24 TWEEN AFFILIATES.—A transfer of amounts 

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1 ered organization shall be treated as a transfer 

2 between affiliates if— 

3 ‘‘(i) one of the organizations is an af4 filiate of the other organization; or 

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

6 affiliate of the same organization, 

7 except that the transfer shall not be treated as 

8 a transfer between affiliates if one of the orga9 nizations is established for the purpose of mak10 ing campaign-related disbursements. 

11 ‘‘(D) DETERMINATION OF AFFILIATE STA12 TUS.—For purposes of subparagraph (C), a 

13 covered organization is an affiliate of another 

14 covered organization if— 

15 ‘‘(i) the governing instrument of the 

16 organization requires it to be bound by de17 cisions of the other organization; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the governing board of the orga19 nization includes persons who are specifi20 cally designated representatives of the 

21 other organization or are members of the 

22 governing board, officers, or paid executive 

23 staff members of the other organization, or 

24 whose service on the governing board is 


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1 contingent upon the approval of the other 

2 organization; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) the organization is chartered by 

4 the other organization. 

5 ‘‘(E) COVERAGE OF TRANSFERS TO AF6 FILIATED SECTION 501(c)(3) ORGANIZA7 TIONS.—This paragraph shall apply with re8 spect to an amount transferred by a covered or9 ganization to an organization described in para10 graph (3) of section 501(c) of the Internal Rev11 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 

12 section 501(a) of such Code in the same man13 ner as this paragraph applies to an amount 

14 transferred by a covered organization to an15 other covered organization. 

16 ‘‘(g) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REPORTING REQUIRE17 MENTS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

18 waive or otherwise affect any other requirement of this 

19 Act which relates to the reporting of campaign-related dis20 bursements.’’. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

22 304(f)(6) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended 

23 by striking ‘‘Any requirement’’ and inserting ‘‘Ex24 cept as provided in section 324(b), any require25 ment’’. 


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1 (b) COORDINATION WITH FINCEN.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Finan3 cial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Depart4 ment of the Treasury shall provide the Federal Elec5 tion Commission with such information as necessary 

6 to assist in administering and enforcing section 324 

7 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as 

8 added by this section. 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman 

11 of the Federal Election Commission, in consultation 

12 with the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforce13 ment Network of the Department of the Treasury, 

14 shall submit to Congress a report with recommenda15 tions for providing further legislative authority to as16 sist in the administration and enforcement of such 

17 section 324. 

18 SEC. 112. APPLICATION OF FOREIGN MONEY BAN TO DIS19 BURSEMENTS FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED DIS20 BURSEMENTS CONSISTING OF COVERED 

21 TRANSFERS. 

22 Section 319(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Cam23 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)(A)), as amend24 ed by section 102, is amended by striking the semicolon 

25 and inserting the following: ‘‘, and any disbursement, 


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1 other than a disbursement described in section 

2 324(a)(3)(A), to another person who made a campaign3 related disbursement consisting of a covered transfer (as 

4 described in section 324) during the 2-year period ending 

5 on the date of the disbursement;’’. 

6 SEC. 113. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 The amendments made by this subtitle shall apply 

8 with respect to disbursements made on or after January 

9 1, 2020, and shall take effect without regard to whether 

10 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

11 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

12 TITLE II—STAND BY EVERY AD 

13 ACT 

14 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

15 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Stand By Every Ad 

16 Act’’. 

17 SEC. 202. STAND BY EVERY AD. 

18 (a) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

19 CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318 of the Federal 

20 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120) is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(e) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

24 COMMUNICATIONS NOT AUTHORIZED BY CANDIDATES OR

25 COMMITTEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (6), any communication described in para3 graph (3) of subsection (a) which is transmitted in 

4 an audio or video format (including an Internet or 

5 digital communication), or which is an Internet or 

6 digital communication transmitted in a text or 

7 graphic format, shall include, in addition to the re8 quirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (a), the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(A) The individual disclosure statement 

11 described in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 

12 paying for the communication is an individual) 

13 or the organizational disclosure statement de14 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) (if the person pay15 ing for the communication is not an individual). 

