II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1197

To reform the financing of Federal elections.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 18, 1997

Mrs. FEINSTEIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

A BILL

To reform the financing of Federal elections.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Campaign Reform Act of 1997’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—BAN ON SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTY

COMMITTEES

Sec. 101. Soft money of political party committees.

Sec. 102. State party grassroots funds.

Sec. 103. Reporting requirements.

TITLE II—INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES; SOFT MONEY
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Sec. 201. Express advocacy.

Sec. 202. Reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures.

Sec. 203. Soft money of persons other than political parties.

TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 301. Filing of reports using computers and facsimile machines.

Sec. 302. Audits.

Sec. 303. Authority to seek injunction.

Sec. 304. Reporting requirements for contributions of $50 or more.

Sec. 305. Increase in penalty for knowing and willful violations.

Sec. 306. Prohibition of contributions by individuals not qualified to register to

vote.

Sec. 307. Use of candidates’ names.

Sec. 308. Prohibition of false representation to solicit contributions.

Sec. 309. Expedited procedures.

Sec. 310. Reference of suspected violation to the attorney general.

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 401. Contribution limits; indexing.

Sec. 402. Use of contributed amounts for certain purposes.

Sec. 403. Campaign advertising.

Sec. 404. Limit on congressional use of the franking privilege.

TITLE V—CONSTITUTIONALITY; EFFECTIVE DATE; REGULATIONS

Sec. 501. Severability.

Sec. 502. Review of constitutional issues.

Sec. 503. Effective date.

Sec. 504. Regulations.

1 TITLE I—BAN ON SOFT MONEY

2 OF POLITICAL PARTY COM3 MITTEES

4 SEC. 101. SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES.

5 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

6 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

7 end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 324. SOFT MONEY OF PARTY COMMITTEES.

9 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL COMMITTEES.—

10 ‘‘(1) ALL CONTRIBUTIONS, DONATIONS, TRANS11 FERS, AND SPENDING TO BE SUBJECT TO THIS
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1 ACT.—A national committee of a political party (in2 cluding a national congressional campaign committee

3 of a political party), an entity that is directly or in4 directly established, financed, maintained, or con5 trolled by a national committee or its agent, an en6 tity acting on behalf of a national committee, and an

7 officer or agent acting on behalf of any such com8 mittee or entity (but not including an entity regu9 lated under subsection (b)) shall not solicit or re10 ceive any contributions, donations, or transfers of

11 funds, or spend any funds, that are not subject to

12 the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting require13 ments of this Act.

14 ‘‘(2) DONATION LIMIT.—In addition to the

15 amount of contributions that a person may make to

16 a national committee of a political party under sec17 tion 315, a person may make donations of anything

18 of value to a national committee of a political party

19 (including a national congressional campaign com20 mittee of a political party), an entity that is directly

21 or indirectly established, financed, maintained, or

22 controlled by a national committee or its agent, an

23 entity acting on behalf of a national committee, and

24 an officer or agent acting on behalf of any such

25 committee or entity (but not including an entity reg-
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1 ulated under subsection (b)) in an aggregate amount

2 not exceeding $25,000 during the 24 months preced3 ing the date of a general election for Federal office.

4 ‘‘(b) STATE, DISTRICT, AND LOCAL COMMITTEES.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any amount that is ex6 pended or disbursed by a State, district, or local

7 committee of a political party (including an entity

8 that is directly or indirectly established, financed,

9 maintained, or controlled by a State, district, or

10 local committee of a political party and an officer or

11 agent acting on behalf of any such committee or en12 tity) during a calendar year in which a Federal elec13 tion is held, for any activity that might affect the

14 outcome of a Federal election, including any voter

15 registration or get-out-the-vote activity, any generic

16 campaign activity, and any communication that re17 fers to a candidate (regardless of whether a can18 didate for State or local office is also mentioned or

19 identified) shall be made from funds subject to the

20 limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements

21 of this Act.

22 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITY EXCLUDED FROM PARAGRAPH

23 (1).—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall

25 not apply to an expenditure or disbursement
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1 made by a State, district, or local committee of

2 a political party for—

3 ‘‘(i) a contribution to a candidate for

4 State or local office if the contribution is

5 not designated or otherwise earmarked to

6 pay for an activity described in paragraph

7 (1);

8 ‘‘(ii) the costs of a State, district, or

9 local political convention;

10 ‘‘(iii) the non-Federal share of a

11 State, district, or local party committee’s

12 administrative and overhead expenses (but

13 not including the compensation in any

14 month of any individual who spends more

15 than 20 percent of the individual’s time on

16 activity during the month that may affect

17 the outcome of a Federal election) except

18 that for purposes of this paragraph, the

19 non-Federal share of a party committee’s

20 administrative and overhead expenses shall

21 be determined by applying the ratio of the

22 non-Federal disbursements to the total

23 Federal expenditures and non-Federal dis24 bursements made by the committee during

25 the previous presidential election year to
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1 the committee’s administrative and over2 head expenses in the election year in ques3 tion;

4 ‘‘(iv) the costs of grassroots campaign

5 materials, including buttons, bumper stick6 ers, and yard signs that name or depict

7 only a candidate for State or local office;

8 and

9 ‘‘(v) the cost of any campaign activity

10 conducted solely on behalf of a clearly

11 identified candidate for State or local of12 fice, if the candidate activity is not an ac13 tivity described in paragraph (1).

