IB 

Union Calendar No. 280 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5175 

[Report No. 111–492, Part I] 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit foreign 

influence in Federal elections, to prohibit government contractors from 

making expenditures with respect to such elections, and to establish 

additional disclosure requirements with respect to spending in such elections, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 29, 2010 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, and 

Mr. JONES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

MAY 25, 2010 

Additional sponsors: Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of 

California, Mr. ELLSWORTH, Mr. SHULER, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. 

LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. BECERRA, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. WAXMAN, 

Mr. CONYERS, Mr. NADLER of New York, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. BISHOP

of New York, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. DEUTCH, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. TONKO, Ms. 

NORTON, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. 

STARK, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. HOLT, Mr. WALZ, Mr. TEAGUE, Mr. BOSWELL, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. FARR, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. 

PALLONE, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. 

YARMUTH, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. CHU, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. SCHAUER, Mrs. 

CAPPS, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. PATRICK

J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. SARBANES, 

Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. POLIS of Colorado, Mr. ROTHMAN of New 

Jersey, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. GIFFORDS, Mr. HARE, Mr. KISSELL, Mr. 

HALL of New York, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. ARCURI, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, 

Mr. KIND, Ms. KILROY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. PERRIELLO, Ms. 


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SUTTON, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

BOCCIERI, Ms. TITUS, Ms. WATERS, Mr. REYES, Mr. LUJA ́N, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. FILNER, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. WELCH, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, 

Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Mr. POMEROY, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. 

HIMES, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. TIERNEY, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. 

ACKERMAN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. HODES, Ms. CASTOR of 

Florida, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. 

CARNAHAN, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. THOMPSON of 

California, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. LANGEVIN, and Ms. ESHOO

MAY 25, 2010 

Reported from the Committee on House Administration with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

MAY 25, 2010 

Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of the 

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 29, 2010] 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

prohibit foreign influence in Federal elections, to prohibit 

government contractors from making expenditures with 

respect to such elections, and to establish additional disclosure requirements with respect to spending in such 

elections, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘De5 mocracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in 

6 Elections Act’’ or the ‘‘DISCLOSE Act’’. 

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

8 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—REGULATION OF CERTAIN POLITICAL SPENDING 

Sec. 101. Prohibiting independent expenditures and electioneering communications by government contractors. 

Sec. 102. Application of ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals to foreign-controlled domestic corporations. 

Sec. 103. Treatment of payments for coordinated communications as contributions. 

Sec. 104. Treatment of political party communications made on behalf of candidates. 

Sec. 105. Restriction on internet communications treated as public communications. 

TITLE II—PROMOTING EFFECTIVE DISCLOSURE OF CAMPAIGNRELATED ACTIVITY 

Subtitle A—Treatment of Independent Expenditures and Electioneering 

Communications Made by All Persons 

Sec. 201. Independent expenditures. 

Sec. 202. Electioneering communications. 

Sec. 203. Mandatory electronic filing by persons making independent expenditures or electioneering communications exceeding $10,000 at any 

time. 

Subtitle B—Expanded Requirements for Corporations and Other Organizations 

Sec. 211. Additional information required to be included in reports on disbursements by covered organizations. 

Sec. 212. Rules regarding use of general treasury funds by covered organizations 

for campaign-related activity. 

Sec. 213. Optional use of separate account by covered organizations for campaign-related activity. 

Sec. 214. Modification of rules relating to disclaimer statements required for certain communications. 


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Subtitle C—Reporting Requirements for Registered Lobbyists 

Sec. 221. Requiring registered lobbyists to report information on independent expenditures and electioneering communications. 

TITLE III—DISCLOSURE BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS OF 

INFORMATION ON CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY 

Sec. 301. Requiring disclosure by covered organizations of information on campaign-related activity. 

TITLE IV—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Judicial review. 

Sec. 402. Severability. 

Sec. 403. Effective date. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 (a) GENERAL FINDINGS.—Congress finds and declares 

3 as follows: 

4 (1) Throughout the history of the United States, 

5 the American people have been rightly concerned 

6 about the power of special interests to control our 

7 democratic processes. That was true over 100 years 

8 ago when Congress first enacted legislation intended 

9 to restrict corporate funds from being used in Federal 

10 elections, legislation that Congress amended in 1947 

11 to expressly include independent expenditures. The 

12 Supreme Court held such legislation to be constitu13 tional in 1990 in Austin v. Michigan Chamber of 

14 Commerce (494 U.S. 652) and again in 2003 in 

15 McConnell v. F.E.C. (540 U.S. 93). 

16 (2) The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens 

17 United v. Federal Election Commission on January 

18 21, 2010, invalidated legislation restricting the abilVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:38 May 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5175.RH H5175

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1 ity of corporations and labor unions to spend funds 

2 from their general treasury accounts to influence the 

3 outcome of elections. 

4 (b) FINDINGS RELATING TO GOVERNMENT CONTRAC5 TORS.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

6 (1) Government contracting is an activity that is 

7 particularly susceptible to improper influence, and to 

8 the appearance of improper influence. Government 

9 contracts must be awarded based on an objective eval10 uation of how well bidders or potential contractors 

11 meet relevant statutory criteria. 

12 (2) Independent expenditures and electioneering 

13 communications that benefit particular candidates or 

14 elected officials or disfavor their opponents can lead 

15 to apparent and actual ingratiation, access, influence, 

16 and quid pro quo arrangements. Government con17 tracts should be awarded based on an objective appli18 cation of statutory criteria, not based on other forms 

19 of inappropriate or corrupting influence. 

20 (3) Prohibiting independent expenditures and 

21 electioneering communications by persons negotiating 

22 for or performing government contracts will prevent 

23 government officials involved in or with influence 

24 over the contracting process from influencing the conVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:38 May 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5175.RH H5175

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1 tracting process based, consciously or otherwise, on 

2 this kind of inappropriate or corrupting influence. 

3 (4) Prohibiting independent expenditures and 

4 electioneering communications by persons negotiating 

5 for or performing government contracts will likewise 

6 prevent such persons from feeling pressure, whether 

7 actually exerted by government officials or not, to 

8 make expenditures and to fund communications in 

9 order to maximize their chances of receiving con10 tracts, or to match similar expenditures and commu11 nications made by their competitors. 

12 (5) Furthermore, because government contracts 

13 often involve large amounts of public money, it is 

14 critical that the public perceive that the government 

15 contracts are awarded strictly in accordance with 

16 prescribed statutory standards, and not based on 

17 other forms of inappropriate or corrupting influence. 

18 The public’s confidence in government is undermined 

19 when corporations that make significant expenditures 

20 during Federal election campaigns later receive gov21 ernment funds. 

22 (6) Prohibiting independent expenditures and 

23 electioneering communications by persons negotiating 

24 for or performing government contracts will prevent 

25 any appearance that government contracts were 


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1 awarded based in whole or in part on such expendi2 tures or communications, or based on the inappro3 priate or corrupting influence such expenditures and 

4 communications can create and appear to create. 

5 (7) In these ways, prohibiting independent ex6 penditures and electioneering communications by per7 sons negotiating for or performing government con8 tracts will protect the actual and perceived integrity 

9 of the government contracting process. 

10 (8) Moreover, the risks of waste, fraud and abuse, 

11 all resulting in economic losses to taxpayers, are sig12 nificant when would-be public contractors or appli13 cants for public funds make expenditures in Federal 

14 election campaigns in order to affect electoral out15 comes. 

16 (c) FINDINGS RELATING TO FOREIGN CORPORA17 TIONS.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

18 (1) The Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens 

19 United case has provided the means by which United 

20 States corporations controlled by foreign entities can 

21 freely spend money to influence United States elec22 tions. 

23 (2) Foreign corporations commonly own U.S. 

24 corporations in whole or in part, and U.S. corporate 

25 equity and debt are also held by foreign individuals, 


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1 sovereign wealth funds, and even foreign nations at 

2 levels which permit effective control over those U.S. 

3 entities. 

4 (3) As recognized in many areas of the law, for5 eign ownership interests and influences are exerted in 

6 a perceptible way even when the entity is not major7 ity-foreign-owned. 

8 (4) The Federal Government has broad constitu9 tional power to protect American interests and sov10 ereignty from foreign interference and intrusion. 

11 (5) Congress has a clear interest in minimizing 

12 foreign intervention, and the perception of foreign 

13 intervention, in United States elections. 

14 (d) FINDINGS RELATING TO COORDINATED EXPENDI15 TURES.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

16 (1) It has been the consistent view of Congress 

17 and the courts that coordinated expenditures in cam18 paigns for election are no different in nature from 

19 contributions. 

20 (2) Existing rules still allow donors to evade 

21 contribution limits by making campaign expenditures 

22 which, while technically qualifying as independent ex23 penditures under law, are for all relevant purposes 

24 coordinated with candidates and political parties and 


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1 thus raise the potential for corruption or the appear2 ance of corruption. 

3 (3) Such arrangements have the potential to give 

4 rise to the reality or appearance of corruption to the 

5 same degree that direct contributions to a candidate 

6 may give rise to the reality or appearance of corrup7 tion. Moreover, expenditures which are in fact made 

8 in coordination with a candidate or political party 

9 have the potential to lessen the public’s trust and 

10 faith in the rules and the integrity of the electoral 

11 process. 

12 (4) The government therefore has a compelling 

13 interest in making sure that expenditures that are de 

14 facto coordinated with a candidate are treated as such 

15 to prevent corruption, the appearance of corruption, 

16 or the perception that some participants are circum17 venting the laws and regulations which govern the fi18 nancing of election campaigns. 

19 (e) FINDINGS RELATING TO DISCLOSURES AND DIS20 CLAIMERS.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

21 (1) The American people have a compelling in22 terest in knowing who is funding independent expend23 itures and electioneering communications to influence 

24 Federal elections, and the government has a compel25 ling interest in providing the public with that inforVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:38 May 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5175.RH H5175

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1 mation. Effective disclaimers and prompt disclosure 

2 of expenditures, and the disclosure of the funding 

3 sources for these expenditures, can provide share4 holders, voters, and citizens with the information 

5 needed to evaluate the actions by special interests 

6 seeking influence over the democratic process. Trans7 parency promotes accountability, increases the fund 

8 of information available to the public concerning the 

9 support given to candidates by special interests, sheds 

10 the light of publicity on political spending, and en11 courages the leaders of organizations to act only upon 

12 legitimate organizational purposes. 

