II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 11

To reform the Federal election campaign laws applicable to Congress.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. FORD, Mr. GLENN, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. REID, Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WELLSTONE,

Mr. KERRY, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following bill; which

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

A BILL

To reform the Federal election campaign laws applicable

to Congress.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

5 ‘‘Congressional Election Campaign Spending Limit and

6 Reform Act of 1997’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title.

TITLE I—CONTROL OF CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN SPENDING

Subtitle A—Senate Election Campaign Spending Limits and Benefits

Sec. 101. Senate spending limits and benefits.

Sec. 102. Ban on activities of political action committees in senate elections.

Sec. 103. Reporting requirements.

Sec. 104. Disclosure by candidates other than eligible senate candidates.

Sec. 105. Excess campaign funds of senate candidates.

Sec. 106. Contribution limit for eligible senate candidates.

Subtitle B—General Provisions

Sec. 111. Broadcast rates and preemption.

Sec. 112. Reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures.

Sec. 113. Campaign advertising amendments.

Sec. 114. Definitions.

Sec. 115. Provisions relating to franked mass mailings.

TITLE II—INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

Sec. 201. Definition of independent expenditure.

Sec. 202. Independent versus coordinated expenditures by political party committees.

Sec. 203. Treatment of qualified nonprofit corporations.

Sec. 204. Equal broadcast time.

TITLE III—EXPENDITURES

Subtitle A—Personal Funds; Credit

Sec. 301. Contributions and loans from personal funds.

Sec. 302. Extensions of credit.

Subtitle B—Soft Money of Political Parties

Sec. 311. Preparation and distribution by volunteers of materials in connection

with State and local political party voter registration and getout-the-vote activities so as not to be considered a contribution

or expenditure.

Sec. 312. Contributions to political party committees.

Sec. 313. Provisions relating to national, State, and local party committees.

Sec. 314. Restrictions on fundraising by candidates and officeholders.

Sec. 315. Reporting requirements.

Subtitle C—Soft Money of Persons Other Than Political Parties

Sec. 321. Soft money of persons other than political parties.

TITLE IV—CONTRIBUTIONS

Sec. 401. Prohibition of certain contributions by lobbyists.

Sec. 402. Contributions by dependents not of voting age.

Sec. 403. Contributions to candidates from State and local committees of political parties to be aggregated.
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Sec. 404. Contributions and expenditures using money secured by physical

force or other intimidation.

Sec. 405. Prohibition of acceptance by a candidate of cash contributions from

any one person aggregating more than $100.

TITLE V—AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE FEDERAL

ELECTION COMMISSION

Sec. 501. Filing of reports using computers and facsimile machines.

Sec. 502. Increase in threshold for reporting requirements.

Sec. 503. Audits.

Sec. 504. Authority to seek injunction.

Sec. 505. Penalties.

Sec. 506. Independent litigating authority.

Sec. 507. Reference of suspected violation to the attorney general.

Sec. 508. Powers of the commission.

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 601. Prohibition of leadership committees.

Sec. 602. Telephone voting by persons with disabilities.

Sec. 603. Certain tax-exempt organizations not subject to corporate limits.

Sec. 604. Aiding and abetting violations of the Federal election campaign act

of 1971.

Sec. 605. Campaign advertising that refers to an opponent.

Sec. 606. Limit on congressional use of the franking privilege.

Sec. 607. Participation by foreign nationals in political activities.

Sec. 608. Certification of compliance with foreign contribution and solicitation

limitations.

TITLE VII—EFFECTIVE DATES; AUTHORIZATIONS

Sec. 701. Effective date.

Sec. 702. Budget neutrality.

Sec. 703. Severability.

Sec. 704. Expedited review of constitutional issues.

Sec. 705. Regulations.
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1 TITLE I—CONTROL OF CON2 GRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN

3 SPENDING

4 Subtitle A—Senate Election Cam5 paign Spending Limits and Ben6 efits

7 SEC. 101. SENATE SPENDING LIMITS AND BENEFITS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Election Campaign

9 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding

10 at the end the following:

11 ‘‘TITLE V—SPENDING LIMITS

12 AND BENEFITS FOR SENATE

13 ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

14 ‘‘SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

15 ‘‘In this title:

16 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE SENATE CANDIDATE.—The term

17 ‘eligible Senate candidate’ means a candidate who is

18 certified under section 505 as being eligible to re19 ceive benefits under this title.

20 ‘‘(2) EXCESS EXPENDITURE AMOUNT.—The

21 term ‘excess expenditure amount’, with respect to an

22 eligible Senate candidate, means the amount applica23 ble to the eligible Senate candidate under section

24 504(b).
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1 ‘‘(3) EXPENDITURE.—The term ‘expenditure’

2 has the meaning given in paragraph (9) of section

3 301, excluding subparagraph (B)(ii) of that para4 graph.

5 ‘‘(4) GENERAL ELECTION EXPENDITURE

6 LIMIT.—The term ‘general election expenditure

7 limit’, with respect to an eligible Senate candidate,

8 means the limit applicable to the eligible Senate can9 didate under section 503(b).

10 ‘‘(5) PERSONAL FUNDS EXPENDITURE LIMIT.—

11 The term ‘personal funds expenditure limit’ means

12 the limit stated in section 503(a).

13 ‘‘(6) PRIMARY ELECTION EXPENDITURE

14 LIMIT.—The term ‘primary election expenditure

15 limit’, with respect to an eligible Senate candidate,

16 means the limit applicable to the eligible Senate can17 didate under section 502(d)(1)(A).

18 ‘‘(7) RUNOFF ELECTION EXPENDITURE

19 LIMIT.—The term ‘runoff election expenditure limit’,

20 with respect to an eligible Senate candidate, means

21 the limit applicable to the eligible Senate candidate

22 under section 502(d)(1)(B).

23 ‘‘SEC. 502. ELIGIBLE SENATE CANDIDATES.

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title, a can25 didate is an eligible Senate candidate if the candidate—
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1 ‘‘(1) files a primary election eligibility declara2 tion under subsection (b) and is in compliance with

3 the representations made in the declaration;

4 ‘‘(2) files a general election eligibility certifi5 cation and declaration under subsection (c) and is in

6 compliance with the representations made in the cer7 tification and declaration; and

8 ‘‘(3) meets the threshold contribution require9 ments of subsection (e).

10 ‘‘(b) PRIMARY ELECTION ELIGIBILITY DECLARA11 TION.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

13 subsection are met if the candidate files with the

14 Secretary of the Senate a declaration that—

15 ‘‘(A) the candidate and the candidate’s au16 thorized committees—

17 ‘‘(i) will meet the primary and runoff

18 election expenditure limits of subsection

19 (d); and

20 ‘‘(ii) will accept only an amount of

21 contributions for the primary and runoff

22 elections that does not exceed those limits;

23 ‘‘(B) the candidate and the candidate’s au24 thorized committees will meet the personal

25 funds expenditure limit;
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1 ‘‘(C) the candidate and the candidate’s au2 thorized committees will meet the general elec3 tion expenditure limit; and

4 ‘‘(D) the candidate and the candidate’s au5 thorized committees will meet the closed cap6 tioning requirements of section 510.

7 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR FILING DECLARATION.—

8 The declaration under paragraph (1) shall be filed

9 not later than the date on which the candidate files

10 as a candidate for the primary election.

11 ‘‘(c) GENERAL ELECTION ELIGIBILITY CERTIFI12 CATION AND DECLARATION.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

14 subsection are met if the candidate files with the

15 Secretary of the Senate—

16 ‘‘(A) a certification, under penalty of per17 jury, that—

18 ‘‘(i) the candidate and the candidate’s

19 authorized committees—

20 ‘‘(I) met the primary and runoff

21 election expenditure limits under sub22 section (d); and

23 ‘‘(II) did not accept contributions

24 for the primary or runoff election in
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1 excess of the primary or runoff ex2 penditure limit under subsection (d),

3 whichever is applicable, reduced by

4 any amounts transferred to the cur5 rent election cycle from a preceding

6 election cycle;

7 ‘‘(ii) the candidate met the threshold

8 contribution requirement under subsection

9 (e), and that only allowable contributions

10 were taken into account in meeting such

11 requirement; and

12 ‘‘(iii) at least 1 other candidate has

13 qualified for the same general election bal14 lot under the law of the candidate’s State;

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) a declaration that the candidate and

17 the authorized committees of the candidate—

18 ‘‘(i) except as otherwise provided by

19 this title, will not make expenditures that

20 exceed the general election expenditure

21 limit;

22 ‘‘(ii) will not accept any contributions

23 in violation of section 315;

24 ‘‘(iii) except as otherwise provided by

25 this title, will not accept any contribution
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1 for the general election to the extent that

2 the contribution would cause the aggregate

3 amount of contributions to exceed the sum

4 of the amount of the general election ex5 penditure limit and the amounts described

6 in subsections (c), (d), and (e) of section

7 503, reduced by any amounts transferred

8 to the current election cycle from a pre9 vious election cycle and not taken into ac10 count under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II);

11 ‘‘(iv) will deposit all payments re12 ceived under this title in an account in13 sured by the Federal Deposit Insurance

14 Corporation from which funds may be

15 withdrawn by check or similar means of

16 payment to third parties;

17 ‘‘(v) will furnish campaign records,

18 evidence of contributions, and other appro19 priate information to the Commission;

20 ‘‘(vi) will cooperate in the case of any

21 audit and examination by the Commission

22 under section 506 and will pay any

23 amounts required to be paid under that

24 section; and
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1 ‘‘(vii) will meet the closed captioning

2 requirements of section 510.

3 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR FILING CERTIFICATION.—

4 The certification under paragraph (1) shall be filed

5 not later than 7 days after the earlier of—

6 ‘‘(A) the date on which the candidate

7 qualifies for the general election ballot under

8 State law; or

9 ‘‘(B) if, under State law, a primary or run10 off election to qualify for the general election

11 ballot occurs after September 1, the date on

12 which the candidate wins the primary or runoff

13 election.

14 ‘‘(d) PRIMARY AND RUNOFF EXPENDITURE LIM15 ITS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

17 subsection are met if—

18 ‘‘(A) the candidate or the candidate’s au19 thorized committees did not make expenditures

20 for the primary election in excess of the lesser

21 of—

22 ‘‘(i) 67 percent of the general election

23 expenditure limit; or

24 ‘‘(ii) $2,750,000; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the candidate and the candidate’s au2 thorized committees did not make expenditures

3 for any runoff election in excess of 20 percent

4 of the general election expenditure limit.

5 ‘‘(2) INDEXING.—The $2,750,000 amount

6 under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall be increased as of

7 the beginning of each calendar year based on the in8 crease in the price index determined under section

9 315(c), except that the base period shall be calendar

10 year 1996.

11 ‘‘(3) INCREASE.—The limitations under sub12 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) with re13 spect to any candidate shall be increased by the ag14 gregate amount of independent expenditures in op15 position to, or on behalf of any opponent of, the can16 didate during the primary or runoff election period,

17 whichever is applicable, that are required to be re18 ported to the Secretary of the Senate or to the Com19 mission with respect to that period under section

20 304.

21 ‘‘(4) EXCESS AMOUNT OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the contributions

23 received by a candidate or the candidate’s au24 thorized committees for the primary election or
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1 runoff election exceed the expenditures for ei2 ther election—

3 ‘‘(i) the excess amount of contribu4 tions shall be treated as contributions for

5 the general election; and

6 ‘‘(ii) expenditures for the general elec7 tion may be made from the excess amount

8 of contributions.

9 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A)

10 shall not apply to the extent that treatment of

11 excess contributions in accordance with sub12 paragraph (A)—

13 ‘‘(i) would result in the violation of

14 any limitation under section 315; or

15 ‘‘(ii) would cause the aggregate

16 amount of contributions received for the

17 general election to exceed the limits under

18 subsection (c)(1)(D)(iii).

19 ‘‘(e) THRESHOLD CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

21 subsection are met if the candidate and the can22 didate’s authorized committees have received allow23 able contributions during the applicable period in an

24 amount at least equal to 5 percent of the general

25 election expenditure limit.
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1 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section and sub2 sections (b) and (c) of section 504:

3 ‘‘(A) ALLOWABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The

4 term ‘allowable contribution’ means a contribu5 tion that is made as a gift of money by an indi6 vidual pursuant to a written instrument identi7 fying the individual as the contributor.

8 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—The term ‘ap9 plicable period’ means—

10 ‘‘(i) the period beginning on January

11 1 of the calendar year preceding the cal12 endar year of a general election and ending

13 on—

14 ‘‘(I) the date on which the certifi15 cation under subsection (c) is filed by

16 the candidate; or

17 ‘‘(II) for purposes of subsections

18 (b) and (c) of section 504, the date of

19 the general election; or

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a special election

21 for the office of United States Senator, the

22 period beginning on the date on which the

23 vacancy in the office occurs and ending on

24 the date of the general election.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 503. LIMIT ON EXPENDITURES.

2 ‘‘(a) PERSONAL FUNDS EXPENDITURE LIMIT.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate amount of

4 expenditures that may be made during an election

5 cycle by an eligible Senate candidate or the can6 didate’s authorized committees from the sources de7 scribed in paragraph (2) shall not exceed $25,000.

8 ‘‘(2) SOURCES.—A source is described in this

9 paragraph if it is—

10 ‘‘(A) personal funds of the candidate or a

11 member of the candidate’s immediate family; or

12 ‘‘(B) proceeds of indebtedness incurred by

13 the candidate or a member of the candidate’s

14 immediate family.

15 ‘‘(b) GENERAL ELECTION EXPENDITURE LIMIT.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro17 vided in this title, the aggregate amount of expendi18 tures for a general election by an eligible Senate

19 candidate and the candidate’s authorized committees

20 shall not exceed the lesser of—

21 ‘‘(A) $5,500,000; or

22 ‘‘(B) the greater of—

23 ‘‘(i) $1,200,000; or

24 ‘‘(ii) $400,000; plus
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1 ‘‘(I) 30 cents multiplied by the

2 voting age population not in excess of

3 4,000,000; and

4 ‘‘(II) 25 cents multiplied by the

5 voting age population in excess of

6 4,000,000.

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—In the case of an eligible

8 Senate candidate in a State that has not more than

9 1 transmitter for a commercial Very High Fre10 quency (VHF) television station licensed to operate

11 in that State, paragraph (1)(B)(ii) shall be applied

12 by substituting—

13 ‘‘(A) ‘92 cents’ for ‘30 cents’ in subclause

14 (I); and

15 ‘‘(B) ‘90 cents’ for ‘25 cents’ in subclause

16 (II).

17 ‘‘(3) INDEXING.—The amount otherwise deter18 mined under paragraph (1) for any calendar year

19 shall be increased by the same percentage as the

20 percentage increase for the calendar year under sec21 tion 502(d)(2).

22 ‘‘(c) LEGAL AND ACCOUNTING COMPLIANCE

23 FUND.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The general election ex25 penditure limit, shall not apply to qualified legal or
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1 accounting expenditures made by a candidate or the

2 candidate’s authorized committees or a Federal of3 ficeholder from a legal and accounting compliance

4 fund meeting the requirements of paragraph (2).

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A legal and accounting

6 compliance fund meets the requirements of this

7 paragraph if—

8 ‘‘(A) the fund is established with respect to

9 qualified legal or accounting expenditures in10 curred with respect to a particular election;

11 ‘‘(B) the only amounts transferred to the

12 fund are amounts received in accordance with

13 the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re14 quirements of this Act;

15 ‘‘(C) the aggregate amounts transferred to,

16 and expenditures made from, the fund do not

17 exceed the sum of—

18 ‘‘(i) the lesser of—

19 ‘‘(I) 15 percent of the general

20 election expenditure limit for the elec21 tion for which the fund was estab22 lished; or

23 ‘‘(II) $300,000; plus

24 ‘‘(ii) the amount determined under

25 paragraph (4); and
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1 ‘‘(D) no funds received by the candidate

2 under section 504(a)(3) are transferred to the

3 fund.

4 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED LEGAL OR AC5 COUNTING EXPENDITURE.—For purposes of this

6 subsection, the term ‘qualified legal or accounting

7 expenditure’ means—

8 ‘‘(A) an expenditure for costs of legal or

9 accounting services provided in connection

10 with—

11 ‘‘(i) an administrative or court pro12 ceeding initiated under this Act for the

13 election for which the legal and accounting

14 fund was established; or

15 ‘‘(ii) the preparation of a document or

16 report required by this Act or by the Com17 mission;

18 ‘‘(B) an expenditure for legal or account19 ing service provided in connection with the elec20 tion cycle for which the legal and accounting

21 compliance fund was established to ensure com22 pliance with this Act with respect to the elec23 tion cycle.

24 ‘‘(4) INCREASE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) PETITION.—If, after a general elec2 tion, primary election, or runoff election, a can3 didate determines that qualified legal or ac4 counting expenditures will exceed the limit

5 under paragraph (2)(C)(i), the candidate may

6 petition the Commission for an increase in the

7 limit by filing the petition with the Secretary of

8 the Senate.

9 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION.—The Commission

10 shall authorize an increase in the limit under

11 paragraph (2)(C)(i) in the amount (if any) by

12 which the Commission determines the qualified

13 legal or accounting expenditures exceed the

14 limit.

