II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2232 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reduce the number 

of members of the Federal Election Commission from 6 to 5, to revise 

the method of selection and terms of service of members of the Commission, to distribute the powers of the Commission between the Chair 

and the remaining members, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2019 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

reduce the number of members of the Federal Election 

Commission from 6 to 5, to revise the method of selection and terms of service of members of the Commission, 

to distribute the powers of the Commission between the 

Chair and the remaining members, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Campaign Finance 

5 Transparency Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP OF FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS2 SION. 

3 (a) REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS; REMOVAL

4 OF SECRETARY OF SENATE AND CLERK OF HOUSE AS

5 EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL; QUORUM.—Section 306(a)(1) 

7 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

8 U.S.C. 30106(a)(1)) is amended— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘There is established’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘(A) There is established’’; and 

11 (B) by striking the second and third sen12 tences and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) The Commission is composed of 5 mem14 bers appointed by the President by and with the ad15 vice and consent of the Senate, of whom— 

16 ‘‘(i) no more than 2 may be affiliated with 

17 the same political party; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) at least 1 shall not be affiliated 

19 with— 

20 ‘‘(I) the political party with which the 

21 most members of the House of Representa22 tives are affiliated; or 

23 ‘‘(II) the political party with which 

24 the second most member of the House of 

25 Representatives are affiliated. 


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1 A member shall by treated as affiliated with a polit2 ical party if the member was affiliated, including as 

3 a registered voter, employee, consultant, donor, offi4 cer, or attorney, with such political party or any of 

5 its candidates or elected public officials at any time 

6 during the 5-year period ending on the date on 

7 which such individual is nominated to be a member 

8 of the Commission. 

9 ‘‘(C) Four members shall constitute a 

10 quorum.’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

12 REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—(A) The 

13 second sentence of section 306(c) of such Act (52 

14 U.S.C. 30106(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘affirma15 tive vote of 4 members of the Commission’’ and in16 serting ‘‘affirmative vote of a majority of the mem17 bers of the Commission who are serving at the 

18 time’’. 

19 (B) Such Act is further amended by striking 

20 ‘‘affirmative vote of 4 of its members’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘affirmative vote of a majority of the members of 

22 the Commission who are serving at the time’’ each 

23 place it appears in the following sections: 

24 (i) Section 309(a)(2) (52 U.S.C. 

25 30109(a)(2)). 


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1 (ii) Section 309(a)(4)(A)(i) (52 U.S.C. 

2 30109(a)(4)(A)(i)). 

3 (iii) Section 309(a)(5)(C) (52 U.S.C. 

4 30109(a)(5)(C)). 

5 (iv) Section 309(a)(6)(A) (52 U.S.C. 

6 30109(a)(6)(A)). 

7 (v) Section 311(b) (52 U.S.C. 30111(b)). 

8 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

9 REMOVAL OF EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—Section 

10 306(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)) is amend11 ed by striking ‘‘(other than the Secretary of the Sen12 ate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives)’’ 

13 each place it appears in paragraphs (4) and (5). 

14 (b) TERMS OF SERVICE.—Section 306(a)(2) of such 

15 Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)(2)) is amended to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(2) TERMS OF SERVICE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

19 Commission shall serve for a single term of 6 

20 years. 

21 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR INITIAL APPOINT22 MENTS.—Of the members first appointed to 

23 serve terms that begin in January 2022, the 

24 President shall designate 2 to serve for 3-year 

25 terms. The members selected under this subVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232

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1 paragraph shall not be affiliated with the same 

2 political party. 

3 ‘‘(C) NO REAPPOINTMENT PERMITTED.— 

4 An individual who served a term as a member 

5 of the Commission may not serve for an addi6 tional term, except that— 

7 ‘‘(i) an individual who served a 3-year 

8 term under subparagraph (B) may also be 

9 appointed to serve a 6-year term under 

10 subparagraph (A); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of this subpara12 graph, an individual who is appointed to 

13 fill a vacancy under subparagraph (D) 

14 shall not be considered to have served a 

15 term if the portion of the unexpired term 

16 the individual fills is less than 50 percent 

17 of the period of the term. 

18 ‘‘(D) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy occurring 

19 in the membership of the Commission shall be 

20 filled in the same manner as in the case of the 

21 original appointment. Except as provided in 

22 subparagraph (C), an individual appointed to 

23 fill a vacancy occurring other than by the expi24 ration of a term of office shall be appointed 


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1 only for the unexpired term of the member he 

2 or she succeeds. 

