II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1502

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require mandatory

spending limits for Senate candidates and limits on independent expenditures, to ban soft money, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 5, 1999

Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. JOHNSON) 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

require mandatory spending limits for Senate candidates

and limits on independent expenditures, to ban soft

money, 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 ‘‘Campaign Spending Control Act of 1999’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Statement of purpose.

Sec. 3. Findings of fact.
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TITLE I—SENATE ELECTION SPENDING LIMITS

Sec. 101. Senate election spending limits.

TITLE II—COORDINATED AND INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

Sec. 201. Adding definition of coordination to definition of contribution.

Sec. 202. Treatment of certain coordinated contributions and expenditures.

Sec. 203. Political party committees.

Sec. 204. Limit on independent expenditures.

Sec. 205. Clarification of definitions relating to independent expenditures.

Sec. 206. Elimination of leadership PACs.

TITLE III—SOFT MONEY

Sec. 301. Soft money of political party committee.

Sec. 302. State party grassroots funds.

Sec. 303. Reporting requirements.

Sec. 304. Soft money of persons other than political parties.

TITLE IV—ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 401. Filing of reports using computers and facsimile machines.

Sec. 402. Audits.

Sec. 403. Authority to seek injunction.

Sec. 404. Increase in penalty for knowing and willful violations.

Sec. 405. Prohibition of contributions by individuals not qualified to vote.

Sec. 406. Use of candidates’ names.

Sec. 407. Expedited procedures.

TITLE V—SEVERABILITY; REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 501. Severability.

Sec. 502. Regulations.

Sec. 503. Effective date.

1 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

2 The purposes of this Act are to—

3 (1) restore the public confidence in and the in4 tegrity of our democratic system;

5 (2) strengthen and promote full and free dis6 cussion and debate during election campaigns;

7 (3) relieve Federal officeholders from limita8 tions on their attention to the affairs of the Federal

9 government that can arise from excessive attention

10 to fundraising;
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1 (4) relieve elective office-seekers and office2 holders from the limitations on purposeful political

3 conduct and discourse that can arise from excessive

4 attention to fundraising;

5 (5) reduce corruption and undue influence, or

6 the appearance thereof, in the financing of Federal

7 election campaigns; and

8 (6) provide non-preferential terms of access to

9 elected Federal officeholders by all interested mem10 bers of the public in order to uphold the constitu11 tionally guaranteed right to petition the Government

12 for redress of grievances.

13 SEC. 3. FINDINGS OF FACT.

14 Congress finds the following:

15 (1) The current Federal campaign finance sys16 tem, with its perceived preferential access to law17 makers for interest groups capable of contributing

18 sizable sums of money to lawmakers’ campaigns, has

19 caused a widespread loss of public confidence in the

20 fairness and responsiveness of elective government

21 and undermined the belief, necessary to a func22 tioning democracy, that the Government exists to

23 serve the needs of all people.

24 (2) The United States Supreme Court, in Buck25 ley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976), disapproved the use
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1 of mandatory spending limits as a remedy for such

2 effects, while approving the use of campaign con3 tribution limits.

4 (3) Since 1976, campaign expenditures have

5 risen steeply in Federal elections with spending by

6 successful candidates for the United States Senate

7 between 1976 and 1996 rising from $609,100 to

8 $3,775,000, an increase that is twice the rate of in9 flation.

10 (4) As campaign spending has escalated, voter

11 turnout has steadily declined and in 1996 voter

12 turnout fell to its lowest point since 1924, and

13 stands now at the lowest level of any democracy in

14 the world.

15 (5) Coupled with out-of-control campaign

16 spending has come the constant necessity of fund17 raising, arising, to a large extent, from candidates

18 adopting a defensive ‘‘arms race’’ posture of con19 stant readiness against the risk of massively fi20 nanced attacks against whatever the opposing can21 didate may say or do.

22 (6) The current campaign finance system has

23 had a deleterious effect on those who hold public of24 fice as endless fundraising pressures intrude upon

25 the performance of constitutionally required duties.
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1 Capable and dedicated officials have left office in

2 dismay over these distractions and the negative pub3 lic perceptions that the fundraising process engen4 ders and numerous qualified citizens have declined

5 to seek office because of the prospect of having to

6 raise the extraordinary amounts of money needed in

7 today’s elections.

