II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2257 

To reform the financing of Senate elections, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 24, 2019 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, 

Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. COONS, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MURPHY, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. SMITH, Mr. UDALL, Mr. 

VAN HOLLEN, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To reform the financing of Senate 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 ‘‘Fair Elections Now 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. 


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TITLE I—SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF SENATE ELECTION 

CAMPAIGNS 

Sec. 101. Eligibility requirements and benefits of Fair Elections financing of 

Senate election campaigns. 

Sec. 102. Prohibition on joint fundraising committees. 

Sec. 103. Exception to limitation on coordinated expenditures by political party 

committees with participating candidates. 

TITLE II—IMPROVING VOTER INFORMATION 

Sec. 201. Broadcasts relating to all Senate candidates. 

Sec. 202. Broadcast rates for participating candidates. 

Sec. 203. FCC to prescribe standardized form for reporting candidate campaign 

ads. 

TITLE III—RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION 

COMMISSION 

Sec. 301. Petition for certiorari. 

Sec. 302. Electronic filing of FEC reports. 

TITLE IV—REVENUE PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Fair Elections Fund revenue. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Severability. 

Sec. 502. Effective date. 

1 TITLE I—SMALL DOLLAR FI2 NANCING OF SENATE ELEC3 TION CAMPAIGNS 

4 SEC. 101. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND BENEFITS OF 

5 FAIR ELECTIONS FINANCING OF SENATE 

6 ELECTION CAMPAIGNS. 

7 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

8 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 


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1 ‘‘TITLE V—FAIR ELECTIONS FI2 NANCING OF SENATE ELEC3 TION CAMPAIGNS 

4 ‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions 

5 ‘‘SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

6 ‘‘In this title: 

7 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION FROM THE FUND.—The term 

8 ‘allocation from the Fund’ means an allocation of 

9 money from the Fair Elections Fund to a partici10 pating candidate pursuant to section 522. 

11 ‘‘(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 

12 means the Federal Election Commission. 

13 ‘‘(3) ENHANCED MATCHING CONTRIBUTION.— 

14 The term ‘enhanced matching contribution’ means 

15 an enhanced matching payment provided to a par16 ticipating candidate for qualified small dollar con17 tributions, as provided under section 524. 

18 ‘‘(4) ENHANCED SUPPORT QUALIFYING PE19 RIOD.—The term ‘enhanced support qualifying pe20 riod’ means, with respect to a general election, the 

21 period which begins 60 days before the date of the 

22 election and ends 14 days before the date of the 

23 election. 

24 ‘‘(5) FAIR ELECTIONS QUALIFYING PERIOD.— 

25 The term ‘Fair Elections qualifying period’ means, 


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1 with respect to any candidate for Senator, the pe2 riod— 

3 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date on which the 

4 candidate files a statement of intent under sec5 tion 511(a)(1); and 

6 ‘‘(B) ending on the date that is 30 days 

7 before— 

8 ‘‘(i) the date of the primary election; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a State that does 

11 not hold a primary election, the date pre12 scribed by State law as the last day to 

13 qualify for a position on the general elec14 tion ballot. 

15 ‘‘(6) FAIR ELECTIONS START DATE.—The term 

16 ‘Fair Elections start date’ means, with respect to 

17 any candidate, the date that is 180 days before— 

18 ‘‘(A) the date of the primary election; or 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of a State that does not 

20 hold a primary election, the date prescribed by 

21 State law as the last day to qualify for a posi22 tion on the general election ballot. 

23 ‘‘(7) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Fair 

24 Elections Fund established by section 502. 


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1 ‘‘(8) IMMEDIATE FAMILY.—The term ‘imme2 diate family’ means, with respect to any candidate— 

3 ‘‘(A) the candidate’s spouse; 

4 ‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grand5 parent, brother, half-brother, sister, or half-sis6 ter of the candidate or the candidate’s spouse; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) the spouse of any person described in 

9 subparagraph (B). 

10 ‘‘(9) MATCHING CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

11 ‘matching contribution’ means a matching payment 

12 provided to a participating candidate for qualified 

13 small dollar contributions, as provided under section 

14 523. 

15 ‘‘(10) NONPARTICIPATING CANDIDATE.—The 

16 term ‘nonparticipating candidate’ means a candidate 

17 for Senator who is not a participating candidate. 

18 ‘‘(11) PARTICIPATING CANDIDATE.—The term 

19 ‘participating candidate’ means a candidate for Sen20 ator who is certified under section 514 as being eli21 gible to receive an allocation from the Fund. 

22 ‘‘(12) QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

23 ‘qualifying contribution’ means, with respect to a 

24 candidate, a contribution that— 

25 ‘‘(A) is in an amount that is— 


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1 ‘‘(i) not less than the greater of $5 or 

2 the amount determined by the Commission 

3 under section 531; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) not more than the greater of 

5 $200 or the amount determined by the 

6 Commission under section 531; 

7 ‘‘(B) is made by an individual— 

8 ‘‘(i) who is a resident of the State in 

9 which such candidate is seeking election; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) who is not otherwise prohibited 

12 from making a contribution under this Act; 

13 ‘‘(C) is made during the Fair Elections 

14 qualifying period; and 

15 ‘‘(D) meets the requirements of section 

16 512(b). 

17 ‘‘(13) QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CONTRIBU18 TION.—The term ‘qualified small dollar contribution’ 

19 means, with respect to a candidate, any contribution 

20 (or series of contributions)— 

21 ‘‘(A) which is not a qualifying contribution 

22 (or does not include a qualifying contribution); 

23 ‘‘(B) which is made by an individual who 

24 is not prohibited from making a contribution 

25 under this Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the aggregate amount of which does 

2 not exceed the greater of— 

3 ‘‘(i) $200 per election; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the amount per election deter5 mined by the Commission under section 

6 531. 

7 ‘‘(14) QUALIFYING MULTICANDIDATE POLIT8 ICAL COMMITTEE CONTRIBUTION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualifying 

10 multicandidate political committee contribution’ 

11 means any contribution to a candidate that is 

12 made from a qualified account of a multi13 candidate political committee (within the mean14 ing of section 315(a)(2)). 