3 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION ON SERVICE AFTER EX4 PIRATION OF TERM.—A member of the Com5 mission may continue to serve on the Commis6 sion after the expiration of the member’s term 

7 for an additional period, but only until the ear8 lier of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the date on which the member’s 

10 successor has taken office as a member of 

11 the Commission; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the expiration of the 1-year pe13 riod that begins on the last day of the 

14 member’s term.’’. 

15 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Section 306(a)(3) of such Act 

16 (52 U.S.C. 30106(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may 

19 select an individual for service as a member of 

20 the Commission if the individual has experience 

21 in election law and has a demonstrated record 

22 of integrity, impartiality, and good judgment. 

23 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE OF BLUE RIBBON ADVI24 SORY PANEL.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the regu2 larly scheduled expiration of the term of a 

3 member of the Commission and upon the 

4 occurrence of a vacancy in the membership 

5 of the Commission prior to the expiration 

6 of a term, the President shall convene a 

7 Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel consisting of 

8 an odd number of individuals selected by 

9 the President. 

10 ‘‘(ii) COMPOSITION.—The Blue Rib11 bon Advisory Panel shall include individ12 uals representing each major political 

13 party and individuals who are independent 

14 of a political party and individuals with ex15 perience in election law, except that the 

16 President may not select any individual to 

17 serve on the panel who holds any public of18 fice at the time of selection. The President 

19 shall make reasonable efforts to encourage 

20 racial, ethnic, and gender diversity on the 

21 panel. 

22 ‘‘(iii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—With re23 spect to each member of the Commission 

24 whose term is expiring or each vacancy in 

25 the membership of the Commission (as the 


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1 case may be), the Blue Ribbon Advisory 

2 Panel shall recommend to the President at 

3 least one but not more than 3 individuals 

4 for nomination for appointment as a mem5 ber of the Commission. 

6 ‘‘(iv) PUBLICATION.—At the time the 

7 President submits to the Senate the nomi8 nations for individuals to be appointed as 

9 members of the Commission, the President 

10 shall publish the Blue Ribbon Advisory 

11 Panel’s recommendations for such nomina12 tions. 

13 ‘‘(v) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL AD14 VISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal 

15 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

16 does not apply to a Blue Ribbon Advisory 

17 Panel convened under this subparagraph. 

18 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITING ENGAGEMENT WITH

19 OTHER BUSINESS OR EMPLOYMENT DURING

20 SERVICE.—A member of the Commission shall 

21 not engage in any other business, vocation, or 

22 employment. Any individual who is engaging in 

23 any other business, vocation, or employment at 

24 the time of his or her appointment to the Com25 mission shall terminate or liquidate such activVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232

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1 ity no later than 90 days after such appoint2 ment.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. ASSIGNMENT OF POWERS TO CHAIR OF FEDERAL 

4 ELECTION COMMISSION. 

5 (a) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR BY PRESIDENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 306(a)(5) of the 

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

8 30106(a)(5)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(5) CHAIR.— 

10 ‘‘(A) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—Of the 

11 members first appointed to serve terms that 

12 begin in January 2022, one such member (as 

13 designated by the President at the time the 

14 President submits nominations to the Senate) 

15 shall serve as Chair of the Commission. 

16 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.—Any 

17 individual who is appointed to succeed the 

18 member who serves as Chair of the Commission 

19 for the term beginning in January 2022 (as 

20 well as any individual who is appointed to fill 

21 a vacancy if such member does not serve a full 

22 term as Chair) shall serve as Chair of the Com23 mission. 

24 ‘‘(C) VICE CHAIR.—The Commission shall 

25 select, by majority vote of its members, one of 


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1 its members to serve as Vice Chair, who shall 

2 act as Chair in the absence or disability of the 

3 Chair or in the event of a vacancy in the posi4 tion of Chair.’’. 

5 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

6 309(a)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(2)) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘through its chairman or vice 

8 chairman’’ and inserting ‘‘through the Chair’’. 