15 ‘‘(C) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A determination

16 under subparagraph (B) shall be subject to ju17 dicial review under section 507.

18 ‘‘(D) CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES

19 NOT COUNTED.—Except as provided in section

20 315, a contribution received or expenditure

21 made under this paragraph shall not be counted

22 against any contribution or expenditure limit

23 applicable to the candidate under this title.
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1 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT.—Funds in a legal and ac2 counting compliance fund shall be treated for pur3 poses of this Act as a separate segregated fund, ex4 cept that any portion of the fund not used to pay

5 qualified legal or accounting expenditures, and not

6 transferred to a legal and accounting compliance

7 fund for the election cycle for the next general elec8 tion, shall be treated in the same manner as other

9 campaign funds for purposes of section 313(b).

10 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF TAXES ON EARNINGS.—The limi11 tation under subsection (b) shall not apply to any expendi12 ture for Federal, State, or local income taxes on the earn13 ings of a candidate’s authorized committees.

14 ‘‘(e) CERTAIN EXPENSES.—In the case of an eligible

15 Senate candidate who holds a Federal office, the limitation

16 under subsection (b) shall not apply to ordinary and nec17 essary expenses of travel of the candidate and the can18 didate’s spouse and children between Washington, District

19 of Columbia, and the candidate’s State in connection with

20 the candidate’s activities as a holder of Federal office.

21 ‘‘SEC. 504. BENEFITS FOR ELIGIBLE SENATE CANDIDATES.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible Senate candidate

23 shall be entitled to—
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1 ‘‘(1) the broadcast media rates provided under

2 section 315(b) of the Communications Act of 1934;

3 and

4 ‘‘(2) payments in an amount equal to—

5 ‘‘(A) the excess expenditure amount deter6 mined under subsection (b); and

7 ‘‘(B) the independent expenditure amount

8 determined under subsection (c).

9 ‘‘(b) EXCESS EXPENDITURE AMOUNT.—

10 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—The excess expenditure

11 amount is—

12 ‘‘(A) in the case of a major party can13 didate, an amount equal to the sum of—

14 ‘‘(i) if the opponent’s excess is less

than 331 15 ⁄3 percent of the general election

16 expenditure limit, an amount equal to one17 third of the general election expenditure

18 limit; plus

19 ‘‘(ii) if the opponent’s excess equals or

exceeds 331⁄3 percent but is less than 662 20 ⁄3

21 percent of the general election expenditure

22 limit, an amount equal to one-third of the

23 general election expenditure limit; plus

24 ‘‘(iii) if the opponent’s excess equals

or exceeds 662 25 ⁄3 percent of the general
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1 election expenditure limit, an amount equal

2 to one-third of the general election expend3 iture limit; and

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible Senate can5 didate who is not a major party candidate, an

6 amount equal to the least of—

7 ‘‘(i) the amount of allowable contribu8 tions accepted by the eligible Senate can9 didate during the applicable period in ex10 cess of the threshold contribution require11 ment under section 502(e);

12 ‘‘(ii) 50 percent of the general election

13 expenditure limit; or

14 ‘‘(iii) the opponent’s excess.

15 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF OPPONENT’S EXCESS.—In

16 this subsection, the term ‘opponent’s excess’ means

17 the amount by which an opponent of an eligible Sen18 ate candidate in the general election accepts con19 tributions or makes (or obligates to make) expendi20 tures for the election in excess of the general elec21 tion expenditure limit.

22 ‘‘(c) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE AMOUNT.—The

23 independent expenditure amount is the total amount of

24 independent expenditures made, or obligated to be made,

25 during the general election period by 1 or more persons
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1 in opposition to, or on behalf of an opponent of, an eligible

2 Senate candidate that are required to be reported by the

3 persons under section 304(d) with respect to the general

4 election period and are certified by the Commission under

5 section 304(d).

6 ‘‘(d) WAIVER OF EXPENDITURE AND CONTRIBUTION

7 LIMITS.—

8 ‘‘(1) RECIPIENTS OF EXCESS EXPENDITURE

9 AMOUNT PAYMENTS AND INDEPENDENT EXPENDI10 TURE AMOUNT PAYMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible Senate

12 candidate who receives payments under sub13 section (a)(2) may make expenditures from the

14 payments for the general election without re15 gard to the general election expenditure limit.

16 ‘‘(B) NONMAJOR PARTY CANDIDATES.—In

17 the case of an eligible Senate candidate who is

18 not a major party candidate, the general elec19 tion expenditure limit shall be increased by the

20 amount (if any) by which the opponent’s excess

21 expenditure amount exceeds the amount deter22 mined under subsection (b)(2)(B) with respect

23 to the candidate.

24 ‘‘(2) ALL BENEFIT RECIPIENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible Senate

2 candidate who receives benefits under this sec3 tion may make expenditures for the general

4 election without regard to the personal funds

5 expenditure limit or general election expendi6 ture limit if any 1 of the eligible Senate can7 didate’s opponents who is not an eligible Senate

8 candidate raises an amount of contributions or

9 makes or becomes obligated to make an amount

10 of expenditures for the general election that ex11 ceeds 200 percent of the general election ex12 penditure limit.

13 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The amount of the ex14 penditures that may be made by reason of sub15 paragraph (A) shall not exceed 100 percent of

16 the general election expenditure limit.

17 ‘‘(3) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBUTION WITHOUT

18 REGARD TO SECTION 502(c)(1)(D)(iii).—

19 ‘‘(A) A candidate who receives benefits

20 under this section may accept a contribution for

21 the general election without regard to section

22 502(c)(1)(D)(iii) if—

23 ‘‘(i) a major party candidate in the

24 same general election is not an eligible

25 Senate candidate; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) any other candidate in the same

2 general election who is not an eligible Sen3 ate candidate raises an amount of con4 tributions or makes or becomes obligated

5 to make an amount of expenditures for the

6 general election that exceeds 75 percent of

7 the general election expenditure limit appli8 cable to such other candidate.

9 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The amount of con10 tributions that may be received by reason of

11 subparagraph (A) shall not exceed 100 percent

12 of the general election expenditure limit.

13 ‘‘(e) USE OF PAYMENTS.—

14 ‘‘(1) PERMITTED USE.—Payments received by

15 an eligible Senate candidate under subsection (a)(2)

16 shall be used to make expenditures with respect to

17 the general election period for the candidate.

18 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITED USE.—Payments received by

19 an eligible Senate candidate under subsection (a)(2)

20 shall not be used—

21 ‘‘(A) except as provided in paragraph (4),

22 to make any payments, directly or indirectly, to

23 the candidate or to any member of the imme24 diate family of the candidate;
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1 ‘‘(B) to make any expenditure other than

2 an expenditure to further the general election of

3 the candidate;

4 ‘‘(C) to make an expenditure the making

5 of which constitutes a violation of any law of

6 the United States or of the State in which the

7 expenditure is made; or

8 ‘‘(D) subject to section 315(i), to repay

9 any loan to any person except to the extent that

10 proceeds of the loan were used to further the

11 general election of the candidate.

12 ‘‘SEC. 505. CERTIFICATION BY THE COMMISSION.

13 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION OF STATUS AS ELIGIBLE SEN14 ATE CANDIDATE.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall cer16 tify to any candidate meeting the requirements of

17 section 502 that the candidate is an eligible Senate

18 candidate entitled to benefits under this title.

19 ‘‘(2) REVOCATION.—The Commission shall re20 voke a certification under paragraph (1) if the Com21 mission determines that a candidate fails to continue

22 to meet the requirements of section 502.

23 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE

24 BENEFITS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 48 hours

2 after an eligible Senate candidate files a request

3 with the Secretary of the Senate to receive benefits

4 under section 504, the Commission shall issue a cer5 tification stating whether the candidate is eligible for

6 payments under this title and the amount of such

7 payments to which such candidate is entitled.

8 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REQUEST.—A request

9 under paragraph (1) shall—

10 ‘‘(A) contain such information and be

11 made in accordance with such procedures as the

12 Commission may provide by regulation; and

13 ‘‘(B) contain a verification signed by the

14 candidate and the treasurer of the principal

15 campaign committee of the candidate stating

16 that the information furnished in support of the

17 request, to the best of their knowledge, is cor18 rect and fully satisfies the requirements of this

19 title.

20 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—All

21 determinations made by the Commission under this title

22 (including certifications under subsections (a) and (b))

23 shall be final and conclusive, except to the extent that a

24 determination is subject to examination and audit by the
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1 Commission under section 506 and judicial review under

2 section 507.

3 ‘‘SEC. 506. EXAMINATIONS AND AUDITS; REPAYMENTS;

4 CIVIL PENALTIES.

5 ‘‘(a) EXAMINATIONS AND AUDITS.—

6 ‘‘(1) AFTER A GENERAL ELECTION.—After each

7 general election, the Commission shall conduct an

8 examination and audit of the campaign accounts of

9 all candidates in 5 percent of the elections to the

10 Senate in which there was an eligible Senate can11 didate on the ballot, as designated by the Commis12 sion through the use of an appropriate statistical

13 method of random selection, to determine whether

14 the candidates have complied with the conditions of

15 eligibility and other requirements of this title.

16 ‘‘(2) AFTER A SPECIAL ELECTION.—After each

17 special election in which an eligible Senate candidate

18 was on the ballot, the Commission shall conduct an

19 examination and audit of the campaign accounts of

20 all candidates in the election to determine whether

21 the candidates have complied with the conditions of

22 eligibility and other requirements of this title.

23 ‘‘(3) WITH REASON TO BELIEVE THERE MAY

24 HAVE BEEN A VIOLATION.—The Commission may

25 conduct an examination and audit of the campaign
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1 accounts of any eligible Senate candidate in a gen2 eral election if the Commission determines that there

3 exists reason to believe that the eligible Senate can4 didate failed to comply with this title.

5 ‘‘(b) EXCESS PAYMENT.—If the Commission deter6 mines any payment was made to an eligible Senate can7 didate under this title in excess of the aggregate amounts

8 to which the eligible Senate candidate was entitled, the

9 Commission shall notify the eligible Senate candidate, and

10 the eligible Senate candidate shall pay an amount equal

11 to the excess.

12 ‘‘(c) REVOCATION OF STATUS.—If the Commission

13 revokes the certification of an eligible Senate candidate as

14 an eligible Senate candidate under section 505(a)(1), the

15 Commission shall notify the eligible Senate candidate, and

16 the eligible Senate candidate shall pay an amount equal

17 to the payments received under this title.

18 ‘‘(d) MISUSE OF BENEFIT.—If the Commission de19 termines that any amount of any benefit made available

20 to an eligible Senate candidate under this title was not

21 used as provided for in this title, the Commission shall

22 notify the eligible Senate candidate, and the eligible Sen23 ate candidate shall pay the amount of that amount.

24 ‘‘(e) EXCESS EXPENDITURES.—If the Commission

25 determines that an eligible Senate candidate who received
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1 benefits under this title made expenditures that in the ag2 gregate exceed the primary election expenditure, the run3 off election expenditure limit, or the general election ex4 penditure limit, the Commission shall notify the eligible

5 Senate candidate, and the eligible Senate candidate shall

6 pay an amount equal to the amount of the excess expendi7 tures.

8 ‘‘(f) CIVIL PENALTIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) MISUSE OF BENEFIT.—If the Commission

10 determines that an eligible Senate candidate has

11 committed a violation described in subsection (d),

12 the Commission may assess a civil penalty against

13 the eligible Senate candidate in an amount not

14 greater than 200 percent of the amount of the bene15 fit that was misused.

16 ‘‘(2) EXCESS EXPENDITURES.—

17 ‘‘(A) LOW AMOUNT OF EXCESS EXPENDI18 TURES.—If the Commission determines that an

19 eligible Senate candidate made expenditures

20 that exceeded by 2.5 percent or less the pri21 mary election expenditure limit, the runoff elec22 tion expenditure limit, or the general election

23 expenditure limit, the Commission shall assess
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1 a civil penalty against the eligible Senate can2 didate in an amount equal to the amount of the

3 excess expenditures.

4 ‘‘(B) MEDIUM AMOUNT OF EXCESS EX5 PENDITURES.—If the Commission determines

6 that an eligible Senate candidate made expendi7 tures that exceeded by more than 2.5 percent

8 and less than 5 percent the primary election ex9 penditure limit, the runoff election expenditure

10 limit, or the general election expenditure limit,

11 the Commission shall assess a civil penalty

12 against the eligible Senate candidate in an

13 amount equal to 3 times the amount of the ex14 cess expenditures.

15 ‘‘(C) LARGE AMOUNT OF EXCESS EXPEND16 ITURES.—If the Commission determines that an

17 eligible Senate candidate made expenditures

18 that exceeded by 5 percent or more the primary

19 election expenditure limit, the runoff election

20 expenditure limit, or the general election ex21 penditure limit, the Commission shall assess a

22 civil penalty against the eligible Senate can23 didate in an amount equal to the amount of the

24 excess expenditures an amount equal to the

25 sum of—
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1 ‘‘(i) 3 times the amount of the excess

2 expenditures plus an additional amount de3 termined by the Commission; plus

4 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines

5 that the exceeding of the expenditure limit

6 was willful, an amount equal to the

7 amount of benefits that the eligible Senate

8 candidate received under this title.

9 ‘‘(g) UNEXPENDED FUNDS.—

10 ‘‘(1) REPAYMENT.—Subject to paragraph (2),

11 any amount received by an eligible Senate candidate

12 under this title and not expended on or before the

13 date of the general election shall be repaid not later

14 than 30 days after the date of the general election.

15 ‘‘(2) RETENTION FOR PURPOSES OF LIQUIDA16 TION OF OBLIGATIONS.—An eligible Senate can17 didate may retain for a period not exceeding 120

18 days after the date of a general election a reasonable

19 portion of unexpended funds received under this title

20 for the liquidation of all obligations to pay expendi21 tures for the general election incurred during the

22 general election period. At the end of the 120-day

23 period, any unexpended funds received under this

24 title shall be promptly repaid.
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1 ‘‘(h) PAYMENTS RETURNED TO SOURCE.—Any pay2 ment, repayment, or civil penalty under this section shall

3 be paid to the entity that afforded benefits under this title

4 to the eligible Senate candidate.

5 ‘‘(i) LIMIT ON PERIOD FOR NOTIFICATION.—No no6 tification shall be made by the Commission under this sec7 tion with respect to an election more than 3 years after

8 the date of the election.

9 ‘‘SEC. 507. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

10 ‘‘(a) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any agency action by the

11 Commission under this title shall be subject to review by

12 the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Co13 lumbia Circuit upon petition filed in that court within 30

14 days after the date of the agency action.

15 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES

16 CODE.—Chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, shall

17 apply to judicial review of any agency action by the Com18 mission under this title.

19 ‘‘(c) AGENCY ACTION.—For purposes of this section,

20 the term ‘agency action’ has the meaning given the term

21 in section 551(13) of title 5, United States Code.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 508. PARTICIPATION BY COMMISSION IN JUDICIAL

2 PROCEEDINGS.

3 ‘‘(a) APPEARANCES.—The Commission may appear

4 in and defend against any action instituted under this sec5 tion and under section 507 by attorneys employed in the

6 office of the Commission or by counsel whom it may ap7 point without regard to the provisions of title 5, United

8 States Code, governing appointments in the competitive

9 service, and whose compensation it may fix without regard

10 to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that

11 title.

12 ‘‘(b) ACTIONS FOR RECOVERY OF AMOUNT OF BENE13 FITS.—The Commission, by attorneys and counsel de14 scribed in subsection (a), may bring an action in United

15 States district court to recover any amounts determined

16 under this title to be payable to any entity that afforded

17 a benefit to an eligible Senate candidate under this title.

18 ‘‘(c) ACTION FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The Com19 mission, by attorneys and counsel described in subsection

20 (a), may petition the courts of the United States for such

21 injunctive relief as is appropriate in order to implement

22 any provision of this title.
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1 ‘‘(d) APPEALS.—The Commission, on behalf of the

2 United States, may appeal from, and may petition the Su3 preme Court for certiorari to review, any judgment or de4 cree entered with respect to actions in which the Commis5 sion under this section.

6 ‘‘SEC. 509. REPORTS TO CONGRESS; REGULATIONS.

7 ‘‘(a) REPORTS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable

9 after each general election, the Commission shall

10 submit a full report to the Senate setting forth—

11 ‘‘(A) the expenditures (shown in such de12 tail as the Commission determines to be appro13 priate) made by each eligible Senate candidate

14 and the authorized committees of the candidate;

15 ‘‘(B) the amounts certified by the Commis16 sion under section 505 as benefits available to

17 each eligible Senate candidate; and

18 ‘‘(C) the amount of repayments, if any, re19 quired under section 506 and the reason why

20 each repayment was required.

21 ‘‘(2) PRINTING.—Each report under paragraph

22 (1) shall be printed as a Senate document.

23 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue

2 such regulations, conduct such examinations and in3 vestigations, and require the keeping and submission

4 of such books, records, and information, as the Com5 mission considers necessary to carry out the func6 tions and duties of the Commission under this title.

7 ‘‘(2) STATEMENT TO SENATE.—Not less than

8 30 days before issuing a regulation under paragraph

9 (1), the Commission shall submit to the Senate a

10 statement setting forth the proposed regulation and

11 containing a detailed explanation and justification

12 for the regulation.