16 ‘‘(B) If the communication is transmitted 

17 in a video format, or is an Internet or digital 

18 communication which is transmitted in a text or 

19 graphic format, and is paid for in whole or in 

20 part with a payment which is treated as a cam21 paign-related disbursement under section 324— 

22 ‘‘(i) the Top Five Funders list (if ap23 plicable); or 

24 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 

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1 teria established in regulations issued by 

2 the Commission, is of such short duration 

3 that including the Top Five Funders list in 

4 the communication would constitute a 

5 hardship to the person paying for the com6 munication by requiring a disproportionate 

7 amount of the content of the communica8 tion to consist of the Top Five Funders 

9 list, the name of a website which contains 

10 the Top Five Funders list (if applicable) 

11 or, in the case of an Internet or digital 

12 communication, a hyperlink to such 

13 website. 

14 ‘‘(C) If the communication is transmitted 

15 in an audio format and is paid for in whole or 

16 in part with a payment which is treated as a 

17 campaign-related disbursement under section 

18 324— 

19 ‘‘(i) the Top Two Funders list (if ap20 plicable); or 

21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 

22 which, as determined on the basis of cri23 teria established in regulations issued by 

24 the Commission, is of such short duration 

25 that including the Top Two Funders list in 


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1 the communication would constitute a 

2 hardship to the person paying for the com3 munication by requiring a disproportionate 

4 amount of the content of the communica5 tion to consist of the Top Two Funders 

6 list, the name of a website which contains 

7 the Top Two Funders list (if applicable). 

8 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS DESCRIBED.— 

9 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL DISCLOSURE STATE10 MENTS.—The individual disclosure statement 

11 described in this subparagraph is the following: 

12 ‘I am llllllll, and I approve this 

13 message.’, with the blank filled in with the 

14 name of the applicable individual. 

15 ‘‘(B) ORGANIZATIONAL DISCLOSURE

16 STATEMENTS.—The organizational disclosure 

17 statement described in this subparagraph is the 

18 following: ‘I am llllllll, the 

19 llllllll of llllllll, and 

20 llllllll approves this message.’, 

21 with— 

22 ‘‘(i) the first blank to be filled in with 

23 the name of the applicable individual; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the second blank to be filled in 

2 with the title of the applicable individual; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the third and fourth blank each 

5 to be filled in with the name of the organi6 zation or other person paying for the com7 munication. 

8 ‘‘(3) METHOD OF CONVEYANCE OF STATE9 MENT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) COMMUNICATIONS IN TEXT OR

11 GRAPHIC FORMAT.—In the case of a commu12 nication to which this subsection applies which 

13 is transmitted in a text or graphic format, the 

14 disclosure statements required under paragraph 

15 (1) shall appear in letters at least as large as 

16 the majority of the text in the communication. 

17 ‘‘(B) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN

18 AUDIO FORMAT.—In the case of a communica19 tion to which this subsection applies which is 

20 transmitted in an audio format, the disclosure 

21 statements required under paragraph (1) shall 

22 be made by audio by the applicable individual 

23 in a clear and conspicuous manner. 

24 ‘‘(C) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN

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1 tion to which this subsection applies which is 

2 transmitted in a video format, the information 

3 required under paragraph (1)— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall appear in writing at the end 

5 of the communication or in a crawl along 

6 the bottom of the communication in a clear 

7 and conspicuous manner, with a reasonable 

8 degree of color contrast between the back9 ground and the printed statement, for a 

10 period of at least 6 seconds; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall also be conveyed by an 

12 unobscured, full-screen view of the applica13 ble individual or by the applicable indi14 vidual making the statement in voice-over 

15 accompanied by a clearly identifiable pho16 tograph or similar image of the individual, 

17 except in the case of a Top Five Funders 

18 list. 

19 ‘‘(4) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—The 

20 term ‘applicable individual’ means, with respect to a 

21 communication to which this subsection applies— 

22 ‘‘(A) if the communication is paid for by 

23 an individual, the individual involved; 

24 ‘‘(B) if the communication is paid for by a 

25 corporation, the chief executive officer of the 


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1 corporation (or, if the corporation does not have 

2 a chief executive officer, the highest ranking of3 ficial of the corporation); 

4 ‘‘(C) if the communication is paid for by a 

5 labor organization, the highest ranking officer 

6 of the labor organization; and 

7 ‘‘(D) if the communication is paid for by 

8 any other person, the highest ranking official of 

9 such person. 