9 (b) POWERS.— 

10 (1) ASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN POWERS TO

11 CHAIR.—Section 307(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

12 30107(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS BETWEEN CHAIR

14 AND COMMISSION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) POWERS ASSIGNED TO CHAIR.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS.—The 

17 Chair of the Commission shall be the chief ad18 ministrative officer of the Commission and shall 

19 have the authority to administer the Commis20 sion and its staff, and (in consultation with the 

21 other members of the Commission) shall have 

22 the power— 

23 ‘‘(i) to appoint and remove the staff 

24 director of the Commission; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to request the assistance (includ2 ing personnel and facilities) of other agen3 cies and departments of the United States, 

4 whose heads may make such assistance 

5 available to the Commission with or with6 out reimbursement; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) to prepare and establish the 

8 budget of the Commission and to make 

9 budget requests to the President, the Di10 rector of the Office of Management and 

11 Budget, and Congress. 

12 ‘‘(B) OTHER POWERS.—The Chair of the 

13 Commission shall have the power— 

14 ‘‘(i) to appoint and remove the gen15 eral counsel of the Commission; 

16 ‘‘(ii) to appoint and remove the direc17 tor of enforcement of the Commission with 

18 the concurrence of at least 2 other mem19 bers of the Commission who are not affili20 ated with the same political party as the 

21 Chair; 

22 ‘‘(iii) to require by special or general 

23 orders, any person to submit, under oath, 

24 such written reports and answers to ques25 tions as the Chair may prescribe; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) to administer oaths or affirma2 tions; 

3 ‘‘(v) to require by subpoena, signed by 

4 the Chair, the attendance and testimony of 

5 witnesses and the production of all docu6 mentary evidence relating to the execution 

7 of its duties; 

8 ‘‘(vi) in any proceeding or investiga9 tion, to order testimony to be taken by 

10 deposition before any person who is des11 ignated by the Chair, and shall have the 

12 power to administer oaths and, in such in13 stances, to compel testimony and the pro14 duction of evidence in the same manner as 

15 authorized under clause (iv); and 

16 ‘‘(vii) to pay witnesses the same fees 

17 and mileage as are paid in like cir18 cumstances in the courts of the United 

19 States. 

20 ‘‘(2) POWERS ASSIGNED TO COMMISSION.—The 

21 Commission shall have the power— 

22 ‘‘(A) to initiate (through civil actions for 

23 injunctive, declaratory, or other appropriate re24 lief) any civil action in the name of the Com25 mission to enforce the provisions of this Act 


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1 and chapter 95 and chapter 96 of the Internal 

2 Revenue Code of 1986, through its director of 

3 enforcement; 

4 ‘‘(B) to defend (in the case of any civil ac5 tion brought under section 309(a)(8) of this 

6 Act) or appeal (including a proceeding before 

7 the Supreme Court on certiorari) any civil ac8 tion in the name of the Commission to enforce 

9 the provisions of this Act and chapter 95 and 

10 chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

11 1986, through its general counsel; 

12 ‘‘(C) to render advisory opinions under sec13 tion 308 of this Act; 

14 ‘‘(D) to develop such prescribed forms and 

15 to make, amend, and repeal such rules, pursu16 ant to the provisions of chapter 5 of title 5, 

17 United States Code, as are necessary to carry 

18 out the provisions of this Act and chapter 95 

19 and chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

20 1986; 

21 ‘‘(E) to oversee investigations conducted by 

22 the director of enforcement; 

23 ‘‘(F) to conduct hearings expeditiously, to 

24 encourage voluntary compliance, and to report 


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1 apparent violations to the appropriate law en2 forcement authorities; and 

3 ‘‘(G) to transmit to the President and Con4 gress not later than June 1 of each year a re5 port which states in detail the activities of the 

6 Commission in carrying out its duties under 

7 this Act, and which includes any recommenda8 tions for any legislative or other action the 

9 Commission considers appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(3) PERMITTING COMMISSION TO EXERCISE

11 OTHER POWERS OF CHAIR.—With respect to any in12 vestigation, action, or proceeding, the Commission, 

13 by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members 

14 who are serving at the time, may exercise any of the 

15 powers of the Chair described in paragraph (1)(B).’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

17 PERSONNEL AUTHORITY.—Section 306(f) of such 

18 Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(f)) is amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘the Commission’’ in the 

20 first sentence of paragraph (1) and inserting 

21 ‘‘the Chair of the Commission in consultation 

22 with the other members’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘With 

24 the approval of the Commission’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘With the approval of the Chair of the Commis2 sion’’; and 

3 (C) by striking paragraph (3). 

4 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

5 BUDGET SUBMISSION.—Section 307(d)(1) of such 

6 Act (52 U.S.C. 30107(d)(1)) is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘the Commission submits any budget’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘the Chair (or, pursuant to subsection (a)(3), the 

9 Commission) submits any budget’’. 

10 (4) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Sec11 tion 306(c) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30106(c)) is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘All decisions’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘Subject to section 307(a), all decisions’’. 

14 (5) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The heading of 

15 section 307 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30107) is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘THE COMMISSION’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘THE CHAIR AND THE COMMISSION’’. 