14 ‘‘(B) FUNDRAISING COSTS.—Any amount

15 spent by a national, State, district, or local

16 committee, by an entity that is established, fi17 nanced, maintained, or controlled by a State,

18 district, or local committee of a political party,

19 or by an agent or officer of any such committee

20 or entity to raise funds that are used, in whole

21 or in part, to pay the costs of an activity de22 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be made from

23 funds subject to the limitations, prohibitions,

24 and reporting requirements of this Act.
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1 ‘‘(c) TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—A national,

2 State, district, or local committee of a political party (in3 cluding a national congressional campaign committee of

4 a political party), an entity that is directly or indirectly

5 established, financed, maintained, or controlled by any

6 such national, State, district, or local committee or its

7 agent, an agent acting on behalf of any such party com8 mittee, and an officer or agent acting on behalf of any

9 such party committee or entity), shall not solicit any funds

10 for or make any donations to an organization that is ex11 empt from Federal taxation under section 501(c) of the

12 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

13 ‘‘(d) CANDIDATES.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate, individual

15 holding Federal office, or agent of a candidate or in16 dividual holding Federal office shall not—

17 ‘‘(A) solicit, receive, transfer, or spend

18 funds in connection with an election for Federal

19 office unless the funds are subject to the limita20 tions, prohibitions, and reporting requirements

21 of this Act;

22 ‘‘(B) solicit, receive, or transfer funds that

23 are to be expended in connection with any elec24 tion other than a Federal election unless the

25 funds—
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1 ‘‘(i) are not in excess of the amounts

2 permitted with respect to contributions to

3 candidates and political committees under

4 section 315(a) (1) and (2); and

5 ‘‘(ii) are not from sources prohibited

6 by this Act from making contributions with

7 respect to an election for Federal office; or

8 ‘‘(C) solicit, receive, or transfer any funds

9 on behalf of any person that are not subject to

10 the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re11 quirements of the Act if the funds are for use

12 in financing any campaign-related activity or

13 any communication that refers to a clearly iden14 tified candidate for Federal office.

15 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not

16 apply to the solicitation or receipt of funds by an in17 dividual who is a candidate for a State or local office

18 if the solicitation or receipt of funds is permitted

19 under State law for the individual’s State or local

20 campaign committee.’’.

21 SEC. 102. STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.

22 (a) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

23 315(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

24 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)) is amended—
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1 (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the

2 end;

3 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub4 paragraph (D); and

5 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol6 lowing:

7 ‘‘(C) to—

8 ‘‘(i) a State Party Grassroots Fund estab9 lished and maintained by a State committee of

10 a political party in any calendar year which, in

11 the aggregate, exceed $20,000;

12 ‘‘(ii) any other political committee estab13 lished and maintained by a State committee of

14 a political party in any calendar year which, in

15 the aggregate, exceed $5,000;

16 except that the aggregate contributions described in

17 this subparagraph that may be made by a person to

18 the State Party Grassroots Fund and all committees

19 of a State Committee of a political party in any

20 State in any calendar year shall not exceed $20,000;

21 or’’.

22 (b) LIMITS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(a) of the Fed24 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.
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1 441a(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and

2 inserting the following:

3 ‘‘(3) OVERALL LIMITS.—

4 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL LIMIT.—No individual

5 shall make contributions during any calendar

6 year that, in the aggregate, exceed $30,000.

7 ‘‘(B) CALENDAR YEAR.—No individual

8 shall make contributions during any calendar

9 year—

10 ‘‘(i) to all candidates and their au11 thorized political committees that, in the

12 aggregate, exceed $25,000; or

13 ‘‘(ii) to all political committees estab14 lished and maintained by State committees

15 of a political party that, in the aggregate,

16 exceed $20,000.

17 ‘‘(C) NONELECTION YEARS.—For purposes

18 of subparagraph (B)(i), any contribution made

19 to a candidate or the candidate’s authorized po20 litical committees in a year other than the cal21 endar year in which the election is held with re22 spect to which the contribution is made shall be

23 treated as being made during the calendar year

24 in which the election is held.’’.
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1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 301 of the Federal Elec2 tion Campaign Act of 1970 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended

3 by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(20) GENERIC CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY.—The

5 term ‘generic campaign activity’ means a campaign

6 activity that promotes a political party and does not

7 refer to any particular Federal or non-Federal can8 didate.