15 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED ACCOUNT.—For purposes 

16 of subparagraph (A), the term ‘qualified ac17 count’ means, with respect to a multicandidate 

18 political committee, a separate, segregated ac19 count of the committee that consists solely of 

20 contributions which meet the following require21 ments: 

22 ‘‘(i) All contributions to such account 

23 are made by individuals who are not pro24 hibited from making contributions under 

25 this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The aggregate amount of con2 tributions from each individual to such ac3 count and all other accounts of the polit4 ical committee do not exceed the amount 

5 described in paragraph (13)(C). 

6 ‘‘SEC. 502. FAIR ELECTIONS FUND. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

8 Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘Fair Elections Fund’. 

9 ‘‘(b) AMOUNTS HELD BY FUND.—The Fund shall 

10 consist of the following amounts: 

11 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATED AMOUNTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts appropriated 

13 to the Fund. 

14 ‘‘(B) SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING

15 APPROPRIATIONS.—It is the sense of the Senate 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(i) there should be imposed on any 

18 payment made to any person (other than a 

19 State or local government or a foreign na20 tion) who has a contract with the Govern21 ment of the United States in excess of 

22 $10,000,000 a tax equal to 0.50 percent of 

23 amount paid pursuant to each contract, ex24 cept that the aggregate tax on each conVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2257.IS S2257

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1 tract for any taxable year shall not exceed 

2 $500,000; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the revenue from such tax should 

4 be appropriated to the Fund. 

5 ‘‘(2) VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS.—Voluntary 

6 contributions to the Fund. 

7 ‘‘(3) OTHER DEPOSITS.—Amounts deposited 

8 into the Fund under— 

9 ‘‘(A) section 513(c) (relating to exceptions 

10 to contribution requirements); 

11 ‘‘(B) section 521(c) (relating to remittance 

12 of allocations from the Fund); 

13 ‘‘(C) section 532 (relating to violations); 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(D) any other section of this Act. 

16 ‘‘(4) INVESTMENT RETURNS.—Interest on, and 

17 the proceeds from, the sale or redemption of, any 

18 obligations held by the Fund under subsection (c). 

19 ‘‘(c) INVESTMENT.—The Commission shall invest 

20 portions of the Fund in obligations of the United States 

21 in the same manner as provided under section 9602(b) 

22 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

23 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUND.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The sums in the Fund 

2 shall be used to provide benefits to participating 

3 candidates as provided in subtitle C. 

4 ‘‘(2) INSUFFICIENT AMOUNTS.—Under regula5 tions established by the Commission, rules similar to 

6 the rules of section 9006(c) of the Internal Revenue 

7 Code shall apply. 

8 ‘‘Subtitle B—Eligibility and 

9 Certification 

10 ‘‘SEC. 511. ELIGIBILITY. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A candidate for Senator is eligi12 ble to receive an allocation from the Fund for any election 

13 if the candidate meets the following requirements: 

14 ‘‘(1) The candidate files with the Commission a 

15 statement of intent to seek certification as a partici16 pating candidate under this title during the period 

17 beginning on the Fair Elections start date and end18 ing on the last day of the Fair Elections qualifying 

19 period. 

20 ‘‘(2) The candidate meets the qualifying con21 tribution requirements of section 512. 

22 ‘‘(3) Not later than the last day of the Fair 

23 Elections qualifying period, the candidate files with 

24 the Commission an affidavit signed by the candidate 


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1 and the treasurer of the candidate’s principal cam2 paign committee declaring that the candidate— 

3 ‘‘(A) has complied and, if certified, will 

4 comply with the contribution and expenditure 

5 requirements of section 513; 

6 ‘‘(B) if certified, will not run as a non7 participating candidate during such year in any 

8 election for the office that such candidate is 

9 seeking; and 

10 ‘‘(C) has either qualified or will take steps 

11 to qualify under State law to be on the ballot. 

12 ‘‘(b) GENERAL ELECTION.—Notwithstanding sub13 section (a), a candidate shall not be eligible to receive an 

14 allocation from the Fund for a general election or a gen15 eral runoff election unless the candidate’s party nominated 

16 the candidate to be placed on the ballot for the general 

17 election or the candidate otherwise qualified to be on the 

18 ballot under State law. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 512. QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A candidate for Senator meets 

21 the requirement of this section if, during the Fair Elec22 tions qualifying period, the candidate obtains— 

23 ‘‘(1) a number of qualifying contributions equal 

24 to the greater of— 

25 ‘‘(A) the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 2,000; plus 

2 ‘‘(ii) 500 for each congressional dis3 trict in the State with respect to which the 

4 candidate is seeking election; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the amount determined by the Com6 mission under section 531; and 

7 ‘‘(2) a total dollar amount of qualifying con8 tributions equal to the greater of— 

9 ‘‘(A) 10 percent of the amount of the allo10 cation such candidate would be entitled to re11 ceive for the primary election under section 

12 522(c)(1) (determined without regard to para13 graph (5) thereof) if such candidate were a par14 ticipating candidate; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the amount determined by the Com16 mission under section 531. 

17 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO RECEIPT OF

18 QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION.—Each qualifying contribu19 tion— 

20 ‘‘(1) may be made by means of a personal 

21 check, money order, debit card, credit card, or elec22 tronic payment account; 

23 ‘‘(2) shall be accompanied by a signed state24 ment containing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the contributor’s name and the con2 tributor’s address in the State in which the con3 tributor is registered to vote; and 

4 ‘‘(B) an oath declaring that the contrib5 utor— 

6 ‘‘(i) understands that the purpose of 

7 the qualifying contribution is to show sup8 port for the candidate so that the can9 didate may qualify for Fair Elections fi10 nancing; 

11 ‘‘(ii) is making the contribution in his 

12 or her own name and from his or her own 

13 funds; 

14 ‘‘(iii) has made the contribution will15 ingly; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) has not received anything of 

17 value in return for the contribution; and 

18 ‘‘(3) shall be acknowledged by a receipt that is 

19 sent to the contributor with a copy kept by the can20 didate for the Commission and a copy kept by the 

21 candidate for the election authorities in the State 

22 with respect to which the candidate is seeking elec23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(c) VERIFICATION OF QUALIFYING CONTRIBU25 TIONS.—The Commission shall establish procedures for 


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1 the auditing and verification of qualifying contributions to 

2 ensure that such contributions meet the requirements of 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 513. CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE REQUIRE5 MENTS. 