18 SEC. 4. REVISION TO ENFORCEMENT PROCESS. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF DIRECTOR OF ENFORCE20 MENT.—Paragraph (1) of section 306(f) of the Federal 

21 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(f)(1)) 

22 is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(1) The Commission shall have the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) A staff director who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall be appointed by the Chair of 

2 the Commission in consultation with the 

3 other members; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in subpara5 graph (C), may, with the approval of the 

6 Chair of the Commission, appoint and fix 

7 the pay of such additional personnel as he 

8 or she considers desirable without regard 

9 to the provisions of title 5, United States 

10 Code, governing appointments in the com11 petitive service. 

12 ‘‘(B) A general counsel who shall be ap13 pointed by the Chair of the Commission in con14 sultation with the other members. 

15 ‘‘(C) A director of enforcement who— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall be nominated by the Chair 

17 and approved by a majority vote of the 

18 members of the Commission who are serv19 ing at the time, including an affirmative 

20 vote by at least 2 members who are not af21 filiated with the same political party as the 

22 Chair; 

23 ‘‘(ii) shall serve for a term of 4 years, 

24 subject to renewal; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) may, with the approval of the 

2 Chair of the Commission, appoint and fix 

3 the pay of such additional personnel to as4 sist with the duties of the director as he or 

5 she considers desirable without regard to 

6 the provisions of title 5, United States 

7 Code, governing appointments in the com8 petitive service.’’. 

9 (b) STANDARD FOR INITIATING INVESTIGATIONS AND

10 DETERMINING WHETHER VIOLATIONS HAVE OC11 CURRED.— 

12 (1) REVISION OF STANDARDS.—Section 309(a) 

13 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

14 U.S.C. 30109(a)) is amended by striking paragraphs 

15 (2) and (3) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) The director of enforcement, upon receiving 

17 a complaint filed with the Commission under paragraph 

18 (1) or upon the basis of information ascertained by the 

19 Commission in the normal course of carrying out its su20 pervisory responsibilities, shall make a determination as 

21 to whether or not there is reason to believe that a person 

22 has committed, or is about to commit, a violation of this 

23 Act or chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986, and as to whether or not the Commission 

25 should either initiate an investigation of the matter or that 


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1 the complaint should be dismissed. The director of en2 forcement shall promptly provide notification to the Com3 mission of such determination and the reasons therefore, 

4 together with any written response submitted under para5 graph (1) by the person alleged to have committed the 

6 violation. Upon the expiration of the 30-day period which 

7 begins on the date the director of enforcement provides 

8 such notification, the director’s determination shall take 

9 effect, unless during such 30-day period the Commission, 

10 by vote of a majority of the members of the Commission 

11 who are serving at the time, overrules the director’s deter12 mination. If the determination by the director of enforce13 ment that the Commission should investigate the matter 

14 takes effect, or if the determination by the director of en15 forcement that the complaint should be dismissed is over16 ruled as provided under the previous sentence, the director 

17 of enforcement shall initiate an investigation of the matter 

18 on behalf of the Commission. 

19 ‘‘(B) If the Commission initiates an investigation 

20 pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Commission, through 

21 the Chair, shall notify the subject of the investigation of 

22 the alleged violation. Such notification shall set forth the 

23 factual basis for such alleged violation. The Commission 

24 shall make an investigation of such alleged violation, which 

25 may include a field investigation or audit, in accordance 


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1 with the provisions of this section. The director of enforce2 ment shall provide notification to the Commission of any 

3 intent to issue a subpoena or conduct any other form of 

4 discovery pursuant to the investigation. Upon the expira5 tion of the 15-day period which begins on the date the 

6 director of enforcement provides such notification, the di7 rector of enforcement may issue the subpoena or conduct 

8 the discovery, unless during such 15-day period the Com9 mission, by vote of a majority of the members of the Com10 mission who are serving at the time, prohibits the director 

11 of enforcement from issuing the subpoena or conducting 

12 the discovery. 

13 ‘‘(3)(A) Upon completion of an investigation under 

14 paragraph (2), the director of enforcement shall promptly 

15 submit to the Commission the director’s recommendation 

16 that the Commission find either that there is probable 

17 cause or that there is not probable cause to believe that 

18 a person has committed, or is about to commit, a violation 

19 of this Act or chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal 

20 Revenue Code of 1986, and shall include with the rec21 ommendation a brief stating the position of the director 

22 of enforcement on the legal and factual issues of the case. 