8 (7) The requirement for candidates to raise

9 funds, the average 1996 expenditure level required a

10 successful Senate candidate to raise more than

11 $12,099 a week for 6 years, significantly impedes on

12 the ability of Senators and other officeholders to

13 tend to their official duties, and limits the ability of

14 candidates to interact with the electorate while also

15 tending to professional responsibilities.

16 (8) As talented incumbent and potential public

17 servants are deterred from seeking office in Con18 gress because of such fundraising pressures, the

19 quality of representation suffers and those who do

20 serve are impeded in their effort to devote full atten21 tion to matters of the Government by the campaign

22 financing system.

23 (9) Contribution limits are inadequate to con24 trol all of these trends and as long as campaign

25 spending is effectively unrestrained, supporters can
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1 find ways to protect their favored candidates from

2 being outspent. Since 1976, major techniques have

3 been found and exploited to get around and evade

4 contribution limits.

5 (10) Techniques to evade contribution limits in6 clude personal spending by wealthy candidates, inde7 pendent expenditures that assist or attack an identi8 fied candidate, media campaigns by corporations,

9 labor unions, and nonprofit organizations to advo10 cate the election or defeat of candidates, and the use

11 of national, State, or local political parties as a con12 duit for money that assists or attacks such can13 didates.

14 (11) Wealthy candidates may, under the

15 present Federal campaign financing system, spend

16 any amount they want out of their own resources

17 and while such spending may not be self-corrupting,

18 it introduces the very defects the Supreme Court

19 wanted to avoid. The effectively limitless character

20 of such resources obliges a wealthy candidate’s oppo21 nent to reach for larger amounts of outside support,

22 causing the deleterious effects previously described.

23 (12) Experience shows that there is an identity

24 of interest between candidates and political parties

25 because the parties exist to support candidates, not
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1 the other way around. Party expenditures in support

2 of, or in opposition to, an identifiable candidate are,

3 therefore, effectively spending on behalf of a can4 didate.

5 (13) Political experience shows that so-called

6 ‘‘independent’’ support, whether by individuals, com7 mittees, or other entities, can be and often is coordi8 nated with a candidate’s campaign by means of tacit

9 understandings without losing its nominally inde10 pendent character and, similarly, contributions to a

11 political party, ostensibly for ‘‘party-building’’ pur12 poses, can be and often are routed, by undeclared

13 design, to the support of identified candidates.

14 (14) The actual, case-by-case detection of co15 ordination between candidate, party, and inde16 pendent contributor is, as a practical matter, impos17 sible in a fast-moving campaign environment.

18 (15) So-called ‘‘issue advocacy’’ communica19 tions, by or through political parties or independent

20 contributors, need not advocate expressly for the

21 election or defeat of a named candidate in order to

22 cross the line into election campaign advocacy; any

23 clear, objective indication of purpose, such that vot24 ers may readily observe where their electoral support
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1 is invited, can suffice as evidence of intent to impact

2 a Federal election campaign.

3 (16) When State political parties or other enti4 ties operating under State law receive funds, often

5 called ‘‘soft money’’, for use in Federal elections,

6 they become de facto agents of the national political

7 party and the inclusion of these funds under applica8 ble Federal limitations is necessary and proper for

9 the effective regulation of Federal election cam10 paigns.

11 (17) The exorbitant level of money in the polit12 ical system has served to distort our democracy by

13 giving some contributors, who constitute less than 3

14 percent of the citizenry, the appearance of favored

15 access to elected officials, thus undermining the abil16 ity of ordinary citizens to petition their Government.

17 Concerns over the potential for corruption and

18 undue influence, and the appearances thereof, has

19 left citizens cynical, the reputation of elected offi20 cials tarnished, and the moral authority of Govern21 ment weakened.

22 (18) The 2 decades of experience since the rul23 ing of the Supreme Court in Buckley v. Valeo in

24 1976 have made it evident that reasonable limits on

25 election campaign expenditures are now necessary
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1 and these limits must comprehensively address all

2 types of expenditures to prevent circumvention of

3 such limits.

4 (19) The Supreme Court based its Buckley v.