9 ‘‘(21) STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUND.—The

10 term ‘State Party Grassroots Fund’ means a sepa11 rate segregated fund established and maintained by

12 a State committee of a political party solely for pur13 poses of making expenditures and other disburse14 ments described in section 325(d).’’.

15 (d) STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.—Title III of

16 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431

17 et seq.) (as amended by section 101) is amended by adding

18 at the end the following:

19 ‘‘SEC. 325. STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘State

21 or local candidate committee’ means a committee estab22 lished, financed, maintained, or controlled by a candidate

23 for other than Federal office.

24 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS.—Notwithstanding section

25 315(a)(4), no funds may be transferred by a State com-
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1 mittee of a political party from its State Party Grassroots

2 Fund to any other State Party Grassroots Fund or to any

3 other political committee, except a transfer may be made

4 to a district or local committee of the same political party

5 in the same State if the district or local committee—

6 ‘‘(1) has established a separate segregated fund

7 for the purposes described in subsection (d); and

8 ‘‘(2) uses the transferred funds solely for those

9 purposes.

10 ‘‘(c) AMOUNTS RECEIVED BY GRASSROOTS FUNDS

11 FROM STATE AND LOCAL CANDIDATE COMMITTEES.—

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

13 State Party Grassroots Fund from a State or local

14 candidate committee for expenditures described in

15 subsection (d) that are for the benefit of that can16 didate shall be treated as meeting the requirements

17 of 324(b)(1) and section 304(e) if—

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

19 which meet the requirements of this Act with

20 respect to any limitation or prohibition as to

21 source or dollar amount specified in section

22 315(a) (1)(A) and (2)(A)(i); and

23 ‘‘(B) the State or local candidate commit24 tee—
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1 ‘‘(i) maintains, in the account from

2 which payment is made, records of the

3 sources and amounts of funds for purposes

4 of determining whether those requirements

5 are met; and

6 ‘‘(ii) certifies that the requirements

7 were met.

8 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.—For

9 purposes of paragraph (1)(A), in determining wheth10 er the funds transferred meet the requirements of

11 this Act described in paragraph (1)(A)—

12 ‘‘(A) a State or local candidate commit13 tee’s cash on hand shall be treated as consisting

14 of the funds most recently received by the com15 mittee; and

16 ‘‘(B) the committee must be able to dem17 onstrate that its cash on hand contains funds

18 meeting those requirements sufficient to cover

19 the transferred funds.

20 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—Notwithstanding paragraph

21 (1), any State Party Grassroots Fund that receives

22 a transfer described in paragraph (1) from a State

23 or local candidate committee shall be required to

24 meet the reporting requirements of this Act, and

25 shall submit to the Commission all certifications re-
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1 ceived, with respect to receipt of the transfer from

2 the candidate committee.

3 ‘‘(d) DISBURSEMENTS AND EXPENDITURES.—A

4 State committee of a political party may make disburse5 ments and expenditures from its State Party Grassroots

6 Fund only for—

7 ‘‘(1) any generic campaign activity;

8 ‘‘(2) payments described in clauses (v), (x), and

9 (xii) of paragraph (8)(B) and clauses (iv), (viii), and

10 (ix) of paragraph (9)(B) of section 301;

11 ‘‘(3) subject to the limitations of section

12 315(d), payments described in clause (xii) of para13 graph (8)(B), and clause (ix) of paragraph (9)(B),

14 of section 301 on behalf of candidates other than for

15 President and Vice President;

16 ‘‘(4) voter registration; and

17 ‘‘(5) development and maintenance of voter files

18 during an even-numbered calendar year.’’.

19 SEC. 103. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

20 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of the

21 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434)

22 (as amended by section 202) is amended by adding at the

23 end the following:

24 ‘‘(e) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL AND CONGRESSIONAL POLITI2 CAL COMMITTEES.—The national committee of a po3 litical party, any congressional campaign committee

4 of a political party, and any subordinate committee

5 of either, shall report all receipts and disbursements

6 during the reporting period, whether or not in con7 nection with an election for Federal office.

8 ‘‘(2) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES TO WHICH

9 SECTION 324 APPLIES.—A political committee (not

10 described in paragraph (1)) to which section

11 324(b)(1) applies shall report all receipts and dis12 bursements made for activities described in section

13 324(b) (1) and (2)(iii).

14 ‘‘(3) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Any po15 litical committee to which paragraph (1) or (2) does

16 not apply shall report any receipts or disbursements

17 that are used in connection with a Federal election.

18 ‘‘(4) ITEMIZATION.—If a political committee

19 has receipts or disbursements to which this sub20 section applies from any person aggregating in ex21 cess of $200 for any calendar year, the political

22 committee shall separately itemize its reporting for

23 such person in the same manner as required in para24 graphs (3)(A), (5), and (6) of subsection (b).
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1 ‘‘(5) REPORTING PERIODS.—Reports required to be

2 filed under this subsection shall be filed for the same time

3 periods required for political committees under

4 subsection (a).’’.