10 ‘‘(5) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST AND TOP TWO

11 FUNDERS LIST DEFINED.— 

12 ‘‘(A) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST.—The term 

13 ‘Top Five Funders list’ means, with respect to 

14 a communication which is paid for in whole or 

15 in part with a campaign-related disbursement 

16 (as defined in section 324), a list of the five 

17 persons who, during the 12-month period end18 ing on the date of the disbursement, provided 

19 the largest payments of any type in an aggre20 gate amount equal to or exceeding $10,000 to 

21 the person who is paying for the communication 

22 and the amount of the payments each such per23 son provided. If two or more people provided 

24 the fifth largest of such payments, the person 

25 paying for the communication shall select one of 


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1 those persons to be included on the Top Five 

2 Funders list. 

3 ‘‘(B) TOP TWO FUNDERS LIST.—The term 

4 ‘Top Two Funders list’ means, with respect to 

5 a communication which is paid for in whole or 

6 in part with a campaign-related disbursement 

7 (as defined in section 324), a list of the persons 

8 who, during the 12-month period ending on the 

9 date of the disbursement, provided the largest 

10 and the second largest payments of any type in 

11 an aggregate amount equal to or exceeding 

12 $10,000 to the person who is paying for the 

13 communication and the amount of the pay14 ments each such person provided. If two or 

15 more persons provided the second largest of 

16 such payments, the person paying for the com17 munication shall select one of those persons to 

18 be included on the Top Two Funders list. 

19 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN PAY20 MENTS.—For purposes of subparagraphs (A) 

21 and (B), in determining the amount of pay22 ments made by a person to a person paying for 

23 a communication, there shall be excluded the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Any amounts provided in the or2 dinary course of any trade or business con3 ducted by the person paying for the com4 munication or in the form of investments 

5 in the person paying for the communica6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Any payment which the person 

8 prohibited, in writing, from being used for 

9 campaign-related disbursements, but only 

10 if the person paying for the communication 

11 agreed to follow the prohibition and depos12 ited the payment in an account which is 

13 segregated from any account used to make 

14 campaign-related disbursements. 

15 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN COMMU16 NICATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) EXCEPTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS

18 PAID FOR BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN

19 POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—This subsection does 

20 not apply to any communication to which sub21 section (d)(2) applies. 

22 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF VIDEO COMMUNICA23 TIONS LASTING 10 SECONDS OR LESS.—In the 

24 case of a communication to which this sub25 section applies which is transmitted in a video 


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1 format, or is an Internet or digital communica2 tion which is transmitted in a text or graphic 

3 format, the communication shall meet the fol4 lowing requirements: 

5 ‘‘(i) The communication shall include 

6 the individual disclosure statement de7 scribed in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 

8 paying for the communication is an indi9 vidual) or the organizational disclosure 

10 statement described in paragraph (2)(B) 

11 (if the person paying for the communica12 tion is not an individual). 

13 ‘‘(ii) The statement described in 

14 clause (i) shall appear in writing at the 

15 end of the communication, or in a crawl 

16 along the bottom of the communication, in 

17 a clear and conspicuous manner, with a 

18 reasonable degree of color contrast between 

19 the background and the printed statement, 

20 for a period of at least 4 seconds. 

21 ‘‘(iii) The communication shall in22 clude, in a clear and conspicuous manner, 

23 a website address with a landing page 

24 which will provide all of the information 

25 described in paragraph (1) with respect to 


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1 the communication. Such address shall ap2 pear for the full duration of the commu3 nication. 

4 ‘‘(iv) To the extent that the format in 

5 which the communication is made permits 

6 the use of a hyperlink, the communication 

7 shall include a hyperlink to the website ad8 dress described in clause (iii).’’. 

9 (b) APPLICATION OF EXPANDED REQUIREMENTS TO

10 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CONSISTING OF CAMPAIGN11 RELATED DISBURSEMENTS.—Section 318(a) of such Act 

12 (52 U.S.C. 30120(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘for the pur13 pose of financing communications expressly advocating the 

14 election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘for a campaign-related disbursement, as de16 fined in section 324, consisting of a public communica17 tion’’. 