5 Valeo decision on a concern that spending limits

6 could narrow political speech ‘‘by restricting the

7 number of issues discussed, the depth of their explo8 ration, and the size of the audience reached’’. The

9 experience of the past 20 years has been otherwise

10 as experience shows that unlimited expenditures can

11 drown out or distort political discourse in a flood of

12 distractive repetition. Reasonable spending limits

13 will increase the opportunity for previously muted

14 voices to be heard and thereby increase the number,

15 depth, and diversity of ideas presented to the public.

16 (20) Issue advocacy communications that do

17 not promote or oppose an identified candidate should

18 remain unregulated, as should the traditional free19 dom of the press to report and editorialize about

20 candidates and campaigns.

21 (21) In establishing reasonable limits on cam22 paign spending, it is necessary that the limits reflect

23 the realities of modern campaigning in a large, di24 verse population with sophisticated and expensive

25 modes of communication. The limits must allow citi-
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1 zens to benefit from a full and free debate of issues

2 and permit candidates to garner the resources nec3 essary to engage in that debate.

4 (22) The expenditure limits established in this

5 Act for election to the United States Senate were de6 termined after careful review of historical spending

7 patterns in Senate campaigns as well as the par8 ticular spending level of the 3 most recent elections

9 as evidenced by the following:

10 (A) The limit formula allows a candidate a

11 level of spending which guarantees an ability to

12 disseminate the candidate’s message by ac13 counting for the size of the population in each

14 State as well as historical spending trends in15 cluding the demonstrated trend of lower cam16 paign spending per voter in larger States as

17 compared to voter spending in smaller States.

18 (B) The candidate expenditure limits in19 cluded in this legislation would have restricted

20 80 percent of the incumbent candidates in the

21 last 3 elections, while only impeding 18 percent

22 of the challengers.

23 (C) It is clear from recent experience that

24 expenditure limits as set by the formula in this

25 Act will be high enough to allow an effective
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1 level of competition, encourage candidate dia2 logue with constituents, and circumscribe the

3 most egregiously high spending levels, so as to

4 be a bulwark against future campaign finance

5 excesses and the resulting voter disenfranchise6 ment.

7 TITLE I—SENATE ELECTION

8 SPENDING LIMITS

9 SEC. 101. SENATE ELECTION SPENDING LIMITS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election

11 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended

12 by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 324. SPENDING LIMITS FOR SENATE ELECTION CAM14 PAIGNS

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The amount of funds expended

16 by a candidate for election, or nomination for election, to

17 the Senate and the candidate’s authorized committee with

18 respect to an election shall not exceed the election expendi19 ture limits described in subsections (b), (c), and (d).

20 ‘‘(b) PRIMARY ELECTION EXPENDITURE LIMIT.—

21 The aggregate amount of expenditures made in connection

22 with a primary election by a Senate candidate and the can23 didate’s authorized committee shall not exceed 67 percent

24 of the general election expenditure limit under subsection

25 (d).
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1 ‘‘(c) RUNOFF ELECTION EXPENDITURE LIMIT.—The

2 aggregate amount of expenditures made in connection

3 with a runoff election by a Senate candidate and the can4 didate’s authorized committee shall not exceed 20 percent

5 of the general election expenditure limit under subsection

6 (d).

7 ‘‘(d) GENERAL ELECTION EXPENDITURE LIMIT.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate amount of

9 expenditures made in connection with a general elec10 tion by a Senate candidate and the candidate’s au11 thorized committee shall not exceed the greater of—

12 ‘‘(A) $1,182,500; or

13 ‘‘(B) $500,000; plus

14 ‘‘(i) 37.5 cents multiplied by the vot15 ing age population not in excess of

16 4,000,000; and

17 ‘‘(ii) 31.25 cents multiplied by the

18 voting age population in excess of

19 4,000,000.

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—In the case of a Senate can21 didate in a State that has not more than 1 trans22 mitter for a commercial Very High Frequency

23 (VHF) television station licensed to operate in that

24 State, paragraph (1)(B) shall be applied by

25 substituting—
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1 ‘‘(A) ‘$1.00’ for ‘37.5 cents’ in clause (i);

2 and

3 ‘‘(B) ‘87.5 cents’ for ‘31.25 cents’ in

4 clause (ii).