23 ‘‘(B) At the time the director of enforcement submits 

24 to the Commission the recommendation under subpara25 graph (A), the director of enforcement shall simultaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232

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1 neously notify the respondent of such recommendation and 

2 the reasons therefore, shall provide the respondent with 

3 an opportunity to submit a brief within 30 days stating 

4 the position of the respondent on the legal and factual 

5 issues of the case and replying to the brief of the director 

6 of enforcement. The director of enforcement and shall 

7 promptly submit such brief to the Commission upon re8 ceipt. 

9 ‘‘(C) Not later than 30 days after the director of en10 forcement submits the recommendation to the Commission 

11 under subparagraph (A) (or, if the respondent submits a 

12 brief under subparagraph (B), not later than 30 days after 

13 the director of enforcement submits the respondent’s brief 

14 to the Commission under such subparagraph), the Com15 mission shall approve or disapprove the recommendation 

16 by vote of a majority of the members of the Commission 

17 who are serving at the time. In the case of a tie vote, 

18 the Commission shall be considered to have adopted the 

19 recommendation.’’. 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

21 INITIAL RESPONSE TO FILING OF COMPLAINT.—Sec22 tion 309(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(1)) 

23 is amended— 


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1 (A) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the 

2 Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘the director of en3 forcement’’; and 

4 (B) by amending the fourth sentence to 

5 read as follows: ‘‘Not later than 15 days after 

6 receiving notice from the director of enforce7 ment under the previous sentence, the person 

8 may provide the director of enforcement with a 

9 written response that no action should be taken 

10 against such person on the basis of the com11 plaint.’’. 

12 (c) REVISION OF STANDARD FOR REVIEW OF DIS13 MISSAL OF COMPLAINTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 309(a)(8) of such 

15 Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(8)) is amended to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(8)(A)(i) Any party aggrieved by an action of the 

18 Commission (including a determination of the director of 

19 enforcement which is not overruled by the Commission) 

20 dismissing a complaint filed by such party after finding 

21 either no reason to believe a violation has occurred or no 

22 probable cause a violation has occurred may file a petition 

23 with the United States District Court for the District of 

24 Columbia. Any petition under this subparagraph shall be 


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1 filed within 60 days after the date on which the party re2 ceived notice of the dismissal of the complaint. 

3 ‘‘(ii) In any proceeding under this subparagraph, the 

4 court shall determine by de novo review whether the dis5 missal of the complaint is contrary to law. In any matter 

6 in which the penalty for the alleged violation is greater 

7 than $50,000, the court should disregard any claim or de8 fense by the Commission of prosecutorial discretion as a 

9 basis for dismissing the complaint. 

10 ‘‘(B)(i) Any party who has filed a complaint with the 

11 Commission and who is aggrieved by a failure of the Com12 mission, within one year after the filing of the complaint, 

13 to either dismiss the complaint or to find reason to believe 

14 a violation has occurred or is about to occur, may file a 

15 petition with the United States District Court for the Dis16 trict of Columbia. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The Commission may submit under seal an ex 

18 parte request for a temporary stay of any proceeding initi19 ated under clause (i), and the court may grant such re20 quest if it determines that the investigation of the com21 plaint by the Commission is being held in abeyance on a 

22 reasonable basis. 

23 ‘‘(iii) In any proceeding under this subparagraph, ex24 cept in the case of a stay granted under clause (ii), the 

25 court shall treat the failure to act on the complaint as 


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1 a dismissal of the complaint, and shall determine by de 

2 novo review whether the agency’s failure to act on the 

3 complaint is contrary to law. 

4 ‘‘(C) In any proceeding under this paragraph the 

5 court may declare that the dismissal of the complaint or 

6 the failure to act is contrary to law, and may direct the 

7 Commission to conform with such declaration within 30 

8 days, failing which the complainant may bring, in the 

9 name of such complainant, a civil action to remedy the 

10 violation involved in the original complaint.’’. 

11 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

12 by paragraph (1) shall apply— 

13 (A) in the case of complaints which are 

14 dismissed by the Federal Election Commission, 

15 with respect to complaints which are dismissed 

16 on or after the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act; and 

18 (B) in the case of complaints upon which 

19 the Federal Election Commission failed to act, 

20 with respect to complaints which were filed on 

21 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. RESTORING THE COMMISSION’S RANDOM AUDIT 

2 AUTHORITY. 

3 Section 311(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

4 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30111(a)) is amended to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(b) AUDITS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con8 duct audits and field investigations of not less than 

9 10 percent of political committees required to file a 

10 report under section 304 of this Act. Such audits 

11 and field investigations shall be conducted propor12 tionally among— 

13 ‘‘(A) authorized committees of candidates; 

14 ‘‘(B) political committees established and 

15 maintained by political parties; 

16 ‘‘(C) political committees not described in 

17 subparagraph (A) or (B) that accepts donations 

18 or contributions that do not comply with the 

19 limitations, prohibitions, and reporting require20 ments of this Act; and 

21 ‘‘(D) political committees not described in 

22 subparagraph (A), (B), or (C). 