13 (2) Protecting this compelling interest has be14 come particularly important to address the antici15 pated increase in special interest spending on elec16 tion-related communications which will result from 

17 the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United 

18 case. The current disclosure and disclaimer require19 ments were designed for a campaign finance system 

20 in which such expenditures were subject to prohibi21 tions that no longer apply. 

22 (3) More rigorous disclosure and disclaimer re23 quirements are necessary to protect against the eva24 sion of current rules. Organizations that engage in 

25 election-related communications have used a variety 


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1 of methods to attempt to obscure their sponsorship of 

2 communications from the general public. Robust dis3 closure and disclaimer requirements are necessary to 

4 ensure that the electorate is informed about who is 

5 paying for particular election-related communica6 tions, and so that the shareholders and members of 

7 these organizations are aware of their organizations’ 

8 election-related spending. 

9 (4) The current lack of accountability and trans10 parency allow special interest political spending to 

11 serve as a private benefit for the officials of special 

12 interest organizations, to the detriment of the organi13 zations and their shareholders and members. 

14 (5) Various factors, including the advent of the 

15 Internet, where particular communications can be 

16 circulated and remain available for viewing long 

17 after they are first broadcast, and the frequency of po18 litical campaigns that effectively begin long before 

19 election day, have also rendered the existing system of 

20 disclosure and disclaimer requirements (including the 

21 limited time periods during which some of those re22 quirements currently apply) inadequate to protect 

23 fully the government’s interest in ensuring that the 

24 electorate is fully informed about the sources of elec25 tion-related spending, and that shareholders and citiVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:38 May 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5175.RH H5175

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1 zens alike have the information they need to hold cor2 porations and elected officials accountable for their 

3 positions and supporters. 

4 (6) To serve the interests of accountability and 

5 transparency, it is also important that information 

6 about who is funding independent expenditures and 

7 electioneering communications be presented to the 

8 electorate in a manner that is readily accessible and 

9 that can be quickly and easily understood. 

10 (f) FINDINGS RELATING TO CAMPAIGN SPENDING BY

11 LOBBYISTS.—Congress finds and declares as follows: 

12 (1) Lobbyists and lobbying organizations, and 

13 through them, their clients, influence the public deci14 sion-making process in a variety of ways. 

15 (2) In recent years, scandals involving undue 

16 lobbyist influence have lowered public trust in govern17 ment and jeopardized the willingness of voters to take 

18 part in democratic governance. 

19 (3) One way in which lobbyists may unduly in20 fluence Federal officials is through their or their cli21 ents making independent expenditures or election22 eering communications targeting elected officials. 

23 (4) Disclosure of such independent expenditures 

24 and electioneering communications will allow the 

25 public to examine connections between such spending 


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1 and official actions, and will therefore limit the abil2 ity of lobbyists to exert an undue influence on elected 

3 officials. 

4 TITLE I—REGULATION OF 

5 CERTAIN POLITICAL SPENDING 

6 SEC. 101. PROHIBITING INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES AND 

7 ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS BY GOV8 ERNMENT CONTRACTORS. 

9 (a) PROHIBITION APPLICABLE TO GOVERNMENT CON10 TRACTORS.— 

11 (1) PROHIBITION.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 317(a)(1) of the 

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

14 441c(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘purpose or 

15 use; or’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘purpose or 

16 use, to make any independent expenditure, or to 

17 disburse any funds for an electioneering commu18 nication; or’’. 

19 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The head20 ing of section 317 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441c) 

21 is amended by striking ‘‘CONTRIBUTIONS’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘CONTRIBUTIONS, INDEPENDENT EX23 PENDITURES, AND ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICA24 TIONS’’. 


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1 (2) THRESHOLD FOR APPLICATION OF BAN.— 

2 Section 317 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441c) is amended— 

3 (A) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) 

4 as subsections (c) and (d); and 

5 (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol6 lowing new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(b) To the extent that subsection (a)(1) prohibits a 

8 person who enters into a contract described in such sub9 section from making any independent expenditure or dis10 bursing funds for an electioneering communication, such 

11 subsection shall apply only if the value of the contract is 

12 equal to or greater than $7,000,000.’’. 

13 (b) APPLICATION TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE

14 UNDER TROUBLED ASSET PROGRAM.—Section 317(a) of 

15 such Act (2 U.S.C. 441c(a)) is amended— 

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

17 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para18 graph (3); and 

19 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol20 lowing new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(2) who enters into negotiations for financial 

22 assistance under title I of the Emergency Economic 

23 Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.) (re24 lating to the purchase of troubled assets by the Sec25 retary of the Treasury), during the period— 


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1 ‘‘(A) beginning on the later of the com2 mencement of the negotiations or the date of the 

3 enactment of the Democracy is Strengthened by 

4 Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act; and 

5 ‘‘(B) ending with the later of the termi6 nation of such negotiations or the repayment of 

7 such financial assistance; 

8 directly or indirectly to make any contribution of 

9 money or other things of value, or to promise ex10 pressly or impliedly to make any such contribution to 

11 any political party, committee, or candidate for pub12 lic office or to any person for any political purpose 

13 or use, to make any independent expenditure, or to 

14 disburse any funds for an electioneering communica15 tion; or’’. 

16 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 317 of such Act 

17 (2 U.S.C. 441c) is amended by striking ‘‘section 321’’ each 

18 place it appears and inserting ‘‘section 316’’. 

19 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF BAN ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND 

20 EXPENDITURES BY FOREIGN NATIONALS TO 

21 FOREIGN-CONTROLLED DOMESTIC CORPORA22 TIONS. 

23 (a) APPLICATION OF BAN.—Section 319(b) of the Fed24 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e(b)) is 

25 amended— 


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

2 (2) by striking the period at the end of para3 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following new para5 graph: 

6 ‘‘(3) any corporation which is not a foreign na7 tional described in paragraph (1) and— 

8 ‘‘(A) in which a foreign national described 

9 in paragraph (1) or (2) directly or indirectly 

10 owns 20 percent or more of the voting shares; 

11 ‘‘(B) with respect to which the majority of 

12 the members of the board of directors are foreign 

13 nationals described in paragraph (1) or (2); 

14 ‘‘(C) over which one or more foreign nation15 als described in paragraph (1) or (2) has the 

16 power to direct, dictate, or control the decision17 making process of the corporation with respect to 

18 its interests in the United States; or 

19 ‘‘(D) over which one or more foreign nation20 als described in paragraph (1) or (2) has the 

21 power to direct, dictate, or control the decision22 making process of the corporation with respect to 

23 activities in connection with a Federal, State, or 

24 local election, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the making of a contribution, do2 nation, expenditure, independent expendi3 ture, or disbursement for an electioneering 

4 communication (within the meaning of sec5 tion 304(f)(3)); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the administration of a political 

7 committee established or maintained by the 

8 corporation.’’. 

9 (b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.—Section 319 of 

10 such Act (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE REQUIRED

13 PRIOR TO CARRYING OUT ACTIVITY.—Prior to the making 

14 in connection with an election for Federal office of any con15 tribution, donation, expenditure, independent expenditure, 

16 or disbursement for an electioneering communication by a 

17 corporation during a year, the chief executive officer of the 

18 corporation (or, if the corporation does not have a chief ex19 ecutive officer, the highest ranking official of the corpora20 tion), shall file a certification with the Commission, under 

21 penalty of perjury, that the corporation is not prohibited 

22 from carrying out such activity under subsection (b)(3), un23 less the chief executive officer has previously filed such a 

24 certification during the year. Nothing in this subsection 

25 shall be construed to apply to any contribution, donation, 


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1 expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement 

2 from a separate segregated fund established and adminis3 tered by a corporation under section 316(b)(2)(C).’’. 

4 (c) NO EFFECT ON SEPARATE SEGREGATED FUNDS OF

5 DOMESTIC CORPORATIONS.—Section 319 of such Act (2 

6 U.S.C. 441e), as amended by subsection (b), is further 

7 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(d) NO EFFECT ON SEPARATE SEGREGATE FUNDS OF

9 DOMESTIC CORPORATIONS.—Nothing in this section shall 

10 be construed to prohibit any corporation which is not a for11 eign national described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) 

12 from establishing, administering, and soliciting contribu13 tions to a separate segregated fund under section 

14 316(b)(2)(C), so long as none of the amounts in the fund 

15 are provided by any foreign national described in para16 graph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) and no foreign national 

17 described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) has the 

18 power to direct, dictate, or control the establishment or ad19 ministration of the fund.’’. 

20 (d) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Section 319 of 

21 such Act (2 U.S.C. 441e), as amended by subsections (b) 

22 and (c), is further amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(e) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this 

25 section shall be construed to affect the determination of 


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1 whether a corporation is treated as a foreign national for 

2 purposes of any law other than this Act.’’. 

3 SEC. 103. TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR COORDINATED 

4 COMMUNICATIONS AS CONTRIBUTIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(8)(A) of the Federal 

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

7 amended— 

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

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

10 (ii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

12 clause: 

13 ‘‘(iii) any payment made by any person 

14 (other than a candidate, an authorized com15 mittee of a candidate, or a political committee of 

16 a political party) for a coordinated communica17 tion (as determined under section 324).’’. 

18 (b) COORDINATED COMMUNICATIONS DESCRIBED.— 

19 Section 324 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441k) is amended to read 

20 as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 324. COORDINATED COMMUNICATIONS. 

22 ‘‘(a) COORDINATED COMMUNICATIONS DEFINED.—For 

23 purposes of this Act, the term ‘coordinated communication’ 

24 means— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a covered communication which, subject to 

2 subsection (c), is made in cooperation, consultation, 

3 or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a 

4 candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, or 

5 a political committee of a political party; or 

6 ‘‘(2) any communication that republishes, dis7 seminates, or distributes, in whole or in part, any 

8 broadcast or any written, graphic, or other form of 

9 campaign material prepared by a candidate, an au10 thorized committee of a candidate, or their agents. 

11 ‘‘(b) COVERED COMMUNICATION DEFINED.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (4), for purposes of this subsection, the term 

14 ‘covered communication’ means, for purposes of the 

15 applicable election period described in paragraph (2), 

16 a public communication (as defined in section 

17 301(22)) that refers to a clearly identified candidate 

18 for Federal office and is publicly distributed or pub19 licly disseminated during such period. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE ELECTION PERIOD.—For pur21 poses of paragraph (1), the ‘applicable election period’ 

22 with respect to a communication means— 

23 ‘‘(A) in the case of a communication which 

24 refers to a candidate for the office of President 

25 or Vice President, the period— 


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1 ‘‘(i) beginning with the date that is 

2 120 days before the date of the first primary 

3 election, preference election, or nominating 

4 convention for nomination for the office of 

5 President which is held in any State; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) ending with the date of the gen7 eral election for such office; or 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of a communication which 

9 refers to a candidate for any other Federal office, 

10 the period— 

11 ‘‘(i) beginning with the date that is 90 

12 days before the earliest of the primary elec13 tion, preference election, or nominating con14 vention with respect to the nomination for 

15 the office that the candidate is seeking; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) ending with the date of the gen17 eral election for such office. 