5 ‘‘(3) INDEXING.—The monetary amounts in

6 paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be increased as of the

7 beginning of each calendar year based on the in8 crease in the price index determined under section

9 315(c), except that the base period shall be calendar

10 year 1999.

11 ‘‘(e) EXEMPTED EXPENDITURES.—In determining

12 the amount of funds expended for purposes of this section,

13 there shall be excluded any amounts expended for—

14 ‘‘(1) Federal, State, or local taxes with respect

15 to earnings on contributions raised;

16 ‘‘(2) legal and accounting services provided

17 solely in connection with complying with the require18 ments of this Act;

19 ‘‘(3) legal services related to a recount of the

20 results of a Federal election or an election contest

21 concerning a Federal election; or

22 ‘‘(4) payments made to or on behalf of an em23 ployee of a candidate’s authorized committee for em24 ployee benefits—

25 ‘‘(A) including—
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1 ‘‘(i) health care insurance;

2 ‘‘(ii) retirement plans; and

3 ‘‘(iii) unemployment insurance; but

4 ‘‘(B) not including salary, any form of

5 compensation, or amounts intended to reim6 burse the employee.’’.

7 TITLE II—COORDINATED AND

8 INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

9 SEC. 201. ADDING DEFINITION OF COORDINATION TO DEFI10 NITION OF CONTRIBUTION.

11 (a) DEFINITION OF CONTRIBUTION.—Section 301(8)

12 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

13 431(8)) is amended—

14 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

15 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the

16 end;

17 (B) in clause (ii) by striking the period

18 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

19 (C) by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(iii) a payment made for a communication or

21 anything of value that is for the purpose of influ22 encing an election for Federal office and that is a

23 payment made in coordination with a candidate.’’;

24 and

25 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT MADE IN COORDINATION WITH.—The

2 term ‘payment made in coordination with’ means—

3 ‘‘(i) a payment made by any person in coopera4 tion, consultation, or concert with, at the request or

5 suggestion of, or pursuant to any general or par6 ticular understanding with, a candidate, a can7 didate’s authorized committee, an agent acting on

8 behalf of a candidate or a candidate’s authorized

9 committee, or (for purposes of paragraphs (9) and

10 (10) of section 315(a)) another person;

11 ‘‘(ii) the financing by any person of the dissemi12 nation, distribution, or republication, in whole or in

13 part, of any broadcast or any written, graphic, or

14 other form of campaign materials prepared by the

15 candidate or the candidate’s authorized committee

16 (not including a communication described in para17 graph (9)(B)(i) or a communication that expressly

18 advocates the candidate’s defeat); or

19 ‘‘(iii) payments made based on information

20 about the candidate’s plans, projects, or needs pro21 vided to the person making the payment by the can22 didate, the candidate’s authorized committee, or an

23 agent of a candidate or a candidate’s authorized

24 committee.’’.

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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1 (1) SECTION 315.—Section 315(a)(7)(B) of the

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

3 441a(a)(7)(B)) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(B) expenditures made in coordination with a

5 candidate (within the meaning of section 301(8)(C))

6 shall be considered to be contributions to the can7 didate and, in the case of limitations on expendi8 tures, shall be treated as an expenditure for pur9 poses of this section; and’’.

10 (2) SECTION 316.—Section 316(b)(2) of the

11 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

12 441b(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘shall include’’

13 and inserting ‘‘shall have the meaning given those

14 terms in paragraphs (8) and (9) of section 301 and

15 shall also include’’.

16 SEC. 202. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN COORDINATED CON17 TRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.

18 Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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

20 end the following:

21 ‘‘(9) For purposes of this section, contributions made

22 by more than 1 person in coordination with each other

23 (within the meaning of section 301(8)(C)) shall be consid24 ered to have been made by a single person.
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1 ‘‘(10) For purposes of this section, an independent

2 expenditure made by a person in coordination with (within

3 the meaning of section 301(8)(C)) another person shall

4 be considered to have been made by a single person.’’.

