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Union Calendar No. 174

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1867

[Report No. 106–294]

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reform the financing

of campaigns for elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 19, 1999

Mr. HUTCHINSON (for himself, Mr. HILL of Montana, Mr. HULSHOF, Mr.

BRADY of Texas, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, Mr. PETRI, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr.

BACHUS, and Mr. COOK) introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on House Administration

AUGUST 5, 1999

Additional sponsors: Mrs. BONO, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mrs. EMERSON

AUGUST 5, 1999

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union

and ordered to be printed

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to

reform the financing of campaigns for elections for Federal office, 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.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Campaign Integrity

3 Act of 1999’’.

4 TITLE I—SOFT MONEY AND CON5 TRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDI6 TURES OF POLITICAL PAR7 TIES

8 SEC. 101. BAN ON SOFT MONEY OF NATIONAL POLITICAL

9 PARTIES AND CANDIDATES.

10 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

11 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

12 end the following new section:

13 ‘‘BAN ON USE OF SOFT MONEY BY NATIONAL POLITICAL

14 PARTIES AND CANDIDATES

15 ‘‘SEC. 323. (a) NATIONAL PARTIES.—A national

16 committee of a political party, including the national con17 gressional campaign committees of a political party, and

18 any officers or agents of such party committees, may not

19 solicit, receive, or direct any contributions, donations, or

20 transfers of funds, or spend any funds, which are not sub21 ject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting require22 ments of this Act. This subsection shall apply to any entity

23 that is established, financed, maintained, or controlled (di24 rectly or indirectly) by, or acting on behalf of, a national

25 committee of a political party, including the national con-
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1 gressional campaign committees of a political party, and

2 any officers or agents of such party committees.

3 ‘‘(b) CANDIDATES.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No candidate for Federal

5 office, individual holding Federal office, or any agent

6 of such candidate or officeholder may solicit, receive,

7 or direct—

8 ‘‘(A) any funds in connection with any

9 Federal election unless such funds are subject

10 to the limitations, prohibitions and reporting re11 quirements of this Act;

12 ‘‘(B) any funds that are to be expended in

13 connection with any election for other than a

14 Federal office unless such funds are not in ex15 cess of the amounts permitted with respect to

16 contributions to Federal candidates and polit17 ical committees under section 315(a)(1) and

18 (2), and are not from sources prohibited from

19 making contributions by this Act with respect

20 to elections for Federal office; or

21 ‘‘(C) any funds on behalf of any person

22 which are not subject to the limitations, prohi23 bitions, and reporting requirements of this Act

24 if such funds are for the purpose of financing

25 any activity on behalf of a candidate for elec-
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1 tion for Federal office or any communication

2 which refers to a clearly identified candidate for

3 election for Federal office.

4 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—

5 Paragraph (1) shall not apply to—

6 ‘‘(A) the solicitation or receipt of funds by

7 an individual who is a candidate for a non-Fed8 eral office if such activity is permitted under

9 State law for such individual’s non-Federal

10 campaign committee; or

11 ‘‘(B) the attendance by an individual who

12 holds Federal office or is a candidate for elec13 tion for Federal office at a fundraising event

14 for a State or local committee of a political

15 party of the State which the individual rep16 resents or seeks to represent as a Federal of17 ficeholder, if the event is held in such State.

18 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITING TRANSFERS OF NON-FEDERAL

19 FUNDS BETWEEN STATE PARTIES.—A State committee

20 of a political party may not transfer any funds to a State

21 committee of a political party of another State unless the

22 funds are subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and re23 porting requirements of this Act.

24 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY TO FUNDS FROM ALL

25 SOURCES.—This section shall apply with respect to funds
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1 of any individual, corporation, labor organization, or other

2 person.’’.

3 SEC. 102. INCREASE IN AGGREGATE ANNUAL LIMIT ON

4 CONTRIBUTIONS BY INDIVIDUALS TO POLIT5 ICAL PARTIES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section

7 315(a)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

8 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘in any cal9 endar year’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘to political com10 mittees of political parties, or contributions aggregating

11 more than $25,000 to any other persons, in any calendar

12 year’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

14 315(a)(1)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)(B)) is

15 amended by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’.