18 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

19 OF COMMUNICATIONS INVOLVING CONGRESSIONAL CAN20 DIDATES.—For purposes of paragraph (1), in the case 

21 of a communication involving a candidate for an of22 fice other than President or Vice President, the com23 munication shall be considered to be publicly distrib24 uted or publicly disseminated only if the disseminaVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:38 May 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5175.RH H5175

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1 tion or distribution occurs in the jurisdiction of the 

2 office that the candidate is seeking. 

3 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘covered commu4 nication’ does not include— 

5 ‘‘(A) a communication appearing in a news 

6 story, commentary, or editorial distributed 

7 through the facilities of any broadcasting station, 

8 newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publi9 cation, unless such facilities are owned or con10 trolled by any political party, political com11 mittee, or candidate; or 

12 ‘‘(B) a communication which constitutes a 

13 candidate debate or forum conducted pursuant to 

14 the regulations adopted by the Commission to 

15 carry out section 304(f)(3)(B)(iii), or which sole16 ly promotes such a debate or forum and is made 

17 by or on behalf of the person sponsoring the de18 bate or forum. 

19 ‘‘(c) NO FINDING OF COORDINATION BASED SOLELY

20 ON SHARING OF INFORMATION REGARDING LEGISLATIVE

21 OR POLICY POSITION.—For purposes of subsection (a)(1), 

22 a covered communication may not be considered to be made 

23 in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the re24 quest or suggestion of, a candidate, an authorized committee 

25 of a candidate, or a political committee of a political party 


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1 solely on the grounds that a person provided information 

2 to the candidate or committee regarding that person’s posi3 tion on a legislative or policy matter (including urging the 

4 candidate or party to adopt that person’s position), so long 

5 as there is no discussion between the person and the can6 didate or committee regarding the candidate’s campaign for 

7 election for Federal office. 

8 ‘‘(d) PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN SAFE HARBORS AND

9 FIREWALLS.—Nothing in this section may be construed to 

10 affect 11 CFR 109.21(g) or (h), as in effect on the date of 

11 the enactment of the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting 

12 Light on Spending in Elections Act. 

13 ‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF COORDINATION WITH POLITICAL

14 PARTIES FOR COMMUNICATIONS REFERRING TO CAN15 DIDATES.—For purposes of this section, if a communication 

16 which refers to any clearly identified candidate or can17 didates of a political party or any opponent of such a can18 didate or candidates is determined to have been made in 

19 cooperation, consultation, or concert with or at the request 

20 or suggestion of a political committee of the political party 

21 but not in cooperation, consultation, or concert with or at 

22 the request or suggestion of such clearly identified candidate 

23 or candidates, the communication shall be treated as having 

24 been made in cooperation, consultation, or concert with or 

25 at the request or suggestion of the political committee of 


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1 the political party but not with or at the request or sugges2 tion of such clearly identified candidate or candidates.’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section and the amend5 ments made by this section shall apply with respect 

6 to payments made on or after the expiration of the 

7 30-day period which begins on the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, without regard to whether or not the 

9 Federal Election Commission has promulgated regu10 lations to carry out such amendments. 

11 (2) TRANSITION RULE FOR ACTIONS TAKEN

12 PRIOR TO ENACTMENT.—No person shall be considered 

13 to have made a payment for a coordinated commu14 nication under section 324 of the Federal Election 

15 Campaign Act of 1971 (as amended by subsection (b)) 

16 by reason of any action taken by the person prior to 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act. Nothing in the 

18 previous sentence shall be construed to affect any de19 termination under any other provision of such Act 

20 which is in effect on the date of the enactment of this 

21 Act regarding whether a communication is made in 

22 cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the 

23 request or suggestion of, a candidate, an authorized 

24 committee of a candidate, or a political committee of 

25 a political party. 


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1 SEC. 104. TREATMENT OF POLITICAL PARTY COMMUNICA2 TIONS MADE ON BEHALF OF CANDIDATES. 

3 (a) TREATMENT OF PAYMENT FOR PUBLIC COMMU4 NICATION AS CONTRIBUTION IF MADE UNDER CONTROL OR

5 DIRECTION OF CANDIDATE.—Section 301(8)(A) of the Fed6 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(A)), 

7 as amended by section 103(a), 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 adding at the end the following new 

12 clause: 

13 ‘‘(iv) any payment by a political committee 

14 of a political party for the direct costs of a pub15 lic communication (as defined in paragraph 

16 (22)) made on behalf of a candidate for Federal 

17 office who is affiliated with such party, but only 

18 if the communication is controlled by, or made 

19 at the direction of, the candidate or an author20 ized committee of the candidate.’’. 

21 (b) REQUIRING CONTROL OR DIRECTION BY CAN22 DIDATE FOR TREATMENT AS COORDINATED PARTY EX23 PENDITURE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 

25 315(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is amended to 

26 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR DIRECT COSTS OF COMMU2 NICATIONS.—The direct costs incurred by a political com3 mittee of a political party for a communication made in 

4 connection with the campaign of a candidate for Federal 

5 office shall not be subject to the limitations contained in 

6 paragraphs (2) and (3) unless the communication is con7 trolled by, or made at the direction of, the candidate or 

8 an authorized committee of the candidate.’’. 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) 

10 of section 315(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2), (3), and (4)’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend14 ments made by this section shall apply with respect to pay15 ments made on or after the expiration of the 30-day period 

16 which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act, with17 out regard to whether or not the Federal Election Commis18 sion has promulgated regulations to carry out such amend19 ments. 

20 SEC. 105. RESTRICTION ON INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS 

21 TREATED AS PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(22) of the Federal 

23 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(22)) is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 

25 ‘‘A communication which is disseminated through the 


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1 Internet shall not be treated as a form of general public 

2 political advertising under this paragraph unless the com3 munication was placed for a fee on another person’s Web 

4 site.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub6 section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act. 

8 TITLE II—PROMOTING EFFEC9 TIVE DISCLOSURE OF CAM10 PAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY 

11 Subtitle A—Treatment of Inde12 pendent Expenditures and Elec13 tioneering Communications 

14 Made by All Persons 

15 SEC. 201. INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES. 

16 (a) REVISION OF DEFINITION.—Subparagraph (A) of 

17 section 301(17) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

18 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(17)) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(A) that, when taken as a whole, expressly 

20 advocates the election or defeat of a clearly iden21 tified candidate, or is the functional equivalent 

22 of express advocacy because it can be interpreted 

23 by a reasonable person only as advocating the 

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1 tions a candidacy, a political party, or a chal2 lenger to a candidate, or takes a position on a 

3 candidate’s character, qualifications, or fitness 

4 for office; and’’. 

5 (b) UNIFORM 24-HOUR REPORTING FOR PERSONS

6 MAKING INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES EXCEEDING

7 $10,000 AT ANY TIME.—Section 304(g) of such Act (2 

8 U.S.C. 434(g)) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) and 

9 (2) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES EXCEEDING

11 THRESHOLD AMOUNT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—A person (including 

13 a political committee) that makes or contracts to 

14 make independent expenditures in an aggregate 

15 amount equal to or greater than the threshold 

16 amount described in paragraph (2) shall elec17 tronically file a report describing the expendi18 tures within 24 hours. 

19 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—After a per20 son files a report under subparagraph (A), the 

21 person shall electronically file an additional re22 port within 24 hours after each time the person 

23 makes or contracts to make independent expendi24 tures in an aggregate amount equal to or greater 

25 than the threshold amount with respect to the 


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1 same election as that to which the initial report 

2 relates. 

3 ‘‘(2) THRESHOLD AMOUNT DESCRIBED.—In 

4 paragraph (1), the ‘threshold amount’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) during the period up to and including 

6 the 20th day before the date of an election, 

7 $10,000; or 

8 ‘‘(B) during the period after the 20th day, 

9 but more than 24 hours, before the date of an 

10 election, $1,000. 

11 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Notwithstanding 

12 any other provision of this section, the Commission 

13 shall ensure that the information required to be dis14 closed under this subsection is publicly available 

15 through the Commission website not later than 24 

16 hours after receipt in a manner that is downloadable 

17 in bulk and machine readable.’’. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by sub20 section (a) shall apply with respect to contributions 

21 and expenditures made on or after the expiration of 

22 the 30-day period which begins on the date of the en23 actment of this Act, without regard to whether or not 

24 the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

25 regulations to carry out such amendments. 


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1 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The amend2 ment made by subsection (b) shall apply with respect 

3 to reports required to be filed after the date of the en4 actment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 202. ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS. 

6 (a) EXPANSION OF PERIOD COVERING GENERAL

7 ELECTION.—Section 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(II)(aa) of the Federal 

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

9 434(f)(3)(A)(i)(II)(aa)) is amended by striking ‘‘60 days’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘120 days’’. 

11 (b) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Section 

12 304(f)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(1)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘file with’’ and inserting ‘‘elec14 tronically file with’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sen16 tence: ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

17 section, the Commission shall ensure that the infor18 mation required to be disclosed under this subsection 

19 is publicly available through the Commission website 

20 not later than 24 hours after receipt in a manner 

21 that is downloadable in bulk and machine readable.’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION FOR COMMUNICA23 TIONS MADE PRIOR TO ENACTMENT.—The amendment 

24 made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to commu25 nications made on or after the date of the enactment of this 


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1 Act, without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 

2 Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out such 

3 amendments, except that no communication which is made 

4 prior to the date of the enactment of this Act shall be treated 

5 as an electioneering communication under section 

6 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(II) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

7 of 1971 (as amended by subsection (a)) unless the commu8 nication would be treated as an electioneering communica9 tion under such section if the amendment made by sub10 section (a) did not apply. 

11 SEC. 203. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING BY PERSONS 

12 MAKING INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES OR 

13 ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS EX14 CEEDING $10,000 AT ANY TIME. 