6 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—A candidate for Senator 

7 meets the requirements of this section if, during the elec8 tion cycle of the candidate, the candidate— 

9 ‘‘(1) except as provided in subsection (b), ac10 cepts no contributions other than— 

11 ‘‘(A) qualifying contributions; 

12 ‘‘(B) qualified small dollar contributions; 

13 ‘‘(C) qualifying multicandidate political 

14 committee contributions; 

15 ‘‘(D) allocations from the Fund under sec16 tion 522; 

17 ‘‘(E) matching contributions under section 

18 523; 

19 ‘‘(F) enhanced matching contributions 

20 under section 524; and 

21 ‘‘(G) vouchers provided to the candidate 

22 under section 525; 

23 ‘‘(2) makes no expenditures from any amounts 

24 other than from— 

25 ‘‘(A) qualifying contributions; 


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1 ‘‘(B) qualified small dollar contributions; 

2 ‘‘(C) qualifying multicandidate political 

3 committee contributions; 

4 ‘‘(D) allocations from the Fund under sec5 tion 522; 

6 ‘‘(E) matching contributions under section 

7 523; 

8 ‘‘(F) enhanced matching contributions 

9 under section 524; and 

10 ‘‘(G) vouchers provided to the candidate 

11 under section 525; and 

12 ‘‘(3) makes no expenditures from personal 

13 funds or the funds of any immediate family member 

14 (other than funds received through qualified small 

15 dollar contributions and qualifying contributions). 

16 For purposes of this subsection, a payment made by a po17 litical party in coordination with a participating candidate 

18 shall not be treated as a contribution to or as an expendi19 ture made by the participating candidate. 

20 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTIONS FOR LEADERSHIP PACS, 

21 ETC.—A political committee of a participating candidate 

22 which is not an authorized committee of such candidate 

23 may accept contributions other than contributions de24 scribed in subsection (a)(1) from any person if— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the aggregate contributions from such per2 son for any calendar year do not exceed $200; and 

3 ‘‘(2) no portion of such contributions is dis4 bursed in connection with the campaign of the par5 ticipating candidate. 

6 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 

7 candidate shall not be treated as having failed to meet 

8 the requirements of this section if any contributions that 

9 are not qualified small dollar contributions, qualifying con10 tributions, qualifying multicandidate political committee 

11 contributions, or contributions that meet the requirements 

12 of subsection (b) and that are accepted before the date 

13 the candidate files a statement of intent under section 

14 511(a)(1) are— 

15 ‘‘(1) returned to the contributor; or 

16 ‘‘(2) submitted to the Commission for deposit in 

17 the Fund. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 514. CERTIFICATION. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 days after a 

20 candidate for Senator files an affidavit under section 

21 511(a)(3), the Commission shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) certify whether or not the candidate is a 

23 participating candidate; and 

24 ‘‘(2) notify the candidate of the Commission’s 

25 determination. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may re3 voke a certification under subsection (a) if— 

4 ‘‘(A) a candidate fails to qualify to appear 

5 on the ballot at any time after the date of cer6 tification; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a candidate otherwise fails to comply 

8 with the requirements of this title, including 

9 any regulatory requirements prescribed by the 

10 Commission. 

11 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT OF BENEFITS.—If certifi12 cation is revoked under paragraph (1), the candidate 

13 shall repay to the Fund an amount equal to the 

14 value of benefits received under this title plus inter15 est (at a rate determined by the Commission) on any 

16 such amount received. 

17 ‘‘Subtitle C—Benefits 

18 ‘‘SEC. 521. BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For each election with respect 

20 to which a candidate is certified as a participating can21 didate under section 514, such candidate shall be entitled 

22 to— 

23 ‘‘(1) an allocation from the Fund to make or 

24 obligate to make expenditures with respect to such 

25 election, as provided in section 522; 


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1 ‘‘(2) matching contributions, as provided in sec2 tion 523; 

3 ‘‘(3) enhanced matching contributions, as pro4 vided in section 524; and 

5 ‘‘(4) for the general election, vouchers for 

6 broadcasts of political advertisements, as provided in 

7 section 525. 

8 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTION ON USES OF ALLOCATIONS FROM

9 THE FUND.—Allocations from the Fund received by a par10 ticipating candidate under section 522, matching contribu11 tions under section 523, and enhanced matching contribu12 tions under section 524 may only be used for campaign13 related costs. 

14 ‘‘(c) REMITTING ALLOCATIONS FROM THE FUND.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date 

16 that is 45 days after an election in which the partici17 pating candidate appeared on the ballot, such par18 ticipating candidate shall remit to the Commission 

19 for deposit in the Fund an amount equal to the less20 er of— 

21 ‘‘(A) the amount of money in the can22 didate’s campaign account; or 

23 ‘‘(B) the sum of the allocations from the 

24 Fund received by the candidate under section 

25 522, the matching contributions received by the 


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1 candidate under section 523, and the enhanced 

2 matching contributions under section 524. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—In the case of a candidate 

4 who qualifies to be on the ballot for a primary run5 off election, a general election, or a general runoff 

6 election, the amounts described in paragraph (1) 

7 may be retained by the candidate and used in such 

8 subsequent election. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 522. ALLOCATIONS FROM THE FUND. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make allo11 cations from the Fund under section 521(a)(1) to a par12 ticipating candidate— 

13 ‘‘(1) in the case of amounts provided under 

14 subsection (c)(1), not later than 48 hours after the 

15 date on which such candidate is certified as a par16 ticipating candidate under section 514; 

17 ‘‘(2) in the case of a general election, not later 

18 than 48 hours after— 

19 ‘‘(A) the date of the certification of the re20 sults of the primary election or the primary 

21 runoff election; or 

22 ‘‘(B) in any case in which there is no pri23 mary election, the date the candidate qualifies 

24 to be placed on the ballot; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) in the case of a primary runoff election or 

2 a general runoff election, not later than 48 hours 

3 after the certification of the results of the primary 

4 election or the general election, as the case may be. 

5 ‘‘(b) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—The Commission shall 

6 distribute funds available to participating candidates 

7 under this section through the use of an electronic funds 

8 exchange or a debit card. 