13 ‘‘SEC. 510. CLOSED CAPTIONING IN TELEVISION BROAD14 CASTS.

15 ‘‘Any television broadcast prepared or distributed by

16 an eligible Senate candidate shall be prepared in a manner

17 that contains, is accompanied by, or otherwise readily per18 mits closed captioning of the oral content of the broadcast

19 to be broadcast by way of line 21 of the vertical blanking

20 interval or by way of a comparable successor technology.

21 ‘‘SEC. 511. LIMITATIONS ON PAYMENTS.

22 ‘‘(a) PAYMENTS ON CERTIFICATION.—On receipt of

23 a certification from the Commission under section 505, ex24 cept as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary shall,
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1 subject to the availability of appropriations, promptly pay

2 the amount certified by the Commission to the candidate.

3 ‘‘(b) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—

4 ‘‘(1) WITHHOLDING.—If, at the time of a cer5 tification by the Commission under section 505 for

6 payment to an eligible Senate candidate, the Sec7 retary determines that there are not, or may not be,

8 sufficient funds to satisfy the full entitlement of all

9 eligible Senate candidates, the Secretary shall with10 hold from the amount of the payment such amount

11 as the Secretary determines to be necessary to en12 sure that each eligible Senate candidate will receive

13 the same pro rata share of the candidate’s full enti14 tlement.

15 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENT.—Amounts with16 held under paragraph (1) shall be paid when the

17 Secretary determines that there are sufficient funds

18 to pay all or a portion of the funds withheld from

19 all eligible Senate candidates, but, if only a portion

20 is to be paid, the portion shall be paid in such a

21 manner that each eligible Senate candidate receives

22 an equal pro rata share.

23 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION OF ESTIMATED WITHHOLD24 ING.—
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1 ‘‘(A) ADVANCE ESTIMATE OF AVAILABLE

2 FUNDS AND PROJECTED COSTS.—Not later

3 than December 31 of any calendar year preced4 ing a calendar year in which there is a regularly

5 scheduled general election, the Secretary, after

6 consultation with the Commission, shall make

7 an estimate of—

8 ‘‘(i) the amount of funds that will be

9 available to make payments under this title

10 in the general election year; and

11 ‘‘(ii) the costs of implementing this

12 title in the general election year.

13 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary de14 termines under subparagraph (A) that there

15 will be insufficient funds for any calendar year,

16 the Secretary shall notify by registered mail

17 each candidate for the Senate on January 1 of

18 that year (or, if later, the date on which an in19 dividual becomes such a candidate) of the

20 amount that the Secretary estimates will be the

21 pro rata withholding from each eligible Senate

22 candidate’s payments under this subsection.

23 ‘‘(C) INCREASE IN CONTRIBUTION

24 LIMIT.—The amount of an eligible candidate’s

25 contribution limit under section
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1 502(c)(1)(D)(iii) shall be increased by the

2 amount of the estimated pro rata withholding

3 under subparagraph (B).

4 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION OF ACTUAL WITHHOLD5 ING.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

7 notify the Commission and each eligible Senate

8 candidate by registered mail of any actual re9 duction in the amount of any payment by rea10 son of this subsection.

11 ‘‘(B) GREATER AMOUNT OF WITHHOLD12 ING.—If the amount of a withholding exceeds

13 the amount estimated under paragraph (3), an

14 eligible Senate candidate’s contribution limit

15 under section 502(c)(1)(D)(iii) shall be in16 creased by the amount of the excess.’’.

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this

19 subsection, the amendment made by subsection (a)

20 shall apply to elections occurring after December 31,

21 1996.

22 (2) APPLICABILITY TO CONTRIBUTIONS AND

23 EXPENDITURES.—For purposes of any expenditure

24 or contribution limit imposed by the amendment

25 made by subsection (a)—
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1 (A) no expenditure made before January 1,

2 1997, shall be taken into account, except that

3 there shall be taken into account any such ex4 penditure for goods or services to be provided

5 after that date; and

6 (B) all cash, cash items, and Government

7 securities on hand as of January 1, 1997, shall

8 be taken into account in determining whether

9 the contribution limit is met, except that there

10 shall not be taken into account amounts used

11 during the 60-day period beginning on January

12 1, 1997, to pay for expenditures that were in13 curred (but unpaid) before that date.

14 (c) EFFECT OF INVALIDITY ON OTHER PROVISIONS

15 OF TITLE.—If section 502, 503, or 504 of the Federal

16 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by subsection

17 (a)) or any part of those sections is held to be invalid,

18 this Act and all amendments made by this Act shall be

19 treated as invalid.

20 SEC. 102. BAN ON ACTIVITIES OF POLITICAL ACTION COM21 MITTEES IN SENATE ELECTIONS.

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

23 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended

24 by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 324. BAN ON SENATE ELECTION ACTIVITIES BY PO2 LITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro4 vision of this Act, no person other than an individual or

5 a political committee may make contributions, solicit or

6 receive contributions, or make expenditures for the pur7 pose of influencing an election, or nomination for election,

8 to the office of United States Senator.

9 ‘‘(b) EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE

10 EMPLOYEES.—In the case of an individual who is an exec11 utive officer or administrative employee of an employer—

12 ‘‘(1) the individual shall not make a contribu13 tion—

14 ‘‘(A) to any political committee established

15 and maintained by any political party for use in

16 an election, or nomination for election, to the

17 office of United States Senator; or

18 ‘‘(B) to any candidate for nomination for

19 election, or election, to the office of United

20 States Senator or the candidate’s authorized

21 committees;

22 if the contribution is made at the direction of, or is

23 otherwise controlled or influenced by, the employer;

24 and

25 ‘‘(2) the individual shall not make any such

26 contribution if the making of the contribution would
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1 cause the aggregate amount of contributions made

2 by all executive officers and administrative employ3 ees of the employer in any calendar year to exceed—

4 ‘‘(A) $20,000 in the case of such political

5 committees; and

6 ‘‘(B) $5,000 in the case of any such can7 didate and the candidate’s authorized commit8 tees.’’.

9 (b) CANDIDATE’S COMMITTEES.—Section 315(a) of

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

11 441a(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(9) For the purposes of the limitations under

13 paragraphs (1) and (2), any political committee that

14 is established or financed or maintained or con15 trolled by any candidate or Federal officeholder shall

16 be considered to be an authorized committee of the

17 candidate or officeholder. Nothing in this paragraph

18 shall be construed to permit the establishment, fi19 nancing, maintenance, or control of any committee

20 that is prohibited by paragraph (3) or (6) of section

21 302(e).’’.

22 (c) RULES APPLICABLE WHEN BAN NOT IN EF23 FECT.—For purposes of the Federal Election Campaign

24 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), during any period

25 beginning after the effective date in which the limitation
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1 under section 324 of that Act (as added by subsection (a))

2 is not in effect, the amendments made by subsections (a)

3 and (b) shall not be in effect.

4 (d) RULE ENSURING PROHIBITION OF DIRECT COR5 PORATE AND LABOR ORGANIZATION SPENDING.—If sec6 tion 316(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

7 (2 U.S.C. 441b(a)) is held to be invalid by reason of the

8 amendments made by this section, the amendments made

9 by subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to contributions

10 by any political committee that is directly or indirectly es11 tablished, administered, or supported by a connected orga12 nization that is a bank, corporation, or other organization

13 described in section 316(a) of that Act.

14 (e) RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLITI15 CAL COMMITTEES.—Paragraphs (1)(D) and (2)(D) of sec16 tion 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

17 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)), as redesignated by section 312, are

18 amended by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000’’.

19 (f) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), the amendments made by this section

22 shall apply to elections (and the election cycles relat23 ing thereto) occurring after December 31, 1996.
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1 (2) APPLICABILITY.—In applying the amend2 ments made by this section, there shall not be taken

3 into account—

4 (A) a contribution made or received before

5 January 1, 1997; or

6 (B) a contribution made to, or received by,

7 a candidate on or after January 1, 1997, to the

8 extent that the aggregate amount of such con9 tributions made to or received by the candidate

10 is not greater than the excess (if any) of—

11 (i) the aggregate amount of such con12 tributions made to or received by any op13 ponent of the candidate before January 1,

14 1997; over

15 (ii) the aggregate amount of such con16 tributions made to or received by the can17 didate before January 1, 1997.

18 SEC. 103. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

19 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

20 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by inserting after

21 section 304 the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 304A. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR SENATE CAN2 DIDATES.

3 ‘‘(a) MEANINGS OF TERMS.—Any term used in this

4 section that is used in title V shall have the same meaning

5 as when used in title V.

6 ‘‘(b) CANDIDATE OTHER THAN ELIGIBLE SENATE

7 CANDIDATE.—

8 ‘‘(1) DECLARATION OF INTENT.—A candidate

9 for the office of Senator who does not file a certifi10 cation with the Secretary of the Senate under sec11 tion 502(c) shall, at the time provided in section

12 501(c)(2), file with the Secretary of the Senate a

13 declaration as to whether the candidate intends to

14 make expenditures for the general election in excess

15 of the general election expenditure limit.

16 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—

17 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—A candidate for

18 the Senate who qualifies for the ballot for a

19 general election—

20 ‘‘(i) who is not an eligible Senate can21 didate under section 502; and

22 ‘‘(ii) who receives contributions in an

23 aggregate amount or makes or obligates to

24 make expenditures in an aggregate amount

25 for the general election that exceeds 75
45

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1 percent of the general election expenditure

2 limit;

3 shall file a report with the Secretary of the Sen4 ate within 2 business days after aggregate con5 tributions have been received or aggregate ex6 penditures have been made or obligated to be

7 made in that amount (or, if later, within 2 busi8 ness days after the date of qualification for the

9 general election ballot), setting forth the can10 didate’s aggregate amount of contributions re11 ceived and aggregate amount of expenditures

12 made or obligated to be made for the election

13 as of the date of the report.

14 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After an ini15 tial report is filed under subparagraph (A), the

16 candidate shall file additional reports (until the

17 amount of such contributions or expenditures

18 exceeds 200 percent of the general election ex19 penditure limit) with the Secretary of the Sen20 ate within 2 business days after each time addi21 tional contributions are received, or expendi22 tures are made or are obligated to be made,

23 that in the aggregate exceed an amount equal

24 to 10 percent of the general election expendi25 ture limit and after the aggregate amount of
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1 contributions or expenditures exceeds 100,

1331⁄3, 1662 2 ⁄3, and 200 percent of the general

3 election expenditure limit.

4 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION OF OTHER CANDIDATES.—

5 The Commission—

6 ‘‘(A) shall, within 2 business days after re7 ceipt of a declaration or report under paragraph

8 (1) or (2), notify each eligible Senate candidate

9 of the filing of the declaration or report; and

10 ‘‘(B) if an opposing candidate has received

11 aggregate contributions, or made or obligated to

12 make aggregate expenditures, in excess of the

13 general election expenditure limit, shall certify,

14 under subsection (e), the eligibility for payment

15 of any amount to which an eligible Senate can16 didate in the general election is entitled under

17 section 504(a).

18 ‘‘(4) ACTION BY THE COMMISSION ABSENT RE19 PORT.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the

21 reporting requirements under this subsection,

22 the Commission may make its own determina23 tion that a candidate in a general election who

24 is not an eligible Senate candidate has raised
47

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1 aggregate contributions, or made or has obli2 gated to make aggregate expenditures, in the

3 amounts that would require a report under

4 paragraph (2).

5 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE SENATE

6 CANDIDATES.—The Commission shall—

7 ‘‘(i) within 2 business days after mak8 ing a determination under subparagraph

9 (A), notify each eligible Senate candidate

10 in the general election of the making of the

11 determination; and

12 ‘‘(ii) when the aggregate amount of

13 contributions or expenditures exceeds the

14 general election expenditure limit, certify

15 under subsection (e) an eligible Senate

16 candidate’s eligibility for payment of any

17 amount under section 504(a).

18 ‘‘(c) REPORTS ON PERSONAL FUNDS.—

19 ‘‘(1) FILING.—A candidate for the Senate who,

20 during an election cycle, expends more than the per21 sonal funds expenditure limit during the election

22 cycle shall file a report with the Secretary of the

23 Senate within 2 business days after expenditures

24 have been made or loans incurred in excess of the

25 personal funds expenditure limit.
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1 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE SENATE CAN2 DIDATES.—Within 2 business days after a report

3 has been filed under paragraph (1), the Commission

4 shall notify each eligible Senate candidate in the

5 general election of the filing of the report.

6 ‘‘(3) ACTION BY THE COMMISSION ABSENT RE7 PORT.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the

9 reporting requirements under this subsection,

10 the Commission may make its own determina11 tion that a candidate for the Senate has made

12 expenditures in excess of the amount under

13 paragraph (1).

14 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE SENATE

15 CANDIDATES.—Within 2 business days after

16 making a determination under subparagraph

17 (A), the Commission shall notify each eligible

18 Senate candidate in the general election of the

19 making of the determination.

20 ‘‘(d) CANDIDATES FOR OTHER OFFICES.—

21 ‘‘(1) FILING.—Each individual—

22 ‘‘(A) who becomes a candidate for the of23 fice of United States Senator;

24 ‘‘(B) who, during the election cycle for that

25 office, held any other Federal, State, or local
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1 office or was a candidate for any such office;

2 and

3 ‘‘(C) who expended any amount during the

4 election cycle before becoming a candidate for

5 the office of United States Senator that would

6 have been treated as an expenditure if the indi7 vidual had been such a candidate (including

8 amounts for activities to promote the image or

9 name recognition of the individual);

10 shall, within 7 days after becoming a candidate for

11 the office of United States Senator, report to the

12 Secretary of the Senate the amount and nature of

13 such expenditures.

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) shall not

15 apply to any expenditures in connection with a Fed16 eral, State, or local election that has been held be17 fore the individual becomes a candidate for the office

18 of United States Senator.

19 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION.—The Commission shall,

20 as soon as practicable, make a determination as to

21 whether any amounts reported under paragraph (1)

22 were made for purposes of influencing the election of

23 the individual to the office of Senator.
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1 ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION.—The Commission shall

2 certify to the individual and the individual’s oppo3 nents the amounts the Commission determines to be

4 described in paragraph (3), and such amounts shall

5 be treated as expenditures for purposes of this Act.

6 ‘‘(e) BASIS OF CERTIFICATIONS.—Notwithstanding

7 section 505(a), the certification required by this section

8 shall be made by the Commission on the basis of reports

9 filed in accordance with this Act or on the basis of the

10 Commission’s own investigation or determination.

11 ‘‘(f) SHORTER PERIODS FOR REPORTS AND NOTICES

12 DURING ELECTION WEEK.—Any report, determination,

13 or notice required by reason of an event occurring during

14 the 7-day period ending on the date of the general election

15 shall be made within 24 hours (rather than 2 business

16 days) of the event.

17 ‘‘(g) COPIES OF REPORTS AND PUBLIC INSPEC18 TION.—The Secretary of the Senate shall—

19 ‘‘(1) transmit a copy of any report or filing re20 ceived under this section or under title V as soon as

21 possible (but not later than 4 working hours of the

22 Commission) after receipt of the report or filing;

23 ‘‘(2) make the report or filing available for pub24 lic inspection and copying in the same manner as

25 the Commission under section 311(a)(4); and
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1 ‘‘(3) preserve the reports and filings in the

2 same manner as the Commission under section

3 311(a)(5).’’.

4 SEC. 104. DISCLOSURE BY CANDIDATES OTHER THAN ELI5 GIBLE SENATE CANDIDATES.

6 Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

7 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441d) (as amended by section 113) is

8 amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(e) DISCLOSURE BY CANDIDATES OTHER THAN EL10 IGIBLE SENATE CANDIDATES.—A broadcast, cablecast, or

11 other communication that is paid for or authorized by a

12 candidate in the general election for the office of United

13 States Senator who is not an eligible Senate candidate,

14 or the authorized committee of such a candidate, shall

15 contain the following sentence: ‘This candidate has not

16 agreed to voluntary campaign spending limits.’.’’.

17 SEC. 105. EXCESS CAMPAIGN FUNDS OF SENATE CAN18 DIDATES.

19 Section 313 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

20 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 439a) is amended—

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before

22 ‘‘Amounts’’ and adjusting the margin appropriately;

23 and

24 (2) by adding at the end the following:

25 ‘‘(b) DISPOSITION OF EXCESS CAMPAIGN FUNDS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), and

2 notwithstanding subsection (a), a candidate for the

3 Senate who has amounts in excess of amounts nec4 essary to defray expenditures for an election cycle,

5 including any fines or penalties relating thereto,

6 shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the gen7 eral election for the election cycle—

8 ‘‘(A) expend the excess in the manner de9 scribed in subsection (a); or

10 ‘‘(B) pay the excess to the general fund of

11 the Treasury of the United States.

12 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) shall not

13 apply to any amount—

14 ‘‘(A) that is transferred to a legal and ac15 counting compliance fund under section 503(c);

16 or

17 ‘‘(B) that is transferred for use in the next

18 election cycle, to the extent that the amount

19 transferred does not exceed 20 percent of the

20 sum of the primary election expenditure limit

21 under section 501(d)(1)(A) and the general

22 election expenditure limit for the election cycle

23 from which the amounts are transferred.’’.
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1 SEC. 106. CONTRIBUTION LIMIT FOR ELIGIBLE SENATE

2 CANDIDATES.

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

4 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)) is amended—

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘except

6 as provided in subparagraph (B),’’ before ‘‘to’’;

7 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and

8 (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and

9 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(B) to an eligible Senate candidate (as defined

12 in section 501) and the authorized political commit13 tees of the candidate which, in the aggregate, exceed

14 $2,000, if an opponent of the eligible Senate can15 didate fails to comply with the expenditure limits

16 contained in this Act and has received contributions

17 in excess of 10 percent of the general election limits

18 contained in this Act or has expended personal funds

19 in excess of 10 percent of the general election limits

20 contained in this Act;’’.

21 Subtitle B—General Provisions

22 SEC. 111. BROADCAST RATES AND PREEMPTION.

23 (a) BROADCAST RATES.—Section 315(b) of the Com24 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)) is amended—

25 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) The charges’’ and inserting

26 the following:
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1 ‘‘(b) BROADCAST MEDIA RATES.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The charges’’;

3 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

4 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and adjust5 ing the margins accordingly;

6 (3) in paragraph (1)(A) (as redesignated by

7 paragraph (2))—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘forty-five’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘30’’; and

10 (B) by striking ‘‘lowest unit charge of the

11 station for the same class and amount of time

12 for the same period’’ and inserting ‘‘lowest

13 charge of the station for the same amount of

14 time for the same period on the same date’’;

15 and

16 (4) by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE SENATE CANDIDATES.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligi19 ble Senate candidate (as described in section

20 501 of the Federal Election Campaign Act), the

21 charges for the use of a television broadcasting

22 station during the 30-day period and 60-day pe23 riod referred to in paragraph (1)(A) shall not

24 exceed 50 percent of the lowest charge de25 scribed in paragraph (1)(A).
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1 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (A)

2 shall not apply to broadcasts that are to be paid

3 from amounts received under section

4 504(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign

5 Act of 1971.’’.

6 (b) PREEMPTION; ACCESS.—Section 315 of the Com7 munications Act of 1947 (47 U.S.C. 315) is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as

9 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(c) PREEMPTION.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), a licensee shall not preempt the use, dur15 ing any period specified in subsection (b)(1), of a

16 broadcasting station by a legally qualified candidate

17 for public office who has purchased and paid for

18 such use pursuant to subsection (b)(1).

19 ‘‘(2) CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND CONTROL OF LI20 CENSEE.—If a program to be broadcast by a broad21 casting station is preempted because of cir22 cumstances beyond the control of the broadcasting

23 station, any candidate advertising spot scheduled to

24 be broadcast during that program may also be pre25 empted.’’.
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1 (c) REVOCATION OF LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PER2 MIT ACCESS.—Section 312(a)(7) of the Communications

3 Act of 1947 (47 U.S.C. 312(a)(7)) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘or repeated’’;

5 (2) by inserting ‘‘or cable system’’ after ‘‘broad6 casting station’’; and

7 (3) by striking ‘‘his candidacy’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘his or her candidacy, under the same terms, condi9 tions, and business practices as apply to the broad10 casting station’s most favored advertiser’’.

11 SEC. 112. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN INDE12 PENDENT EXPENDITURES.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 304 of the Federal Elec14 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) (as amended

15 by section 608) is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing:

17 ‘‘(e) TIME FOR REPORTING CERTAIN EXPENDI18 TURES.—

19 ‘‘(1) EXPENDITURES AGGREGATING $1,000.—A

20 person that makes independent expenditures aggre21 gating $1,000 or more after the 20th day, but more

22 than 24 hours, before an election shall file a report

23 describing the expenditures within 24 hours after

24 that amount of independent expenditures has been

25 made.
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1 ‘‘(2) EXPENDITURES AGGREGATING $10,000.—

2 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—A person that

3 makes independent expenditures aggregating

4 $10,000 or more at any time up to and includ5 ing the 20th day before an election shall file a

6 report describing the expenditures within 48

7 hours that amount of independent expenditures

8 has been made.

9 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per10 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the

11 person filing the report shall file an additional

12 report each time that independent expenditures

13 aggregating an additional $10,000 are made

14 with respect to the same election as that to

15 which the initial report relates.

16 ‘‘(3) PLACE OF FILING; CONTENTS; TRANSMIT17 TAL.—

18 ‘‘(A) PLACE OF FILING; CONTENTS.—A re19 port under this subsection—

20 ‘‘(i) shall be filed with the Secretary

21 of the Senate or the Commission, and the

22 Secretary of State of the candidate’s State;

23 and
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1 ‘‘(ii) shall contain the information re2 quired by subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii), includ3 ing whether each independent expenditure

4 was made in support of, or in opposition

5 to, a candidate.

6 ‘‘(B) TRANSMITTAL.—

7 ‘‘(i) TO THE COMMISSION.—As soon

8 as possible (but not later than 4 working

9 hours of the Commission) after receipt of

10 a report under this subsection, the Sec11 retary of the Senate shall transmit the re12 port to the Commission.

13 ‘‘(ii) TO CANDIDATES.—Not later

14 than 48 hours after receipt of a report

15 under this subsection, the Commission

16 shall transmit a copy of the report to each

17 candidate seeking nomination for election

18 to, or election to, the office in question.

19 ‘‘(4) OBLIGATION TO MAKE EXPENDITURE.—

20 For purposes of this subsection, an expenditure shall

21 be treated as being made when it is made or obli22 gated to be made.

23 ‘‘(5) ADVANCE NOTICE OF INTENTION TO MAKE

24 INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person that intends

2 to make independent expenditures totaling

3 $5,000 or more during the 20 days before an

4 election shall file a notice of that intention not

5 later than the 20th day before the election.

6 ‘‘(B) PLACE OF FILING; CONTENTS;

7 TRANSMITTAL.—

8 ‘‘(i) PLACE OF FILING; CONTENTS.—

9 A statement under subparagraph (A)—

10 ‘‘(I) shall be filed with the Sec11 retary of the Senate or the Commis12 sion, and the Secretary of State of the

13 candidate’s State; and

14 ‘‘(II) shall identify each can15 didate whom the expenditure will sup16 port or oppose.

17 ‘‘(ii) TRANSMITTAL.—

18 ‘‘(I) TO THE COMMISSION.—As

19 soon as possible (but not later than 4

20 working hours of the Commission)

21 after receipt of a notice of intention

22 under this paragraph, the Commission

23 shall transmit the notice to the Com24 mission.
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1 ‘‘(II) TO CANDIDATES.—Not

2 later than 48 hours after the receipt

3 of a notice of intention under this

4 paragraph, the Commission shall

5 transmit a copy of the notice to each

6 candidate identified in the notice.

7 ‘‘(6) DETERMINATIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may

9 make its own determination that a person has

10 made, or has incurred obligations to make,

11 independent expenditures with respect to any

12 Federal election that in the aggregate exceed

13 the applicable amounts under paragraph (1) or

14 (2).

15 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—The Commission

16 shall notify each candidate in the election of the

17 making of the determination within 24 hours

18 after making the determination.

19 ‘‘(7) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY TO RE20 CEIVE BENEFITS.—At the same time as a candidate

21 is notified under paragraph (3), (5), or (6) with re22 spect to expenditures during a general election pe23 riod, the Commission shall certify eligibility to re24 ceive benefits under section 504(a).
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1 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY; PRESERVATION.—

2 The Secretary of the Senate shall make any report

3 or notice of intention received under this subsection

4 available for public inspection and copying in the

5 same manner as under section 311(a)(4), and shall

6 preserve the reports and notices in the same manner

7 as under section 311(a)(5).’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 304(c)(2)

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

10 434(c)(2)) is amended by striking the undesignated mat11 ter after subparagraph (C).

12 SEC. 113. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING AMENDMENTS.

13 Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

14 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (a)—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ and inserting

17 the following:

18 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE.—When a political committee

19 makes a disbursement for the purpose of financing any

20 communication through any broadcasting station, news21 paper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, or

22 any other type of general public political advertising, or

23 when’’;

24 (B) by striking ‘‘an expenditure’’ and in25 serting ‘‘a disbursement’’;
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1 (C) by striking ‘‘direct’’; and

2 (D) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and

3 permanent street address’’ after ‘‘name’’;

4 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘SAME

5 CHARGE AS CHARGE FOR COMPARABLE USE.—’’ be6 fore ‘‘No’’; and

7 (3) by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR PRINTED COMMUNICA9 TIONS.—A printed communication described in subsection

10 (a) shall be—

11 ‘‘(1) of sufficient type size to be clearly read12 able by the recipient of the communication;

13 ‘‘(2) contained in a printed box set apart from

14 the other contents of the communication; and

15 ‘‘(3) consist of a reasonable degree of color con16 trast between the background and the printed state17 ment.

18 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR BROADCAST AND CABLE19 CAST COMMUNICATIONS.—

20 ‘‘(1) PAID FOR OR AUTHORIZED BY THE CAN21 DIDATE.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A broadcast or cable23 cast communication described in paragraph (1)

24 or (2) of subsection (a) shall include, in addi25 tion to the requirements of those paragraphs,
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1 an audio statement by the candidate that iden2 tifies the candidate and states that the can3 didate has approved the communication.

4 ‘‘(B) TELEVISED COMMUNICATIONS.—A

5 broadcast or cablecast communication described

6 in paragraph (1) that is broadcast or cablecast

7 by means of television shall include, in addition

8 to the audio statement under subparagraph (A),

9 a written statement—

10 ‘‘(i) that states: ‘I [name of can11 didate] am a candidate for [the office the

12 candidate is seeking], and I have approved

13 this message’;

14 ‘‘(ii) that appears at the end of the

15 communication in a clearly readable man16 ner with a reasonable degree of color con17 trast between the background and the

18 printed statement, for a period of at least

19 4 seconds; and

20 ‘‘(iii) that is accompanied by a clearly

21 identifiable photographic or similar image

22 of the candidate.

23 ‘‘(2) NOT PAID FOR OR AUTHORIZED BY THE

24 CANDIDATE.—A broadcast or cablecast communica25 tion described in subsection (a)(3) shall include, in
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1 addition to the requirements of that paragraph, in a

2 clearly spoken manner, the statement—

3 ‘ is responsible for the

4 content of this advertisement.’;

5 with the blank to be filled in with the name of the political

6 committee or other person paying for the communication

7 and the name of any connected organization of the payor;

8 and, if the communication is broadcast or cablecast by

9 means of television, the statement shall also appear in a

10 clearly readable manner with a reasonable degree of color

11 contrast between the background and the printed state12 ment, for a period of at least 4 seconds.’’.

13 SEC. 114. DEFINITIONS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301 of the Federal Elec15 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended

16 by striking paragraph (19) and inserting the following:

17 ‘‘(19) The term ‘general election’—

18 ‘‘(A) means an election that will directly

19 result in the election of a person to a Federal

20 office; and

21 ‘‘(B) includes a primary election that may

22 result in the election of a person to a Federal

23 office.

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

25 with respect to a candidate, the period beginning on
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1 the day after the date of the primary or runoff elec2 tion for the specific office that the candidate is seek3 ing, whichever is later, and ending on the earlier

4 of—

5 ‘‘(A) the date of the general election; or

6 ‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate with7 draws from the campaign or otherwise ceases

8 actively to seek election.

9 ‘‘(21) The term ‘immediate family’ means—

10 ‘‘(A) a candidate’s spouse;

11 ‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grand12 parent, brother, half-brother, sister, or half-sis13 ter of the candidate or the candidate’s spouse;

14 and

15 ‘‘(C) the spouse of any person described in

16 subparagraph (B).

17 ‘‘(22) The term ‘major party’ has the meaning

18 given the term in section 9002(6) of the Internal

19 Revenue Code of 1986, except that if a candidate

20 qualified for the ballot in a general election in an

21 open primary in which all the candidates for the of22 fice participated and which resulted in the candidate

23 and at least 1 other candidate’s qualifying for the

24 ballot in the general election, the candidate shall be
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1 treated as a candidate of a major party for purposes

2 of title V.

3 ‘‘(23) The term ‘primary election’ means an

4 election that may result in the selection of a can5 didate for the ballot in a general election for a Fed6 eral office.

7 ‘‘(24) The term ‘primary election period’

8 means, with respect to a candidate, the period begin9 ning on the day following the date of the last elec10 tion for the specific office that the candidate is seek11 ing and ending on the earlier of—

12 ‘‘(A) the date of the first primary election

13 for that office following the last general election

14 for that office; or

15 ‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate with16 draws from the election or otherwise ceases ac17 tively to seek election.

18 ‘‘(25) The term ‘runoff election’ means an elec19 tion held after a primary election that is prescribed

20 by applicable State law as the means for deciding

21 which candidate will be on the ballot in the general

22 election for a Federal office.

23 ‘‘(26) The term ‘runoff election period’ means,

24 with respect to any candidate, the period beginning

25 on the day following the date of the last primary
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1 election for the specific office that the candidate is

2 seeking and ending on the date of the runoff election

3 for that office.

4 ‘‘(27) The term ‘voting age population’ means

5 the number of residents of a State who are 18 years

6 of age or older, as certified under section 315(e).

7 ‘‘(28) The term ‘election cycle’ means—

8 ‘‘(A) in the case of a candidate or the au9 thorized committees of a candidate, the period

10 beginning on the day after the date of the most

11 recent general election for the specific office or

12 seat that the candidate is seeking and ending

13 on the date of the next general election for that

14 office or seat; and

15 ‘‘(B) in the case of all other persons, the

16 period beginning on the first day following the

17 date of the last general election and ending on

18 the date of the next general election.’’.

19 (b) IDENTIFICATION.—Section 301(13) of the Fed20 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(13))

21 is amended by striking ‘‘mailing address’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘permanent residence address’’.
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1 SEC. 115. PROVISIONS RELATING TO FRANKED MASS

2 MAILINGS.

3 Section 3210(a)(6)(C) of title 39, United States

4 Code, is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘if the mass mailing is post6 marked fewer than 60 days immediately before the

7 date’’ and inserting ‘‘if the mass mailing is post8 marked during the calendar year’’; and

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘or reelection’’ before the pe10 riod.

11 TITLE II—INDEPENDENT

12 EXPENDITURES

13 SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.

14 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

15 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking paragraph

16 (17) and inserting the following:

17 ‘‘(17) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘independ19 ent expenditure’’ means an expenditure by a

20 person other than a candidate or candidate’s

21 authorized committee—

22 ‘‘(i) that is made for a communication

23 that contains express advocacy; and

24 ‘‘(ii) is made without the participation

25 or cooperation of and without coordination

26 with a candidate.
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1 ‘‘(B) EXPRESS ADVOCACY.—The term ‘ex2 press advocacy’ means a communication advo3 cating the election or defeat of a clearly identi4 fied candidate and includes any communication

5 that—

6 ‘‘(i)(I) contains a phrase such as ‘vote

7 for’, ‘re-elect’, ‘support’, ‘cast your ballot

8 for’, ‘(name of candidate) for Congress’,

9 ‘(name of candidate) in 1997’, ‘vote

10 against’, ‘defeat’, ‘reject’;

11 ‘‘(II) recommends a position on an

12 issue and clearly identifies 1 or more can13 didates as supporting or opposing that po14 sition; or

15 ‘‘(III) contains campaign slogans or

16 individual words that in context can have

17 no reasonable meaning other than to rec18 ommend the election or defeat of 1 or more

19 clearly identified candidates;

20 ‘‘(ii) clearly identifies 1 or more can21 didates and is broadcast by a radio broad22 cast station or a television broadcast sta23 tion (including a cable system) within 60

24 calendar days preceding the date of an

25 election (or with respect to a candidate for
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1 the office of Vice President or President in

2 a general election, within 90 calendar days

3 preceding the date of the general election);

4 or

5 ‘‘(iii) taken as a whole and with lim6 ited reference to external events, such as

7 proximity to an election, expresses unmis8 takable support for or opposition to 1 or

9 more clearly identified candidates.

10 ‘‘(C) WITHOUT THE PARTICIPATION OR

11 COOPERATION OF AND WITHOUT COORDINATION

12 WITH A CANDIDATE.—The term ‘without the

13 participation or cooperation of and without co14 ordination with a candidate’, with respect to an

15 expenditure, means an expenditure that is

16 made—

17 ‘‘(i) without any request or suggestion

18 from or any involvement of a candidate or

19 candidate’s representative;

20 ‘‘(ii) without the involvement of any

21 person who, during the election cycle in

22 which the expenditure is made, has raised

23 funds on behalf of the candidate, counseled

24 or advised the candidate or the candidate’s

25 representative regarding the election (other
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1 than to provide legal and accounting serv2 ices to ensure compliance with this Act),

3 engaged in campaign-related research or

4 polling analysis with respect to the elec5 tion, or communicated with or received in6 formation from the candidate or the can7 didate’s representative about the can8 didate’s plans, resources, expenditures, or

9 needs regarding the election; and

10 ‘‘(iii) without the involvement of any

11 person who received compensation, during

12 the election cycle in which the expenditure

13 is made, from the candidate or candidate’s

14 representative and from the person making

15 the independent expenditure.’’.

16 SEC. 202. INDEPENDENT VERSUS COORDINATED EXPENDI17 TURES BY POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES.

18 (a) DEFINITION OF COORDINATED EXPENDITURE.—

19 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

20 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by adding at the end

21 the following:

22 ‘‘(19) COORDINATED EXPENDITURE.—The

23 term ‘coordinated expenditure’ means an expendi24 ture that is made by a person other than the can25 didate and that is not an independent expenditure.’’.
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1 (b) INDEPENDENT VERSUS COORDINATED EXPENDI2 TURES BY POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES.—Section

3 315(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

4 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and (3)’’ and

6 inserting ‘‘, (3) and (4)’’; and

7 (2) by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION AGAINST MAKING BOTH

9 COORDINATED EXPENDITURES AND INDEPEND10 ENT EXPENDITURES.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A committee of a

12 political party shall not make both a co13 ordinated expenditure and an independent

14 expenditure with respect to the same can15 didate during a single election cycle.

16 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION.—Before mak17 ing a coordinated expenditure or an inde18 pendent expenditure with respect to a can19 didate, a committee of a political party

20 that is subject to this subsection shall file

21 with the Commission a certification, signed

22 by the treasurer, stating whether the com23 mittee will make coordinated expenditures

24 or independent expenditures with respect

25 to the candidate.
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1 ‘‘(C) TRANSFERS.—A party commit2 tee that certifies under this paragraph that

3 the committee will make coordinated ex4 penditures with respect to a candidate

5 shall not, in the same election cycle, make

6 a transfer of funds to, or receive a transfer

7 of funds from, any other party committee

8 that has certified under this paragraph

9 that it will make independent expenditures

10 with respect to the candidate.’’.

11 SEC. 203. TREATMENT OF QUALIFIED NONPROFIT COR12 PORATIONS.

13 Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

15 the following:

16 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TAX-EXEMPT COR17 PORATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the prohi19 bitions of this section, a qualified nonprofit corpora20 tion may make an independent expenditure.

21 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED NONPROFIT

22 CORPORATION.—For purposes of this Act, the term

23 ‘qualified nonprofit corporation’ means a corporation

24 that meets the following requirements:
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1 ‘‘(A) TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.—The corpora2 tion is exempt from taxation under section

3 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

4 and is described in section 501(c)(4) of the

5 Code.

6 ‘‘(B) PURPOSES.—The corporation is orga7 nized exclusively to promote specific political

8 ideas.

9 ‘‘(C) NO TRADE OR BUSINESS.—The cor10 poration does not engage in any activity that

11 constitutes a trade or business.

12 ‘‘(D) ESTABLISHMENT.—The corporation

13 was not established by—

14 ‘‘(i) a corporation that is carrying on

15 a trade or business;

16 ‘‘(ii) a labor organization; or

17 ‘‘(iii) a business league or other orga18 nization described in section 501(c)(6) of

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

20 ‘‘(E) CONTRIBUTIONS.—The corporation

21 does not accept, directly or indirectly, donations

22 of anything of value from any corporation, labor

23 organization or organization described in sub24 paragraph (D)(iii), and does not serve, directly
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1 or indirectly, as a conduit for expenditures by

2 such entities.

3 ‘‘(F) CLAIMS AND INCENTIVES.—The cor4 poration—

5 ‘‘(i) has no shareholder or other per6 son, other than an employee or creditor

7 without an ownership interest, whose affili8 ation could allow a claim on the assets or

9 earnings of such corporation; and

10 ‘‘(ii) offers no incentives or disincen11 tives for persons to associate or not to as12 sociate with the corporation other than the

13 positions of the corporation on political is14 sues.

15 ‘‘(3) STATUS AS POLITICAL COMMITTEE.—If a

16 qualified nonprofit corporation meets the qualifica17 tions of section 301(4), the corporation shall be

18 treated as a political committee.

19 ‘‘(4) DISCLOSURE TO DONORS.—All solicita20 tions of donations by the qualified nonprofit corpora21 tion shall inform potential donors that donations

22 may be used by the corporation for political pur23 poses, such as supporting or opposing candidates for

24 public office.’’.
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1 SEC. 204. EQUAL BROADCAST TIME.

2 Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

3 U.S.C. 315) is amended by striking subsection (a) and in4 serting the following:

5 ‘‘(a) EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO USE BROADCASTING

6 STATION.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A licensee that permits any

8 person who is a legally qualified candidate for public

9 office to use a broadcasting station (other than any

10 use required to be provided under paragraph (2))

11 shall afford equal opportunities to all other such

12 candidates for that office in the use of the broad13 casting station.

14 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.—

15 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED TO

16 LICENSEE BY PERSON RESERVING BROADCAST

17 TIME.—A person that reserves broadcast time

18 the payment for which would constitute an

19 independent expenditure (as defined in section

20 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

21 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)) shall—

22 ‘‘(i) inform the licensee that payment

23 for the broadcast time will constitute an

24 independent expenditure;

25 ‘‘(ii) inform the licensee of the names

26 of all candidates for the office to which the
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1 proposed broadcast relates and state

2 whether the message to be broadcast is in3 tended to be made in support of or in op4 position to each such candidate; and

5 ‘‘(iii) provide the licensee a copy of

6 the statement described in section 304(d)

7 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

8 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(d)).

9 ‘‘(B) RESPONSE BY LICENSEE.—A licensee

10 that is informed as described in subparagraph

11 (A) shall—

12 ‘‘(i) if any of the candidates described

13 in subparagraph (A)(ii) has provided the

14 licensee the name and address of a person

15 to whom notification under this subpara16 graph is to be given—

17 ‘‘(I) notify the person of the pro18 posed making of the independent ex19 penditure; and

20 ‘‘(II) allow any such candidate

21 (other than a candidate for whose

22 benefit the independent expenditure is

23 made) to purchase the same amount

24 of broadcast time immediately after
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1 the broadcast time paid for by the

2 independent expenditure; and

3 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an opponent of a

4 candidate for whose benefit the independ5 ent expenditure is made who certifies to

6 the licensee that the opponent is eligible to

7 have the cost of response broadcast time

8 paid using funds derived from a payment

9 made under section 504(a)(2)(B) of the

10 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,

11 afford the opponent such broadcast time

12 without requiring payment in advance and

13 at the cost specified in subsection (b).

14 ‘‘(3) NO CENSORSHIP.—A licensee shall have no

15 power of censorship over the material broadcast

16 under this section.

17 ‘‘(4) NO OBLIGATION.—Except as provided in

18 paragraph (2), no obligation is imposed under this

19 subsection on any licensee to allow the use of its sta20 tion by any candidate.

21 ‘‘(5) CERTAIN APPEARANCES NOT CONSIDERED

22 USE OF BROADCASTING STATION.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An appearance by a

24 legally qualified candidate on a—

25 ‘‘(i) bona fide newscast;
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1 ‘‘(ii) bona fide news interview;

2 ‘‘(iii) bona fide news documentary (if

3 the appearance of the candidate is inciden4 tal to the presentation of the subject or

5 subjects covered by the news documen6 tary); or

7 ‘‘(iv) on-the-spot coverage of bona fide

8 news events (including political conventions

9 and activities incidental thereto);

10 shall not be considered to be use of a broadcast11 ing station within the meaning of this sub12 section.

13 ‘‘(B) NO RELIEF FROM OTHER OBLIGA14 TIONS.—Nothing in subparagraph (A) relieves a

15 licensee, in connection with the presentation of

16 newscasts, news interviews, news documen17 taries, and on-the-spot coverage of news events,

18 from the obligation under this Act to operate in

19 the public interest and to afford reasonable op20 portunity for the discussion of conflicting views

21 on issues of public importance.

22 ‘‘(6) ENDORSEMENT OF CANDIDATE BY LI23 CENSEE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A licensee that en2 dorses a candidate for Federal office in an edi3 torial shall, within the time stated in subpara4 graph (B), provide to all other candidates for

5 election to the same office—

6 ‘‘(i) notice of the date and time of

7 broadcast of the editorial;

8 ‘‘(ii) a taped or printed copy of the

9 editorial; and

10 ‘‘(iii) a reasonable opportunity to

11 broadcast a response using the licensee’s

12 facilities.

13 ‘‘(B) TIME FOR RESPONSE.—

14 ‘‘(i) 72 HOURS OR MORE BEFORE

15 ELECTION.—In the case of an editorial de16 scribed in subparagraph (A) that is first

17 broadcast 72 hours or more before the

18 date of a primary, runoff, or general elec19 tion, the notice and copy described in sub20 paragraph (A) (i) and (ii) shall be provided

21 not later than 24 hours after the time of

22 the first broadcast of the editorial.

23 ‘‘(ii) LESS THAN 72 HOURS BEFORE

24 ELECTION.—In the case of an editorial de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) that is first
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1 broadcast less than 72 hours before the

2 date of an election, the notice and copy

3 shall be provided at a time prior to the

4 first broadcast that will be sufficient to en5 able candidates a reasonable opportunity to

6 prepare and broadcast a response.’’.

7 TITLE III—EXPENDITURES

8 Subtitle A—Personal Funds; Credit

9 SEC. 301. CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS FROM PERSONAL

10 FUNDS.

11 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

13 the following:

14 ‘‘(i) LIMITATIONS ON REPAYMENT OF LOANS AND

15 RETURN OF CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PERSONAL FUNDS.—

16 ‘‘(1) REPAYMENT OF LOANS.—If a candidate or

17 a member of the candidate’s immediate family made

18 a loan to the candidate or to the candidate’s author19 ized committees during an election cycle, no con20 tribution received after the date of the general elec21 tion for the election cycle may be used to repay the

22 loan.

23 ‘‘(2) RETURN OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—No con24 tribution by a candidate or member of the can25 didate’s immediate family may be returned to the
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1 candidate or member other than as part of a pro

2 rata distribution of excess contributions to all con3 tributors.’’.

4 SEC. 302. EXTENSIONS OF CREDIT.

5 Section 301(8)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign

6 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(A)) (as amended by section

7 201(b)), is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (ii);

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

10 (iii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

11 (3) by inserting at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(iv) with respect to a candidate and

13 the candidate’s authorized committees, any

14 extension of credit for goods or services re15 lating to advertising on a broadcasting sta16 tion, in a newspaper or magazine, or by a

17 mailing, or relating to other similar types

18 of general public political advertising, if

19 the extension of credit is—

20 ‘‘(I) in an amount greater than

21 $1,000; and

22 ‘‘(II) for a period greater than

23 the period, not in excess of 60 days,

24 for which credit is generally extended

25 in the normal course of business after
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1 the date on which the goods or serv2 ices are furnished or the date of a

3 mailing.’’.

4 Subtitle B—Soft Money of Political

5 Parties

6 SEC. 311. PREPARATION AND DISTRIBUTION BY VOLUN7 TEERS OF MATERIALS IN CONNECTION WITH

8 STATE AND LOCAL POLITICAL PARTY VOTER

9 REGISTRATION AND GET-OUT-THE-VOTE AC10 TIVITIES SO AS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED A

11 CONTRIBUTION OR EXPENDITURE.

12 (a) CONTRIBUTION.—Section 301(8)(B)(xii) of the

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

14 431(8)(B)(xii)) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘such committee’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘the committee in connection with volunteer activi17 ties’’;

18 (2) by striking ‘‘: Provided, That’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘if’’;

20 (3) by redesignating the items designated as

21 items ‘‘(1)’’, ‘‘(2)’’, and ‘‘(3)’’, respectively, as sub22 clauses (I), (II), and (III);

23 (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subclause

24 (II) (as redesignated);
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1 (5) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of subclause

2 (III) (as redesignated); and

3 (6) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(IV) the activities are conducted

5 solely by, and any materials are dis6 tributed solely by, volunteers;’’.

7 (b) EXPENDITURE.—Section 301(9)(B)(ix) of the

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

9 431(9)(B)(ix)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘such committee’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘the committee in connection with volunteer activi12 ties’’;

13 (2) by striking ‘‘: Provided, That’’ and inserting

14 ‘‘if’’;

15 (3) by redesignating the items designated as

16 items ‘‘(1)’’, ‘‘(2)’’, and ‘‘(3)’’, respectively, as sub17 clauses (I), (II), and (III);

18 (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subclause

19 (II) (as redesignated);

20 (5) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of subclause

21 (III) (as redesignated); and

22 (6) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(IV) any materials in connection

24 with the activities are prepared for
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1 distribution (and are distributed) sole2 ly by volunteers; and’’.

3 SEC. 312. CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT4 TEES.

5 (a) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO STATE

6 PARTY.—Section 315(a)(1) of the Federal Election Cam7 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)) (as amended by

8 section 106) is amended—

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

10 (B);

11 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub12 paragraph (E); and

13 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘(D) to—

16 ‘‘(i) a State Party Grassroots Fund

17 established and maintained by a State

18 committee of a political party in any cal19 endar year that, in the aggregate, exceed

20 $20,000; or

21 ‘‘(ii) any other political committee es22 tablished and maintained by a State com23 mittee of a political party in any calendar

24 year that, in the aggregate, exceed $5,000;
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1 except that the aggregate contributions de2 scribed in this subparagraph that may be made

3 by a person to the State Party Grassroots Fund

4 and all committees of a State Committee of a

5 political party in any State in any calendar year

6 shall not exceed $20,000; or’’.

7 (b) MULTICANDIDATE COMMITTEE CONTRIBUTIONS

8 TO STATE PARTY.—Section 315(a)(2) of the Federal

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

10 amended—

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

12 (B);

13 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub14 paragraph (D); and

15 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol16 lowing:

17 ‘‘(C) to—

18 ‘‘(i) a State Party Grassroots Fund

19 established and maintained by a State

20 committee of a political party in any cal21 endar year that, in the aggregate, exceed

22 $15,000; or

23 ‘‘(ii) to any other political committee

24 established and maintained by a State
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1 committee of a political party that, in the

2 aggregate, exceed $5,000;

3 except that the aggregate contributions de4 scribed in this subparagraph that may be made

5 by a multicandidate political committee to the

6 State Party Grassroots Fund and all commit7 tees of a State Committee of a political party

8 in any State in any calendar year shall not ex9 ceed $15,000; or’’.

10 (c) OVERALL LIMIT.—Section 315(a) of the Federal

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

12 amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(3) OVERALL LIMIT.—

15 ‘‘(A) ELECTION CYCLE.—No individual

16 shall make contributions during any election

17 cycle (as defined in section 301(28)(B)) that, in

18 the aggregate, exceed $60,000.

19 ‘‘(B) CALENDAR YEAR.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—No individual

21 shall make contributions during any cal22 endar year—

23 ‘‘(I) to all candidates and their

24 authorized political committees that,

25 in the aggregate, exceed $25,000; or
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1 ‘‘(II) to all political committees

2 established and maintained by State

3 committees of a political party that, in

4 the aggregate, exceed $20,000.

5 ‘‘(ii) NONELECTION YEAR.—For pur6 poses of clause (i), a contribution made to

7 a candidate or the candidate’s authorized

8 political committees in a year other than

9 the calendar year in which the election is

10 held with respect to which the contribution

11 is made shall be treated as being made

12 during the calendar year in which the elec13 tion is held.’’.

14 (d) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMMITTEE TRANS15 FERS.—

16 (1) AMENDMENT OF FECA.—Section 315(b)(1)

17 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

18 U.S.C. 441a(b)(1)) is amended by striking subpara19 graph (B) and inserting the following:

20 ‘‘(B) in the case of a campaign for election

21 to that office, an amount equal to the sum of—

22 ‘‘(i) $20,000,000; plus

23 ‘‘(ii) the lesser of—

24 ‘‘(I) 2 cents multiplied by the

25 voting age population of the United
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1 States (as certified under subsection

2 (e); or

3 ‘‘(II) the amounts transferred by

4 the candidate and the authorized com5 mittees of the candidate to the na6 tional committee of the candidate’s

7 political party for distribution to State

8 Party Grassroots Funds.’’.

9 (2) AMENDMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE

10 CODE.—Subparagraph (A) of section 9002(11) of

11 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining quali12 fied campaign expense) is amended—

13 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause

14 (ii);

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause

16 (iii); and

17 (C) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(iv) any transfers to the national

19 committee of the candidate’s political party

20 for distribution to State Party Grassroots

21 Funds (as defined in section 301(30) of

22 the Federal Election Campaign Act of

23 1971) to the extent that such transfers do

24 not exceed the amount determined under

25 section 315(b)(1)(B)(ii) of that Act;’’.
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1 SEC. 313. PROVISIONS RELATING TO NATIONAL, STATE,

2 AND LOCAL PARTY COMMITTEES.

3 (a) SOFT MONEY OF COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL

4 PARTIES.—Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act

5 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) (as amended by section

6 102(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 325. POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES.

8 ‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS ON NATIONAL COMMITTEES.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A national committee of a

10 political party and the congressional campaign com11 mittees of a political party shall not solicit or accept

12 any amount, or solicit or accept a transfer from an13 other political committee, that is not subject to the

14 limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements

15 of this Act.

16 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not

17 apply to any amount received—

18 ‘‘(A) that—

19 ‘‘(i) is to be transferred to a State

20 committee of a political party and is used

21 solely for an activity described in clause

22 (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv), (xvi), or (xvii)

23 of section 301(9)(B); or

24 ‘‘(ii) is described in section

25 301(8)(B)(viii); and
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1 ‘‘(B) with respect to which a contributor

2 has been notified that the amount will be used

3 solely for the purposes described in subpara4 graph (A).

5 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZA6 TIONS.—A national committee or a State committee of a

7 political party shall not transfer any funds to an organiza8 tion that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a)

9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is described

10 in section 501(c)(3) of the Code.

11 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO THIS ACT.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any amount solicited, re13 ceived, expended, or disbursed directly or indirectly

14 by a national, State, district, or local committee of

15 a political party (including any subordinate commit16 tee) with respect to any of the following activities

17 shall be treated as a contribution subject to the limi18 tations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of

19 this Act:

20 ‘‘(A)(i) Any get-out-the-vote activity con21 ducted during a calendar year in which an elec22 tion for the office of President is held.

23 ‘‘(ii) Any other get-out-the-vote activity un24 less subsection (c)(2) applies to the activity.

25 ‘‘(B) Any generic campaign activity.
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1 ‘‘(C) Any activity that identifies or pro2 motes a Federal candidate, regardless of wheth3 er—

4 ‘‘(i) a State or local candidate is also

5 identified or promoted; or

6 ‘‘(ii) any portion of the funds dis7 bursed constitutes a contribution or ex8 penditure under this Act.

9 ‘‘(D) Voter registration.

10 ‘‘(E) Development and maintenance of

11 voter files during an even-numbered calendar

12 year.

13 ‘‘(F) Any other activity that—

14 ‘‘(i) significantly affects a Federal

15 election; or

16 ‘‘(ii) is not described in section

17 301(8)(B)(xvii).

18 ‘‘(2) FUNDRAISING COSTS.—Any amount spent

19 to raise funds that are used, in whole or in part, in

20 connection with an activity described in paragraph

21 (1) shall be treated as an expenditure subject to the

22 limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements

23 of this Act.
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1 ‘‘(d) GET-OUT-THE-VOTE ACTIVITIES BY STATE,

2 DISTRICT, AND LOCAL COMMITTEES OF A POLITICAL

3 PARTY.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), any get-out-the-vote activity for a State

6 or local candidate, or for a ballot measure, that is

7 conducted by a State, district, or local committee of

8 a political party (including any subordinate commit9 tee) shall be treated as an expenditure subject to the

10 limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements

11 of this Act.

12 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not

13 apply to any activity that the State committee of a

14 political party certifies to the Commission is an ac15 tivity that—

16 ‘‘(A) is conducted during a calendar year

17 other than a calendar year in which an election

18 for the office of President is held;

19 ‘‘(B) is exclusively on behalf of (and spe20 cifically identifies only) 1 or more State or local

21 candidates or ballot measures; and

22 ‘‘(C) does not include any effort or means

23 used to identify or turn out those identified to
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1 be supporters of any Federal candidate (includ2 ing any activity that is undertaken in coordina3 tion with, or on behalf of, a candidate for Fed4 eral office).

5 ‘‘(e) STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State committee of a po7 litical party may make disbursements and expendi8 tures from its State Party Grassroots Fund only

9 for—

10 ‘‘(A) a generic campaign activity;

11 ‘‘(B) the making of a payment described in

12 clause (v), (x), or (xii) of paragraph (8)(B) or

13 clause (iv), (viii), or (ix) of paragraph (9)(B) of

14 section 301;

15 ‘‘(C) subject to the limitations of section

16 315(d), the making of a payment described in

17 paragraph (8)(B)(xii) or (9)(B)(ix) of section

18 301 on behalf of a candidate other than a can19 didate for President or Vice President;

20 ‘‘(D) voter registration; and

21 ‘‘(E) development and maintenance of

22 voter files during an even-numbered calendar

23 year.

24 ‘‘(2) TRANSFERS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec2 tion 315(a)(4) and except as provided in sub3 paragraph (B), no funds may be transferred by

4 a State committee of a political party from its

5 State Party Grassroots Fund to any other State

6 Party Grassroots Fund or to any other political

7 committee.

8 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER TO SEPARATE SEG9 REGATED FUND OF DISTRICT OR LOCAL COM10 MITTEE.—A transfer may be made from a

11 State Party Grassroots Fund to a district or

12 local committee of the same political party in

13 the same State if the district or local commit14 tee—

15 ‘‘(i) has established a separate fund

16 for the purposes described in paragraph

17 (1); and

18 ‘‘(ii) uses the transferred funds solely

19 for those purposes.

20 ‘‘(f) AMOUNTS RECEIVED BY STATE PARTY GRASS21 ROOTS FUND FROM NON-FEDERAL CANDIDATE COMMIT22 TEES.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any amount received by a

24 State Party Grassroots Fund from a non-Federal

25 candidate committee for expenditures described in
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1 subsection (b) that are for the benefit of that can2 didate shall be treated as meeting the requirements

3 of subsection (b) and section 304(f) if—

4 ‘‘(A) the amount is derived from funds

5 that meet the requirements of this Act with re6 spect to any limitation or prohibition as to

7 source or dollar amount specified in paragraphs

8 (1)(A) and (2)(A) of section 315(a); and

9 ‘‘(B) the non-Federal candidate commit10 tee—

11 ‘‘(i) maintains, in the account from

12 which payment is made, records of the

13 sources and amounts of funds for purposes

14 of determining whether those requirements

15 are met; and

16 ‘‘(ii) certifies that the requirements

17 were met.

18 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.—For

19 purposes of paragraph (1)(A), in determining wheth20 er the funds transferred meet the requirements of

21 this Act referred to in paragraph (1)(A)—

22 ‘‘(A) a non-Federal candidate committee’s

23 cash on hand shall be treated as consisting of

24 the funds most recently received by the commit25 tee; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the committee must be able to dem2 onstrate that its cash on hand contains suffi3 cient funds meeting those requirements as are

4 necessary to cover the transferred funds.

5 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—Notwithstanding paragraph

6 (1), a State Party Grassroots Fund that receives a

7 transfer described in paragraph (1) from a non-Fed8 eral candidate committee—

9 ‘‘(A) shall meet the reporting requirements

10 of this Act; and

11 ‘‘(B) shall submit to the Commission all

12 certifications received with respect to receipt of

13 the transfer from the candidate committee.’’.

14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—

15 (1) CONTRIBUTION.—Section 301(8)(B) of the

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

17 431(8)(B)) is amended—

18 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

19 (xiii);

20 (B) by striking the period at the end of

21 clause (xiv) and inserting a semicolon; and

22 (C) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(xv) any amount contributed to a

24 candidate for other than Federal office;
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1 ‘‘(xvi) any amount received or ex2 pended to pay the costs of a State or local

3 political convention;

4 ‘‘(xvii) any payment for campaign ac5 tivities that are exclusively on behalf of

6 (and specifically identify only) State or

7 local candidates and do not identify any

8 Federal candidate, and that are not activi9 ties described in section 325(c) (without

10 regard to paragraph (6)(B)) or section

11 325(d)(1);

12 ‘‘(xviii) any payment for administra13 tive expenses of a State or local committee

14 of a political party, including expenses

15 for—

16 ‘‘(I) overhead, including party

17 meetings;

18 ‘‘(II) staff (other than individuals

19 devoting a significant amount of their

20 time to elections for Federal office

21 and individuals engaged in conducting

22 get-out-the-vote activities for a Fed23 eral election); and

24 ‘‘(III) party elections or cau25 cuses;
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1 ‘‘(xix) any payment for research per2 taining solely to State and local candidates

3 and issues;

4 ‘‘(xx) any payment for development

5 and maintenance of voter files other than

6 during the 1-year period ending on the

7 date during an even-numbered calendar

8 year on which regularly scheduled general

9 elections for Federal office occur; and

10 ‘‘(xxi) any payment for any other ac11 tivity that is solely for the purpose of influ12 encing, and that solely affects, an election

13 for non-Federal office and that is not an

14 activity described in section 325(c) (with15 out regard to paragraph (6)(B)) or section

16 325(d)(1).’’.

17 (2) EXPENDITURE.—Section 301(9)(B) of the

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

19 431(9)(B)) is amended—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

21 (ix);

22 (B) by striking the period at the end of

23 clause (x) and inserting a semicolon; and

24 (C) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(xi) any amount contributed to a

2 candidate for other than Federal office;

3 ‘‘(xii) any amount received or ex4 pended to pay the costs of a State or local

5 political convention;

6 ‘‘(xiii) any payment for campaign ac7 tivities that are exclusively on behalf of

8 (and specifically identify only) State or

9 local candidates and do not identify any

10 Federal candidate, and that are not activi11 ties described in section 325(c) (without

12 regard to paragraph (6)(B)) or section

13 325(d)(1);

14 ‘‘(xiv) any payment for administrative

15 expenses of a State or local committee of

16 a political party, including expenses for—

17 ‘‘(I) overhead, including party

18 meetings;

19 ‘‘(II) staff (other than individuals

20 devoting a significant amount of their

21 time to elections for Federal office

22 and individuals engaged in conducting

23 get-out-the-vote activities for a Fed24 eral election); and
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1 ‘‘(III) conducting party elections

2 or caucuses;

3 ‘‘(xv) any payment for research per4 taining solely to State and local candidates

5 and issues;

6 ‘‘(xvi) any payment for development

7 and maintenance of voter files other than

8 during the 1-year period ending on the

9 date during an even-numbered calendar

10 year on which regularly scheduled general

11 elections for Federal office occur; and

12 ‘‘(xvii) any payment for any other ac13 tivity that is solely for the purpose of influ14 encing, and that solely affects, an election

15 for non-Federal office and that is not an

16 activity described in section 325(c) (with17 out regard to paragraph (6)(B)) or section

18 325(d)(1).’’.

19 (3) OTHER TERMS.—Section 301 of the Federal

20 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) (as

21 amended by section 114(a)) is amended by adding at

22 the end the following:

23 ‘‘(29) GENERIC CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY.—The

24 term ‘generic campaign activity’ means a campaign
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1 activity that promotes a political party rather than

2 a particular candidate or non-Federal candidate.

3 ‘‘(30) STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUND.—The

4 term ‘State Party Grassroots Fund’ means a sepa5 rate fund established and maintained by a State

6 committee of a political party solely for purposes of

7 making expenditures and other disbursements de8 scribed in section 325(d).

9 ‘‘(31) NON-FEDERAL CANDIDATE.—The term

10 ‘non-Federal candidate’ means a candidate for State

11 or local office.

12 ‘‘(32) NON-FEDERAL CANDIDATE COMMIT13 TEE.—For purposes of this subsection, the term

14 ‘non-Federal candidate committee’ means a commit15 tee established, financed, maintained, or controlled

16 by a non-Federal candidate.’’.

17 (c) LIMITATION APPLIED AT NATIONAL LEVEL.—

18 Section 315(d)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

19 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)(3)) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘(3) The national’’ and inserting

21 the following:

22 ‘‘(3) CANDIDATES FOR THE SENATE AND THE

23 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The national’’;
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1 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

2 and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively,

3 and adjusting the margins as appropriate; and

4 (3) by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(2) EXPENDITURES BY CONGRESSIONAL CAM6 PAIGN COMMITTEES.—Notwithstanding paragraph

7 (1), a congressional campaign committee of a politi8 cal party shall make the expenditures described in

9 paragraph (1) that are authorized to be made by a

10 national or State committee with respect to a can11 didate in any State unless the congressional cam12 paign committee allocates all or a portion of the ex13 penditures to either or both of those committees.’’.

14 (d) APPLICATION OF LIMITATIONS TO ENTIRE ELEC15 TION CYCLE.—Section 315(d) of the Federal Election

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

17 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘general’’; and

18 (2) in the first sentence of paragraph (2) and

19 in paragraph (3)—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘general’’; and

21 (B) by striking ‘‘which’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘that, during an election cycle,’’.
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1 SEC. 314. RESTRICTIONS ON FUNDRAISING BY CANDIDATES

2 AND OFFICEHOLDERS.

3 (a) STATE FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES.—Section 315

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

5 441a) (as amended by section 301) is amended by adding

6 at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(j) LIMITATIONS ON FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES OF

8 FEDERAL CANDIDATES AND OFFICEHOLDERS AND CER9 TAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, a

11 candidate, an individual holding Federal office, or

12 any agent of the candidate or individual may not so13 licit funds to, or receive funds on behalf of, any per14 son—

15 ‘‘(A) that are to be expended in connection

16 with any election for Federal office unless the

17 funds are subject to the limitations, prohibi18 tions, and requirements of this Act; or

19 ‘‘(B) that are to be expended in connection

20 with any election for other than Federal office

21 unless the funds are not in excess of amounts

22 permitted with respect to Federal candidates

23 and political committees under paragraphs (1)

24 and (2) of subsection (a), and are not from

25 sources prohibited by those paragraphs with re26 spect to elections to Federal office.
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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON SOLICITATIONS.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate

3 amount that a person described in subpara4 graph (B) may solicit from a multicandidate po5 litical committee for State committees described

6 in subsection (a)(1)(C) (including subordinate

7 committees) for any calendar year shall not ex8 ceed the dollar amount in effect under sub9 section (a)(2)(B) for the calendar year.

10 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—A person is de11 scribed in this subparagraph if the person is a

12 candidate, an individual holding Federal office,

13 an agent of such a candidate or individual, or

14 a national, State, district, or local committee of

15 a political party (including a subordinate com16 mittee) or an agent of such a committee.

17 ‘‘(3) APPEARANCE OR PARTICIPATION IN A

18 FUNDRAISING EVENT.—The appearance or participa19 tion by a candidate or individual holding Federal of20 fice in a fundraising event conducted by a committee

21 of a political party or a non-Federal candidate shall

22 not be treated as a solicitation for purposes of para23 graph (1) if the candidate or individual does not so24 licit or receive, or make disbursements from, any

25 funds resulting from the activity.
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1 ‘‘(4) STATE LAW.—Paragraph (1) shall not

2 apply to the solicitation or receipt of funds, or dis3 bursements, by an individual who is a non-Federal

4 candidate if the activity is permitted under State

5 law.

6 ‘‘(5) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub7 section, an individual shall be treated as holding

8 Federal office if the individual—

9 ‘‘(A) holds a Federal office; or

10 ‘‘(B) holds a position described in level I of

11 the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of

12 title 5, United States Code.’’.

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

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

15 441a) (as amended by subsection (a)) is amended by add16 ing at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(k) TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an individual is a can19 didate for, or holds, Federal office during any pe20 riod, the individual shall not during that period so21 licit contributions to, or on behalf of, any organiza22 tion that is described in section 501(c) of the Inter23 nal Revenue Code of 1986 if a significant portion of

24 the activities of the organization include voter reg25 istration or get-out-the-vote campaigns.
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1 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, an individual shall be treated as holding Fed3 eral office if the individual—

4 ‘‘(A) holds a Federal office; or

5 ‘‘(B) holds a position described in level I of

6 the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of

7 title 5, United States Code.’’.

8 SEC. 315. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

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

10 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434)

11 (as amended by section 112(a)) is amended by adding at

12 the end the following:

13 ‘‘(f) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—

14 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL AND CONGRESSIONAL POLITI15 CAL COMMITTEES.—The national committee of a po16 litical party, a congressional campaign committee of

17 a political party, and any subordinate committee of

18 a national committee or congressional campaign

19 committee of a political party, shall report all re20 ceipts and disbursements during the reporting pe21 riod, whether or not in connection with an election

22 for Federal office.

23 ‘‘(2) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES TO WHICH

24 SECTION 325 APPLIES.—A political committee (not
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1 described in paragraph (1)) to which section 325 ap2 plies shall report all receipts and disbursements, in3 cluding separate schedules for receipts and disburse4 ments for a State Grassroots Fund.

5 ‘‘(3) TRANSFERS.—A political committee to

6 which section 325 applies shall—

7 ‘‘(A) include in a report under paragraph

8 (1) or (2) the amount of any transfer described

9 in section 325(d)(2); and

10 ‘‘(B) itemize those amounts to the extent

11 required by section 304(b)(3)(A).

12 ‘‘(4) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Any po13 litical committee to which paragraph (1) or (2) does

14 not apply shall report any receipts or disbursements

15 that are used in connection with a Federal election.

16 ‘‘(5) ITEMIZATION.—If a political committee

17 has receipts or disbursements to which this sub18 section applies from any person aggregating in ex19 cess of $200 for any calendar year, the political

20 committee shall separately itemize its reporting for

21 the person in the same manner as under paragraphs

22 (3)(A), (5), and (6) of subsection (b).

23 ‘‘(6) REPORTING PERIODS.—Reports required

24 to be filed by this subsection shall be filed for the
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1 same time periods as reports are required for politi2 cal committees under subsection (a).’’.

3 (b) REPORT OF EXEMPT CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

4 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

5 U.S.C. 431(8)) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing:

7 ‘‘(C) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The ex8 clusion provided in subparagraph (B)(viii) shall

9 not apply for purposes of any requirement to

10 report contributions under this Act, and all

11 such contributions aggregating in excess of

12 $200 shall be reported.’’.

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

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

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

16 at the end the following:

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

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

20 with the Commission a report required to be filed under

21 State law if the Commission determines that such a report

22 contains substantially the same information as a report

23 required under this Act.’’.