15 Section 304(d)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign 

16 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(d)(1)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘or (g)’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Notwith19 standing any other provision of this section, any per20 son who is required to file a statement under sub21 section (f) or subsection (g) shall file the statement in 

22 electronic form accessible by computers, in a manner 

23 which ensures that the information provided is 

24 searchable, sortable, and downloadable.’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Expanded Require2 ments for Corporations and 

3 Other Organizations 

4 SEC. 211. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE IN5 CLUDED IN REPORTS ON DISBURSEMENTS BY 

6 COVERED ORGANIZATIONS. 

7 (a) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE REPORTS.—Section 

8 304(g) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 

9 U.S.C. 434(g)) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(5) DISCLOSURE OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

12 BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS MAKING PAYMENTS FOR

13 PUBLIC INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—If a cov15 ered organization makes or contracts to make 

16 public independent expenditures in an aggregate 

17 amount equal to or exceeding $10,000 in a cal18 endar year, the report filed by the organization 

19 under this subsection shall include, in addition 

20 to the information required under paragraph 

21 (3), the following information: 

22 ‘‘(i) If any person made a donation or 

23 payment to the covered organization during 

24 the covered organization reporting period 

25 which was provided for the purpose of being 


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1 used for campaign-related activity or in re2 sponse to a solicitation for funds to be used 

3 for campaign-related activity— 

4 ‘‘(I) subject to subparagraph (C), 

5 the identification of each person who 

6 made such donations or payments in 

7 an aggregate amount equal to or ex8 ceeding $600 during such period, pre9 sented in the order of the aggregate 

10 amount of donations or payments 

11 made by such persons during such pe12 riod (with the identification of the per13 son making the largest donation or 

14 payment appearing first); and 

15 ‘‘(II) if any person identified 

16 under subclause (I) designated that the 

17 donation or payment be used for cam18 paign-related activity with respect to a 

19 specific election or in support of a spe20 cific candidate, the name of the elec21 tion or candidate involved, and if any 

22 such person designated that the dona23 tion or payment be used for a specific 

24 public independent expenditure, a de25 scription of the expenditure. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The identification of each person 

2 who made unrestricted donor payments to 

3 the organization during the covered organi4 zation reporting period— 

5 ‘‘(I) in an aggregate amount 

6 equal to or exceeding $600 during such 

7 period, if any of the disbursements 

8 made by the organization for any of 

9 the public independent expenditures 

10 which are covered by the report were 

11 not made from the organization’s Cam12 paign-Related Activity Account under 

13 section 326; or 

14 ‘‘(II) in an aggregate amount 

15 equal to or exceeding $6,000 during 

16 such period, if the disbursements made 

17 by the organization for all of the public 

18 independent expenditures which are 

19 covered by the report were made exclu20 sively from the organization’s Cam21 paign-Related Activity Account under 

22 section 326 (but only if the organiza23 tion has made deposits described in 

24 subparagraph (D) of section 326(a)(2) 

25 into that Account during such period 


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1 in an aggregate amount equal to or 

2 greater than $10,000), 

3 presented in the order of the aggregate 

4 amount of payments made by such persons 

5 during such period (with the identification 

6 of the person making the largest payment 

7 appearing first). 

8 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERS MADE TO

9 OTHER PERSONS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the 

11 requirement to file reports under this sub12 section (including the requirement under 

13 subparagraph (A) to include additional in14 formation in such reports), a covered orga15 nization which transfers amounts to another 

16 person (other than the covered organization 

17 itself) for the purpose of making a public 

18 independent expenditure by that person or 

19 by any other person, or (in accordance with 

20 clause (ii)) which is deemed to have trans21 ferred amounts to another person (other 

22 than the covered organization itself) for the 

23 purpose of making a public independent ex24 penditure by that person or by any other 


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1 person, shall be considered to have made a 

2 public independent expenditure. 

3 ‘‘(ii) RULES FOR DEEMING TRANSFERS

4 MADE FOR PURPOSE OF MAKING EXPENDI5 TURES.—For purposes of clause (i), in de6 termining whether a covered organization 

7 or any other person who transfers amounts 

8 to another person shall be deemed to have 

9 transferred the amounts for the purpose of 

10 making a public independent expenditure, 

11 the following rules apply: 

12 ‘‘(I) The person shall be deemed to 

13 have transferred the amounts for the 

14 purpose of making a public inde15 pendent expenditure if— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the person designates, 

17 requests, or suggests that the 

18 amounts be used for public inde19 pendent expenditures and the per20 son to whom the amounts were 

21 transferred agrees to do so or does 

22 so; 

23 ‘‘(bb) the person making the 

24 public independent expenditure or 

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1 son’s behalf expressly solicited the 

2 person for a donation or payment 

3 for making or paying for any 

4 public independent expenditures; 

5 ‘‘(cc) the person and the per6 son to whom the amounts were 

7 transferred engaged in substantial 

8 written or oral discussion regard9 ing the person either making, or 

10 donating or paying for, any pub11 lic independent expenditures; 

12 ‘‘(dd) the person or the per13 son to whom the amounts were 

14 transferred knew or had reason to 

15 know of the covered organization’s 

16 intent to make public independent 

17 expenditures; or 

18 ‘‘(ee) the person or the person 

19 to whom the amounts were trans20 ferred made a public independent 

21 expenditure during the 2-year pe22 riod which ends on the date on 

23 which the amounts were trans24 ferred. 


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1 ‘‘(II) The person shall not be 

2 deemed to have transferred the 

3 amounts for the purpose of making a 

4 public independent expenditure if the 

5 transfer was a commercial transaction 

6 occurring in the ordinary course of 

7 business between the person and the 

8 person to whom the amounts were 

9 transferred, unless there is affirmative 

10 evidence that the amounts were trans11 ferred for the purpose of making a pub12 lic independent expenditure. 

13 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS DESIGNATED

14 FOR OTHER CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.—For 

15 purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), in determining 

16 the amount of a donation or payment made by 

17 a person which was provided for the purpose of 

18 being used for campaign-related activity or in 

19 response to a solicitation for funds to be used for 

20 campaign-related activity, there shall be excluded 

21 any amount which was designated by the person 

22 to be used— 

23 ‘‘(i) for campaign-related activity de24 scribed in clause (i) of section 325(d)(2)(A) 

25 (relating to independent expenditures) with 


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1 respect to a different election, or with re2 spect to a candidate in a different election, 

3 than an election which is the subject of any 

4 of the public independent expenditures cov5 ered by the report involved; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) for any campaign-related activity 

7 described in clause (ii) of section 

8 325(d)(2)(A) (relating to electioneering 

9 communications). 

10 ‘‘(D) EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS PAID FROM

11 SEPARATE SEGREGATED FUND.—In determining 

12 the amount of public independent expenditures 

13 made by a covered organization for purposes of 

14 this paragraph, there shall be excluded any 

15 amounts paid from a separate segregated fund 

16 established and administered by the organization 

17 under section 316(b)(2)(C). 

18 ‘‘(E) COVERED ORGANIZATION REPORTING

19 PERIOD DESCRIBED.—In this paragraph, the 

20 ‘covered organization reporting period’ is, with 

21 respect to a report filed by a covered organiza22 tion under this subsection— 

23 ‘‘(i) in the case of the first report filed 

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1 section which includes information required 

2 under this paragraph, the shorter of— 

3 ‘‘(I) the period which begins on 

4 the effective date of the Democracy is 

5 Strengthened by Casting Light on 

6 Spending in Elections Act and ends on 

7 the last day covered by the report, or 

8 ‘‘(II) the 12-month period ending 

9 on the last day covered by the report; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any subsequent re12 port filed by a covered organization under 

13 this subsection which includes information 

14 required under this paragraph, the period 

15 occurring since the most recent report filed 

16 by the organization which includes such in17 formation. 

18 ‘‘(F) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.— 

19 In this paragraph, the term ‘covered organiza20 tion’ means any of the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) Any corporation which is subject 

22 to section 316(a). 

23 ‘‘(ii) Any labor organization (as de24 fined in section 316). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Any organization described in 

2 paragraph (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) 

3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 

4 exempt from tax under section 501(a) of 

5 such Code. 

6 ‘‘(iv) Any political organization under 

7 section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986, other than a political committee 

9 under this Act. 

10 ‘‘(G) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this para11 graph— 

12 ‘‘(i) the terms ‘campaign-related activ13 ity’ and ‘unrestricted donor payment’ have 

14 the meaning given such terms in section 

15 325; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘public independent ex17 penditure’ means an independent expendi18 ture for a public communication (as defined 

19 in section 301(22)).’’. 

20 (b) ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION REPORTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(f) of such Act (2 

22 U.S.C. 434(f)) is amended— 

23 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and 

24 (7) as paragraphs (7) and (8); and 


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1 (B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 

2 end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(6) DISCLOSURE OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

4 BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—If a cov6 ered organization files a statement under this 

7 subsection, the statement shall include, in addi8 tion to the information required under para9 graph (2), the following information: 

10 ‘‘(i) If any person made a donation or 

11 payment to the covered organization during 

12 the covered organization reporting period 

13 which was provided for the purpose of being 

14 used for campaign-related activity or in re15 sponse to a solicitation for funds to be used 

16 for campaign-related activity— 

17 ‘‘(I) subject to subparagraph (C), 

18 the identification of each person who 

19 made such donations or payments in 

20 an aggregate amount equal to or ex21 ceeding $1,000 during such period, 

22 presented in the order of the aggregate 

23 amount of donations or payments 

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1 son making the largest donation or 

2 payment appearing first); and 

3 ‘‘(II) if any person identified 

4 under subclause (I) designated that the 

5 donation or payment be used for cam6 paign-related activity with respect to a 

7 specific election or in support of a spe8 cific candidate, the name of the elec9 tion or candidate involved, and if any 

10 such person designated that the dona11 tion or payment be used for a specific 

12 electioneering communication, a de13 scription of the communication. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The identification of each person 

15 who made unrestricted donor payments to 

16 the organization during the covered organi17 zation reporting period— 

18 ‘‘(I) in an aggregate amount 

19 equal to or exceeding $1,000 during 

20 such period, if any of the disburse21 ments made by the organization for 

22 any of the electioneering communica23 tions which are covered by the state24 ment were not made from the organiVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:38 May 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5175.RH H5175

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1 zation’s Campaign-Related Activity 

2 Account under section 326; or 

3 ‘‘(II) in an aggregate amount 

4 equal to or exceeding $10,000 during 

5 such period, if the disbursements made 

6 by the organization for all of the elec7 tioneering communications which are 

8 covered by the statement were made ex9 clusively from the organization’s Cam10 paign-Related Activity Account under 

11 section 326 (but only if the organiza12 tion has made deposits described in 

13 subparagraph (D) of section 326(a)(2) 

14 into that Account during such period 

15 in an aggregate amount equal to or 

16 greater than $10,000), 

17 presented in the order of the aggregate 

18 amount of payments made by such persons 

19 during such period (with the identification 

20 of the person making the largest payment 

21 appearing first). 

22 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERS MADE TO

23 OTHER PERSONS.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the 

25 requirement to file statements under this 


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1 subsection (including the requirement under 

2 subparagraph (A) to include additional in3 formation in such statements), a covered or4 ganization which transfers amounts to an5 other person (other than the covered organi6 zation itself) for the purpose of making an 

7 electioneering communication by that per8 son or by any other person, or (in accord9 ance with clause (ii)) which is deemed to 

10 have transferred amounts to another person 

11 (other than the covered organization itself) 

12 for the purpose of making an electioneering 

13 communication by that person or by any 

14 other person, shall be considered to have 

15 made a disbursement for an electioneering 

16 communication. 

17 ‘‘(ii) RULES FOR DEEMING TRANSFERS

18 MADE FOR PURPOSE OF MAKING COMMU19 NICATIONS.—For purposes of clause (i), in 

20 determining whether a covered organization 

21 or any other person who transfers amounts 

22 to another person shall be deemed to have 

23 transferred the amounts for the purpose of 

24 making an electioneering communication, 

25 the following rules apply: 


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1 ‘‘(I) The person shall be deemed to 

2 have transferred the amounts for the 

3 purpose of making an electioneering 

4 communication if— 

5 ‘‘(aa) the person designates, 

6 requests, or suggests that the 

7 amounts be used for electioneering 

8 communications and the person to 

9 whom the amounts were trans10 ferred agrees to do so or does so; 

11 ‘‘(bb) the person making the 

12 electioneering communication or 

13 another person acting on that per14 son’s behalf expressly solicited the 

15 person for a donation or payment 

16 for making or paying for any 

17 electioneering communications; 

18 ‘‘(cc) the person and the per19 son to whom the amounts were 

20 transferred engaged in substantial 

21 written or oral discussion regard22 ing the person either making, or 

23 donating or paying for, any elec24 tioneering communications; 


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1 ‘‘(dd) the person or the per2 son to whom the amounts were 

3 transferred knew or had reason to 

4 know of the covered organization’s 

5 intent to make electioneering com6 munications; or 

7 ‘‘(ee) the person or the person 

8 to whom the amounts were trans9 ferred made an electioneering 

10 communication during the 2-year 

11 period which ends on the date on 

12 which the amounts were trans13 ferred. 

14 ‘‘(II) The person shall not be con15 sidered to have transferred the amounts 

16 for the purpose of making an election17 eering communication if the transfer 

18 was a commercial transaction occur19 ring in the ordinary course of business 

20 between the person and the person to 

21 whom the amounts were transferred, 

22 unless there is affirmative evidence 

23 that the amounts were transferred for 

24 the purpose of making an election25 eering communication. 


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1 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS DESIGNATED

2 FOR OTHER CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.—For 

3 purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), in determining 

4 the amount of a donation or payment made by 

5 a person which was provided for the purpose of 

6 being used for campaign-related activity or in 

7 response to a solicitation for funds to be used for 

8 campaign-related activity, there shall be excluded 

9 any amount which was designated by the person 

10 to be used— 

11 ‘‘(i) for campaign-related activity de12 scribed in clause (ii) of section 325(d)(2)(A) 

13 (relating to electioneering communications) 

14 with respect to a different election, or with 

15 respect to a candidate in a different elec16 tion, than an election which is the subject of 

17 any of the electioneering communications 

18 covered by the statement involved; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) for any campaign-related activity 

20 described in clause (i) of section 

21 325(d)(2)(A) (relating to independent ex22 penditures consisting of a public commu23 nication). 

24 ‘‘(D) COVERED ORGANIZATION REPORTING

25 PERIOD DESCRIBED.—In this paragraph, the 


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1 ‘covered organization reporting period’ is, with 

2 respect to a statement filed by a covered organi3 zation under this subsection— 

4 ‘‘(i) in the case of the first statement 

5 filed by a covered organization under this 

6 subsection which includes information re7 quired under this paragraph, the shorter 

8 of— 

9 ‘‘(I) the period which begins on 

10 the effective date of the Democracy is 

11 Strengthened by Casting Light on 

12 Spending in Elections Act and ends on 

13 the disclosure date for the statement, or 

14 ‘‘(II) the 12-month period ending 

15 on the disclosure date for the state16 ment; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any subsequent 

18 statement filed by a covered organization 

19 under this subsection which includes infor20 mation required under this paragraph, the 

21 period occurring since the most recent state22 ment filed by the organization which in23 cludes such information. 


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1 ‘‘(E) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.— 

2 In this paragraph, the term ‘covered organiza3 tion’ means any of the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) Any corporation which is subject 

5 to section 316(a). 

6 ‘‘(ii) Any labor organization (as de7 fined in section 316). 

8 ‘‘(iii) Any organization described in 

9 paragraph (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) 

10 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 

11 exempt from tax under section 501(a) of 

12 such Code. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Any political organization under 

14 section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

15 1986, other than a political committee 

16 under this Act. 

17 ‘‘(F) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this para18 graph, the terms ‘campaign-related activity’ and 

19 ‘unrestricted donor payment’ have the meaning 

20 given such terms in section 325.’’. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 304(2) 

22 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(2)) is amended by strik23 ing ‘‘If the disbursements’’ each place it appears in 

24 subparagraph (E) and (F) and inserting the fol25 lowing: ‘‘Except in the case of a statement which is 


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1 required to include additional information under 

2 paragraph (6), if the disbursements’’. 

3 SEC. 212. RULES REGARDING USE OF GENERAL TREASURY 

4 FUNDS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS FOR 

5 CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY. 

6 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

7 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 325. SPECIAL RULES FOR USE OF GENERAL TREAS10 URY FUNDS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS 

11 FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY. 

12 ‘‘(a) USE OF FUNDS FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIV13 ITY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any applicable re15 strictions and prohibitions under this Act, a covered 

16 organization may make disbursements for campaign17 related activity using— 

18 ‘‘(A) amounts paid or donated to the orga19 nization which are designated by the person pro20 viding the amounts to be used for campaign-re21 lated activity; 

22 ‘‘(B) unrestricted donor payments made to 

23 the organization; and 

24 ‘‘(C) other funds of the organization, includ25 ing amounts received pursuant to commercial 


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1 activities in the regular course of a covered orga2 nization’s business. 

3 ‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON USE OF SEPARATE SEG4 REGATED FUND.—Nothing in this section shall be 

5 construed to affect the authority of a covered organi6 zation to make disbursements from a separate seg7 regated fund established and administered by the or8 ganization under section 316(b)(2)(C). 

9 ‘‘(b) MUTUALLY AGREED RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF

10 FUNDS FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) AGREEMENT AND CERTIFICATION.—If a cov12 ered organization and a person mutually agree, at the 

13 time the person makes a donation, payment, or trans14 fer to the organization which would require the orga15 nization to disclose the person’s identification under 

16 section 304(g)(5)(A)(ii) or section 304(f)(6)(A)(ii), 

17 that the organization will not use the donation, pay18 ment, or transfer for campaign-related activity, then 

19 not later than 30 days after the organization receives 

20 the donation, payment, or transfer the organization 

21 shall transmit to the person a written certification by 

22 the chief financial officer of the covered organization 

23 (or, if the organization does not have a chief financial 

24 officer, the highest ranking financial official of the or25 ganization) that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the organization will not use the dona2 tion, payment, or transfer for campaign-related 

3 activity; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the organization will not include any 

5 information on the person in any report filed by 

6 the organization under section 304 with respect 

7 to independent expenditures or electioneering 

8 communications, so that the person will not be 

9 required to appear in a significant funder state10 ment or a Top 5 Funders list under section 

11 318(e). 

12 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR PAYMENTS MADE PURSU13 ANT TO COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES.—Paragraph (1) 

14 does not apply with respect to any payment or trans15 fer made pursuant to commercial activities in the reg16 ular course of a covered organization’s business. 

17 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING DISBURSEMENTS

18 FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION BY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFI20 CER.—If, at any time during a calendar quarter, a 

21 covered organization makes a disbursement of funds 

22 for campaign-related activity using funds described 

23 in subsection (a)(1), the chief executive officer of the 

24 covered organization or the chief executive officer’s 

25 designee (or, if the organization does not have a chief 


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1 executive officer, the highest ranking official of the or2 ganization or the highest ranking official’s designee) 

3 shall file a statement with the Commission which con4 tains the following certifications: 

5 ‘‘(A) None of the campaign-related activity 

6 for which the organization disbursed the funds 

7 during the quarter was made in cooperation, 

8 consultation, or concert with, or at the request or 

9 suggestion of, any candidate or any authorized 

10 committee or agent of such candidate, or polit11 ical committee of a political party or agent of 

12 any political party. 

13 ‘‘(B) The chief executive officer or highest 

14 ranking official of the covered organization (as 

15 the case may be) has reviewed and approved each 

16 statement and report filed by the organization 

17 under section 304 with respect to any such dis18 bursement made during the quarter. 

19 ‘‘(C) Each statement and report filed by the 

20 organization under section 304 with respect to 

21 any such disbursement made during the quarter 

22 is complete and accurate. 

23 ‘‘(D) All such disbursements made during 

24 the quarter are in compliance with this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(E) No portion of the amounts used to 

2 make any such disbursements during the quarter 

3 is attributable to funds received by the organiza4 tion that were restricted by the person who pro5 vided the funds from being used for campaign6 related activity pursuant to subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF ELECTRONIC FILING

8 RULES.—Section 304(d)(1) shall apply with respect 

9 to a statement required under this subsection in the 

10 same manner as such section applies with respect to 

11 a statement under subsection (c) or (g) of section 304. 

12 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—The chief executive officer or 

13 highest ranking official of a covered organization (as 

14 the case may be) shall file the statement required 

15 under this subsection with respect to a calendar quar16 ter not later than 15 days after the end of the quarter. 

17 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

18 following definitions apply: 

19 ‘‘(1) COVERED ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘cov20 ered organization’ means any of the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) Any corporation which is subject to 

22 section 316(a). 

23 ‘‘(B) Any labor organization (as defined in 

24 section 316). 


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1 ‘‘(C) Any organization described in para2 graph (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) of the In3 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

4 tax under section 501(a) of such Code. 

5 ‘‘(D) Any political organization under sec6 tion 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

7 other than a political committee under this Act. 