5 SEC. 203. POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES.

6 (a) LIMIT ON COORDINATED AND INDEPENDENT EX7 PENDITURES BY POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES.—Sec8 tion 315(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

9 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is amended—

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and inde11 pendent expenditures’’ after ‘‘Federal office’’; and

12 (2) in paragraph (3)—

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including expenditures

14 made’’ after ‘‘make any expenditure’’; and

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘and independent expend16 itures advocating the election or defeat of a

17 candidate,’’ after ‘‘such party’’.

18 (b) RULES APPLICABLE WHEN LIMITS NOT IN EF19 FECT.—For purposes of the Federal Election Campaign

20 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), during any period

21 beginning after the effective date of this Act in which the

22 limitation under section 315(d)(3) (as amended by sub23 section (a)) is not in effect the following amendments shall

24 be effective:
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1 (1) INDEPENDENT VERSUS COORDINATED EX2 PENDITURES BY A POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEE.—

3 Section 315(d) of the Federal Election Campaign

4 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is amended—

5 (A) in paragraph (1)—

6 (i) by striking ‘‘(2) and (3) of this

7 subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘(2), (3), and

8 (4) of this subsection’’; and

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘coordinated’’ after

10 ‘‘make’’;

11 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘coordi12 nated’’ after ‘‘make any’’; and

13 (C) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION AGAINST MAKING BOTH COORDI15 NATED EXPENDITURES AND INDEPENDENT EXPENDI16 TURES.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A committee of a political

18 party shall not make both a coordinated expenditure

19 in excess of $5,000 and an independent expenditure

20 with respect to the same candidate during an elec21 tion cycle.

22 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION.—Before making a coordi23 nated expenditure in excess of $5,000 in connection

24 with a general election campaign of a candidate, a

25 committee of a political party that is subject to this
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1 subsection shall file with the Commission a certifi2 cation, signed by the treasurer, stating that the com3 mittee will not make independent expenditures with

4 respect to such candidate.

5 ‘‘(C) TRANSFERS.—A party committee that cer6 tifies under this paragraph that the committee will

7 make coordinated expenditures with respect to any

8 candidate shall not, in the same election cycle, make

9 a transfer of funds to, or receive a transfer of funds

10 from, any other party committee unless that com11 mittee has certified under this paragraph that it will

12 only make coordinated expenditures with respect to

13 candidates.

14 ‘‘(D) DEFINITION OF COORDINATED EXPENDI15 TURE.—In this paragraph, the term ‘coordinated ex16 penditure’ shall have the meaning given the term

17 ‘payments made in coordination with’ in section

18 301(8)(C).’’.

19 (2) LIMIT ON CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLITICAL

20 PARTY COMMITTEES.—Section 315(a) of Federal

21 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a))

22 is amended—

23 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking

24 ‘‘which, in the aggregate, exceed $20,000’’ and

25 inserting ‘‘that—
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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a political committee

2 that certifies under subsection (d)(4) that it will

3 not make independent expenditures in connec4 tion with the general election campaign of any

5 candidate, in the aggregate, exceed $20,000; or

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a political committee

7 not described in clause (i), in the aggregate, ex8 ceed $5,000’’; and

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

10 ‘‘which, in the aggregate, exceed $15,000’’ and

11 inserting ‘‘that—

12 ‘‘(i) in the case of a political committee

13 that certifies under subsection (d)(4) that it will

14 not make independent expenditures in connec15 tion with the general election campaign of any

16 candidate, in the aggregate, exceed $15,000; or

17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a political committee

18 not described in clause (i), in the aggregate, ex19 ceed $5,000’’.

20 (c) DEFINITION OF ELECTION CYCLE.—Section 301

21 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

22 431) is amended by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(20) ELECTION CYCLE.—The term ‘election cycle’

24 means—
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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of a candidate or the au2 thorized committee of a candidate, the period

3 beginning on the day after the date of the most

4 recent general election for the specific office or

5 seat that the candidate is seeking and ending

6 on the date of the next general election for that

7 office or seat; and

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of all other persons, the

9 period beginning on the first day following the

10 date of the last general election and ending on

11 the date of the next general election.’’.

12 SEC. 204. LIMIT ON INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Federal Elec14 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended

15 by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(i) LIMIT ON INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.—No

17 person shall make independent expenditures advocating

18 the election or defeat of a candidate during an election

19 cycle in an aggregate amount greater than the limit appli20 cable to the candidate under subsection (d)(3).’’.

21 (b) RULES APPLICABLE WHEN RULES IN SUB22 SECTION (a) NOT IN EFFECT.—For purposes of the Fed23 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971, during any period

24 beginning after the effective date of this Act in which the

25 limit on independent expenditures under section 315(i) of
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1 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as added by

2 subsection (a), is not in effect, section 324 of such Act,

3 as added by section 101(a), is amended by adding at the

4 end the following:

5 ‘‘(f) INCREASE IN EXPENDITURE LIMIT IN RE6 SPONSE TO INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The applicable election ex8 penditure limit for a candidate shall be increased by

9 the aggregate amount of independent expenditures

10 made in excess of the limit applicable to the can11 didate under section 315(d)(3)—

12 ‘‘(A) on behalf of an opponent of the can13 didate; or

14 ‘‘(B) in opposition to the candidate.

15 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A candidate shall no17 tify the Commission of an intent to increase an

18 expenditure limit under paragraph (1).

19 ‘‘(B) COMMISSION RESPONSE.—Within 3

20 business days of receiving a notice under sub21 paragraph (A), the Commission must approve

22 or deny the increase in expenditure limit.

23 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATION.—A can24 didate who has increased an expenditure limit

25 under paragraph (1) shall notify the Commis-
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1 sion of each additional increase in increments of

2 $50,000.’’.

3 SEC. 205. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITIONS RELATING TO

4 INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.

5 (a) DEFINITION OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—

6 Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

7 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by striking paragraph

8 (17) and inserting the following:

9 ‘‘(17) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—The term

10 ‘independent expenditure’ means an expenditure that—

11 ‘‘(A) contains express advocacy; and

12 ‘‘(B) is made without the participation or co13 operation of, or without consultation with, or with14 out coordination with a candidate or a candidate’s

15 authorized committee or agent (within the meaning

16 of section 301(8)(C)).’’.

17 (b) DEFINITION OF EXPRESS ADVOCACY.—Section

18 301 of Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

19 431), as amended by section 202(c), is amended by adding

20 at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(21) EXPRESS ADVOCACY.—The term ‘express advo22 cacy’ includes—

23 ‘‘(i) a communication that conveys a message

24 that advocates the election or defeat of a clearly

25 identified candidate for Federal office by using an
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1 expression such as ‘vote for,’ ‘elect,’ ‘support,’ ‘vote

2 against,’ ‘defeat,’ ‘reject,’ ‘(name of candidate) for

3 Congress,’ ‘vote pro-life,’ or ‘vote pro-choice,’ accom4 panied by a listing or picture of a clearly identified

5 candidate described as ‘pro-life’ or ‘pro-choice,’ ‘re6 ject the incumbent,’ or an expression susceptible to

7 no other reasonable interpretation but an unmistak8 able and unambiguous exhortation to vote for or

9 against a specific candidate; or

10 ‘‘(ii) a communication that is made through a

11 broadcast medium, newspaper, magazine, billboard,

12 direct mail, or similar type of general public commu13 nication or political advertising—

14 ‘‘(A) that is made on or after a date that

15 is 90 days before the date of a general election

16 of the candidate;

17 ‘‘(B) that refers to the character, qualifica18 tions, or accomplishments of a clearly identified

19 candidate, group of candidates, or candidate of

20 a clearly identified political party; and

21 ‘‘(C) that does not have as its sole purpose

22 an attempt to urge action on legislation that

23 has been introduced in or is being considered by

24 a legislature that is in session.’’.
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1 SEC. 206. ELIMINATION OF LEADERSHIP PACS.

2 (a) DESIGNATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AU3 THORIZED COMMITTEE.—Section 302(e) of the Federal

4 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(e)) is

5 amended by—

6 (1) striking paragraph (3) and inserting the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(3) No political committee that supports, or has

9 supported, more than one candidate may be designated as

10 an authorized committee, except that—

11 ‘‘(A) a candidate for the office of President

12 nominated by a political party may designate the na13 tional committee of such political party as the can14 didate’s principal campaign committee, if that na15 tional committee maintains separate books of ac16 count with respect to its functions as a principal

17 campaign committee; and

18 ‘‘(B) a candidate may designate a political com19 mittee established solely for the purpose of joint

20 fundraising by such candidates as an authorized

21 committee.’’; and

22 (2) adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(6)(A) A candidate for Federal office or any indi24 vidual holding Federal office may not directly or indirectly

25 establish, finance, maintain, or control any political com26 mittee other than a principal campaign committee of the
26

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1 candidate, designated in accordance with paragraph (3).