18 (c) EXCEPTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS PAID FOR BY

19 POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMIT20 TEES.—Section 318(d)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

21 30120(d)(2)) is amended— 

22 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OTHERS’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES’’; 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘Any communication’’ and in25 serting ‘‘(A) Any communication’’; 


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1 (3) by inserting ‘‘which (except to the extent 

2 provided in subparagraph (B)) is paid for by a polit3 ical committee (including a political committee of a 

4 political party) and’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

5 (4) by striking ‘‘or other person’’ each place it 

6 appears; and 

7 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(B)(i) This paragraph does not apply to a 

10 communication paid for in whole or in part during 

11 a calendar year with a campaign-related disburse12 ment, but only if the covered organization making 

13 the campaign-related disbursement made campaign14 related disbursements (as defined in section 324) ag15 gregating more than $10,000 during such calendar 

16 year. 

17 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i), in determining 

18 the amount of campaign-related disbursements made 

19 by a covered organization during a year, there shall 

20 be excluded the following: 

21 ‘‘(I) Any amounts received by the covered 

22 organization in the ordinary course of any trade 

23 or business conducted by the covered organiza24 tion or in the form of investments in the cov25 ered organization. 


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1 ‘‘(II) Any amounts received by the covered 

2 organization from a person who prohibited, in 

3 writing, the organization from using such 

4 amounts for campaign-related disbursements, 

5 but only if the covered organization agreed to 

6 follow the prohibition and deposited the 

7 amounts in an account which is segregated 

8 from any account used to make campaign-re9 lated disbursements.’’. 

10 SEC. 203. DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMUNICA11 TIONS MADE THROUGH PRERECORDED TELE12 PHONE CALLS. 

13 (a) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 318(a) of the Fed15 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

16 30120(a)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘mailing,’’ 

17 each place it appears the following: ‘‘telephone call 

18 which consists in substantial part of a prerecorded 

19 audio message,’’. 

20 (2) APPLICATION TO COMMUNICATIONS SUB21 JECT TO EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 Section 318(e)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

23 30120(e)(1)), as added by section 202(a), is amend24 ed in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by 

25 striking ‘‘which is transmitted in an audio or video 


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1 format’’ and inserting ‘‘which is transmitted in an 

2 audio or video format or which consists of a tele3 phone call consisting in substantial part of a 

4 prerecorded audio message’’. 

5 (b) TREATMENT AS COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED

6 IN AUDIO FORMAT.— 

7 (1) COMMUNICATIONS BY CANDIDATES OR AU8 THORIZED PERSONS.—Section 318(d) of such Act 

9 (52 U.S.C. 30120(d)) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(3) PRERECORDED TELEPHONE CALLS.—Any 

12 communication described in paragraph (1), (2), or 

13 (3) of subsection (a) (other than a communication 

14 which is subject to subsection (e)) which is a tele15 phone call consisting in substantial part of a 

16 prerecorded audio message shall include, in addition 

17 to the requirements of such paragraph, the audio 

18 statement required under subparagraph (A) of para19 graph (1) or the audio statement required under 

20 paragraph (2) (whichever is applicable), except that 

21 the statement shall be made at the beginning of the 

22 telephone call.’’. 

23 (2) COMMUNICATIONS SUBJECT TO EXPANDED

24 DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.—Section 318(e)(3) of 

25 such Act (52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(3)), as added by secVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2977.IH H2977

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1 tion 202(a), is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(D) PRERECORDED TELEPHONE

4 CALLS.—In the case of a communication to 

5 which this subsection applies which is a tele6 phone call consisting in substantial part of a 

7 prerecorded audio message, the communication 

8 shall be considered to be transmitted in an 

9 audio format.’’. 

10 SEC. 204. NO EXPANSION OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO DIS11 CLAIMER REQUIREMENTS ON INTERNET 

12 COMMUNICATIONS. 

13 Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this 

14 title may be construed to require any person who is not 

15 required under section 318 of the Federal Election Cam16 paign Act of 1971 (as provided under section 110.11 of 

17 title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations) to include 

18 a disclaimer on communications made by the person 

19 through the internet to include any disclaimer on any such 

20 communications. 

21 SEC. 205. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

22 The amendments made by this title shall apply with 

23 respect to communications made on or after January 1, 

24 2020, and shall take effect without regard to whether or 


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1 not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

2 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

3 TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

4 SEC. 301. SEVERABILITY. 

5 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

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

7 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu8 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

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

10 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

11 affected by the holding. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS