II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1917 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform the system of 

public financing for Presidential elections, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2019 

Mr. UDALL (for himself and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform 

the system of public financing for Presidential elections, 

and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Empower Act of 2019’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 

Sec. 1001. Increase in and modifications to matching payments. 

Sec. 1002. Eligibility requirements for matching payments. 


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Sec. 1003. Repeal of expenditure limitations. 

Sec. 1004. Period of availability of matching payments. 

Sec. 1005. Examination and audits of matchable contributions. 

Sec. 1006. Modification to limitation on contributions for Presidential primary 

candidates. 

TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 

Sec. 2001. Modification of eligibility requirements for public financing. 

Sec. 2002. Repeal of expenditure limitations and use of qualified campaign contributions. 

Sec. 2003. Matching payments and other modifications to payment amounts. 

Sec. 2004. Increase in limit on coordinated party expenditures. 

Sec. 2005. Establishment of uniform date for release of payments. 

Sec. 2006. Amounts in Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 

Sec. 2007. Use of general election payments for general election legal and accounting compliance. 

TITLE III—OTHER CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORMS 

Sec. 3001. Rules relating to joint fundraising committees. 

Sec. 3002. Repeal of special contribution limits for contributions to national 

parties for certain purposes. 

TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE 

Sec. 4001. Effective date. 

1 TITLE I—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 

2 SEC. 1001. INCREASE IN AND MODIFICATIONS TO MATCH3 ING PAYMENTS. 

4 (a) INCREASE AND MODIFICATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section 

6 9034(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

7 amended— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘an amount equal to the 

9 amount of each contribution’’ and inserting ‘‘an 

10 amount equal to 600 percent of the amount of 

11 each matchable contribution (disregarding any 

12 amount of contributions from any person to the 

13 extent that the total of the amounts contributed 


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1 by such person for the election exceeds $200)’’; 

2 and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘authorized committees’’ 

4 and all that follows through ‘‘$250’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘authorized committees’’. 

6 (2) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 

7 9034 of such Code is amended— 

8 (A) by striking the last sentence of sub9 section (a); and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

11 subsection: 

12 ‘‘(c) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION DEFINED.—For 

13 purposes of this section and section 9033(b)— 

14 ‘‘(1) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

15 ‘matchable contribution’ means, with respect to the 

16 nomination for election to the office of President of 

17 the United States, a contribution by an individual to 

18 a candidate or an authorized committee of a can19 didate with respect to which the candidate has cer20 tified in writing that— 

21 ‘‘(A) the individual making such contribu22 tion has not made aggregate contributions (in23 cluding such matchable contribution) to such 

24 candidate and the authorized committees of 


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1 such candidate in excess of $1,000 for the elec2 tion, 

3 ‘‘(B) such candidate and the authorized 

4 committees of such candidate will not accept 

5 contributions from such individual (including 

6 such matchable contribution) aggregating more 

7 than the amount described in subparagraph 

8 (A), and 

9 ‘‘(C) such contribution was a direct con10 tribution. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION.—For purposes of this 

12 subsection, the term ‘contribution’ means a gift of 

13 money made by a written instrument which identi14 fies the individual making the contribution by full 

15 name and mailing address, but does not include a 

16 subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money, or 

17 anything of value or anything described in subpara18 graph (B), (C), or (D) of section 9032(4). 

19 ‘‘(3) DIRECT CONTRIBUTION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

21 subsection, the term ‘direct contribution’ 

22 means, with respect to a candidate, a contribu23 tion which is made directly by an individual to 

24 the candidate or an authorized committee of the 

25 candidate and is not— 


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1 ‘‘(i) forwarded from the individual 

2 making the contribution to the candidate 

3 or committee by another person, or 

4 ‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com5 mittee with the knowledge that the con6 tribution was made at the request, sugges7 tion, or recommendation of another person. 

8 ‘‘(B) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In subpara9 graph (A)— 

10 ‘‘(i) the term ‘person’ does not include 

11 an individual (other than an individual de12 scribed in section 304(i)(7) of the Federal 

13 Election Campaign Act of 1971), a polit14 ical committee of a political party, or any 

15 political committee which is not a separate 

16 segregated fund described in section 

17 316(b) of the Federal Election Campaign 

18 Act of 1971 and which does not make con19 tributions or independent expenditures, 

20 does not engage in lobbying activity under 

21 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

22 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and is not estab23 lished by, controlled by, or affiliated with 

24 a registered lobbyist under such Act, an 

25 agent of a registered lobbyist under such 


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1 Act, or an organization which retains or 

2 employs a registered lobbyist under such 

3 Act, and 

4 ‘‘(ii) a contribution is not ‘made at 

5 the request, suggestion, or recommendation 

6 of another person’ solely on the grounds 

7 that the contribution is made in response 

8 to information provided to the individual 

9 making the contribution by any person, so 

10 long as the candidate or authorized com11 mittee does not know the identity of the 

12 person who provided the information to 

13 such individual.’’. 

14 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (A) Section 9032(4) of such Code is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘section 9034(a)’’ and in17 serting ‘‘section 9034’’. 

18 (B) Section 9033(b)(3) of such Code is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘matching contributions’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘matchable contributions’’. 

21 (b) MODIFICATION OF PAYMENT LIMITATION.—Sec22 tion 9034(b) of such Code is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘The total’’ and inserting the 

24 following: 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The total’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘shall not exceed’’ and all that 

2 follows and inserting ‘‘shall not exceed 

3 $250,000,000.’’; and 

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

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any ap8 plicable period beginning after 2029, the dollar 

9 amount in paragraph (1) shall be increased by 

10 an amount equal to— 

11 ‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 

12 ‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de13 termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal14 endar year following the year which such 

15 applicable period begins, determined by 

16 substituting ‘calendar year 2028’ for ‘cal17 endar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 

18 thereof. 

19 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes 

20 of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable period’ 

21 means the 4-year period beginning with the 

22 first day following the date of the general elec23 tion for the office of President and ending on 

24 the date of the next such general election. 


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1 ‘‘(C) ROUNDING.—If any amount as ad2 justed under subparagraph (A) is not a multiple 

3 of $10,000, such amount shall be rounded to 

4 the nearest multiple of $10,000.’’. 

5 SEC. 1002. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING 

6 PAYMENTS. 

7 (a) AMOUNT OF AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTIONS PER

8 STATE; DISREGARDING OF AMOUNTS CONTRIBUTED IN

9 EXCESS OF $200.—Section 9033(b)(3) of the Internal 

10 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘20 States’’ and inserting the 

14 following: ‘‘20 States (disregarding any amount of 

15 contributions from any such resident to the extent 

16 that the total of the amounts contributed by such 

17 resident for the election exceeds $200)’’. 

18 (b) CONTRIBUTION LIMIT.— 

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

20 9033(b) of such Code is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(4) the candidate and the authorized commit22 tees of the candidate will not accept aggregate con23 tributions from any person with respect to the nomi24 nation for election to the office of President of the 

25 United States in excess of $1,000 for the election.’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (A) Section 9033(b) of such Code is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following 

4 new flush sentence: 

5 ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (4), the term ‘contribution’ 

6 has the meaning given such term in section 301(8) of the 

7 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

8 (B) Section 9032(4) of such Code, as 

9 amended by section 1001(a)(3)(A), is amended 

10 by inserting ‘‘or 9033(b)’’ after ‘‘9034’’. 

11 (c) PARTICIPATION IN SYSTEM FOR PAYMENTS FOR

12 GENERAL ELECTION.—Section 9033(b) of such Code is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

15 (3); 

16 (2) by striking the period at the end of para17 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol19 lowing new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(5) if the candidate is nominated by a political 

21 party for election to the office of President, the can22 didate will apply for and accept payments with re23 spect to the general election for such office in ac24 cordance with chapter 95.’’. 


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1 (d) PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT2 TEES.—Section 9033(b) of such Code, as amended by sub3 section (c), is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

5 (4); 

6 (2) by striking the period at the end of para7 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) adding at 

9 the end the following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(6) the candidate will not establish a joint 

11 fundraising committee with a political committee 

12 other than another authorized committee of the can13 didate, except that candidate established a joint 

14 fundraising committee with respect to a prior elec15 tion for which the candidate was not eligible to re16 ceive payments under section 9037 and the can17 didate does not terminate the committee, the can18 didate shall not be considered to be in violation of 

19 this paragraph so long as that joint fundraising 

20 committee does not receive any contributions or 

21 make any disbursements during the election cycle for 

22 which the candidate is eligible to receive payments 

23 under such section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 1003. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 9035 of 

3 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘(a) PERSONAL EXPENDITURE LIMITATION.—No 

6 candidate shall knowingly make expenditures from his per7 sonal funds, or the personal funds of his immediate family, 

8 in connection with his campaign for nomination for elec9 tion to the office of President in excess of, in the aggre10 gate, $50,000.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 

12 section 9033(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

13 amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(1) the candidate will comply with the per15 sonal expenditure limitation under section 9035,’’. 

16 SEC. 1004. PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF MATCHING PAY17 MENTS. 

18 Section 9032(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘the beginning of the cal20 endar year in which a general election for the office of 

21 President of the United States will be held’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘the date that is 6 months prior to the date of the earliest 

23 State primary election’’. 


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1 SEC. 1005. EXAMINATION AND AUDITS OF MATCHABLE CON2 TRIBUTIONS. 

3 Section 9038(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘and matchable contribu5 tions accepted by’’ after ‘‘qualified campaign expenses of’’. 

6 SEC. 1006. MODIFICATION TO LIMITATION ON CONTRIBU7 TIONS FOR PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY CAN8 DIDATES. 

9 Section 315(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign 

10 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(6)) is amended by strik11 ing ‘‘calendar year’’ and inserting ‘‘four-year election 

12 cycle’’. 

13 TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 

14 SEC. 2001. MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 

15 FOR PUBLIC FINANCING. 

16 Subsection (a) of section 9003 of the Internal Rev17 enue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to receive 

19 any payments under section 9006, the candidates of a po20 litical party in a Presidential election shall meet the fol21 lowing requirements: 

22 ‘‘(1) PARTICIPATION IN PRIMARY PAYMENT

23 SYSTEM.—The candidate for President received pay24 ments under chapter 96 for the campaign for nomi25 nation for election to be President. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS WITH COMMISSION.—The 

2 candidates, in writing— 

3 ‘‘(A) agree to obtain and furnish to the 

4 Commission such evidence as it may request of 

5 the qualified campaign expenses of such can6 didates, 

7 ‘‘(B) agree to keep and furnish to the 

8 Commission such records, books, and other in9 formation as it may request, and 

10 ‘‘(C) agree to an audit and examination by 

11 the Commission under section 9007 and to pay 

12 any amounts required to be paid under such 

13 section. 

14 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING

15 COMMITTEES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—The candidates cer17 tify in writing that the candidates will not es18 tablish a joint fundraising committee with a po19 litical committee other than another authorized 

20 committee of the candidate. 

21 ‘‘(B) STATUS OF EXISTING COMMITTEES

22 FOR PRIOR ELECTIONS.—If a candidate estab23 lished a joint fundraising committee described 

24 in subparagraph (A) with respect to a prior 

25 election for which the candidate was not eligible 


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1 to receive payments under section 9006 and the 

2 candidate does not terminate the committee, 

3 the candidate shall not be considered to be in 

4 violation of subparagraph (A) so long as that 

5 joint fundraising committee does not receive 

6 any contributions or make any disbursements 

7 with respect to the election for which the can8 didate is eligible to receive payments under sec9 tion 9006.’’. 

10 SEC. 2002. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS AND 

11 USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBU12 TIONS. 

13 (a) USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

14 WITHOUT EXPENDITURE LIMITS; APPLICATION OF SAME

15 REQUIREMENTS FOR MAJOR, MINOR, AND NEW PAR16 TIES.—Section 9003 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986 is amended by striking subsections (b) and (c) and 

18 inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(b) USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

20 TO DEFRAY EXPENSES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to 

22 receive any payments under section 9006, the can23 didates of a party in a Presidential election shall 

24 certify to the Commission, under penalty of perjury, 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) such candidates and their authorized 

2 committees have not and will not accept any 

3 contributions to defray qualified campaign ex4 penses other than— 

5 ‘‘(i) qualified campaign contributions, 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) contributions to the extent nec8 essary to make up any deficiency payments 

9 received out of the fund on account of the 

10 application of section 9006(c), and 

11 ‘‘(B) such candidates and their authorized 

12 committees have not and will not accept any 

13 contribution to defray expenses which would be 

14 qualified campaign expenses but for subpara15 graph (C) of section 9002(11). 

16 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF CERTIFICATION.—The can17 didate shall make the certification required under 

18 this subsection at the same time the candidate 

19 makes the certification required under subsection 

20 (a)(3).’’. 