5 (b) BUILDING FUND EXCEPTION TO THE DEFINI6 TION OF CONTRIBUTION.—Section 301(8) of the Federal

7 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)) is

8 amended—

9 (1) by striking clause (viii); and

10 (2) by redesignating clauses (ix) through (xiv)

11 as clauses (viii) through (xiii), respectively.

12 (c) REPORTS BY STATE COMMITTEES.—Section 304

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

14 434) (as amended by subsection (a)) is amended by adding

15 at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(f) FILING OF STATE REPORTS.—In lieu of any re17 port required to be filed by this Act, the Commission may

18 allow a State committee of a political party to file with

19 the Commission a report required to be filed under State

20 law if the Commission determines such reports contain

21 substantially the same information.’’.

22 (d) OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

23 (1) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—Section

24 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

25 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub2 paragraph (H);

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub4 paragraph (I); and

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

6 subparagraph:

7 ‘‘(J) in the case of an authorized commit8 tee, disbursements for the primary election, the

9 general election, and any other election in which

10 the candidate participates;’’.

11 (2) NAMES AND ADDRESSES.—Section

12 304(b)(5)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

13 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended by in14 serting ‘‘, and the election to which the operating ex15 penditure relates’’ after ‘‘operating expenditure’’.

16 TITLE II—INDEPENDENT

17 EXPENDITURES; SOFT MONEY

18 SEC. 201. EXPRESS ADVOCACY.

19 (a) DEFINITION OF EXPENDITURE.—Section

20 301(9)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

21 (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(A)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i);

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

24 (ii) and inserting a semicolon; and

25 (3) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(iii) any payment during an election

2 year (or in a nonelection year, during the

3 period beginning on the date on which a

4 vacancy for Federal office occurs and end5 ing on the date of the special election for

6 that office) for a communication that is

7 made through any broadcast medium,

8 newspaper, magazine, billboard, direct

9 mail, or similar type of general public com10 munication or political advertising by a na11 tional, State, district, or local committee of

12 a political party, including a congressional

13 campaign committee of a party, that refers

14 to a clearly identified candidate; and

15 ‘‘(iv) any payment for a communica16 tion that contains express advocacy.’’.

17 (b) DEFINITION OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—

18 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

19 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking paragraph

20 (17) and inserting the following:

21 ‘‘(17) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘independent ex23 penditure’ means an expenditure that—

24 ‘‘(i) contains express advocacy; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) is made without cooperation or con2 sultation with any candidate, or any authorized

3 committee or agent of such candidate, and

4 which is not made in concert with, or at the re5 quest or suggestion of, any candidate, or any

6 authorized committee or agent of such can7 didate.’’.

8 (b) DEFINITION OF EXPRESS ADVOCACY.—Section

9 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

10 U.S.C. 431) (as amended by section 102(c)) is amended

11 by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(22) EXPRESS ADVOCACY.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘express ad14 vocacy’ includes—

15 ‘‘(i) a communication that conveys a

16 message that advocates the election or de17 feat of a clearly identified candidate for

18 Federal office by using an expression such

19 as ‘vote for,’ ‘elect,’ ‘support,’ ‘vote

20 against,’ ‘defeat,’ ‘reject,’ ‘(name of can21 didate) for Congress’, ‘vote pro-life,’ or

22 ‘vote pro-choice’, accompanied by a listing

23 or picture of a clearly identified candidate

24 described as ‘pro-life’ or ‘pro-choice,’ ‘re-
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1 ject the incumbent’, or a similar expres2 sion;

3 ‘‘(ii) a communication that is made

4 through a broadcast medium, newspaper,

5 magazine, billboard, direct mail, or similar

6 type of general public communication or

7 political advertising that involves aggregate

8 disbursements of $10,000 or more, that re9 fers to a clearly identified candidate, that

10 a reasonable person would understand as

11 advocating the election or defeat of the

12 candidate, and that is made within 60 days

13 before the date of a primary election (and

14 is targeted to the State in which the pri15 mary is occurring), or 60 days before a

16 general election; or

17 ‘‘(iii) a communication that is made

18 through a broadcast medium, newspaper,

19 magazine, billboard, direct mail, or similar

20 type of general public communication or

21 political advertising that involves aggregate

22 disbursements of $10,000 or more, that re23 fers to a clearly identified candidate, that

24 a reasonable person would understand as

25 advocating the election or defeat of a can-
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1 didate, that is made before the date that is

2 30 days before the date of a primary elec3 tion, or 60 days before the date of a gen4 eral election, and that is made for the pur5 pose of advocating the election or defeat of

6 the candidate, as shown by 1 or more fac7 tors such as a statement or action by the

8 person making the communication, the

9 targeting or placement of the communica10 tion, or the use by the person making the

11 communication of polling, demographic, or

12 other similar data relating to the can13 didate’s campaign or election.