9 ‘‘(c) AMOUNTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PRIMARY ELECTION ALLOCATION; INITIAL

11 ALLOCATION.—Except as provided in paragraph (5), 

12 the Commission shall make an allocation from the 

13 Fund for a primary election to a participating can14 didate in an amount equal to 67 percent of the base 

15 amount with respect to such participating candidate. 

16 ‘‘(2) PRIMARY RUNOFF ELECTION ALLOCA17 TION.—The Commission shall make an allocation 

18 from the Fund for a primary runoff election to a 

19 participating candidate in an amount equal to 25 

20 percent of the amount the participating candidate 

21 was eligible to receive under this section for the pri22 mary election. 

23 ‘‘(3) GENERAL ELECTION ALLOCATION.—Ex24 cept as provided in paragraph (5), the Commission 

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1 eral election to a participating candidate in an 

2 amount equal to the base amount with respect to 

3 such candidate. 

4 ‘‘(4) GENERAL RUNOFF ELECTION ALLOCA5 TION.—The Commission shall make an allocation 

6 from the Fund for a general runoff election to a par7 ticipating candidate in an amount equal to 25 per8 cent of the base amount with respect to such can9 didate. 

10 ‘‘(5) UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a pri12 mary or general election that is an uncontested 

13 election, the Commission shall make an alloca14 tion from the Fund to a participating candidate 

15 for such election in an amount equal to 25 per16 cent of the allocation which such candidate 

17 would be entitled to under this section for such 

18 election if this paragraph did not apply. 

19 ‘‘(B) UNCONTESTED ELECTION DE20 FINED.—For purposes of this subparagraph, an 

21 election is uncontested if not more than 1 can22 didate has campaign funds (including payments 

23 from the Fund) in an amount equal to or great24 er than 10 percent of the allocation a partici25 pating candidate would be entitled to receive 


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1 under this section for such election if this para2 graph did not apply. 

3 ‘‘(d) BASE AMOUNT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro5 vided in this subsection, the base amount for any 

6 candidate is an amount equal to the greater of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the sum of— 

8 ‘‘(i) $750,000; plus 

9 ‘‘(ii) $150,000 for each congressional 

10 district in the State with respect to which 

11 the candidate is seeking election; or 

12 ‘‘(B) the amount determined by the Com13 mission under section 531. 

14 ‘‘(2) INDEXING.—In each even-numbered year 

15 after 2025— 

16 ‘‘(A) each dollar amount under paragraph 

17 (1)(A) shall be increased by the percent dif18 ference between the price index (as defined in 

19 section 315(c)(2)(A)) for the 12 months pre20 ceding the beginning of such calendar year and 

21 the price index for calendar year 2022; 

22 ‘‘(B) each dollar amount so increased shall 

23 remain in effect for the 2-year period beginning 

24 on the first day following the date of the last 

25 general election in the year preceding the year 


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1 in which the amount is increased and ending on 

2 the date of the next general election; and 

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

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

5 such amount shall be rounded to the nearest 

6 multiple of $100. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 523. MATCHING PAYMENTS FOR QUALIFIED SMALL 

8 DOLLAR CONTRIBUTIONS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pay to 

10 each participating candidate an amount equal to 600 per11 cent of the amount of qualified small dollar contributions 

12 received by the candidate from individuals who are resi13 dents of the State in which such participating candidate 

14 is seeking election after the date on which such candidate 

15 is certified under section 514. 

16 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The aggregate payments under 

17 subsection (a) with respect to any candidate shall not ex18 ceed the greater of— 

19 ‘‘(1) 400 percent of the allocation such can20 didate is entitled to receive for such election under 

21 section 522 (determined without regard to sub22 section (c)(5) thereof); or 

23 ‘‘(2) the percentage of such allocation deter24 mined by the Commission under section 531. 


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1 ‘‘(c) TIME OF PAYMENT.—The Commission shall 

2 make payments under this section not later than 2 busi3 ness days after the receipt of a report made under sub4 section (d). 

5 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each participating can7 didate shall file reports of receipts of qualified small 

8 dollar contributions at such times and in such man9 ner as the Commission may by regulations prescribe. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REPORTS.—Each report 

11 under this subsection shall disclose— 

12 ‘‘(A) the amount of each qualified small 

13 dollar contribution received by the candidate; 

14 ‘‘(B) the amount of each qualified small 

15 dollar contribution received by the candidate 

16 from a resident of the State in which the can17 didate is seeking election; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the name, address, and occupation of 

19 each individual who made a qualified small dol20 lar contribution to the candidate. 

21 ‘‘(3) FREQUENCY OF REPORTS.—Reports under 

22 this subsection shall be made no more frequently 

23 than— 

24 ‘‘(A) once every month until the date that 

25 is 90 days before the date of the election; 


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1 ‘‘(B) once every week after the period de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) and until the date 

3 that is 21 days before the election; and 

4 ‘‘(C) once every day after the period de5 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

6 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON REGULATIONS.—The 

7 Commission may not prescribe any regulations with 

8 respect to reporting under this subsection with re9 spect to any election after the date that is 180 days 

10 before the date of such election. 

11 ‘‘(e) APPEALS.—The Commission shall provide a 

12 written explanation with respect to any denial of any pay13 ment under this section and shall provide the opportunity 

14 for review and reconsideration within 5 business days of 

15 such denial. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 524. ENHANCED MATCHING SUPPORT. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the payments 

18 made under section 523, the Commission shall make an 

19 additional payment to an eligible candidate under this sec20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A candidate is eligible to receive 

22 an additional payment under this section if the candidate 

23 meets each of the following requirements: 

24 ‘‘(1) The candidate is on the ballot for the gen25 eral election for the office the candidate seeks. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The candidate is certified as a partici2 pating candidate under this title with respect to the 

3 election. 

4 ‘‘(3) During the enhanced support qualifying 

5 period, the candidate receives qualified small dollar 

6 contributions in a total amount of not less than the 

7 sum of $15,000 for each congressional district in the 

8 State with respect to which the candidate is seeking 

9 election. 