2 A candidate for more than one Federal office may des3 ignate a separate principal campaign committee for each

4 Federal office. This paragraph shall not preclude a Fed5 eral officeholder who is a candidate for State or local office

6 from establishing, financing, maintaining, or controlling a

7 political committee for election of the individual to such

8 State or local office.

9 ‘‘(B) A political committee prohibited by subpara10 graph (A), that is established before the date of enactment

11 of this paragraph, may continue to make contributions for

12 a period that ends on the date that is 1 year after the

13 date of enactment of this paragraph. At the end of such

14 period the political committee shall disburse all funds by

15 1 or more of the following means:

16 ‘‘(1) Making contributions to an entity de17 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

18 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under sec19 tion 501(a) of such Act that is not established,

20 maintained, financed, or controlled directly or indi21 rectly by any candidate for Federal office or any in22 dividual holding Federal office.

23 ‘‘(2) Making a contribution to the Treasury.

24 ‘‘(3) Making contributions to the national,

25 State, or local committees of a political party.
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1 ‘‘(4) Making contributions not to exceed $1,000

2 to candidates for elective office.’’.

3 TITLE III—SOFT MONEY

4 SEC. 301. SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEE.

5 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

6 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended by section

7 101(a), is amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 325. SOFT MONEY OF PARTY COMMITTEES.

9 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL COMMITTEES.—A national com10 mittee of a political party (including a national congres11 sional campaign committee of a political party), an entity

12 that is directly or indirectly established, financed, main13 tained, or controlled by a national committee or its agent,

14 an entity acting on behalf of a national committee, and

15 an officer or agent acting on behalf of any such committee

16 or entity (but not including an entity regulated under sub17 section (b)) shall not solicit or receive any contributions,

18 donations, or transfers of funds, or spend any funds, that

19 are not subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and report20 ing requirements of this Act.

21 ‘‘(b) STATE, DISTRICT, AND LOCAL COMMITTEES.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any amount that is ex23 pended or disbursed by a State, district, or local

24 committee of a political party (including an entity

25 that is directly or indirectly established, financed,
28

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1 maintained, or controlled by a State, district, or

2 local committee of a political party and an officer or

3 agent acting on behalf of any such committee or en4 tity) during a calendar year in which a Federal elec5 tion is held, for any activity that might affect the

6 outcome of a Federal election, including any voter

7 registration or get-out-the-vote activity, any generic

8 campaign activity, and any communication that re9 fers to a candidate (regardless of whether a can10 didate for State or local office is also mentioned or

11 identified) shall be made from funds subject to the

12 limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements

13 of this Act.

14 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITY EXCLUDED FROM PARAGRAPH

15 (1).—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall

17 not apply to an expenditure or disbursement

18 made by a State, district, or local committee of

19 a political party for—

20 ‘‘(i) a contribution to a candidate for

21 State or local office if the contribution is

22 not designated or otherwise earmarked to

23 pay for an activity described in paragraph

24 (1);
29

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1 ‘‘(ii) the costs of a State, district, or

2 local political convention;

3 ‘‘(iii) the non-Federal share of a

4 State, district, or local party committee’s

5 administrative and overhead expenses (but

6 not including the compensation in any

7 month of any individual who spends more

8 than 20 percent of such individual’s time

9 on activity during the month that may af10 fect the outcome of a Federal election) ex11 cept that for purposes of this clause, the

12 non-Federal share of a party committee’s

13 administrative and overhead expenses shall

14 be determined by applying the ratio of the

15 non-Federal disbursements to the total

16 Federal expenditures and non-Federal dis17 bursements made by the committee during

18 the previous presidential election year to

19 the committee’s administrative and over20 head expenses in the election year in ques21 tion;

22 ‘‘(iv) the costs of grassroots campaign

23 materials, including buttons, bumper stick24 ers, and yard signs that name or depict
30

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1 only a candidate for State or local office;

2 and

3 ‘‘(v) the cost of any campaign activity

4 conducted solely on behalf of a clearly

5 identified candidate for State or local of6 fice, if the candidate activity is not an ac7 tivity described in paragraph (1).