14 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘express ad15 vocacy’ does not include the publication or dis16 tribution of a communication that is limited

17 solely to providing information about the voting

18 record of elected officials on legislative matters

19 and that a reasonable person would not under20 stand as advocating the election or defeat of a

21 particular candidate.’’.

22 SEC. 202. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN INDE23 PENDENT EXPENDITURES.

24 Section 304(c) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

25 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(c)) is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking the undesig2 nated matter after subparagraph (C);

3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para4 graph (7); and

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2), as amend6 ed by paragraph (1), the following:

7 ‘‘(d) TIME FOR REPORTING CERTAIN EXPENDI8 TURES.—

9 ‘‘(1) EXPENDITURES AGGREGATING $1,000.—

10 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—A person (includ11 ing a political committee) that makes or obli12 gates to make independent expenditures aggre13 gating $1,000 or more after the 20th day, but

14 more than 24 hours, before an election shall file

15 a report describing the expenditures within 24

16 hours after that amount of independent expend17 itures has been made.

18 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per19 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the

20 person shall file an additional report each time

21 that independent expenditures aggregating an

22 additional $1,000 are made or obligated to be

23 made with respect to the same election as that

24 to which the initial report relates.

25 ‘‘(2) EXPENDITURES AGGREGATING $10,000.—
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1 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—A person (includ2 ing a political committee) that makes or obli3 gates to make independent expenditures aggre4 gating $10,000 or more at any time up to and

5 including the 20th day before an election shall

6 file a report describing the expenditures within

7 48 hours after that amount of independent ex8 penditures has been made or obligated to be

9 made.

10 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per11 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the

12 person shall file an additional report each time

13 that independent expenditures aggregating an

14 additional $10,000 are made or obligated to be

15 made with respect to the same election as that

16 to which the initial report relates.

17 ‘‘(3) PLACE OF FILING; CONTENTS.—A report

18 under this subsection—

19 ‘‘(A) shall be filed with the Commission;

20 and

21 ‘‘(B) shall contain the information required

22 by subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii), including the name

23 of each candidate whom an expenditure is in24 tended to support or oppose.’’.
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1 SEC. 203. SOFT MONEY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN POLITI2 CAL PARTIES.

3 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

4 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) (as amended by section 103(c))

5 is amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(g) ELECTION ACTIVITY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN

7 POLITICAL PARTIES.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person other than a com9 mittee of a political party that makes aggregate dis10 bursements totaling in excess of $10,000 for activi11 ties described in paragraph (2) shall file a statement

12 with the Commission—

13 ‘‘(A) within 48 hours after the disburse14 ments are made; or

15 ‘‘(B) in the case of disbursements that are

16 made within 20 days of an election, within 24

17 hours after the disbursements are made.

18 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITY.—The activity described in this

19 paragraph is—

20 ‘‘(A) any activity described in section

21 316(b)(2)(A) that refers to any candidate for

22 Federal office, any political party, or any Fed23 eral election; and

24 ‘‘(B) any activity described in subpara25 graph (B) or (C) of section 316(b)(2).
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1 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS.—An additional

2 statement shall be filed each time additional dis3 bursements aggregating $10,000 are made by a per4 son described in paragraph (1).

5 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection does not

6 apply to—

7 ‘‘(A) a candidate or a candidate’s author8 ized committees; or

9 ‘‘(B) an independent expenditure.

10 ‘‘(5) CONTENTS.—A statement under this sec11 tion shall contain such information about the dis12 bursements as the Commission shall prescribe, in13 cluding—

14 ‘‘(A) the name and address of the person

15 or entity to whom the disbursement was made;

16 ‘‘(B) the amount and purpose of the dis17 bursement; and

18 ‘‘(C) if applicable, whether the disburse19 ment was in support of, or in opposition to, a

20 candidate or a political party, and the name of

21 the candidate or the political party.’’.
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1 TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT

2 SEC. 301. FILING OF REPORTS USING COMPUTERS AND

3 FACSIMILE MACHINES.

4 Section 302(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

5 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by striking para6 graph (11) and inserting at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(11) FILING REPORTS.—

8 ‘‘(A) COMPUTER ACCESSIBILITY.—The

9 Commission may prescribe regulations under

10 which persons required to file designations,

11 statements, and reports under this Act—

12 ‘‘(i) are required to maintain and file

13 a designation, statement, or report for any

14 calendar year in electronic form accessible

15 by computers if the person has, or has rea16 son to expect to have, aggregate contribu17 tions or expenditures in excess of a thresh18 old amount determined by the Commission;

19 and

20 ‘‘(ii) may maintain and file a designa21 tion, statement, or report in that manner

22 if not required to do so under regulations

23 prescribed under clause (i).

24 ‘‘(B) FACSIMILE MACHINE.—The Commis25 sion shall prescribe regulations which allow per-
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1 sons to file designations, statements, and re2 ports required by this Act through the use of

3 facsimile machines.