21 (b) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CON22 TRIBUTION.—Section 9002 of such Code is amended by 

23 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(13) QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION.— 

25 The term ‘qualified campaign contribution’ means, 


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1 with respect to any election for the office of Presi2 dent of the United States, a contribution from an in3 dividual to a candidate or an authorized committee 

4 of a candidate which— 

5 ‘‘(A) does not exceed $1,000 for the elec6 tion, and 

7 ‘‘(B) with respect to which the candidate 

8 has certified in writing that— 

9 ‘‘(i) the individual making such con10 tribution has not made aggregate contribu11 tions (including such qualified contribu12 tion) to such candidate and the authorized 

13 committees of such candidate in excess of 

14 the amount described in subparagraph (A), 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) such candidate and the author17 ized committees of such candidate will not 

18 accept contributions from such individual 

19 (including such qualified contribution) ag20 gregating more than the amount described 

21 in subparagraph (A) with respect to such 

22 election.’’. 

23 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Fed2 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

3 30116) is amended by striking subsection (b). 

4 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

5 315(c) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (i) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 

8 ‘‘, (b)’’; and 

9 (ii) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking 

10 ‘‘subsections (b) and (d)’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 

12 (2) REPEAL OF REPAYMENT REQUIREMENT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 9007(b) of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

15 striking paragraph (2) and redesignating para16 graphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), 

17 and (4), respectively. 

18 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Para19 graph (2) of section 9007(b) of such Code, as 

20 redesignated by subparagraph (A), is amend21 ed— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘a major party’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘a party’’; 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘qualified contribu2 tions and’’ after ‘‘contributions (other 

3 than’’; and 

4 (iii) by striking ‘‘(other than qualified 

5 campaign expenses with respect to which 

6 payment is required under paragraph 

7 (2))’’. 

8 (3) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

9 (A) REPEAL OF PENALTY FOR EXCESS EX10 PENSES.—Section 9012 of the Internal Revenue 

11 Code of 1986 is amended by striking subsection 

12 (a). 

13 (B) PENALTY FOR ACCEPTANCE OF DIS14 ALLOWED CONTRIBUTIONS; APPLICATION OF

15 SAME PENALTY FOR CANDIDATES OF MAJOR, 

16 MINOR, AND NEW PARTIES.—Subsection (b) of 

17 section 9012 of such Code is amended to read 

18 as follows: 

19 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ACCEPTANCE OF DISALLOWED CONTRIBU21 TIONS.—It shall be unlawful for an eligible can22 didate of a party in a Presidential election or any of 

23 his authorized committees knowingly and willfully to 

24 accept— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any contribution other than a quali2 fied campaign contribution to defray qualified 

3 campaign expenses, except to the extent nec4 essary to make up any deficiency in payments 

5 received out of the fund on account of the ap6 plication of section 9006(c), or 

7 ‘‘(B) any contribution to defray expenses 

8 which would be qualified campaign expenses but 

9 for subparagraph (C) of section 9002(11). 

10 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para11 graph (1) shall be fined not more than $5,000, or 

12 imprisoned not more than one year, or both. In the 

13 case of a violation by an authorized committee, any 

14 officer or member of such committee who knowingly 

15 and willfully consents to such violation shall be fined 

16 not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than 

17 one year, or both.’’. 

18 SEC. 2003. MATCHING PAYMENTS AND OTHER MODIFICA19 TIONS TO PAYMENT AMOUNTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

21 (1) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS; APPLICATION OF

22 SAME AMOUNT FOR CANDIDATES OF MAJOR, MINOR, 

23 AND NEW PARTIES.—Subsection (a) of section 9004 

24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to 

25 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of this 

2 chapter, the eligible candidates of a party in a Presidential 

3 election shall be entitled to equal payment under section 

4 9006 in an amount equal to 600 percent of the amount 

5 of each matchable contribution received by such candidate 

6 or by the candidate’s authorized committees (disregarding 

7 any amount of contributions from any person to the extent 

8 that the total of the amounts contributed by such person 

9 for the election exceeds $200), except that total amount 

10 to which a candidate is entitled under this paragraph shall 

11 not exceed $250,000,000.’’. 

12 (2) REPEAL OF SEPARATE LIMITATIONS FOR

13 CANDIDATES OF MINOR AND NEW PARTIES; INFLA14 TION ADJUSTMENT.—Subsection (b) of section 9004 

15 of such Code is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any applica18 ble period beginning after 2029, the $250,000,000 

19 dollar amount in subsection (a) shall be increased by 

20 an amount equal to— 

21 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by 

22 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter23 mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 

24 year following the year which such applicable 

25 period begins, determined by substituting ‘calVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1917.IS S1917

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1 endar year 2028’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in 

2 subparagraph (B) thereof. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes of 

4 this subsection, the term ‘applicable period’ means 

5 the 4-year period beginning with the first day fol6 lowing the date of the general election for the office 

7 of President and ending on the date of the next such 

8 general election. 