8 ‘‘(2) CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘campaign-re10 lated activity’ means— 

11 ‘‘(i) an independent expenditure con12 sisting of a public communication (as de13 fined in section 301(22)), a transfer of 

14 funds to another person (other than the 

15 transferor itself) for the purpose of making 

16 such an independent expenditure by that 

17 person or by any other person, or (in ac18 cordance with subparagraph (B)) a transfer 

19 of funds to another person (other than the 

20 transferor itself) which is deemed to have 

21 been made for the purpose of making such 

22 an independent expenditure by that person 

23 or by any other person; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) an electioneering communication, 

25 a transfer of funds to another person (other 


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1 than the transferor itself) for the purpose of 

2 making an electioneering communication by 

3 that person or by any other person, or (in 

4 accordance with subparagraph (B)) a trans5 fer of funds to another person (other than 

6 the transferor itself)which is deemed to have 

7 been made for the purpose of making an 

8 electioneering communication by that per9 son or by any other person. 

10 ‘‘(B) RULE FOR DEEMING TRANSFERS MADE

11 FOR PURPOSE OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIV12 ITY.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), in de13 termining whether a transfer of funds by one 

14 person to another person shall be deemed to have 

15 been made for the purpose of making an inde16 pendent expenditure consisting of a public com17 munication or an electioneering communication, 

18 the following rules apply: 

19 ‘‘(i) The transfer shall be deemed to 

20 have been made for the purpose of making 

21 such an independent expenditure or an elec22 tioneering communication if— 

23 ‘‘(I) the person designates, re24 quests, or suggests that the amounts be 

25 used for such independent expenditures 


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1 or electioneering communications and 

2 the person to whom the amounts were 

3 transferred agrees to do so or does so; 

4 ‘‘(II) the person making such 

5 independent expenditures or election6 eering communications or another per7 son acting on that person’s behalf ex8 pressly solicited the person for a dona9 tion or payment for making or paying 

10 for any such independent expenditure 

11 or electioneering communication; 

12 ‘‘(III) the person and the person 

13 to whom the amounts were transferred 

14 engaged in substantial written or oral 

15 discussion regarding the person either 

16 making, or donating or paying for, 

17 such independent expenditures or elec18 tioneering communications; 

19 ‘‘(IV) the person or the person to 

20 whom the amounts were transferred 

21 knew or had reason to know of the cov22 ered organization’s intent to disburse 

23 funds for such independent expendi24 tures or electioneering communications; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(V) the person or the person to 

2 whom the amounts were transferred 

3 made such an independent expenditure 

4 or electioneering communication dur5 ing the 2-year period which ends on 

6 the date on which the amounts were 

7 transferred. 

8 ‘‘(ii) The transfer shall not be deemed 

9 to have been made for the purpose of mak10 ing such an independent expenditure or an 

11 electioneering communication if the transfer 

12 was a commercial transaction occurring in 

13 the ordinary course of business between the 

14 person and the person to whom the amounts 

15 were transferred, unless there is affirmative 

16 evidence that the amounts were transferred 

17 for the purpose of making such an inde18 pendent expenditure or electioneering com19 munication. 

20 ‘‘(3) UNRESTRICTED DONOR PAYMENT.—The 

21 term ‘unrestricted donor payment’ means a payment 

22 to a covered organization which consists of a donation 

23 or payment from a person other than the covered or24 ganization, except that such term does not include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any payment made pursuant to com2 mercial activities in the regular course of a cov3 ered organization’s business; or 

4 ‘‘(B) any donation or payment which is 

5 designated by the person making the donation or 

6 payment to be used for campaign-related activity 

7 or made in response to a solicitation for funds 

8 to be used for campaign-related activity.’’. 

9 SEC. 213. OPTIONAL USE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT BY COV10 ERED ORGANIZATIONS FOR CAMPAIGN-RE11 LATED ACTIVITY. 

12 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

13 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended by section 212, is further 

14 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 326. OPTIONAL USE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT BY COV16 ERED ORGANIZATIONS FOR CAMPAIGN-RE17 LATED ACTIVITY. 

18 ‘‘(a) OPTIONAL USE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At its option, a covered 

21 organization may make disbursements for cam22 paign-related activity using amounts from a 

23 bank account established and controlled by the 

24 organization to be known as the Campaign-Re25 lated Activity Account (hereafter in this section 


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1 referred to as the ‘Account’), which shall be 

2 maintained separately from all other accounts of 

3 the organization and which shall consist exclu4 sively of the deposits described in paragraph (2). 

5 ‘‘(B) MANDATORY USE OF ACCOUNT AFTER

6 ESTABLISHMENT.—If a covered organization es7 tablishes an Account under this section, it may 

8 not make disbursements for campaign-related ac9 tivity from any source other than amounts from 

10 the Account. 

11 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIVE USE OF ACCOUNT FOR

12 CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY.—Amounts in the 

13 Account shall be used exclusively for disburse14 ments by the covered organization for campaign15 related activity. After such disbursements are 

16 made, information with respect to deposits made 

17 to the Account shall be disclosed in accordance 

18 with section 304(g)(5) or section 304(f)(6). 

19 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS DESCRIBED.—The deposits de20 scribed in this paragraph are deposits of the following 

21 amounts: 

22 ‘‘(A) Amounts donated or paid to the cov23 ered organization by a person other than the or24 ganization for the purpose of being used for cam25 paign-related activity, and for which the person 


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1 providing the amounts has designated that the 

2 amounts be used for campaign-related activity 

3 with respect to a specific election or specific can4 didate. 

5 ‘‘(B) Amounts donated or paid to the cov6 ered organization by a person other than the or7 ganization for the purpose of being used for cam8 paign-related activity, and for which the person 

9 providing the amounts has not designated that 

10 the amounts be used for campaign-related activ11 ity with respect to a specific election or specific 

12 candidate. 

13 ‘‘(C) Amounts donated or paid to the cov14 ered organization by a person other than the or15 ganization in response to a solicitation for funds 

16 to be used for campaign-related activity. 

17 ‘‘(D) Amounts transferred to the Account by 

18 the covered organization from other accounts of 

19 the organization, including from the organiza20 tion’s general treasury funds. 

21 ‘‘(3) NO TREATMENT AS POLITICAL COM22 MITTEE.—The establishment and administration of 

23 an Account in accordance with this subsection shall 

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1 istration of a political committee for any purpose of 

2 this Act. 

3 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS OTHERWISE AVAILABLE

4 FOR ACCOUNT IN RESPONSE TO DEMAND OF GENERAL DO5 NORS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a covered organization 

7 which has established an Account obtains any reve8 nues during a year which are attributable to a dona9 tion or payment from a person other than the covered 

10 organization, and if any person who makes such a 

11 donation or payment to the organization notifies the 

12 organization in writing (at the time of making the 

13 donation or payment) that the organization may not 

14 use the donation or payment for campaign-related ac15 tivity, the organization shall reduce the amount of its 

16 revenues available for deposits to the Account which 

17 are described in subsection (a)(3)(D) during the year 

18 by the amount of the donation or payment. 

19 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply 

20 with respect to any payment made pursuant to com21 mercial activities in the regular course of a covered 

22 organization’s business. 

23 ‘‘(c) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this sec24 tion, the term ‘covered organization’ means any of the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Any corporation which is subject to section 

2 316(a). 

3 ‘‘(2) Any labor organization (as defined in sec4 tion 316). 

5 ‘‘(3) Any organization described in paragraph 

6 (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) of the Internal Rev7 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

8 501(a) of such Code. 

9 ‘‘(4) Any political organization under section 

10 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other than 

11 a political committee under this Act. 

12 ‘‘(d) CAMPAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY DEFINED.—In 

13 this section, the term ‘campaign-related activity’ has the 

14 meaning given such term in section 325.’’. 

15 SEC. 214. MODIFICATION OF RULES RELATING TO DIS16 CLAIMER STATEMENTS REQUIRED FOR CER17 TAIN COMMUNICATIONS. 

18 (a) APPLYING REQUIREMENTS TO ALL INDEPENDENT

19 EXPENDITURE COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318(a) of the 

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

21 is amended by striking ‘‘for the purpose of financing com22 munications expressly advocating the election or defeat of 

23 a clearly identified candidate’’ and inserting ‘‘for an inde24 pendent expenditure consisting of a public communica25 tion’’. 


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1 (b) STAND BY YOUR AD REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (1) MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING REQUIREMENTS

3 FOR COMMUNICATIONS BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND

4 OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Section 318(d)(2) 

5 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441d(d)(2)) is amended— 

6 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OTHERS’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘POLITICAL COMMITTEES’’; 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘subsection (a) which is paid for by a polit10 ical committee (including a political committee 

11 of a political party), other than a political com12 mittee which makes only electioneering commu13 nications or independent expenditures consisting 

14 of public communications,’’; and 

15 (C) by striking ‘‘or other person’’ each place 

16 it appears. 

17 (2) SPECIAL DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

18 CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318 of such Act 

19 (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(e) COMMUNICATIONS BY OTHERS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any communication de23 scribed in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) which is 

24 transmitted through radio or television (other than a 

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1 cause the communication is paid for by a political 

2 committee, including a political committee of a polit3 ical party, other than a political committee which 

4 makes only electioneering communications or inde5 pendent expenditures consisting of public communica6 tions) shall include, in addition to the requirements 

7 of that paragraph, the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) The individual disclosure statement 

9 described in paragraph (2) (if the person paying 

10 for the communication is an individual) or the 

11 organizational disclosure statement described in 

12 paragraph (3) (if the person paying for the com13 munication is not an individual). 

14 ‘‘(B) If the communication is an election15 eering communication or an independent ex16 penditure consisting of a public communication 

17 and is paid for in whole or in part with a pay18 ment which is treated as a disbursement by a 

19 covered organization for campaign-related activ20 ity under section 325, the significant funder dis21 closure statement described in paragraph (4) (if 

22 applicable), unless, on the basis of criteria estab23 lished in regulations promulgated by the Com24 mission, the communication is of such short du25 ration that including the statement in the comVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:38 May 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5175.RH H5175

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1 munication would constitute a hardship to the 

2 person paying for the communication by requir3 ing a disproportionate amount of the commu4 nication’s content to consist of the statement. 

5 ‘‘(C) If the communication is an election6 eering communication or an independent ex7 penditure consisting of a public communication 

8 and is paid for in whole or in part with a pay9 ment which is treated as a disbursement by a 

10 covered organization for campaign-related activ11 ity under section 325, the Top Five Funders list 

12 described in paragraph (5) (if applicable), un13 less, on the basis of criteria established in regula14 tions promulgated by the Commission, the com15 munication is of such short duration that includ16 ing the Top Five Funders list in the communica17 tion would constitute a hardship to the person 

18 paying for the communication by requiring a 

19 disproportionate amount of the communication’s 

20 content to consist of the Top Five Funders list. 