4 ‘‘(C) VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURE.—In

5 prescribing regulations under this paragraph,

6 the Commission shall provide methods (other

7 than requiring a signature on the document

8 being filed) for verifying designations, state9 ments, and reports covered by the regulations.

10 Any document verified under any of the meth11 ods shall be treated for all purposes (including

12 penalties for perjury) in the same manner as a

13 document verified by signature.’’.

14 SEC. 302. AUDITS.

15 (a) RANDOM AUDITS.—Section 311(b) of the Federal

16 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(b)) is

17 amended—

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Commis19 sion’’; and

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

21 ‘‘(2) RANDOM AUDITS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para23 graph (1), the Commission may conduct ran24 dom audits and investigations to ensure vol25 untary compliance with this Act.
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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Commission shall

2 not conduct an audit or investigation of a can3 didate’s authorized committee under subpara4 graph (A) until the candidate is no longer a

5 candidate for the office sought by the candidate

6 in an election cycle.

7 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY.—This paragraph

8 does not apply to an authorized committee of a

9 candidate for President or Vice President sub10 ject to audit under section 9007 or 9038 of the

11 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’.

12 (b) EXTENSION OF PERIOD DURING WHICH CAM13 PAIGN AUDITS MAY BE BEGUN.—Section 311(b) of the

14 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(b))

15 is amended by striking ‘‘6 months’’ and inserting ‘‘12

16 months’’.

17 SEC. 303. AUTHORITY TO SEEK INJUNCTION.

18 Section 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

19 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is amended—

20 (1) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(13) AUTHORITY TO SEEK INJUNCTION.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, at any time in a pro23 ceeding described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4),

24 the Commission believes that—
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1 ‘‘(i) there is a substantial likelihood that a

2 violation of this Act is occurring or is about to

3 occur;

4 ‘‘(ii) the failure to act expeditiously will re5 sult in irreparable harm to a party affected by

6 the potential violation;

7 ‘‘(iii) expeditious action will not cause

8 undue harm or prejudice to the interests of oth9 ers; and

10 ‘‘(iv) the public interest would be best

11 served by the issuance of an injunction;

12 the Commission may initiate a civil action for a tem13 porary restraining order or a preliminary injunction

14 pending the outcome of the proceedings described in

15 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4).

16 ‘‘(B) VENUE.—An action under subparagraph

17 (A) shall be brought in the United States district

18 court for the district in which the defendant resides,

19 transacts business, or may be found, or in which the

20 violation is occurring, has occurred, or is about to

21 occur.’’;

22 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘(5) or (6)’’

23 and inserting ‘‘(5), (6), or (13)’’; and

24 (3) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘(6)’’ and in25 serting ‘‘(6) or (13)’’.
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1 SEC. 304. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRIBU2 TIONS OF $50 OR MORE.

3 Section 304(b)(3)(A) of the Federal Election Cam4 paign Act at 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(3)(A)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘$200’’ and inserting ‘‘$50’’;

6 and

7 (2) by striking the semicolon and inserting ‘‘,

8 except that in the case of a person who makes con9 tributions aggregating at least $50 but not more

10 than $200 during the calendar year, the identifica11 tion need include only the name and address of the

12 person’’.

13 SEC. 305. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR KNOWING AND WILL14 FUL VIOLATIONS.

15 Section 309(a)(5)(B) of the Federal Election Cam16 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(5)(B)) is amended

17 by striking ‘‘the greater of $10,000 or an amount equal

18 to 200 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘the greater of $15,000 or

19 an amount equal to 300 percent’’.

20 SEC. 306. PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY INDIVID21 UALS NOT QUALIFIED TO REGISTER TO VOTE.

22 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 319 of the Federal Elec23 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended—

24 (1) in the heading by adding ‘‘AND INDIVID25 UALS NOT QUALIFIED TO REGISTER TO

26 VOTE’’ at the end; and
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1 (2) in subsection (a)—

2 (A) by striking ‘‘(a) It shall’’ and inserting

3 the following:

4 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITIONS.—

5 ‘‘(1) FOREIGN NATIONALS.—It shall’’; and

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

7 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS NOT QUALIFIED TO REG8 ISTER TO VOTE.—It shall be unlawful for an individ9 ual who is not qualified to register to vote in a Fed10 eral election to make a contribution, or to promise

11 expressly or impliedly to make a contribution, in

12 connection with a Federal election; or for any person

13 to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution in connec14 tion with a Federal election from an individual who

15 is not qualified to register to vote in a Federal elec16 tion.’’.

17 (b) INCLUSION IN DEFINITION OF IDENTIFICA18 TION.—Section 301(13) of the Federal Election Campaign

19 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(13)) is amended—

20 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ the first place it ap22 pears; and

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and an affirmation that

24 the individual is an individual who is not pro-
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1 hibited by section 319 from making a contribu2 tion’’ after ‘‘employer’’; and

3 (2) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ‘‘and an

4 affirmation that the person is a person that is not

5 prohibited by section 319 from making a contribu6 tion’’ after ‘‘such person’’.