9 ‘‘(3) ROUNDING.—If any amount as adjusted 

10 under paragraph (1) is not a multiple of $10,000, 

11 such amount shall be rounded to the nearest mul12 tiple of $10,000.’’. 

13 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

14 9005(a) of such Code is amended by adding at the 

15 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Commission 

16 shall make such additional certifications as may be 

17 necessary to receive payments under section 9004.’’. 

18 (b) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION.—Section 9002 of 

19 such Code, as amended by section 2002(b), is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(14) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

22 ‘matchable contribution’ means, with respect to the 

23 election to the office of President of the United 

24 States, a contribution by an individual to a can25 didate or an authorized committee of a candidate 


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1 with respect to which the candidate has certified in 

2 writing that— 

3 ‘‘(A) the individual making such contribu4 tion has not made aggregate contributions (in5 cluding such matchable contribution) to such 

6 candidate and the authorized committees of 

7 such candidate in excess of $1,000 for the elec8 tion, 

9 ‘‘(B) such candidate and the authorized 

10 committees of such candidate will not accept 

11 contributions from such individual (including 

12 such matchable contribution) aggregating more 

13 than the amount described in subparagraph (A) 

14 with respect to such election, and 

15 ‘‘(C) such contribution was a direct con16 tribution (as defined in section 9034(c)(3)).’’. 

17 SEC. 2004. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COORDINATED PARTY 

18 EXPENDITURES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(d)(2) of the Federal 

20 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(d)(2)) 

21 is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(2)(A) The national committee of a political party 

23 may not make any expenditure in connection with the gen24 eral election campaign of any candidate for President of 


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1 the United States who is affiliated with such party which 

2 exceeds $100,000,000. 

3 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph— 

4 ‘‘(i) any expenditure made by or on behalf of a 

5 national committee of a political party and in con6 nection with a Presidential election shall be consid7 ered to be made in connection with the general elec8 tion campaign of a candidate for President of the 

9 United States who is affiliated with such party; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) any communication made by or on behalf 

11 of such party shall be considered to be made in con12 nection with the general election campaign of a can13 didate for President of the United States who is af14 filiated with such party if any portion of the commu15 nication is in connection with such election. 

16 ‘‘(C) Any expenditure under this paragraph shall be 

17 in addition to any expenditure by a national committee 

18 of a political party serving as the principal campaign com19 mittee of a candidate for the office of President of the 

20 United States.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO TIM22 ING OF COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(c)(1) of such 

24 Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(1)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(d)’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘(d)(2)’’; and 

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

4 subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(D) In any calendar year after 2028— 

6 ‘‘(i) the dollar amount in subsection (d)(2) shall 

7 be increased by the percent difference determined 

8 under subparagraph (A); 

9 ‘‘(ii) the amount so increased shall remain in 

10 effect for the calendar year; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) if the amount after adjustment under 

12 clause (i) is not a multiple of $100, such amount 

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

14 (2) BASE YEAR.—Section 315(c)(2)(B) of such 

15 Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(2)(B)) is amended— 

16 (A) in clause (i)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘(d)(3)’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

23 clause: 

24 ‘‘(iii) for purposes of subsection (d)(2), cal25 endar year 2027.’’. 


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•S 1917 IS

1 SEC. 2005. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM DATE FOR RE2 LEASE OF PAYMENTS. 

3 (a) DATE FOR PAYMENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9006(b) of the In5 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS FROM THE FUND.—If the Secretary 

8 of the Treasury receives a certification from the Commis9 sion under section 9005 for payment to the eligible can10 didates of a political party, the Secretary shall pay to such 

11 candidates out of the fund the amount certified by the 

12 Commission on the later of— 

13 ‘‘(1) the last Friday occurring before the first 

14 Monday in September, or 

15 ‘‘(2) 24 hours after receiving the certifications 

16 for the eligible candidates of all major political par17 ties. 

18 Amounts paid to any such candidates shall be under the 

19 control of such candidates.’’. 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first sen21 tence of section 9006(c) of such Code is amended by 

22 striking ‘‘the time of a certification by the Commis23 sion under section 9005 for payment’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘the time of making a payment under subsection 

25 (b)’’. 