10 ‘‘(4) During the enhanced support qualifying 

11 period, the candidate submits to the Commission a 

12 request for the payment which includes— 

13 ‘‘(A) a statement of the number and 

14 amount of qualified small dollar contributions 

15 received by the candidate during the enhanced 

16 support qualifying period; 

17 ‘‘(B) a statement of the amount of the 

18 payment the candidate anticipates receiving 

19 with respect to the request; and 

20 ‘‘(C) such other information and assur21 ances as the Commission may require. 

22 ‘‘(5) After submitting a request for the addi23 tional payment under paragraph (4), the candidate 

24 does not submit any other application for an addi25 tional payment under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

3 the amount of the additional payment made to an el4 igible candidate under this subtitle shall be an 

5 amount equal to 50 percent of— 

6 ‘‘(A) the amount of the payment made to 

7 the candidate under section 523 with respect to 

8 the qualified small dollar contributions which 

9 are received by the candidate during the en10 hanced support qualifying period (as included in 

11 the request submitted by the candidate under 

12 (b)(4)(A)); or 

13 ‘‘(B) in the case of a candidate who is not 

14 eligible to receive a payment under section 523 

15 with respect to such qualified small dollar con16 tributions because the candidate has reached 

17 the limit on the aggregate amount of payments 

18 under section 523, the amount of the payment 

19 which would have been made to the candidate 

20 under section 523 with respect to such qualified 

21 small dollar contributions if the candidate had 

22 not reached such limit. 

23 ‘‘(2) LIMIT.—The amount of the additional 

24 payment determined under paragraph (1) with re25 spect to a candidate may not exceed the sum of 


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1 $150,000 for each congressional district in the State 

2 with respect to which the candidate is seeking elec3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON AGGREGATE LIMIT.—The 

5 amount of the additional payment made to a can6 didate under this section shall not be included in de7 termining the aggregate amount of payments made 

8 to a participating candidate with respect to an elec9 tion cycle under section 523. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 525. POLITICAL ADVERTISING VOUCHERS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall establish 

12 and administer a voucher program for the purchase of 

13 airtime on broadcasting stations for political advertise14 ments in accordance with the provisions of this section. 

15 ‘‘(b) CANDIDATES.—The Commission shall only dis16 burse vouchers under the program established under sub17 section (a) to participants certified pursuant to section 

18 514 who have agreed in writing to keep and furnish to 

19 the Commission such records, books, and other informa20 tion as it may require. 

21 ‘‘(c) AMOUNTS.—The Commission shall disburse 

22 vouchers to each candidate certified under subsection (b) 

23 in an aggregate amount equal to the greater of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) $100,000 multiplied by the number of con2 gressional districts in the State with respect to 

3 which such candidate is running for office; or 

4 ‘‘(2) the amount determined by the Commission 

5 under section 531. 

6 ‘‘(d) USE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) EXCLUSIVE USE.—Vouchers disbursed by 

8 the Commission under this section may be used only 

9 for the purchase of broadcast airtime for political 

10 advertisements relating to a general election for the 

11 office of Senate by the participating candidate to 

12 which the vouchers were disbursed, except that— 

13 ‘‘(A) a candidate may exchange vouchers 

14 with a political party under paragraph (2); and 

15 ‘‘(B) a political party may use vouchers 

16 only to purchase broadcast airtime for political 

17 advertisements for generic party advertising (as 

18 defined by the Commission in regulations), to 

19 support candidates for State or local office in a 

20 general election, or to support participating 

21 candidates of the party in a general election for 

22 Federal office, but only if it discloses the value 

23 of the voucher used as an expenditure under 

24 section 315(d). 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCHANGE WITH POLITICAL PARTY COM2 MITTEE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A participating can4 didate who receives a voucher under this section 

5 may transfer the right to use all or a portion 

6 of the value of the voucher to a committee of 

7 the political party of which the individual is a 

8 candidate (or, in the case of a participating 

9 candidate who is not a member of any political 

10 party, to a committee of the political party of 

11 that candidate’s choice) in exchange for money 

12 in an amount equal to the cash value of the 

13 voucher or portion exchanged. 

14 ‘‘(B) CONTINUATION OF CANDIDATE OBLI15 GATIONS.—The transfer of a voucher, in whole 

16 or in part, to a political party committee under 

17 this paragraph does not release the candidate 

18 from any obligation under the agreement made 

19 under subsection (b) or otherwise modify that 

20 agreement or its application to that candidate. 

21 ‘‘(C) PARTY COMMITTEE OBLIGATIONS.— 

22 Any political party committee to which a vouch23 er or portion thereof is transferred under sub24 paragraph (A)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall account fully, in accordance 

2 with such requirements as the Commission 

3 may establish, for the receipt of the vouch4 er; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) may not use the transferred 

6 voucher or portion thereof for any purpose 

7 other than a purpose described in para8 graph (1)(B). 

9 ‘‘(D) VOUCHER AS A CONTRIBUTION

10 UNDER FECA.—If a candidate transfers a 

11 voucher or any portion thereof to a political 

12 party committee under subparagraph (A)— 

13 ‘‘(i) the value of the voucher or por14 tion thereof transferred shall be treated as 

15 a contribution from the candidate to the 

16 committee, and from the committee to the 

17 candidate, for purposes of sections 302 

18 and 304; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the committee may, in exchange, 

20 provide to the candidate only funds subject 

21 to the prohibitions, limitations, and report22 ing requirements of title III of this Act; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the amount, if identified as a 

25 ‘voucher exchange’, shall not be considered 


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1 a contribution for the purposes of sections 

2 315 and 513. 

3 ‘‘(e) VALUE; ACCEPTANCE; REDEMPTION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) VOUCHER.—Each voucher disbursed by 

5 the Commission under this section shall have a value 

6 in dollars, redeemable upon presentation to the 

7 Commission, together with such documentation and 

8 other information as the Commission may require, 

9 for the purchase of broadcast airtime for political 

10 advertisements in accordance with this section. 

11 ‘‘(2) ACCEPTANCE.—A broadcasting station 

12 shall accept vouchers in payment for the purchase of 

13 broadcast airtime for political advertisements in ac14 cordance with this section. 

15 ‘‘(3) REDEMPTION.—The Commission shall re16 deem vouchers accepted by broadcasting stations 

17 under paragraph (2) upon presentation, subject to 

18 such documentation, verification, accounting, and 

19 application requirements as the Commission may im20 pose to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the 

21 voucher redemption system. 