24 (d) OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—
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1 (1) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—Section

2 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

3 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub5 paragraph (H);

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub7 paragraph (I); and

8 (C) by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(J) in the case of an authorized commit10 tee, disbursements for the primary election, the

11 general election, and any other election in which

12 the candidate participates;’’.

13 (2) NAMES AND ADDRESSES.—Section

14 304(b)(5)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

15 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘within the calendar year’’;

17 and

18 (B) by striking ‘‘such operating expendi19 ture’’ and inserting ‘‘operating expense, and the

20 election to which the operating expense re21 lates’’.
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1 Subtitle C—Soft Money of Persons

2 Other Than Political Parties

3 SEC. 321. SOFT MONEY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN POLITI4 CAL PARTIES.

5 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

6 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) (as amended by section 315(c))

7 is amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(h) ELECTION ACTIVITY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN

9 POLITICAL PARTIES.—

10 ‘‘(1) INITIAL STATEMENT.—A person to which

11 section 325 does not apply that makes (or obligates

12 to make) aggregate disbursements totaling in excess

13 of $2,000 for activities described in section 325(c)

14 shall file a statement with the Commission—

15 ‘‘(A) within 48 hours after the disburse16 ments or obligations in excess of $2,000 are

17 made; or

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of disbursements or obli19 gations that are made within 14 days of an

20 election, on or before the 14th day before the

21 election.

22 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS.—An additional

23 statement shall be filed each time additional dis24 bursements aggregating $2,000 are made by a per25 son described in paragraph (1).
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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection does not

2 apply to—

3 ‘‘(A) a candidate or a candidate’s author4 ized committees; or

5 ‘‘(B) an independent expenditure.

6 ‘‘(4) CONTENTS.—A statement under this sec7 tion shall contain such information about the dis8 bursements as the Commission shall prescribe, in9 cluding if applicable, whether the disbursement was

10 in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate or a

11 political party.

12 ‘‘(5) PLACE OF FILING.—A statement under

13 this section shall be filed with the Secretary of the

14 Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives,

15 and the Secretary of State (or equivalent official) of

16 the candidate’s State. The Secretary of the Senate

17 or Clerk of the House of Representatives shall, as

18 soon as possible (but not later than 24 hours after

19 receipt), transmit a copy of the statement to the

20 Commission.

21 ‘‘(6) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 48 hours

22 after receipt, the Commission shall transmit a state23 ment filed under this subsection—

24 ‘‘(A) to the candidates or political parties

25 involved in the election in question; or
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1 ‘‘(B) if the disbursement is not in support

2 of, or in opposition to, a candidate or political

3 party, to the State committees of each political

4 party in the State in question.

5 ‘‘(7) DETERMINATIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—

6 The Commission may make its own determination

7 that disbursements described in paragraph (1) have

8 been made or are obligated to be made. The Com9 mission shall notify the candidates or political par10 ties described in paragraph (2) not later than 24

11 hours after its determination.’’.

12 TITLE IV—CONTRIBUTIONS

13 SEC. 401. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS BY

14 LOBBYISTS.

15 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

16 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) (as amended by section 314(b))

17 is amended by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(m) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS BY

19 LOBBYISTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A lobbyist, or a political

21 committee controlled by a lobbyist, shall not make a

22 contribution to—

23 ‘‘(A) a Federal officeholder or candidate

24 for Federal office if, during the preceding 12
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1 months, the lobbyist has made a lobbying con2 tact with the officeholder or candidate; or

3 ‘‘(B) any authorized committee of the

4 President or Vice President of the United

5 States if, during the preceding 12 months, the

6 lobbyist has made a lobbying contact with a

7 covered executive branch official.

8 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTIONS TO MEMBER OF CON9 GRESS OR CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS.—A lobbyist

10 who, or a lobbyist whose political committee, has

11 made a contribution to a member of Congress or

12 candidate for Congress (or any authorized committee

13 of the President) shall not, during the 12 months

14 following such contribution, make a lobbying contact

15 with the member or candidate who becomes a mem16 ber of Congress or with a covered executive branch

17 official.

18 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection the

19 terms ‘covered executive branch official’, ‘lobbying

20 contact’, and ‘lobbyist’ have the meanings given

21 those terms in section 3 of the Federal Lobbying

22 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602) except

23 that—

24 ‘‘(A) the term ‘lobbyist’ includes a person

25 required to register under the Foreign Agents
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1 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et

2 seq.); and

3 ‘‘(B) for purposes of this subsection, a lob4 byist shall be considered to make a lobbying

5 contact or communication with a member of

6 Congress if the lobbyist makes a lobbying con7 tact or communication with—

8 ‘‘(i) the member of Congress;

9 ‘‘(ii) any person employed in the office

10 of the member of Congress; or

11 ‘‘(iii) any person employed by a com12 mittee, joint committee, or leadership of13 fice who, to the knowledge of the lobbyist,

14 was employed at the request of or is em15 ployed at the pleasure of, reports primarily

16 to, represents, or acts as the agent of the

17 member of Congress.’’.

18 SEC. 402. CONTRIBUTIONS BY DEPENDENTS NOT OF VOT19 ING AGE.

20 Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

21 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) (as amended by section 401(a))

22 is amended by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(n) DEPENDENTS NOT OF VOTING AGE.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec25 tion, any contribution by an individual who—
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1 ‘‘(A) is a dependent of another individual;

2 and

3 ‘‘(B) has not, as of the time of the making

4 of the contribution, attained the legal age for

5 voting in an election to Federal office in the

6 State in which the individual resides;

7 shall be treated as having been made by the other

8 individual.

9 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION BETWEEN SPOUSES.—If an

10 individual described in paragraph (1) is the depend11 ent of another individual and the other individual’s

12 spouse, a contribution described in paragraph (1)

13 shall be allocated among those individuals in a man14 ner determined by the individuals.’’.

15 SEC. 403. CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES FROM STATE

16 AND LOCAL COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL PAR17 TIES TO BE AGGREGATED.

18 Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

19 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)) (as amended by section

20 102(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(10) AGGREGATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS FROM

22 STATE AND LOCAL COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL PAR23 TIES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (5)(B), a can24 didate may not accept, with respect to an election,

25 any contribution from a State or local committee of
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1 a political party (including any subordinate commit2 tee of such a committee), if the contribution, when

3 added to the total of contributions previously accept4 ed from all such committees of that political party,

5 would cause the total amount of contributions to ex6 ceed a limitation on contributions to a candidate

7 under this section.’’.

8 SEC. 404. CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES USING

9 MONEY SECURED BY PHYSICAL FORCE OR

10 OTHER INTIMIDATION.

11 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

12 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) (as amended by section 313) is

13 amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘SEC. 326. USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE OR INTIMIDATION TO

15 OBTAIN A CONTRIBUTION OR EXPENDITURE

16 OR DETER THE FILING OF A COMPLAINT.

17 ‘‘It shall be unlawful for any person to—

18 ‘‘(1) cause another person to make a contribu19 tion or expenditure by using physical force, job dis20 crimination, a financial reprisal, a threat of physical

21 force, job discrimination, or financial reprisal, or

22 taking or threatening to take other adverse action;

23 ‘‘(2) make a contribution or expenditure utiliz24 ing money or anything of value secured in the man25 ner described in paragraph (1).’’or
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1 ‘‘(3) use physical force, job discrimination, or

2 financial reprisal, a threat of physical force, job dis3 crimination, or financial reprisal, or take or threaten

4 to take other adverse action, against an employee,

5 union member, or other person—

6 ‘‘(A) to deter or prevent any person from

7 filing a complaint, providing testimony, or oth8 erwise cooperating with enforcement efforts

9 under this Act; or

10 ‘‘(B) to retaliate against any person who

11 has filed a complaint, provided testimony, or

12 otherwise cooperated with enforcement efforts

13 under this Act.’’.

14 SEC. 405. PROHIBITION OF ACCEPTANCE BY A CANDIDATE

15 OF CASH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ANY ONE

16 PERSON AGGREGATING MORE THAN $100.

17 Section 321 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

18 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441g) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and

19 no candidate or authorized committee of a candidate shall

20 accept from any 1 person,’’ after ‘‘make’’.
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1 TITLE V—AUTHORITIES AND DU2 TIES OF THE FEDERAL ELEC3 TION COMMISSION

4 SEC. 501. FILING OF REPORTS USING COMPUTERS AND

5 FACSIMILE MACHINES.

6 Section 302(g) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

7 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(g)) is amended by adding at the

8 end the following:

9 ‘‘(6) FILING OF REPORTS USING COMPUTERS

10 AND FACSIMILE MACHINES.—

11 ‘‘(A) COMPUTERS.—The Commission, in

12 consultation with the Secretary of the Senate

13 and the Clerk of the House of Representatives,

14 may issue a regulation under a person required

15 to file a designation, statement, or report under

16 this Act—

17 ‘‘(i) are required to maintain and file

18 the designation, statement, or report for

19 any calendar year in electronic form acces20 sible by computers if the person has, or

21 has reason to expect to have, aggregate

22 contributions or expenditures in excess of a

23 threshold amount determined by the Com24 mission; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) may maintain and file the des2 ignation, statement, or report in that man3 ner if not required to do so under a regula4 tion under clause (i).

5 ‘‘(B) FACSIMILE MACHINES.—The Com6 mission, in consultation with the Secretary of

7 the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Rep8 resentatives, shall prescribe a regulation that

9 allows a person to file a designation, statement,

10 or report required by this Act through the use

11 of a facsimile machine.

12 ‘‘(C) VERIFICATION.—In a regulation

13 under this paragraph, the Commission shall

14 provide methods (other than requiring a signa15 ture on the document being filed) for verifying

16 a designation, statement, or report. Any docu17 ment verified under any of the methods shall

18 be treated for all purposes (including penalties

19 for perjury) in the same manner as a document

20 verified by signature.

21 ‘‘(D) COMPATIBILITY OF SYSTEMS.—The

22 Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the

23 House of Representatives shall ensure that any

24 computer or other system that the Secretary or

25 the Clerk may develop and maintain to receive
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1 designations, statements, and reports in the

2 forms required or permitted under this para3 graph is compatible with any system that the

4 Commission may develop and maintain.’’.

5 SEC. 502. INCREASE IN THRESHOLD FOR REPORTING RE6 QUIREMENTS.

7 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTORS.—Section

8 302(c)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

9 (2 U.S.C. 432(c)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘$200’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘$50’’.

11 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF DISBURSEMENTS.—Section

12 302(c)(5) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

13 (2 U.S.C. 432(c)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘$200’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘$50’’.

15 SEC. 503. AUDITS.

16 (a) RANDOM AUDITS.—Section 311(b) of the Federal

17 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(b)) is

18 amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Commis20 sion’’; and

21 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(2) RANDOM AUDITS.—Notwithstanding paragraph

2 (1), the Commission may from time to time conduct ran3 dom audits and investigations to ensure voluntary compli4 ance with this Act. The subjects of such audits and inves5 tigations shall be selected on the basis of criteria estab6 lished by vote of at least 4 members of the Commission

7 to ensure impartiality in the selection process. This para8 graph does not apply to an authorized committee of a can9 didate for President or Vice President subject to audit

10 under title VI or to an authorized committee of an eligible

11 Senate candidate or an eligible House candidate subject

12 to audit under section 522(a).’’.

13 (b) EXTENSION OF PERIOD DURING WHICH CAM14 PAIGN AUDITS MAY BE BEGUN.—Section 311(b) of the

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

16 438(b)), as redesignated by subsection (a), is amended by

17 striking ‘‘6 months’’ and inserting ‘‘12 months’’.

18 SEC. 504. AUTHORITY TO SEEK INJUNCTION.

19 Section 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

20 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is amended—

21 (1) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(13)(A) If, at any time in a proceeding described

23 in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4), the Commission believes

24 that—
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1 ‘‘(i) there is a substantial likelihood that a vio2 lation of this Act is occurring or is about to occur;

3 ‘‘(ii) the failure to act expeditiously will result

4 in irreparable harm to a party affected by the poten5 tial violation;

6 ‘‘(iii) expeditious action will not cause undue

7 harm or prejudice to the interests of others; and

8 ‘‘(iv) the public interest would be best served by

9 the issuance of an injunction;

10 the Commission may initiate a civil action for a temporary

11 restraining order or a temporary injunction pending the

12 outcome of the proceedings described in paragraphs (1),

13 (2), (3), and (4).

14 ‘‘(B) An action under subparagraph (A) shall be

15 brought in the United States district court for the district

16 in which the defendant resides, transacts business, or may

17 be found or in which the violation is occurring, has oc18 curred, or is about to occur.’’;

19 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘(5) or (6)’’

20 and inserting ‘‘(5), (6), or (13)’’; and

21 (3) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘(6)’’ and in22 serting ‘‘(6) or (13)’’.
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1 SEC. 505. PENALTIES.

2 (a) INCREASED PENALTIES.—Section 309(a) of the

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

4 437g(a)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraphs (5)(A), (6)(A), and (6)(B) by

6 striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’;

7 (2) in paragraph (5)(B) by striking ‘‘the great8 er of $10,000 or an amount equal to 200 percent’’

9 and inserting ‘‘the greater of $20,000 or 300 per10 cent’’; and

11 (3) in paragraph (6)(C) by striking ‘‘the great12 er of $10,000 or an amount equal to 200 percent’’

13 and inserting ‘‘the greater of $20,000 or 300 per14 cent’’.

15 (b) EQUITABLE REMEDIES.—Section 309(a)(5)(A) of

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

17 437g(a)(5)) is amended by striking the period and insert18 ing ‘‘, and, if authorized by the agreement, may include

19 equitable remedies or penalties including disgorgement of

20 funds to the United States Treasury, community service

21 requirements, suspension or disbarment of treasurers, or

22 public education requirements.’’.

23 (c) AUTOMATIC PENALTY FOR LATE FILING.—Sec24 tion 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

25 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is amended—

26 (1) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(13) PENALTY FOR LATE FILING.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

3 establish a schedule of mandatory monetary

4 penalties that shall be imposed by the staff di5 rector of the Commission for any failure to

6 meet the time requirements for filing under sec7 tion 304.

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED FILING OF LATE RE9 PORT.—The Commission may require a report

10 that has not been filed within the time require11 ments of section 304 to be filed by a specific

12 date.

13 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURE FOR ASSESSING PEN14 ALTIES AND FILING DEADLINES.—Penalties

15 and filing requirements imposed under this

16 paragraph shall not be subject to paragraph

17 (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (12).

18 ‘‘(D) APPEALS.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A political com20 mittee shall have 30 days after the imposi21 tion of penalty or filing requirement under

22 this paragraph to file an exception with the

23 Commission.
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1 ‘‘(ii) COMMISSION DETERMINATION.—

2 Within 30 days after receiving the excep3 tion, the Commission shall make a deter4 mination that is a final agency action sub5 ject to exclusive review by the United

6 States Court of Appeals for the District of

7 Columbia Circuit under section 706 of title

8 5, United States Code, upon petition filed

9 in the court by the political committee that

10 is the subject of the agency action, if the

11 petition is filed within 30 days of the Com12 mission action for which review is

13 sought.’’;

14 (2) in paragraph (5)(D)—

15 (A) by inserting after the first sentence the

16 following: ‘‘In any case in which a penalty or

17 filing requirement imposed on a political com18 mittee or treasurer under paragraph (13) has

19 not been satisfied, the Commission may insti20 tute a civil action for enforcement under para21 graph 6(A).’’; and

22 (B) by inserting before the period in the

23 last sentence ‘‘or has failed to pay a penalty or

24 meet a filing requirement imposed under para25 graph (13)’’; and
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1 (3) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ‘‘paragraph

2 (4)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (4)(A) or (13)’’.

3 SEC. 506. INDEPENDENT LITIGATING AUTHORITY.

4 (a) LITIGATING AUTHORITY.—Section 306(f) of Fed5 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(f))

6 is amended by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(4) INDEPENDENT LITIGATING AUTHORITY.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para10 graph (2) or any other provision of law, the

11 Commission is authorized to appear on its own

12 behalf in any action related to the exercise of

13 its statutory duties or powers in any court as

14 a party or amicus curiae, either—

15 ‘‘(i) by attorneys employed in the of16 fice of the Commission, or

17 ‘‘(ii) by counsel whom the Commission

18 may appoint, on a temporary basis, as may

19 be necessary for such purpose, without re20 gard to the provisions of title 5, United

21 States Code, and whose compensation the

22 Commission may fix without regard to the

23 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter

24 III of chapter 53 of that title.
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1 ‘‘(B) APPEALS.—The authority granted under

2 subparagraph (A) includes the power of the Commis3 sion to appeal from, and petition the Supreme Court

4 for certiorari to review, judgments, or decrees en5 tered with respect to actions in which the Commis6 sion appears pursuant to the authority provided by

7 this Act.’’.

8 (b) POWER OF COMMISSION TO PETITION THE SU9 PREME COURT.—Section 307(a)(6) of Federal Election

10 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)(6)) is amended

11 by striking ‘‘or appeal any civil action’’ and inserting ‘‘,

12 appeal any civil action or petition the Supreme Court for

13 certiorari to review judgments or decrees entered with re14 spect to actions in which the Commission appears’’.