23 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—All audits and field investiga24 tions concerning the verification for, and receipt and 

25 use of, any payments received by a candidate or 


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1 committee under chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the In2 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be given priority. 

3 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF VIOLATIONS.—The 

4 Commission shall establish materiality thresholds 

5 with respect to the enforcement of a violation of any 

6 provision of this Act which is discovered during an 

7 audit conducted under this subsection.’’. 

8 SEC. 6. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF ADMINISTRATIVE PEN9 ALTY AUTHORITY. 

10 (a) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 

11 309(a)(4)(C)(v) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

12 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v)) is amended by strik13 ing ‘‘, and that end on or before December 31, 2023’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

15 subsection (a) shall take effect on December 31, 2019. 

16 SEC. 7. PERMITTING APPEARANCE AT HEARINGS ON RE17 QUESTS FOR ADVISORY OPINIONS BY PER18 SONS OPPOSING THE REQUESTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 308 of such Act (52 

20 U.S.C. 30108) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(e) To the extent that the Commission provides an 

23 opportunity for a person requesting an advisory opinion 

24 under this section (or counsel for such person) to appear 

25 before the Commission to present testimony in support of 


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1 the request, and the person (or counsel) accepts such op2 portunity, the Commission shall provide a reasonable op3 portunity for an interested party who submitted written 

4 comments under subsection (d) in response to the request 

5 (or counsel for such interested party) to appear before the 

6 Commission to present testimony in response to the re7 quest.’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

9 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to requests for advi10 sory opinions under section 308 of the Federal Election 

11 Campaign Act of 1971 which are made on or after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 8. REVISING PROHIBITIONS ON FRAUDULENT MIS14 REPRESENTATION OF CAMPAIGN AUTHOR15 ITY. 

16 Section 322 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

17 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30124) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘who is a candidate for 

20 Federal office or an employee or agent of such 

21 a candidate’’ in the matter preceding paragraph 

22 (1); 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘other candidate or polit24 ical party or employee or agent thereof on a 

25 matter which is damaging to such other canVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2232.IS S2232

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1 didate or political party or employee or agent 

2 thereof’’ and inserting ‘‘candidate, political 

3 party, other real or fictitious political committee 

4 or organization, or employee or agent or any of 

5 the foregoing,’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘candidate 

7 or political party or employee or agent thereof’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘candidate, political party, other real or 

9 fictitious committee or organization, or employee or 

10 agent of any of the foregoing’’. 

11 SEC. 9. PROHIBITING FRAUDULENT PAC PRACTICES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

13 (1) PROHIBITION.—Section 313 of the Federal 

14 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114) 

15 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

16 subsection: 

17 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITED USES BY OTHER POLITICAL COM18 MITTEES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contribution or donation 

20 that is made to a political committee and is not de21 scribed in subsection (a) shall not be converted to 

22 personal use (including any use described in sub23 paragraphs (A) through (I) of subsection (b)(2)). 

24 ‘‘(2) SELF-DEALING.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para2 graph (1), a contribution or donation shall be 

3 presumed to be converted to personal use if the 

4 contribution or donation is used to make a sig5 nificant disbursement to a controlling person. 

6 ‘‘(B) REBUTTAL.—The presumption in 

7 subparagraph (A) may be rebutted only upon a 

8 showing that— 

9 ‘‘(i) the significant disbursement to 

10 the controlling person is a bona fide pay11 ment for goods or services at no greater 

12 than fair market value; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the significant disbursement was 

14 negotiated at arms’ length by and ap15 proved by an agent of the committee 

16 who— 

17 ‘‘(I) was neither the controlling 

18 person nor in an employment relation19 ship directly or indirectly subject to 

20 the direction or control of the control21 ling person; 

22 ‘‘(II) relied upon appropriate 

23 data as to fair market value prior to 

24 approving the disbursement; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) documented the basis for 

2 the approval determination concur3 rently with making that determina4 tion; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) at the time the significant dis6 bursement was made, the aggregate total 

7 of itemized contributions to the committee 

8 during the election cycle exceeded the ag9 gregate total of disbursements to control10 ling persons by the committee during the 

11 election cycle. 