21 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT DE22 SCRIBED.—The individual disclosure statement de23 scribed in this paragraph is the following: ‘I am 

24 lllllll, and I approve this message.’, with 


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1 the blank filled in with the name of the applicable in2 dividual. 

3 ‘‘(3) ORGANIZATIONAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

4 DESCRIBED.—The organizational disclosure statement 

5 described in this paragraph is the following: ‘I am 

6 lllllll, the lllllll of 

7 lllllll, and lllllll approves 

8 this message.’, with— 

9 ‘‘(A) the first blank to be filled in with the 

10 name of the applicable individual; 

11 ‘‘(B) the second blank to be filled in with 

12 the title of the applicable individual; and 

13 ‘‘(C) the third and fourth blank each to be 

14 filled in with the name of the organization or 

15 other person paying for the communication. 

16 ‘‘(4) SIGNIFICANT FUNDER DISCLOSURE STATE17 MENT DESCRIBED.— 

18 ‘‘(A) STATEMENT IF SIGNIFICANT FUNDER

19 IS AN INDIVIDUAL.—If the significant funder of 

20 a communication paid for in whole or in part 

21 with a payment which is treated as a disburse22 ment by a covered organization for campaign-re23 lated activity under section 325 is an indi24 vidual, the significant funder disclosure state25 ment described in this paragraph is the folVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:38 May 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5175.RH H5175

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1 lowing: ‘I am lllllll. I helped to pay 

2 for this message, and I approve it.’, with the 

3 blank filled in with the name of the applicable 

4 individual. 

5 ‘‘(B) STATEMENT IF SIGNIFICANT FUNDER

6 IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL.—If the significant 

7 funder of a communication paid for in whole or 

8 in part with a payment which is treated as a 

9 disbursement by a covered organization for cam10 paign-related activity under section 325 is not 

11 an individual, the significant funder disclosure 

12 statement described in this paragraph is the fol13 lowing: ‘I am lllllll, the 

14 lllllll of lllllll. 

15 lllllll helped to pay for this message, 

16 and lllllll approves it.’, with— 

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

18 the name of the applicable individual; 

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

20 with the title of the applicable individual; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(iii) the third, fourth, and fifth blank 

23 each to be filled in with the name of the sig24 nificant funder of the communication. 

25 ‘‘(C) SIGNIFICANT FUNDER DEFINED.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.— 

2 For purposes of this paragraph, the ‘signifi3 cant funder’ with respect to an independent 

4 expenditure consisting of a public commu5 nication paid for in whole or in part with 

6 a payment which is treated as a disburse7 ment by a covered organization for cam8 paign-related activity under section 325 

9 shall be determined as follows: 

10 ‘‘(I) If any report filed by any or11 ganization with respect to the inde12 pendent expenditure under section 304 

13 includes information on any person 

14 who made a payment to the organiza15 tion in an amount equal to or exceed16 ing $100,000 which was designated by 

17 the person to be used for campaign-re18 lated activity consisting of that specific 

19 independent expenditure (as required 

20 to be included in the report under sec21 tion 304(g)(5)(A)(i)), the person who is 

22 identified among all such reports as 

23 making the largest such payment. 

24 ‘‘(II) If any report filed by any 

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1 pendent expenditure under section 304 

2 includes information on any person 

3 who made a payment to the organiza4 tion in an amount equal to or exceed5 ing $100,000 which was designated by 

6 the person to be used for campaign-re7 lated activity with respect to the same 

8 election or in support of the same can9 didate (as required to be included in 

10 the report under section 

11 304(g)(5)(A)(i)) but subclause (I) does 

12 not apply, the person who is identified 

13 among all such reports as making the 

14 largest such payment. 

15 ‘‘(III) If any report filed by any 

16 organization with respect to the inde17 pendent expenditure under section 304 

18 includes information on any person 

19 who made a payment to the organiza20 tion which was provided for the pur21 pose of being used for campaign-related 

22 activity or in response to a solicitation 

23 for funds to be used for campaign-re24 lated activity (as required to be in25 cluded in the report under section 


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1 304(g)(5)(A)(i)) but subclause (I) or 

2 subclause (II) does not apply, the per3 son who is identified among all such 

4 reports as making the largest such pay5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(IV) If none of the reports filed 

7 by any organization with respect to the 

8 independent expenditure under section 

9 304 includes information on any per10 son (other than the organization) who 

11 made a payment to the organization 

12 which was provided for the purpose of 

13 being used for campaign-related activ14 ity or in response to a solicitation for 

15 funds to be used for campaign-related 

16 activity, but any of such reports in17 cludes information on any person who 

18 made an unrestricted donor payment 

19 to the organization (as required to be 

20 included in the report under section 

21 304(g)(5)(A)(ii)), the person who is 

22 identified among all such reports as 

23 making the largest such unrestricted 

24 donor payment. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICA2 TIONS.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 

3 ‘significant funder’ with respect to an elec4 tioneering communication paid for in whole 

5 or in part with a payment which is treated 

6 as a disbursement by a covered organization 

7 for campaign-related activity under section 

8 325, shall be determined as follows: 

9 ‘‘(I) If any report filed by any or10 ganization with respect to the election11 eering communication under section 

12 304 includes information on any per13 son who made a payment to the orga14 nization in an amount equal to or ex15 ceeding $100,000 which was designated 

16 by the person to be used for campaign17 related activity consisting of that spe18 cific electioneering communication (as 

19 required to be included in the report 

20 under section 304(f)(6)(A)(i)), the per21 son who is identified among all such 

22 reports as making the largest such pay23 ment. 

24 ‘‘(II) If any report filed by any 

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1 tioneering communication under sec2 tion 304 includes information on any 

3 person who made a payment to the or4 ganization in an amount equal to or 

5 exceeding $100,000 which was des6 ignated by the person to be used for 

7 campaign-related activity with respect 

8 to the same election or in support of 

9 the same candidate (as required to be 

10 included in the report under section 

11 304(f)(6)(A)(i)) but subclause (I) does 

12 not apply, the person who is identified 

13 among all such reports as making the 

14 largest such payment. 

15 ‘‘(III) If any report filed by any 

16 organization with respect to the elec17 tioneering communication under sec18 tion 304 includes information on any 

19 person who made a payment to the or20 ganization which was provided for the 

21 purpose of being used for campaign-re22 lated activity or in response to a solici23 tation for funds to be used for cam24 paign-related activity (as required to 

25 be included in the report under section 


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1 304(f)(6)(A)(i)) but subclause (I) or 

2 subclause (II) does not apply, the per3 son who is identified among all such 

4 reports as making the largest such pay5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(IV) If none of the reports filed 

7 by any organization with respect to the 

8 electioneering communication under 

9 section 304 includes information on 

10 any person who made a payment to 

11 the organization which was provided 

12 for the purpose of being used for cam13 paign-related activity or in response to 

14 a solicitation for funds to be used for 

15 campaign-related activity, but any of 

16 such reports includes information on 

17 any person who made an unrestricted 

18 donor payment to the organization (as 

19 required to be included in the report 

20 under section 304(f)(6)(A)(ii)), the per21 son who is identified among all such 

22 reports as making the largest such un23 restricted donor payment. 

24 ‘‘(5) TOP 5 FUNDERS LIST DESCRIBED.—With 

25 respect to a communication paid for in whole or in 


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1 part with a payment which is treated as a disburse2 ment by a covered organization for campaign-related 

3 activity under section 325, the Top 5 Funders list de4 scribed in this paragraph is— 

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of a disbursement for an 

6 independent expenditure consisting of a public 

7 communication, a list of the 5 persons (or, in the 

8 case of a communication transmitted through 

9 radio, the 2 persons) who provided the largest 

10 payments of any type which are required under 

11 section 304(g)(5)(A) to be included in the reports 

12 filed by any organization with respect to that 

13 independent expenditure under section 304, to14 gether with the amount of the payments each 

15 such person provided; or 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of a disbursement for an 

17 electioneering communication, a list of the 5 per18 sons (or, in the case of a communication trans19 mitted through radio, the 2 persons) who pro20 vided the largest payments of any type which are 

21 required under section 304(f)(6)(A) to be in22 cluded in the reports filed by any organization 

23 with respect to that electioneering communica24 tion under section 304, together with the amount 

25 of the payments each such person provided. 


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1 ‘‘(6) METHOD OF CONVEYANCE OF STATE2 MENT.— 

3 ‘‘(A) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED

4 THROUGH RADIO.—In the case of a communica5 tion to which this subsection applies which is 

6 transmitted through radio, the disclosure state7 ments required under paragraph (1) shall be 

8 made by audio by the applicable individual in 

9 a clearly spoken manner. 

10 ‘‘(B) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED

11 THROUGH TELEVISION.—In the case of a commu12 nication to which this subsection applies which 

13 is transmitted through television, the informa14 tion required under paragraph (1)— 

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

16 of the communication in a clearly readable 

17 manner, with a reasonable degree of color 

18 contrast between the background and the 

19 printed statement, for a period of at least 6 

20 seconds; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a Top 5 

22 Funders list described in paragraph (5), 

23 shall also be conveyed by an unobscured, 

24 full-screen view of the applicable individual, 

25 or by the applicable individual making the 


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1 statement in voice-over accompanied by a 

2 clearly identifiable photograph or similar 

3 image of the individual. 

4 ‘‘(7) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this 

5 subsection, the term ‘applicable individual’ means, 

6 with respect to a communication to which this para7 graph applies— 

8 ‘‘(A) if the communication is paid for by an 

9 individual or if the significant funder of the 

10 communication under paragraph (4) is an indi11 vidual, the individual involved; 

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

13 corporation or if the significant funder of the 

14 communication under paragraph (4) is a cor15 poration, the chief executive officer of the cor16 poration (or, if the corporation does not have a 

17 chief executive officer, the highest ranking official 

18 of the corporation); 

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

20 labor organization or if the significant funder of 

21 the communication under paragraph (4) is a 

22 labor organization, the highest ranking officer of 

23 the labor organization; or 

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

25 any other person or if the significant funder of 


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1 the communication under paragraph (4) is any 

2 other person, the highest ranking official of such 

3 person. 

4 ‘‘(8) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this 

5 subsection, the term ‘covered organization’ means any 

6 of the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Any corporation which is subject to 

8 section 316(a). 