22 ‘‘(4) EXPIRATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) CANDIDATES.—A voucher may only 

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1 night on the day before the date of the Federal 

2 election in connection with which it was issued 

3 and shall be null and void for any other use or 

4 purpose. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR POLITICAL PARTY

6 COMMITTEES.—A voucher held by a political 

7 party committee may be used to pay for broad8 cast airtime for political advertisements to be 

9 broadcast before midnight on December 31st of 

10 the odd-numbered year following the year in 

11 which the voucher was issued by the Commis12 sion. 

13 ‘‘(5) VOUCHER AS EXPENDITURE UNDER

14 FECA.—The use of a voucher to purchase broadcast 

15 airtime constitutes an expenditure as defined in sec16 tion 301(9)(A). 

17 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) BROADCASTING STATION.—The term 

19 ‘broadcasting station’ has the meaning given that 

20 term by section 315(f)(1) of the Communications 

21 Act of 1934. 

22 ‘‘(2) POLITICAL PARTY.—The term ‘political 

23 party’ means a major party or a minor party as de24 fined in section 9002 (3) or (4) of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9002 (3) or (4)). 


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1 ‘‘Subtitle D—Administrative 

2 Provisions 

3 ‘‘SEC. 531. DUTIES OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS4 SION. 

5 ‘‘(a) DUTIES AND POWERS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The Commission shall 

7 have the power to administer the provisions of this 

8 title and shall prescribe regulations to carry out the 

9 purposes of this title, including regulations— 

10 ‘‘(A) to establish procedures for— 

11 ‘‘(i) verifying the amount of valid 

12 qualifying contributions with respect to a 

13 candidate; 

14 ‘‘(ii) effectively and efficiently moni15 toring and enforcing the limits on the rais16 ing of qualified small dollar contributions; 

17 ‘‘(iii) monitoring the raising of quali18 fying multicandidate political committee 

19 contributions through effectively and effi20 ciently monitoring and enforcing the limits 

21 on individual contributions to qualified ac22 counts of multicandidate political commit23 tees; 

24 ‘‘(iv) effectively and efficiently moni25 toring and enforcing the limits on the use 


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1 of personal funds by participating can2 didates; 

3 ‘‘(v) monitoring the use of allocations 

4 from the Fund and matching contributions 

5 under this title through audits or other 

6 mechanisms; and 

7 ‘‘(vi) the administration of the vouch8 er program under section 525; and 

9 ‘‘(B) regarding the conduct of debates in a 

10 manner consistent with the best practices of 

11 States that provide public financing for elec12 tions. 

13 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF FAIR ELECTIONS FINANC14 ING.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After each general 

16 election for Federal office, the Commission shall 

17 conduct a comprehensive review of the Fair 

18 Elections financing program under this title, in19 cluding— 

20 ‘‘(i) the maximum dollar amount of 

21 qualified small dollar contributions under 

22 section 501(13); 

23 ‘‘(ii) the maximum and minimum dol24 lar amounts for qualifying contributions 

25 under section 501(12); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the number and value of quali2 fying contributions a candidate is required 

3 to obtain under section 512 to qualify for 

4 allocations from the Fund; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the amount of allocations from 

6 the Fund that candidates may receive 

7 under section 522; 

8 ‘‘(v) the maximum amount of match9 ing contributions a candidate may receive 

10 under section 523; 

11 ‘‘(vi) the maximum amount of en12 hanced matching contributions a candidate 

13 may receive under section 524; 

14 ‘‘(vii) the amount and usage of vouch15 ers under section 525; 

16 ‘‘(viii) the overall satisfaction of par17 ticipating candidates and the American 

18 public with the program; and 

19 ‘‘(ix) such other matters relating to fi20 nancing of Senate campaigns as the Com21 mission determines are appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA FOR REVIEW.—In con23 ducting the review under subparagraph (A), the 

24 Commission shall consider the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTIONS

2 AND QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CON3 TRIBUTIONS.—The Commission shall con4 sider whether the number and dollar 

5 amount of qualifying contributions re6 quired and maximum dollar amount for 

7 such qualifying contributions and qualified 

8 small dollar contributions strikes a balance 

9 regarding the importance of voter involve10 ment, the need to assure adequate incen11 tives for participating, and fiscal responsi12 bility, taking into consideration the num13 ber of primary and general election partici14 pating candidates, the electoral perform15 ance of those candidates, program cost, 

16 and any other information the Commission 

17 determines is appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW OF PROGRAM BENE19 FITS.—The Commission shall consider 

20 whether the totality of the amount of 

21 funds allowed to be raised by participating 

22 candidates (including through qualifying 

23 contributions and small dollar contribu24 tions), allocations from the Fund under 

25 section 522, matching contributions under 


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1 section 523, enhanced matching contribu2 tions under section 524, and vouchers 

3 under section 525 are sufficient for voters 

4 in each State to learn about the candidates 

5 to cast an informed vote, taking into ac6 count the historic amount of spending by 

7 winning candidates, media costs, primary 

8 election dates, and any other information 

9 the Commission determines is appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Based on the re12 view conducted under subparagraph (A), 

13 the Commission shall provide for the ad14 justments of the following amounts: 

15 ‘‘(I) The maximum dollar 

16 amount of qualified small dollar con17 tributions under section 501(13)(C). 

18 ‘‘(II) The maximum and min19 imum dollar amounts for qualifying 

20 contributions under section 

21 501(12)(A). 

22 ‘‘(III) The number and value of 

23 qualifying contributions a candidate is 

24 required to obtain under section 

25 512(a)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(IV) The base amount for can2 didates under section 522(d). 

3 ‘‘(V) The maximum amount of 

4 matching contributions a candidate 

5 may receive under section 523(b). 

6 ‘‘(VI) The maximum amount of 

7 enhanced matching contributions a 

8 candidate may receive under section 

9 524(c). 

10 ‘‘(VII) The dollar amount for 

11 vouchers under section 525(c). 

12 ‘‘(ii) REGULATIONS.—The Commis13 sion shall promulgate regulations providing 

14 for the adjustments made under clause (i). 

15 ‘‘(D) REPORT.—Not later than March 30 

16 following any general election for Federal office, 

17 the Commission shall submit a report to Con18 gress on the review conducted under subpara19 graph (A). Such report shall contain a detailed 

20 statement of the findings, conclusions, and rec21 ommendations of the Commission based on 

22 such review. 

