IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1623 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 30, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 

Administration 

AN ACT 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

provide for the treatment of payments for child care 

and other personal use services as an authorized campaign expenditure, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

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

3 ‘‘Help America Run Act’’. 

4 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Everyday Americans experience barriers to 

6 entry before they can consider running for office to 

7 serve their communities. 

8 (2) Current law states that campaign funds 

9 cannot be spent on everyday expenses that would 

10 exist whether or not a candidate were running for 

11 office, like rent and food. While the law seems neu12 tral, its actual effect is to privilege the independently 

13 wealthy who want to run, because given the de14 mands of running for office, candidates who must 

15 work to pay for childcare or to afford health insur16 ance are effectively being left out of the process, 

17 even if they have sufficient support to mount a via18 ble campaign. 

19 (3) Thus current practice favors those prospec20 tive candidates who do not need to rely on a regular 

21 paycheck to make ends meet. The consequence is 

22 that everyday Americans who have firsthand knowl23 edge of the importance of stable childcare, a safety 

24 net, or great public schools are less likely to get a 

25 seat at the table. This governance by the few is anti26 thetical to the democratic experiment, but most imVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Oct 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1623.RFS H1623

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1 portantly, when lawmakers do not share the con2 cerns of everyday Americans, their policies reflect 

3 that. 

4 (4) These circumstances have contributed to a 

5 Congress that does not always reflect everyday 

6 Americans. The New York Times reported in 2019 

7 that fewer than 5 percent of representatives cite 

8 blue-collar or service jobs in their biographies. A 

9 2015 survey by the Center for Responsive Politics 

10 showed that the median net worth of lawmakers was 

11 just over $1 million in 2013, or 18 times the wealth 

12 of the typical American household. 

13 (5) These circumstances have also contributed 

14 to a governing body that does not reflect the nation 

15 it serves. For instance, women are 51% of the 

16 American population. Yet even with a record number 

17 of women serving in the One Hundred Sixteenth 

18 Congress, the Pew Research Center notes that more 

19 than three out of four Members of this Congress are 

20 male. The Center for American Women And Politics 

21 found that one third of women legislators surveyed 

22 had been actively discouraged from running for of23 fice, often by political professionals. This type of dis24 couragement, combined with the prohibitions on 

25 using campaign funds for domestic needs like 


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1 childcare, burdens that still fall disproportionately 

2 on American women, particularly disadvantages 

3 working mothers. These barriers may explain why 

4 only 10 women in history have given birth while 

5 serving in Congress, in spite of the prevalence of 

6 working parents in other professions. Yet working 

7 mothers and fathers are best positioned to create 

8 policy that reflects the lived experience of most 

9 Americans. 

10 (6) Working mothers, those caring for their el11 derly parents, and young professionals who rely on 

12 their jobs for health insurance should have the free13 dom to run to serve the people of the United States. 

14 Their networks and net worth are simply not the 

15 best indicators of their strength as prospective pub16 lic servants. In fact, helping ordinary Americans to 

17 run may create better policy for all Americans. 

18 (c) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to ensure 

19 that all Americans who are otherwise qualified to serve 

20 this Nation are able to run for office, regardless of their 

21 economic status. By expanding permissible uses of cam22 paign funds and providing modest assurance that testing 

23 a run for office will not cost one’s livelihood, the Help 

24 America Run Act will facilitate the candidacy of representVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Oct 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1623.RFS H1623

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1 atives who more accurately reflect the experiences, chal2 lenges, and ideals of everyday Americans. 

3 SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILD CARE AND 

4 OTHER PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AU5 THORIZED CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE. 

6 (a) PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AUTHORIZED CAM7 PAIGN EXPENDITURE.—Section 313 of the Federal Elec8 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILD CARE

11 AND OTHER PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AUTHORIZED

12 CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—For pur14 poses of subsection (a), the payment by an author15 ized committee of a candidate for any of the per16 sonal use services described in paragraph (3) shall 

17 be treated as an authorized expenditure if the serv18 ices are necessary to enable the participation of the 

19 candidate in campaign-connected activities. 

20 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) LIMIT ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF PAY22 MENTS.—The total amount of payments made 

23 by an authorized committee of a candidate for 

24 personal use services described in paragraph (3) 

25 may not exceed the limit which is applicable 


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1 under any law, rule, or regulation on the 

2 amount of payments which may be made by the 

3 committee for the salary of the candidate (with4 out regard to whether or not the committee 

5 makes payments to the candidate for that pur6 pose). 

7 ‘‘(B) CORRESPONDING REDUCTION IN

8 AMOUNT OF SALARY PAID TO CANDIDATE.—To 

9 the extent that an authorized committee of a 

10 candidate makes payments for the salary of the 

11 candidate, any limit on the amount of such pay12 ments which is applicable under any law, rule, 

13 or regulation shall be reduced by the amount of 

14 any payments made to or on behalf of the can15 didate for personal use services described in 

16 paragraph (3), other than personal use services 

17 described in subparagraph (D) of such para18 graph. 

19 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF CANDIDATES WHO

20 ARE OFFICEHOLDERS.—Paragraph (1) does not 

21 apply with respect to an authorized committee 

22 of a candidate who is a holder of Federal office. 

23 ‘‘(3) PERSONAL USE SERVICES DESCRIBED.— 

24 The personal use services described in this para25 graph are as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Child care services. 

2 ‘‘(B) Elder care services. 

3 ‘‘(C) Services similar to the services de4 scribed in subparagraph (A) or subparagraph 

5 (B) which are provided on behalf of any de6 pendent who is a qualifying relative under sec7 tion 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

8 ‘‘(D) Health insurance premiums.’’. 

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

10 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 29, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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