7 SEC. 307. USE OF CANDIDATES’ NAMES.

8 Section 302(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

9 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(e)) is amended by striking para10 graph (4) and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(4)(A) The name of each authorized commit12 tee shall include the name of the candidate who au13 thorized the committee under paragraph (1).

14 ‘‘(B) A political committee that is not an au15 thorized committee shall not—

16 ‘‘(i) include the name of any can17 didate in its name, or

18 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a national,

19 State, or local party committee, use the

20 name of any candidate in any activity on

21 behalf of such committee in such a context

22 as to suggest that the committee is an au23 thorized committee of the candidate or

24 that the use of the candidate’s name has

25 been authorized by the candidate.’’.
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1 SEC. 308. PROHIBITION OF FALSE REPRESENTATION TO

2 SOLICIT CONTRIBUTIONS.

3 Section 322 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

4 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441h) is amended—

5 (1) by inserting after ‘‘SEC. 322.’’ the follow6 ing: ‘‘(a)’’; and

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

8 ‘‘(b) No person shall solicit contributions by falsely

9 representing himself as a candidate or as a representative

10 of a candidate, a political committee, or a political party.’’.

11 SEC. 309. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.

12 Section 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

13 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) (as amended by section 303)

14 is amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(14)(A) If the complaint in a proceeding was

16 filed within 60 days immediately preceding a general

17 election, the Commission may take action described

18 in this subparagraph.

19 ‘‘(B) If the Commission determines, on the

20 basis of facts alleged in the complaint and other

21 facts available to the Commission, that there is clear

22 and convincing evidence that a violation of this Act

23 has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur and

24 it appears that the requirements for relief stated in

25 paragraph (13)(A) (ii), (iii), and (iv) are met, the

26 Commission may—
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1 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings, shorten2 ing the time periods for proceedings under

3 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as necessary

4 to allow the matter to be resolved in sufficient

5 time before the election to avoid harm or preju6 dice to the interests of the parties; or

7 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines that

8 there is insufficient time to conduct proceedings

9 before the election, immediately seek relief

10 under paragraph (13)(A).

11 ‘‘(C) If the Commission determines, on the

12 basis of facts alleged in the complaint and other

13 facts available to the Commission, that the com14 plaint is clearly without merit, the Commission

15 may—

16 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings, shorten17 ing the time periods for proceedings under

18 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as necessary

19 to allow the matter to be resolved in sufficient

20 time before the election to avoid harm or preju21 dice to the interests of the parties; or

22 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines that

23 there is insufficient time to conduct proceedings

24 before the election, summarily dismiss the com25 plaint.’’.
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1 SEC. 310. REFERENCE OF SUSPECTED VIOLATION TO THE

2 ATTORNEY GENERAL.

3 Section 309(a)(5) of Federal Election Campaign Act

4 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is amended by striking sub5 paragraph (C) and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(C) REFERRAL TO THE ATTORNEY GEN7 ERAL.—The Commission may at any time, by

8 an affirmative vote of 4 of its members, refer

9 a possible violation of this Act or chapter 95 or

10 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to the

11 Attorney General of the United States, without

12 regard to any limitations set forth in this sec13 tion.’’.

14 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

15 SEC. 401. CONTRIBUTION LIMITS; INDEXING.

16 (a) INCREASE IN CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTION

17 LIMIT.—Section 315(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election

18 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)(A)) is

19 amended by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’.

20 (b) INDEXING OF CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTION

21 LIMIT.—Section 315(c) of the Federal Election Campaign

22 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(c)) is amended—

23 (1) in the second sentence of paragraph (1), by

24 striking ‘‘subsection (b) and subsection (d)’’ and in25 serting ‘‘subsections (a)(1)(A), (b), and (d)’’; and
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1 (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘means the

2 calendar year 1974.’’ and inserting ‘‘means—

3 ‘‘(i) for purposes of subsections (b) and

4 (d), calendar year 1974; and

5 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of subsection (a)(1)(A),

6 calendar year 1997.’’.

7 SEC. 402. USE OF CONTRIBUTED AMOUNTS FOR CERTAIN

8 PURPOSES.

9 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

10 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by striking section

11 313 and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘SEC. 313. USE OF CONTRIBUTED AMOUNTS FOR CERTAIN

13 PURPOSES.

14 ‘‘(a) PERMITTED USES.—A contribution accepted by

15 a candidate, and any other amount received by an individ16 ual as support for activities of the individual as a holder

17 of Federal office, may be used by the candidate or individ18 ual—

19 ‘‘(1) for expenditures in connection with the

20 campaign for Federal office of the candidate or indi21 vidual;

22 ‘‘(2) for ordinary and necessary expenses in23 curred in connection with duties of the individual as

24 a holder of Federal office;
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1 ‘‘(3) for contributions to an organization de2 scribed in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue

3 Code of 1986; or

4 ‘‘(4) for transfers to a national, State, or local

5 committee of a political party.