23 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Not later than March 30, 2024, and 

24 every 2 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit to 

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1 port documenting, evaluating, and making recommenda2 tions relating to the administrative implementation and 

3 enforcement of the provisions of this title. 

4 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec6 essary to carry out the purposes of this subtitle. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 532. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES. 

8 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF CONTRIBU9 TION AND EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.—If a can10 didate who has been certified as a participating candidate 

11 under section 514 accepts a contribution or makes an ex12 penditure that is prohibited under section 513, the Com13 mission shall assess a civil penalty against the candidate 

14 in an amount that is not more than 3 times the amount 

15 of the contribution or expenditure. Any amounts collected 

16 under this subsection shall be deposited into the Fund. 

17 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR IMPROPER USE OF FAIR

18 ELECTIONS FUND.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission deter20 mines that any benefit made available to a partici21 pating candidate under this title was not used as 

22 provided for in this title or that a participating can23 didate has violated any of the dates for remission of 

24 funds contained in this title, the Commission shall 


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1 so notify the candidate and the candidate shall pay 

2 to the Fund an amount equal to— 

3 ‘‘(A) the amount of benefits so used or not 

4 remitted, as appropriate; and 

5 ‘‘(B) interest on any such amounts (at a 

6 rate determined by the Commission). 

7 ‘‘(2) OTHER ACTION NOT PRECLUDED.—Any 

8 action by the Commission in accordance with this 

9 subsection shall not preclude enforcement pro10 ceedings by the Commission in accordance with sec11 tion 309(a), including a referral by the Commission 

12 to the Attorney General in the case of an apparent 

13 knowing and willful violation of this title.’’. 

14 SEC. 102. PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT15 TEES. 

16 Section 302(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

17 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30102(e)) is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(6) No authorized committee of a participating 

20 candidate (as defined in section 501) may establish 

21 a joint fundraising committee with a political com22 mittee other than an authorized committee of a can23 didate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 103. EXCEPTION TO LIMITATION ON COORDINATED 

2 EXPENDITURES BY POLITICAL PARTY COM3 MITTEES WITH PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES. 

4 Section 315(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

5 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(d)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘in the 

7 case of’’ and inserting ‘‘except as provided in para8 graph (6), in the case of’’; and 

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

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(6)(A) The limitation under paragraph (3)(A) 

12 shall not apply with respect to any expenditure from 

13 a qualified political party-participating candidate co14 ordinated expenditure fund. 

15 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘qualified po16 litical party-participating candidate coordinated ex17 penditure fund’ means a fund established by the na18 tional committee of a political party, or a State com19 mittee of a political party, including any subordinate 

20 committee of a State committee, for purposes of 

21 making expenditures in connection with the general 

22 election campaign of a candidate for election to the 

23 office of Senator who is a participating candidate (as 

24 defined in section 501), that only accepts qualified 

25 coordinated expenditure contributions. 


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1 ‘‘(C) In this paragraph, the term ‘qualified co2 ordinated expenditure contribution’ means, with re3 spect to the general election campaign of a candidate 

4 for election to the office of Senator who is a partici5 pating candidate (as defined in section 501), any 

6 contribution (or series of contributions)— 

7 ‘‘(i) which is made by an individual who is 

8 not prohibited from making a contribution 

9 under this Act; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the aggregate amount of which does 

11 not exceed $500 per election.’’. 

12 TITLE II—IMPROVING VOTER 

13 INFORMATION 

14 SEC. 201. BROADCASTS RELATING TO ALL SENATE CAN15 DIDATES. 

16 (a) LOWEST UNIT CHARGE; NATIONAL COMMIT17 TEES.—Section 315(b)(1) of the Communications Act of 

18 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)(1)) is amended— 

19 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

20 by striking ‘‘to such office’’ and inserting the fol21 lowing: ‘‘to such office, or by a national committee 

22 of a political party on behalf of such candidate in 

23 connection with such campaign,’’; and 

24 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘for 

25 preemptible use thereof’’ after ‘‘station’’. 


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1 (b) PREEMPTION; AUDITS.—Section 315 of the Com2 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315) is amended— 

3 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

4 subsections (f) and (g), respectively and moving 

5 them to follow the existing subsection (e); 

6 (2) by redesignating the existing subsection (e) 

7 as subsection (c); and 

8 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) (as redesig9 nated by paragraph (2)) the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) PREEMPTION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), and notwithstanding the requirements of 

13 subsection (b)(1)(A), a licensee shall not preempt 

14 the use of a broadcasting station by a legally quali15 fied candidate for Senate who has purchased and 

16 paid for such use. 

17 ‘‘(2) CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND CONTROL OF LI18 CENSEE.—If a program to be broadcast by a broad19 casting station is preempted because of cir20 cumstances beyond the control of the station, any 

21 candidate or party advertising spot scheduled to be 

22 broadcast during that program shall be treated in 

23 the same fashion as a comparable commercial adver24 tising spot. 


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1 ‘‘(e) AUDITS.—During the 30-day period preceding 

2 a primary or primary runoff election and the 60-day pe3 riod preceding a general or special election, the Commis4 sion shall conduct such audits as it deems necessary to 

5 ensure that each licensee to which this section applies is 

6 allocating television broadcast advertising time in accord7 ance with this section and section 312.’’. 

8 (c) REVOCATION OF LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PER9 MIT ACCESS.—Section 312(a)(7) of the Communications 

10 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 312(a)(7)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘or repeated’’; 

12 (2) by inserting ‘‘or cable system’’ after ‘‘broad13 casting station’’; and 

14 (3) by striking ‘‘his candidacy’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘the candidacy of the candidate, under the same 

16 terms, conditions, and business practices as apply to 

17 the most favored advertiser of the licensee’’. 

18 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

20 U.S.C. 315) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (f), as redesignated by sub22 section (b)(1)— 

23 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

24 by striking ‘‘For purposes of this section—’’ 


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1 and inserting the following: ‘‘Definitions.—For 

2 purposes of this section:’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘the term’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘BROADCASTING STATION.—The 

6 term’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

8 a period; and 

9 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 

10 terms’’ and inserting ‘‘LICENSEE; STATION LI11 CENSEE.—The terms’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (g), as redesignated by sub13 section (b)(1), by striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘REGULATIONS.—The Commission’’. 