15 SEC. 507. REFERENCE OF SUSPECTED VIOLATION TO THE

16 ATTORNEY GENERAL.

17 Section 309(a)(5) of Federal Election Campaign Act

18 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is amended by striking sub19 paragraph (C) and inserting the following:

20 ‘‘(C) REFERRAL TO THE ATTORNEY GEN21 ERAL.—The Commission may at any time, by

22 an affirmative vote of 4 of its members, refer

23 a possible violation of this Act or chapter 95 or

24 chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of

25 1986 to the Attorney General of the United
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1 States, without regard to any limitations set

2 forth in this section.’’.

3 SEC. 508. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

4 (a) INITIATION OF ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDING.—

5 Section 309(a)(2) of Federal Election Campaign Act of

6 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘rea7 son to believe that’’ and inserting ‘‘reason to investigate

8 whether’’.

9 (b) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Section 306(f) of the

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

11 437c(f)) is amended by inserting at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(5) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In any matter

13 under this Act or under chapter 95 or chapter 96

14 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Commis15 sion may at its discretion, without court order and

16 with or without reimbursement, require the United

17 States Marshal Service to serve process on behalf of

18 the Commission, including serving a summons, sub19 poena, or complaint, upon any person.’’.

20 (c) VENUE FOR VIOLATIONS ADJUDICATED IN

21 COURT.—Section 309(a)(6)(A) of Federal Election Cam22 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(6)(A)) is amended

23 by striking ‘‘for the district in which the person against

24 whom such action is brought is found, resides, or transacts

25 business’’ and inserting ‘‘in which the defendant resides,
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1 transacts business, or is found or in which the violation

2 occurred’’.

3 (d) FILING OF REPORTS WITH COMMISSION IN4 STEAD OF THE SECRETARY OF THE SENATE.—

5 (1) SECTION 302.—Section 302(g) of the Fed6 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

7 432(g)) is amended—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘(g)(1)’’ and all that fol9 lows through ‘‘(3) All’’ and inserting ‘‘(g) FIL10 ING.—’’;

11 (B) by striking paragraph (4); and

12 (C) by striking ‘‘, except designations,

13 statements, and reports filed in accordance with

14 paragraph (1),’’.

15 (2) SECTION 304.—Section 304 of Federal Elec16 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) is

17 amended—

18 (A) in the first sentence of subsection

19 (a)(6), by striking ‘‘the Secretary, or the Com20 mission,’’ and inserting ‘‘the Commission’’; and

21 (B) in the third sentence of subsection

22 (c)(2), by striking ‘‘the Secretary, or’’.

23 (3) SECTION 311.—Section 311(a)(4) of Federal

24 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.
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1 438(a)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘Secretary, or

2 the’’.

3 (e) AUTHORIZATION TO ACCEPT GIFTS.—Section

4 306(f) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

5 U.S.C. 437c(f)) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing:

7 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION TO ACCEPT GIFTS.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the pur9 poses of this Act, the Commission may accept,

10 hold, administer, and utilize gifts, devises, and

11 bequests of property, both real and personal, if

12 the acceptance and use of the gifts, devises, or

13 bequests does not create a conflict of interest.

14 ‘‘(B) DEPOSIT OF GIFTS.—Gifts and be15 quests of money and proceeds from sales of

16 other property received as gifts, devises, or be17 quests shall be deposited in the Treasury and

18 shall be disbursed upon the order of the Com19 mission.

20 ‘‘(C) USE OF GIFTS.—Property accepted

21 pursuant to this section, and the proceeds from

22 the property, shall be used as closely as prac23 ticable in accordance with the terms of the

24 gifts, devises, or bequests.’’.
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1 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

2 SEC. 601. PROHIBITION OF LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES.

3 Section 302(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

4 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(e)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—A political committee that

8 supports or has supported more than 1 candidate

9 shall not be designated as an authorized committee,

10 except that—

11 ‘‘(A) a candidate for the office of President

12 nominated by a political party may designate

13 the national committee of the political party as

14 the candidate’s principal campaign committee if

15 the national committee maintains separate

16 books of account with respect to its functions as

17 a principal campaign committee; and

18 ‘‘(B) a candidate may designate a political

19 committee established solely for the purpose of

20 joint fundraising by such candidates as an au21 thorized committee.’’; and

22 (2) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITION OF LEADERSHIP COMMIT24 TEES.—

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—
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1 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION.—A candidate or

2 an individual holding Federal office shall

3 not establish, finance, maintain, or control

4 any political committee or non-Federal po5 litical committee other than a principal

6 campaign committee of the candidate, au7 thorized committee, party committee, or

8 other political committee designated in ac9 cordance with paragraph (3).

10 ‘‘(ii) CANDIDATE FOR MORE THAN 1

11 OFFICE.—A candidate for more than 1

12 Federal office may designate a separate

13 principal campaign committee for the cam14 paign for election to each Federal office.

15 ‘‘(iii) CANDIDATES FOR STATE OR

16 LOCAL OFFICE.—This paragraph does not

17 preclude a Federal officeholder who is a

18 candidate for State or local office from es19 tablishing, financing, maintaining, or con20 trolling a political committee for election of

21 the individual to the State or local office.

22 ‘‘(B) TRANSITION.—

23 ‘‘(i) CONTINUATION FOR 12

24 MONTHS.—For a period of 12 months

25 after the effective date of this paragraph,
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1 any political committee established before

2 that date but that is prohibited under sub3 paragraph (A) may continue to make con4 tributions.

5 ‘‘(ii) DISBURSEMENT AT THE END OF

6 12 MONTHS.—At the end of the 12-month

7 period, the political committee shall dis8 burse all funds by 1 or more of the follow9 ing means:

10 ‘‘(I) Making contributions to a

11 person described in section 501(c)(3)

12 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

13 and exempt from taxation under sec14 tion 501(a) of the Code.

15 ‘‘(II) Making a contribution to

16 the Treasury of the United States.

17 ‘‘(III) Contributing to the na18 tional, State, or local committee of a

19 political party.

20 ‘‘(IV) Making a contribution of

21 not to exceed $1,000 each to 1 or

22 more candidates or non-Federal can23 didates.’’.
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1 SEC. 602. TELEPHONE VOTING BY PERSONS WITH DISABIL2 ITIES.

3 (a) STUDY OF SYSTEMS TO PERMIT PERSONS WITH

4 DISABILITIES TO VOTE BY TELEPHONE.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Election Com6 mission shall conduct a study to determine the fea7 sibility of developing a system or systems by which

8 persons with disabilities may be permitted to vote by

9 telephone.

10 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Federal Election

11 Commission shall conduct the study described in

12 paragraph (1) in consultation with State and local

13 election officials, representatives of the telecommuni14 cations industry, representatives of persons with dis15 abilities, and other concerned members of the public.

16 (3) CRITERIA.—The system or systems devel17 oped pursuant to paragraph (1) shall—

18 (A) propose a description of the kinds of

19 disabilities that impose such difficulty in travel

20 to polling places that a person with a disability

21 who may desire to vote is discouraged from un22 dertaking such travel;

23 (B) propose procedures to identify persons

24 who are so disabled; and

25 (C) describe procedures and equipment

26 that may be used to ensure that—
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1 (i) only persons who are entitled to

2 use the system are permitted to use it;

3 (ii) the votes of persons who use the

4 system are recorded accurately and remain

5 secret;

6 (iii) the system minimizes the possibil7 ity of vote fraud; and

8 (iv) the system minimizes the finan9 cial costs that State and local governments

10 would incur in establishing and operating

11 the system.

12 (4) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.—In developing

13 a system described in paragraph (1), the Federal

14 Election Commission may request proposals from

15 private contractors for the design of procedures and

16 equipment to be used in the system.

17 (5) PHYSICAL ACCESS.—Nothing in this section

18 is intended to supersede or supplant efforts by State

19 and local governments to make polling places phys20 ically accessible to persons with disabilities.

21 (6) DEADLINE.—The Federal Election Commis22 sion shall submit to Congress the study required by

23 this section not later than 1 year after the effective

24 date of this Act.
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1 SEC. 603. CERTAIN TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS NOT SUB2 JECT TO CORPORATE LIMITS.

3 Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

5 the following:

6 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITIONS NOT TO APPLY TO INDEPEND7 ENT EXPENDITURES OF CERTAIN TAX-EXEMPT ORGANI8 ZATIONS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section

10 shall preclude a qualified nonprofit corporation from

11 making an independent expenditure.

12 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED NONPROFIT

13 CORPORATION.—In this subsection, the term ‘quali14 fied nonprofit corporation’ means a corporation de15 scribed in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue

16 Code of 1986 that is exempt from taxation under

17 section 501(a) of the Code and that meets the fol18 lowing requirements:

19 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE.—The only express purpose

20 of the corporation is the promotion of political

21 ideas.

22 ‘‘(B) NO TRADE OR BUSINESS.—The cor23 poration cannot and does not engage in any ac24 tivities that constitute a trade or business.

25 ‘‘(C) GROSS RECEIPTS.—The gross re26 ceipts of the corporation for the calendar year
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1 have not (and will not) exceed $100,000, and

2 the net value of the total assets at any time

3 during the calendar year do not exceed

4 $250,000.

5 ‘‘(D) ESTABLISHMENT.—The corpora6 tion—

7 ‘‘(i) was not established by—

8 ‘‘(I) a person described in section

9 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue

10 Code of 1986 that is exempt from tax11 ation under section 501(a) of the

12 Code;

13 ‘‘(II) a corporation engaged in

14 carrying out a trade or business; or

15 ‘‘(III) a labor organization; and

16 ‘‘(ii) cannot and does not directly or

17 indirectly accept donations of anything of

18 value from any such person, corporation,

19 or labor organization.

20 ‘‘(E) ASSETS AND EARNINGS.—The cor21 poration—

22 ‘‘(i) has no shareholder or other per23 son affiliated with it that could make a

24 claim on its assets or earnings; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) offers no incentives or disincen2 tives for associating or not associating with

3 it other than on the basis of its position on

4 any political issue.

5 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED NONPROFIT CORPORATION

6 TREATED AS POLITICAL COMMITTEE.—If a major

7 purpose of a qualified nonprofit corporation is the

8 making of independent expenditures, and the re9 quirements of section 301(4) are met with respect to

10 the corporation, the corporation shall be treated as

11 a political committee.

12 ‘‘(4) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—All solicitations

13 by a qualified nonprofit corporation shall include a

14 notice informing contributors that donations may be

15 used by the corporation to make independent ex16 penditures.

17 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.—A qualified nonprofit corpora18 tion shall file reports as required by subsections (d)

19 and (e) of section 304.

20 SEC. 604. AIDING AND ABETTING VIOLATIONS OF THE FED21 ERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971.

22 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

23 1971 (as amended by section 404) is amended by adding

24 at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 327. AIDING AND ABETTING VIOLATIONS.

2 ‘‘With reference to any provision of this Act that

3 places a requirement or prohibition on any person acting

4 in a particular capacity, any person who knowingly aids

5 or abets the person in that capacity in violating that provi6 sion may be proceeded against as a principal in the viola7 tion.’’.

8 SEC. 605. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING THAT REFERS TO AN

9 OPPONENT.

10 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

11 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) (as amended by section 505)

12 is amended by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 328. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING THAT REFERS TO AN

14 OPPONENT.

15 ‘‘(a) CANDIDATES.—A candidate or candidate’s au16 thorized committee that places in the mail a campaign ad17 vertisement or any other communication to the general

18 public that directly or indirectly refers to an opponent or

19 the opponents of the candidate in an election, with or with20 out identifying any opponent in particular, shall file an

21 exact copy of the communication with the Commission and

22 with the Secretary of State of the candidate’s State by

23 not later than 12:00 p.m. on the day on which the commu24 nication is first placed in the mail to the general public.

25 ‘‘(b) PERSONS OTHER THAN CANDIDATES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person other than a can2 didate or candidate’s authorized committee that

3 places in the mail a campaign advertisement or any

4 other communication described in paragraph (2)

5 shall file an exact copy of the communication with

6 the Commission and with the Secretary of State of

7 the candidate’s State by not later than 12:00 p.m.

8 on the day on which the communication is first

9 placed in the mail to the general public.

10 ‘‘(2) ADVOCACY OR REFERENCE TO OPPO11 NENT.—A communication is described in this para12 graph if it is a communication to the general public

13 that—

14 ‘‘(A) advocates the election of a particular

15 candidate in an election; and

16 ‘‘(B) directly or indirectly refers to an op17 ponent or the opponents of the candidate in the

18 election, with or without identifying any oppo19 nent in particular.’’.

20 SEC. 606. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL USE OF THE FRANK21 ING PRIVILEGE.

22 Section 3210(a)(6) of title 39, United States Code,

23 is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting

24 the following:
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1 ‘‘(A) A Member of Congress may not mail

2 any mass mailing as franked mail during a year

3 in which there will be an election for the seat

4 held by the Member during the period between

5 January 1 of that year and the date of the gen6 eral election for that office, unless the Member

7 has made a public announcement that the

8 Member will not be a candidate for reelection to

9 that seat or for election to any other Federal

10 office.’’.

11 SEC. 607. PARTICIPATION BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN PO12 LITICAL ACTIVITIES.

13 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 319 of the Federal Elec14 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended—

15 (1) by striking the heading and inserting ‘‘PAR16 TICIPATION BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN POLITICAL

17 ACTIVITIES’’;

18 (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the

19 following:

20 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITED CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDI21 TURES.—

22 ‘‘(1) It shall be unlawful for a foreign national

23 directly or through any other person to make any

24 contribution or expenditure of money or other thing

25 of value, or to promise expressly or impliedly to
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1 make any contribution or expenditure, in connection

2 with an election to any political office or in connec3 tion with any primary election, convention, or caucus

4 held to select candidates for any political office; or

5 ‘‘(2) for any person to solicit, receive, or accept

6 a contribution from a foreign national.’’;

7 (3) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub8 section (c); and

9 (4) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow10 ing:

11 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—It shall be unlawful

12 for a foreign national or an individual lawfully admitted

13 for permanent residence, as defined by section 101(a)(20)

14 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

15 1101(a)(20), to direct, dictate, control, or directly or indi16 rectly participate in the decisionmaking process of any

17 other person, (as defined in 301(11)), with regard to the

18 person’s Federal or non-Federal election-related activities,

19 such as a decision concerning the making of a contribution

20 or expenditure in connection with an election for any Fed21 eral office or a decision concerning the administration of

22 a political committee.’’.
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1 (b) AFFIRMATION OF ELIGIBILITY TO MAKE CON2 TRIBUTION.—Section 319 of the Federal Election Cam3 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e) (as amended by sub4 section (a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(d) AFFIRMATION OF ELIGIBILITY TO MAKE CON6 TRIBUTION.—A candidate or authorized committee of a

7 candidate shall not accept a contribution in excess of $500

8 unless the contribution is accompanied by a statement,

9 signed by the person making the contribution, affirming

10 that the person is not a person prohibited by this section

11 from making the contribution.’’.

12 SEC. 608. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH FOREIGN

13 CONTRIBUTION AND SOLICITATION LIMITA14 TIONS.

15 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

16 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended—

17 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub18 section (d); and

19 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH FOREIGN

22 CONTRIBUTION AND SOLICITATION LIMITATIONS—Each
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1 report required under this section shall include a certifi2 cation under penalty of perjury that the political commit3 tee has not knowingly solicited or accepted contributions

4 prohibited by section 319.’’.

5 TITLE VII—EFFECTIVE DATES;

6 AUTHORIZATIONS

7 SEC. 701. EFFECTIVE DATE.

8 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act and

9 the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the

10 date of enactment of this Act.

11 SEC. 702. BUDGET NEUTRALITY.

12 (a) DELAYED EFFECTIVENESS.—This Act (other

13 than this section) and the amendments made by this Act

14 shall not be effective until the Director of the Office of

15 Management and Budget certifies that the estimated costs

16 under section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency

17 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 902) have been off18 set by the enactment of legislation effectuating this Act.

19 (b) FUNDING.—Legislation effectuating this Act

20 shall not provide for general revenue increases, reduce ex21 penditures for any existing Federal program, or increase

22 the Federal budget deficit.

23 SEC. 703. SEVERABILITY.

24 Except as provided in section 101(c), if any provision

25 of this Act (including any amendment made by this Act),
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1 or the application of any such provision to any person or

2 circumstance is held invalid, the validity of any other pro3 vision of this Act, or the application of the provision to

4 other persons and circumstances shall not be affected

5 thereby.

6 SEC. 704. EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES.

7 (a) DIRECT APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT.—An ap8 peal may be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the

9 United States from any interlocutory order or final judg10 ment, decree, or order issued by any court ruling on the

11 constitutionality of any provision of this Act or amend12 ment made by this Act.

13 (b) ACCEPTANCE AND EXPEDITION.—The Supreme

14 Court shall, if the Court has not previously ruled on the

15 question addressed in the ruling below, accept jurisdiction

16 over, advance on the docket, and expedite the appeal to

17 the greatest extent possible.

18 SEC. 705. REGULATIONS.

19 The Federal Election Commission shall prescribe any

20 regulations required to carry out this Act and the amend21 ments made by this Act not later than 270 days after the

22 effective date of this Act.

Æ