6 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED USE.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contribution or amount

8 described in subsection (a) shall not be converted by

9 any person to personal use.

10 ‘‘(2) CONVERSION TO PERSONAL USE.—For the

11 purposes of paragraph (1), a contribution or amount

12 shall be considered to be converted to personal use

13 if the contribution or amount is used to fulfill any

14 commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that

15 would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election

16 campaign or individual’s duties as a holder of Fed17 eral officeholder, including—

18 ‘‘(A) a home mortgage, rent, or utility pay19 ment;

20 ‘‘(B) a clothing purchase;

21 ‘‘(C) a noncampaign-related automobile ex22 pense;

23 ‘‘(D) a country club membership;

24 ‘‘(E) a vacation or other noncampaign-re25 lated trip;
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1 ‘‘(F) a household food item;

2 ‘‘(G) a tuition payment;

3 ‘‘(H) admission to a sporting event, con4 cert, theater, or other form of entertainment

5 not associated with an election campaign; and

6 ‘‘(G) dues, fees, and other payments to a

7 health club or recreational facility.’’.

8 SEC. 403. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING.

9 Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

11 (1) in subsection (a)—

12 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph

13 (1)—

14 (i) by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘Whenever a political committee makes

16 a disbursement for the purpose of financ17 ing any communication through any broad18 casting station, newspaper, magazine, out19 door advertising facility, mailing, or any

20 other type of general public political adver21 tising, or whenever’’;

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘an expenditure’’ and

23 inserting ‘‘a disbursement’’; and

24 (iii) by striking ‘‘direct’’; and
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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and

2 permanent street address’’ after ‘‘name’’; and

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

4 ‘‘(c) Any printed communication described in sub5 section (a) shall be—

6 ‘‘(1) of sufficient type size to be clearly read7 able by the recipient of the communication;

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

9 the other contents of the communication; and

10 ‘‘(3) consist of a reasonable degree of color con11 trast between the background and the printed state12 ment.

13 ‘‘(d)(1) Any broadcast or cablecast communication

14 described in subsection (a)(1) or subsection (a)(2) shall

15 include, in addition to the requirements of those sub16 sections, an audio statement by the candidate that identi17 fies the candidate and states that the candidate has ap18 proved the communication.

19 ‘‘(2) If a broadcast or cablecast communication de20 scribed in paragraph (1) is broadcast or cablecast by

21 means of television, the communication shall include, in

22 addition to the audio statement under paragraph (1), a

23 written statement which—

24 ‘‘(A) appears at the end of the communication

25 in a clearly readable manner with a reasonable de-
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1 gree of color contrast between the background and

2 the printed statement, for a period of at least 4 sec3 onds; and

4 ‘‘(B) is accompanied by a clearly identifiable

5 photographic or similar image of the candidate.

6 ‘‘(e) Any broadcast or cablecast communication de7 scribed in subsection (a)(3) shall include, in addition to

8 the requirements of those subsections, in a clearly spoken

9 manner, the following statement: ‘llllllll is

10 responsible for the content of this advertisement.’ (with

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

12 committee or other person paying for the communication

13 and the name of any connected organization of the payor).

14 If broadcast or cablecast by means of television, the state15 ment shall also appear in a clearly readable manner with

16 a reasonable degree of color contrast between the back17 ground and the printed statement, for a period of at least

18 4 seconds.’’.

19 SEC. 404. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL USE OF THE FRANK20 ING PRIVILEGE.

21 Section 3210(a)(6)(A) of title 39, United States

22 Code, is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(A) A Member of Congress shall not mail

24 any mass mailing as franked mail during a year

25 in which there will be an election for the seat
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1 held by the Member during the period between

2 January 1 of that year and the date of the gen3 eral election for that Office, unless the Member

4 has made a public announcement that the

5 Member will not be a candidate for reelection to

6 that year or for election to any other Federal

7 office.’’.

8 TITLE V—CONSTITUTIONALITY;

9 EFFECTIVE DATE; REGULATIONS

10 SEC. 501. SEVERABILITY.

11 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by

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

13 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu14 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made

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

16 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be

17 affected by the holding.

18 SEC. 502. REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES.

19 An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme

20 Court of the United States from any final judgment, de21 cree, or order issued by any court ruling on the constitu22 tionality of any provision of this Act or amendment made

23 by this Act.
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1 SEC. 503. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act and

3 the amendments made by this Act take effect on the date

4 that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

5 SEC. 504. REGULATIONS.

6 The Federal Election Commission shall prescribe any

7 regulations required to carry out this Act and the amend8 ments made by this Act not later than 270 days after the

9 effective date of this Act.

Æ