12 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(i) CONTROLLING PERSON.—The 

15 term ‘controlling person’ means any person 

16 who has authority or ability to direct or 

17 control the committee’s disbursements, any 

18 family member or business partner of such 

19 person, and any corporation (whether for20 profit or not-for-profit, but not including 

21 publicly traded corporations), limited liabil22 ity company, partnership, trust, bank or fi23 nancial account, or other entity owned or 

24 controlled in whole or in part by such per25 son, family member, or business partner. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SIGNIFICANT DISBURSEMENT.— 

2 The term ‘significant disbursement’ means 

3 any disbursement to a person if— 

4 ‘‘(I) such disbursement exceeds 

5 $1,000; or 

6 ‘‘(II) such disbursement, when 

7 aggregated with all other disburse8 ments by the committee to the person 

9 within the calendar year, exceeds 

10 $5,000.’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading 

12 for subsection (b) of section 313 of such Act (52 

13 U.S.C. 30114) is amended by inserting ‘‘BY CAN14 DIDATES AND OFFICE HOLDERS’’ after ‘‘PROHIB15 ITED USES’’. 

16 (b) REPORTING.—Section 304(b)(6)(B) of the Fed17 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

18 30104(b)(6)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

19 of clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (v), 

20 and by adding at the end the following new clause: 

21 ‘‘(vi) person who during the reporting 

22 period received a disbursement that con23 stituted a significant disbursement to a 

24 controlling person within the meaning of 

25 section 313(b)(2), together with the date, 


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1 amount, and purpose of the significant dis2 bursement and a sworn statement dem3 onstrating that the requirements of 

4 313(b)(2)(B) were satisfied;’’. 

5 (c) STUDY ON ADDITIONAL MEASURES.—Not later 

6 than 120 days after the enactment of this Act, the Chair7 man of the Federal Trade Commission and the Chairman 

8 of the Federal Election Commission shall jointly submit 

9 to Congress a report on measures that should be taken 

10 by Congress or the Federal Election Commission to limit 

11 fraudulent solicitations by political committees. 

12 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall apply to disbursements made after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 10. PROHIBITION ON AIDING OR ABETTING THE MAK16 ING OF CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE NAME OF AN17 OTHER. 

18 Section 320 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

19 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30122) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘No person’’ and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No person’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(b) AIDING OR ABETTING.—No person shall know2 ingly direct, help, or assist any person in making a con3 tribution in the name of another.’’. 

4 SEC. 11. RULES RELATING TO CONVERSION OF CAMPAIGN 

5 FUNDS. 

6 Section 313(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

7 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114(b)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and any 

9 other contribution or donation accepted by a political 

10 committee’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘, in the case of a con13 tribution or donation described in subsection 

14 (a),’’ after ‘‘if’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘including’’ and inserting ‘‘ 

16 and, in the case of any other contribution or do17 nation accepted by a political committee, the 

18 contribution or amount is used to fulfill any 

19 commitment, obligation, or expense of a person 

20 that would exist irrespective of such political 

21 committee’s political activities. Conversion to 

22 personal use shall include’’; 

23 (C) by striking subparagraph (C) and in24 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(C) an automobile expense that is not re2 lated to a campaign or the political activities of 

3 the committee;’’; 

4 (D) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

5 ‘‘non-campaign-related trip’’ and inserting ‘‘trip 

6 not related to a campaign or the political activi7 ties of the committee’’; and 

8 (E) in subparagraph (H), by inserting ‘‘or 

9 the political activities of the committee’’ after 

10 ‘‘election campaign’’. 

11 SEC. 12. INCREASING AND INDEXING FOR INFLATION REG12 ISTRATION AND REPORTING THRESHOLDS. 

13 (a) REGISTRATION THRESHOLDS.—Section 301(4) of 

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

15 30101(4)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ 

17 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; 

18 (2) in subparagraph (C)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘receives contributions ag20 gregating in excess of $5,000 during a calendar 

21 year, or’’; 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘, or makes contributions 

23 in excess of $1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘or makes 

24 contributions in excess of $5,000’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘or makes expenditures ag2 gregating in excess of $1,000 during a calendar 

3 year’’; and 

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

5 flush sentence: 

6 ‘‘In any calendar year after 2020, section 

7 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to each amount described 

8 in subparagraphs (A) and (C) of this paragraph in 

9 the same manner as such section applies to the limi10 tations established under subsections (a)(1)(A), 

11 (a)(1)(B), (a)(3), and (h) of such section, except 

12 that for purposes of applying such section to the 

13 amounts described in subparagraphs (A) and (C) of 

14 this paragraph, the ‘base period’ shall be 2020.’’. 