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•S 1917 IS

1 (b) TIME FOR CERTIFICATION.—Section 9005(a) of 

2 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘10 days’’ and inserting ‘‘24 hours’’. 

4 SEC. 2006. AMOUNTS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAM5 PAIGN FUND. 

6 Section 9006(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

8 sentence: ‘‘In making a determination of whether there are 

9 insufficient moneys in the fund for purposes of the pre10 vious sentence, the Secretary shall take into account in 

11 determining the balance of the fund for a Presidential 

12 election year the Secretary’s best estimate of the amount 

13 of moneys which will be deposited into the fund during 

14 the year, except that the amount of the estimate may not 

15 exceed the average of the annual amounts deposited in the 

16 fund during the previous 3 years.’’. 

17 SEC. 2007. USE OF GENERAL ELECTION PAYMENTS FOR 

18 GENERAL ELECTION LEGAL AND ACCOUNT19 ING COMPLIANCE. 

20 Section 9002(11) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

21 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

22 sentence: ‘‘For purposes of subparagraph (A), an expense 

23 incurred by a candidate or authorized committee for gen24 eral election legal and accounting compliance purposes 


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•S 1917 IS

1 shall be considered to be an expense to further the election 

2 of such candidate.’’. 

3 TITLE III—OTHER CAMPAIGN 

4 FINANCE REFORMS 

5 SEC. 3001. RULES RELATING TO JOINT FUNDRAISING COM6 MITTEES. 

7 (a) PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT8 TEES FOR CANDIDATES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 302(e) of the Fed10 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

11 30102(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(6) No authorized committee of a candidate may es14 tablish, participate in, or have any involvement with any 

15 joint fundraising committee.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

17 302(e)(3)(A) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30102(e)(3)) is 

18 amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘except that’’ and all that 

20 follows through ‘‘the candidate’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘except that the candidate’’, 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a pe23 riod, and 

24 (C) by striking clause (ii). 


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•S 1917 IS

1 (b) LIMITATION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT2 TEES FOR PARTY COMMITTEES.—Section 302 of the Fed3 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30102) 

4 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub5 section: 

6 ‘‘(j) PARTICIPATION OF PARTY COMMITTEES IN

7 JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMITTEES.—No committee of a 

8 political party may establish, participate in, or have any 

9 involvement with any joint fundraising committee other 

10 than a joint fundraising committee that consists of the 

11 national committee of a political party and one other com12 mittee of the political party.’’. 

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2020. 

15 SEC. 3002. REPEAL OF SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR 

16 CONTRIBUTIONS TO NATIONAL PARTIES FOR 

17 CERTAIN PURPOSES. 

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

19 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘, or, in 

22 the case of contributions made to any of the ac23 counts described in paragraph (9), exceed 300 per24 cent of the amount otherwise applicable under this 

25 subparagraph with respect to such calendar year’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘, or, in 

2 the case of contributions made to any of the ac3 counts described in paragraph (9), exceed 300 per4 cent of the amount otherwise applicable under this 

5 subparagraph with respect to such calendar year’’; 

6 and 

7 (3) by striking paragraph (9). 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 315(d) of 

9 such Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(d)) is amended by striking 

10 paragraph (5). 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall apply to contributions made after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (d) RETURN OF PREVIOUSLY CONTRIBUTED

15 AMOUNTS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the 

16 enactment of this Act, each political committee established 

17 and maintained by a political party shall distribute all 

18 amounts in accounts described in section 315(a)(9) of the 

19 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

20 30116(a)(9)) to individuals who made contributions to 

21 such accounts. The amount distributed to any contributor 

22 from any account shall bear the same ratio to the amount 

23 of contributions made by such contributor to such account 

24 as the balance of such account on the date of the enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1917.IS S1917

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1 ment of this Act bears to the total amount of contributions 

2 made to such account. 

3 TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE 

4 SEC. 4001. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided, this 

6 Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply 

7 with respect to the Presidential election held in 2024 and 

8 each succeeding Presidential election, without regard to 

9 whether or not the Federal Election Commission has pro10 mulgated the final regulations necessary to carry out this 

11 Act and the amendments made by this Act by the deadline 

12 set forth in subsection (b). 

13 (b) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

14 June 30, 2022, the Federal Election Commission shall 

15 promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

16 out this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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