16 SEC. 103. REPEAL OF LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF CO17 ORDINATED EXPENDITURES BY POLITICAL

18 PARTIES.

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

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

21 amended by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 315(d)(1)

23 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)(1)) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘(d)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)’’;

25 and
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘, subject to the limitations con2 tained in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection’’.

3 SEC. 104. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON CONTRIBUTIONS BY

4 MULTICANDIDATE POLITICAL COMMITTEES

5 TO NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTIES.

6 Section 315(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Election Cam7 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(2)(B)) is amended

8 by striking ‘‘$15,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000’’.

9 TITLE II—INDEXING

10 CONTRIBUTION LIMITS

11 SEC. 201. INDEXING CONTRIBUTION LIMITS.

12 Section 315(c) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

14 end the following new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(3)(A) The amount of each limitation established

16 under subsection (a) shall be adjusted as follows:

17 ‘‘(i) For calendar year 2001, each such amount

18 shall be equal to the amount described in such sub19 section, increased (in a compounded manner) by the

20 percentage increase in the price index (as defined in

21 subsection (c)(2)) for each of the years 1999

22 through 2000.

23 ‘‘(ii) For calendar year 2005 and each fourth

24 subsequent year, each such amount shall be equal to

25 the amount for the fourth previous year (as adjusted
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1 under this subparagraph), increased (in a com2 pounded manner) by the percentage increase in the

3 price index for each of the four previous years.

4 ‘‘(B) In the case of any amount adjusted under this

5 subparagraph which is not a multiple of $100, the amount

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

7 TITLE III—EXPANDING DISCLO8 SURE OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE

9 INFORMATION

10 SEC. 301. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who expends an ag12 gregate amount of funds during a calendar year in excess

13 of $25,000 for communications described in subsection (b)

14 relating to a single candidate for election for Federal office

15 (or an aggregate amount of funds during a calendar year

16 in excess of $100,000 for all such communications relating

17 to all such candidates) shall file a report describing the

18 amount expended for such communications, together with

19 the person’s address and phone number (or, if appro20 priate, the address and phone number of the person’s prin21 cipal officer).

22 (b) COMMUNICATIONS DESCRIBED.—A communica23 tion described in this subsection is any communication

24 which is broadcast to the general public through radio or

25 television and which mentions or includes (by name, rep-
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1 resentation, or likeness) any candidate for election for

2 Senator or for Representative in (or Delegate or Resident

3 Commissioner to) the Congress, other than any commu4 nication which would be described in clause (i), (iii), or

5 (v) of section 301(9)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign

6 Act of 1971 if the payment were an expenditure under

7 such section.

8 (c) DEADLINE FOR FILING.—A person shall file a re9 port required under subsection (a) not later than 7 days

10 after the person first expends the applicable amount of

11 funds described in such subsection, except that in the case

12 of a person who first expends such an amount within 10

13 days of an election, the report shall be filed not later than

14 24 hours after the person first expends such amount. For

15 purposes of the previous sentence, the term ‘‘election’’

16 shall have the meaning given such term in section 301(1)

17 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

18 (d) PLACE OF SUBMISSION.—Reports required under

19 subsection (a) shall be submitted—

20 (1) to the Clerk of the House of Representa21 tives, in the case of a communication involving a

22 candidate for election for Representative in (or Dele23 gate or Resident Commissioner to) the Congress;

24 and
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1 (2) to the Secretary of the Senate, in the case

2 of a communication involving a candidate for elec3 tion for Senator.

4 (e) PENALTIES.—Whoever knowingly fails to—

5 (1) remedy a defective filing within 60 days

6 after notice of such a defect by the Secretary of the

7 Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives;

8 or

9 (2) comply with any other provision of this sec10 tion,

11 shall, upon proof of such knowing violation by a prepon12 derance of the evidence, be subject to a civil fine of not

13 more than $50,000, depending on the extent and gravity

14 of the violation.