15 SEC. 202. BROADCAST RATES FOR PARTICIPATING CAN16 DIDATES. 

17 Section 315(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 

18 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)), as amended by section 201, is amend19 ed— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

21 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(3) PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES.—In the case 

24 of a participating candidate (as defined in section 

25 501 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971), 


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1 the charges made for the use of any broadcasting 

2 station for a television broadcast shall not exceed 80 

3 percent of the lowest charge described in paragraph 

4 (1)(A) during— 

5 ‘‘(A) the 45 days preceding the date of a 

6 primary or primary runoff election in which the 

7 candidate is opposed; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the 60 days preceding the date of a 

9 general or special election in which the can10 didate is opposed. 

11 ‘‘(4) RATE CARDS.—A licensee shall provide to 

12 a candidate for Senate a rate card that discloses— 

13 ‘‘(A) the rate charged under this sub14 section; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the method that the licensee uses to 

16 determine the rate charged under this sub17 section.’’. 

18 SEC. 203. FCC TO PRESCRIBE STANDARDIZED FORM FOR 

19 REPORTING CANDIDATE CAMPAIGN ADS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communica22 tions Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding 

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1 nated by section 201(b)(1)), to record and report the pur2 chase of advertising time by or on behalf of a candidate 

3 for nomination for election, or for election, to Federal elec4 tive office. 

5 (b) CONTENTS.—The form prescribed by the Federal 

6 Communications Commission under subsection (a) shall 

7 require a broadcasting station to report to the Federal 

8 Communications Commission and to the Federal Election 

9 Commission, at a minimum— 

10 (1) the station call letters and mailing address; 

11 (2) the name and telephone number of the sta12 tion’s sales manager (or individual with responsi13 bility for advertising sales); 

14 (3) the name of the candidate who purchased 

15 the advertising time, or on whose behalf the adver16 tising time was purchased, and the Federal elective 

17 office for which he or she is a candidate; 

18 (4) the name, mailing address, and telephone 

19 number of the person responsible for purchasing 

20 broadcast political advertising for the candidate; 

21 (5) notation as to whether the purchase agree22 ment for which the information is being reported is 

23 a draft or final version; and 

24 (6) with respect to the advertisement— 

25 (A) the date and time of the broadcast; 


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1 (B) the program in which the advertise2 ment was broadcast; and 

3 (C) the length of the broadcast airtime. 

4 (c) INTERNET ACCESS.—In its rulemaking under 

5 subsection (a), the Federal Communications Commission 

6 shall require any broadcasting station required to file a 

7 report under this section that maintains an internet 

8 website to make available a link to each such report on 

9 that website. 

10 TITLE III—RESPONSIBILITIES 

11 OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION 

12 COMMISSION 

13 SEC. 301. PETITION FOR CERTIORARI. 

14 Section 307(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign 

15 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30107(a)(6)) is amended by in16 serting ‘‘(including a proceeding before the Supreme 

17 Court on certiorari)’’ after ‘‘appeal’’. 

18 SEC. 302. ELECTRONIC FILING OF FEC REPORTS. 

19 Section 304(a)(11) of the Federal Election Campaign 

20 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(a)(11)) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘under 

22 this Act—’’ and all that follows and inserting 

23 ‘‘under this Act shall be required to maintain and 

24 file such designation, statement, or report in elec25 tronic form accessible by computers.’’; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘48 

2 hours’’ and all that follows through ‘‘filed electroni3 cally)’’ and inserting ‘‘24 hours’’; and 

4 (3) by striking subparagraph (D). 

5 TITLE IV—REVENUE 

6 PROVISIONS 

7 SEC. 401. FAIR ELECTIONS FUND REVENUE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Internal Revenue Code of 

9 1986 is amended by inserting after chapter 36 the fol10 lowing new chapter: 

11 ‘‘CHAPTER 37—TAX ON PAYMENTS PURSU12 ANT TO CERTAIN GOVERNMENT CON13 TRACTS 

‘‘Sec. 4501. Imposition of tax. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 4501. IMPOSITION OF TAX. 

15 ‘‘(a) TAX IMPOSED.—There is hereby imposed on any 

16 payment made to a qualified person pursuant to a contract 

17 with the Government of the United States a tax equal to 

18 0.50 percent of the amount paid. 

19 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The aggregate amount of tax im20 posed per contract under subsection (a) for any calendar 

21 year shall not exceed $500,000. 

22 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED PERSON.—For purposes of this sec23 tion, the term ‘qualified person’ means any person 

24 which— 


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1 ‘‘(1) is not a State or local government, a for2 eign nation, or an organization described in section 

3 501(c)(3) which is exempt from taxation under sec4 tion 501(a), and 

5 ‘‘(2) has a contract with the Government of the 

6 United States with a value in excess of $10,000,000. 

7 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF TAX.—The tax imposed by this 

8 section shall be paid by the person receiving such payment. 

9 ‘‘(e) USE OF REVENUE GENERATED BY TAX.—It is 

10 the sense of the Senate that amounts equivalent to the 

11 revenue generated by the tax imposed under this chapter 

12 should be appropriated for the financing of a Fair Elec13 tions Fund and used for the public financing of Senate 

14 elections.’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chap16 ters of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

17 inserting after the item relating to chapter 36 the fol18 lowing: 

‘‘CHAPTER 37—TAX ON PAYMENTS PURSUANT TO CERTAIN GOVERNMENT

CONTRACTS’’. 

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

20 this section shall apply to contracts entered into after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 501. SEVERABILITY. 

4 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

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

6 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu7 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

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

9 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

10 affected by the holding. 

11 SEC. 502. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as may otherwise be pro13 vided in this Act and in the amendments made by this 

14 Act, this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

15 apply with respect to elections occurring during 2026 or 

16 any succeeding year, without regard to whether or not the 

17 Federal Election Commission has promulgated the final 

18 regulations necessary to carry out this Act and the amend19 ments made by this Act by the deadline set forth in sub20 section (b). 

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

22 June 30, 2024, the Federal Election Commission shall 

23 promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

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

Æ 


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