9 ‘‘(B) Any labor organization (as defined in 

10 section 316). 

11 ‘‘(C) Any organization described in para12 graph (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) of the In13 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

14 tax under section 501(a) of such Code. 

15 ‘‘(D) Any political organization under sec16 tion 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

17 other than a political committee under this Act. 

18 ‘‘(9) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, 

19 the terms ‘campaign-related activity’ and ‘unre20 stricted donor payment’ have the meaning given such 

21 terms in section 325.’’. 

22 (3) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN MASS MAILINGS.— 

23 Section 318(a)(3) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441d(a)(3)) 

24 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) if not authorized by a candidate, an author2 ized political committee of a candidate, or its agents, 

3 shall clearly state— 

4 ‘‘(A) the name and permanent street ad5 dress, telephone number, or World Wide Web ad6 dress of the person who paid for the communica7 tion; 

8 ‘‘(B) if the communication is an inde9 pendent expenditure consisting of a mass mail10 ing (as defined in section 301(23)) which is paid 

11 for in whole or in part with a payment which 

12 is treated as a disbursement by a covered organi13 zation for campaign-related activity under sec14 tion 325, the name and permanent street ad15 dress, telephone number, or World Wide Web ad16 dress of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the significant funder of the com18 munication, if any (as determined in ac19 cordance with subsection (e)(4)(C)(i)); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) each person who would be in21 cluded in the Top 5 Funders list which 

22 would be submitted with respect to the com23 munication if the communication were 

24 transmitted through television, if any (as 


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1 determined in accordance with subsection 

2 (e)(5)); and 

3 ‘‘(C) that the communication is not author4 ized by any candidate or candidate’s com5 mittee.’’. 

6 (4) APPLICATION TO POLITICAL ROBOCALLS.— 

7 Section 318 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441d), as amended 

8 by paragraph (2), is further amended by adding at 

9 the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES FOR POLITICAL ROBOCALLS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) REQUIRING COMMUNICATIONS TO INCLUDE

12 CERTAIN DISCLAIMER STATEMENTS.—Any commu13 nication consisting of a political robocall which would 

14 be subject to the requirements of subsection (e) if the 

15 communication were transmitted through radio or tel16 evision shall include the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) The individual disclosure statement 

18 described in subsection (e)(2) (if the person pay19 ing for the communication is an individual) or 

20 the organizational disclosure statement described 

21 in subsection (e)(3) (if the person paying for the 

22 communication is not an individual). 

23 ‘‘(B) If the communication is an election24 eering communication or an independent ex25 penditure consisting of a public communication 


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1 and is paid for in whole or in part with a pay2 ment which is treated as a disbursement by a 

3 covered organization for campaign-related activ4 ity under section 325, the significant funder dis5 closure statement described in subsection (e)(4) 

6 (if applicable). 

7 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF CERTAIN STATEMENT.—The 

8 statement required to be included under paragraph 

9 (1)(A) shall be made at the beginning of the political 

10 robocall. 

11 ‘‘(3) POLITICAL ROBOCALL DEFINED.—In this 

12 subsection, the term ‘political robocall’ means any 

13 outbound telephone call— 

14 ‘‘(A) in which a person is not available to 

15 speak with the person answering the call, and 

16 the call instead plays a recorded message; and 

17 ‘‘(B) which promotes, supports, attacks, or 

18 opposes a candidate for election for Federal of19 fice.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Reporting Require2 ments for Registered Lobbyists 

3 SEC. 221. REQUIRING REGISTERED LOBBYISTS TO REPORT 

4 INFORMATION ON INDEPENDENT EXPENDI5 TURES AND ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICA6 TIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(d)(1) of the Lobbying 

8 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(d)(1)) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara10 graph (F); 

11 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as sub12 paragraph (I); and 

13 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol14 lowing new subparagraphs: 

15 ‘‘(G) the amount of any independent ex16 penditure (as defined in section 301(17) of the 

17 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 

18 U.S.C. 431(17)) equal to or greater than $1,000 

19 made by such person or organization, and for 

20 each such expenditure the name of each can21 didate being supported or opposed and the 

22 amount spent supporting or opposing each such 

23 candidate; 

24 ‘‘(H) the amount of any electioneering com25 munication (as defined in section 304(f)(3) of 


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1 such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(3)) equal to or greater 

2 than $1,000 made by such person or organiza3 tion, and for each such communication the name 

4 of the candidate referred to in the communica5 tion and whether the communication involved 

6 was in support of or in opposition to the can7 didate; and’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

9 section shall apply with respect to reports for semiannual 

10 periods described in section 5(d)(1) of the Lobbying Disclo11 sure Act of 1995 that begin after the date of the enactment 

12 of this Act. 

13 TITLE III—DISCLOSURE BY COV14 ERED ORGANIZATIONS OF IN15 FORMATION ON CAMPAIGN16 RELATED ACTIVITY 

17 SEC. 301. REQUIRING DISCLOSURE BY COVERED ORGANIZA18 TIONS OF INFORMATION ON CAMPAIGN-RE19 LATED ACTIVITY. 

20 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

21 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended by section 213, is amend22 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 327. DISCLOSURES BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS TO 

2 SHAREHOLDERS, MEMBERS, AND DONORS OF 

3 INFORMATION ON DISBURSEMENTS FOR CAM4 PAIGN-RELATED ACTIVITY. 

5 ‘‘(a) INCLUDING INFORMATION IN REGULAR PERIODIC

6 REPORTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered organization 

8 which submits regular, periodic reports to its share9 holders, members, or donors on its finances or activi10 ties shall include in each such report the information 

11 described in paragraph (2) with respect to the dis12 bursements made by the organization for campaign13 related activity during the period covered by the re14 port. 

15 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa16 tion described in this paragraph is, for each disburse17 ment for campaign-related activity— 

18 ‘‘(A) the date of the independent expendi19 ture or electioneering communication involved; 

20 ‘‘(B) the amount of the independent expend21 iture or electioneering communication involved; 

22 ‘‘(C) the name of the candidate identified in 

23 the independent expenditure or electioneering 

24 communication involved, the office sought by the 

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1 nication involved was in support of or in opposi2 tion to the candidate; 

3 ‘‘(D) in the case of a transfer of funds to 

4 another person, the information required by sub5 paragraphs (A) through (C), as well as the name 

6 of the recipient of the funds and the date and 

7 amount of the funds transferred; 

8 ‘‘(E) the source of such funds; and 

9 ‘‘(F) such other information as the Commis10 sion determines is appropriate to further the 

11 purposes of this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(b) HYPERLINK TO INFORMATION INCLUDED IN RE13 PORTS FILED WITH COMMISSION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) REQUIRING POSTING OF HYPERLINK.—If a 

15 covered organization maintains an Internet site, the 

16 organization shall post on such Internet site a 

17 hyperlink from its homepage to the location on the 

18 Internet site of the Commission which contains the 

19 following information: 

20 ‘‘(A) The information the organization is 

21 required to report under section 304(g)(5)(A) 

22 with respect to public independent expenditures. 

23 ‘‘(B) The information the organization is 

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1 ments for electioneering communications under 

2 section 304(f)(6). 

3 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE; DURATION OF POSTING.—The 

4 covered organization shall post the hyperlink de5 scribed in paragraph (1) not later than 24 hours after 

6 the Commission posts the information described in 

7 such paragraph on the Internet site of the Commis8 sion, and shall ensure that the hyperlink remains on 

9 the Internet site of the covered organization until the 

10 expiration of the 1-year period which begins on the 

11 date of the election with respect to which the public 

12 independent expenditures or electioneering commu13 nications are made. 

14 ‘‘(c) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this sec15 tion, the term ‘covered organization’ means any of the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(1) Any corporation which is subject to section 

18 316(a). 

19 ‘‘(2) Any labor organization (as defined in sec20 tion 316). 

21 ‘‘(3) Any organization described in paragraph 

22 (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c) of the Internal Rev23 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

24 501(a) of such Code. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Any political organization under section 

2 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other than 

3 a political committee under this Act.’’. 

4 TITLE IV—OTHER PROVISIONS 

5 SEC. 401. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

6 (a) SPECIAL RULES FOR ACTIONS BROUGHT ON CON7 STITUTIONAL GROUNDS.—If any action is brought for de8 claratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu9 tionality of any provision of this Act or any amendment 

10 made by this Act, the following rules shall apply: 

11 (1) The action shall be filed in the United States 

12 District Court for the District of Columbia, and an 

13 appeal from a decision of the District Court may be 

14 taken to the Court of Appeals for the District of Co15 lumbia Circuit. 

16 (2) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered 

17 promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

18 and the Secretary of the Senate. 

19 (3) It shall be the duty of the United States Dis20 trict Court for the District of Columbia, the Court of 

21 Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the 

22 Supreme Court of the United States to advance on the 

23 docket and to expedite to the greatest possible extent 

24 the disposition of the action and appeal. 


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1 (b) INTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—In 

2 any action in which the constitutionality of any provision 

3 of this Act or any amendment made by this Act is raised, 

4 any member of the House of Representatives (including a 

5 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or Sen6 ate shall have the right to intervene either in support of 

7 or opposition to the position of a party to the case regarding 

8 the constitutionality of the provision or amendment. To 

9 avoid duplication of efforts and reduce the burdens placed 

10 on the parties to the action, the court in any such action 

11 may make such orders as it considers necessary, including 

12 orders to require intervenors taking similar positions to file 

13 joint papers or to be represented by a single attorney at 

14 oral argument. 

15 (c) CHALLENGE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Any 

16 Member of the House of Representatives (including a Dele17 gate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) or Senate 

18 may bring an action, subject to the special rules described 

19 in subsection (a), for declaratory or injunctive relief to chal20 lenge the constitutionality of any provision of this Act or 

21 any amendment made by this Act. 

22 SEC. 402. SEVERABILITY. 

23 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

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

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1 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

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

3 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be af4 fected by the holding. 

5 SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 Except as otherwise provided, this Act and the amend7 ments made by this Act shall take effect upon the expiration 

8 of the 30-day period which begins on the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, and shall take effect without regard to 

10 whether or not the Federal Election Commission has pro11 mulgated regulations to carry out such amendments. 


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Union Calendar No. 280 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5175 

[Report No. 111–492, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

elections, and for other purposes. requirements with respect to spending in such elections, and to establish additional disclosure from making expenditures with respect to such elections, to prohibit government contractors 1971 to prohibit foreign influence in Federal 

MAY 25, 2010 

Reported from the Committee on House Administration 

with an amendment 

MAY 25, 2010 

Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the 

Union and ordered to be printed Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 


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