15 SEC. 302. REQUIRING MONTHLY FILING OF REPORTS.

16 (a) PRINCIPAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES.—Section

17 304(a)(2)(A)(iii) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

18 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(2)(A)(iii)) is amended to read as

19 follows:

20 ‘‘(iii) monthly reports, which shall be filed

21 no later than the 20th day after the last day of

22 the month and shall be complete as of the last

23 day of the month, except that, in lieu of filing

24 the reports otherwise due in November and De25 cember of the year, a pre-general election report
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1 shall be filed in accordance with clause (i), a

2 post-general election report shall be filed in ac3 cordance with clause (ii), and a year end report

4 shall be filed no later than January 31 of the

5 following calendar year.’’.

6 (b) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Section

7 304(a)(4) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(4)) is amended

8 to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(4)(A) In a calendar year in which a regularly

10 scheduled general election is held, all political committees

11 other than authorized committees of a candidate shall

12 file—

13 ‘‘(i) monthly reports, which shall be filed no

14 later than the 20th day after the last day of the

15 month and shall be complete as of the last day of

16 the month, except that, in lieu of filing the reports

17 otherwise due in November and December of the

18 year, a pre-general election report shall be filed in

19 accordance with clause (ii), a post-general election

20 report shall be filed in accordance with clause (iii),

21 and a year end report shall be filed no later than

22 January 31 of the following calendar year;

23 ‘‘(ii) a pre-election report, which shall be filed

24 no later than the 12th day before (or posted by reg25 istered or certified mail no later than the 15th day
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1 before) any election in which the committee makes

2 a contribution to or expenditure on behalf of a can3 didate in such election, and which shall be complete

4 as of the 20th day before the election; and

5 ‘‘(iii) a post-general election report, which shall

6 be filed no later than the 30th day after the general

7 election and which shall be complete as of the 20th

8 day after such general election.

9 ‘‘(B) In any other calendar year, all political commit10 tees other than authorized committees of a candidate shall

11 file a report covering the period beginning January 1 and

12 ending June 30, which shall be filed no later than July

13 31 and a report covering the period beginning July 1 and

14 ending December 31, which shall be filed no later than

15 January 31 of the following calendar year.’’.

16 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 304(a)

17 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by striking

18 paragraph (8).

19 (2) Section 309(b) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437g(b))

20 is amended by striking ‘‘for the calendar quarter’’ and in21 serting ‘‘for the month’’.

22 SEC. 303. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING FOR CERTAIN

23 REPORTS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(a)(11)(A) of the Fed25 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.
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1 434(a)(11)(A)) is amended by striking the period at the

2 end and inserting the following: ‘‘, except that the Com3 mission shall require the reports to be filed and preserved

4 by such means, format, or method, unless the aggregate

5 amount of contributions or expenditures (as the case may

6 be) reported by the committee in all reports filed with re7 spect to the election involved (taking into account the pe8 riod covered by the report) is less than $50,000.’’.

9 (b) PROVIDING STANDARDIZED SOFTWARE PACK10 AGE.—Section 304(a)(11) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

11 434(a)(11)) is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub13 paragraph (D); and

14 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol15 lowing new subparagraph:

16 ‘‘(C) The Commission shall make available without

17 charge a standardized package of software to enable per18 sons filing reports by electronic means to meet the require19 ments of this paragraph.’’.

20 SEC. 304. WAIVER OF ‘‘BEST EFFORTS’’ EXCEPTION FOR IN21 FORMATION ON OCCUPATION OF INDIVIDUAL

22 CONTRIBUTORS.

23 Section 302(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

24 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(i)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(i) When the treasurer’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘(i)(1) Except as provided in paragraph

3 (2), when the treasurer’’; and

4 (2) by adding at the end the following new

5 paragraph:

6 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to

7 information regarding the occupation or the name of the

8 employer of any individual who makes a contribution or

9 contributions aggregating more than $200 during a cal10 endar year (as required to be provided under subsection

11 (c)(3)).’’.

12 TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE

13 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE.

14 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

15 apply with respect to elections occurring after January

16 2001.
Union Calendar No. 174

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1867

[Report No. 106–294]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of

poses.elections for Federal office, and for other pur1971 to reform the financing of campaigns for

AUGUST 5, 1999

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the

State of the Union and ordered to be printed