15 (b) REPORTING THRESHOLDS.— 

16 (1) MODIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDI17 TURE REPORTING THRESHOLD.—Section 304(c)(1) 

18 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

19 U.S.C. 30104(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘$250’’ 

20 in paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘$1,000’’. 

21 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 304 of 

22 such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended by adding 

23 at the end the following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(j) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any odd-numbered cal2 endar year after 2020— 

3 ‘‘(A) each of the dollar amounts described 

4 in paragraph (2) shall be increased by the per5 cent difference determined under section 

6 315(c)(1)(A) (applied as if the base period was 

7 calendar year 2020); 

8 ‘‘(B) each amount so increased shall re9 main in effect for the 2-year period beginning 

10 on the first day following the date of the last 

11 general election in the year preceding the year 

12 in which the amount is increased and ending on 

13 the date of the next general election; and 

14 ‘‘(C) if any amount after adjustment under 

15 subparagraph (A) is not a multiple of $100, 

16 such amount shall be rounded to the nearest 

17 multiple of $100. 

18 ‘‘(2) DOLLAR AMOUNTS DESCRIBED.—The dol19 lar amounts described in this paragraph are the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(A) Each of the $100,000 amounts in 

22 clauses (i) and (iii) of subsection (a)(3)(A). 

23 ‘‘(B) The $1,000 amount in subsection 

24 (a)(6)(A). 


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1 ‘‘(C) Each of the $200 amounts in sub2 paragraphs (A), (F), and (G) of subsection 

3 (b)(3). 

4 ‘‘(D) The $200 amount in subsection 

5 (b)(5)(A). 

6 ‘‘(E) Each of the $200 amounts in sub7 paragraphs (A), (B)(iii), and (B)(v) of sub8 section (b)(6). 

9 ‘‘(F) The $1,000 amount in subsection 

10 (c)(1). 

11 ‘‘(G) The $200 amount in subsection 

12 (c)(2)(C). 

13 ‘‘(H) The $5,000 amount in subsection 

14 (e)(2)(A). 

15 ‘‘(I) The $200 amount in subsection 

16 (e)(3). 

17 ‘‘(J) Each of the $10,000 amounts in 

18 paragraphs (1), (4)(A) and (4)(B) of subsection 

19 (f). 

20 ‘‘(K) The $200 amount in subsection 

21 (f)(2)(C). 

22 ‘‘(L) Each of the $1,000 amounts in sub23 paragraphs (E) and (F) of subsection (f)(2)(C). 

24 ‘‘(M) Each of the $1,000 amounts in sub25 paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (g)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(N) Each of the $10,000 amounts in sub2 paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (g)(2).’’. 

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

4 this section shall apply to calendar years beginning after 

5 December 31, 2019. 

6 SEC. 13. PERMITTING POLITICAL COMMITTEES TO MAKE 

7 DISBURSEMENTS BY METHODS OTHER THAN 

8 CHECK. 

9 Section 302(h)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign 

10 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30102(h)(1) is amended by strik11 ing the last sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘No dis12 bursements may be made (other than petty cash disburse13 ments under paragraph (2)) by such committee except 

14 from such accounts.’’. 

15 SEC. 14. ELECTRONIC FILING OF ELECTIONEERING COM16 MUNICATION REPORTS. 

17 Section 304(a)(11)(A)(i) of the Federal Election 

18 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(a)(11)(A)(i)) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘or expenditures’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

20 expenditures, or disbursements for electioneering commu21 nications’’. 

22 SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided, the 

24 amendments made by this Act shall apply beginning Janu25 ary 1, 2022. 


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1 (b) TRANSITION.— 

2 (1) TERMINATION OF SERVICE OF CURRENT

3 MEMBERS.—Notwithstanding any provision of the 

4 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, the term of 

5 any individual serving as a member of the Federal 

6 Election Commission as of December 31, 2021, shall 

7 expire on that date. 

8 (2) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING CASES OR PRO9 CEEDINGS.—Nothing in this Act or in any amend10 ment made by this Act shall affect any of the powers 

11 exercised by the Federal Election Commission prior 

12 to December 31, 2021, including any investigation 

13 initiated by the Commission prior to such date or 

14 any proceeding (including any enforcement action) 

15 pending as of such date. 

Æ 


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