8 ‘‘(B) FUNDRAISING COSTS.—Any amount

9 spent by a national, State, district, or local

10 committee, by an entity that is established, fi11 nanced, maintained, or controlled by a State,

12 district, or local committee of a political party,

13 or by an agent or officer of any such committee

14 or entity to raise funds that are used, in whole

15 or in part, to pay the costs of an activity de16 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be made from

17 funds subject to the limitations, prohibitions,

18 and reporting requirements of this Act.

19 ‘‘(c) TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—A national,

20 State, district, or local committee of a political party (in21 cluding a national congressional campaign committee of

22 a political party, an entity that is directly or indirectly

23 established, financed, maintained, or controlled by any

24 such national, State, district, or local committee or its

25 agent, an agent acting on behalf of any such party com-
31

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1 mittee, and an officer or agent acting on behalf of any

2 such party committee or entity), shall not solicit any funds

3 for or make any donations to an organization that is ex4 empt from Federal taxation under section 501(c) of the

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

6 ‘‘(d) CANDIDATES.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate, individual

8 holding Federal office, or agent of a candidate or in9 dividual holding Federal office shall not—

10 ‘‘(A) solicit, receive, transfer, or spend

11 funds in connection with an election for Federal

12 office unless the funds are subject to the limita13 tions, prohibitions, and reporting requirements

14 of this Act;

15 ‘‘(B) solicit, receive, or transfer funds that

16 are to be expended in connection with any elec17 tion other than a Federal election unless the

18 funds—

19 ‘‘(i) are not in excess of the amounts

20 permitted with respect to contributions to

21 candidates and political committees under

22 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 315(a);

23 and
32

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1 ‘‘(ii) are not from sources prohibited

2 by this Act from making contributions with

3 respect to an election for Federal office; or

4 ‘‘(C) solicit, receive, or transfer any funds

5 on behalf of any person that are not subject to

6 the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re7 quirements of the Act if the funds are for use

8 in financing any campaign-related activity or

9 any communication that refers to a clearly iden10 tified candidate.

11 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not

12 apply to the solicitation or receipt of funds by an in13 dividual who is a candidate for a State or local office

14 if the solicitation or receipt of funds is permitted

15 under State law for the individual’s State or local

16 campaign committee.’’.

17 SEC. 302. STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.

18 (a) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

19 315(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

20 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)) is amended—

21 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at

22 the end;

23 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period

24 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
33

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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(D) to—

4 ‘‘(i) a State Party Grassroots Fund estab5 lished and maintained by a State committee of

6 a political party in any calendar year which, in

7 the aggregate, exceed $20,000; or

8 ‘‘(ii) any other political committee estab9 lished and maintained by a State committee of

10 a political party in any calendar year which, in

11 the aggregate, exceed $5,000;

12 except that the aggregate contributions described in

13 this subparagraph that may be made by a person to

14 the State Party Grassroots Fund and all committees

15 of a State Committee of a political party in any

16 State in any calendar year shall not exceed

17 $20,000.’’.

18 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 301 of the Federal Elec19 tion Campaign Act of 1970 (2 U.S.C. 431), as amended

20 by section 205(b), is amended by adding at the end the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(22) GENERIC CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY.—The

23 term ‘generic campaign activity’ means a campaign

24 activity that promotes a political party and does not
34

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1 refer to any particular candidate for a Federal,

2 State, or local office.

3 ‘‘(23) STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUND.—The

4 term ‘State Party Grassroots Fund’ means a sepa5 rate segregated fund established and maintained by

6 a State committee of a political party solely for pur7 poses of making expenditures and other disburse8 ments described in section 326(d).’’.

9 (c) STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.—Title III of

10 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431

11 et seq.), as amended by section 301, is amended by adding

12 at the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 326. STATE PARTY GRASSROOTS FUNDS.

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘State

15 or local candidate committee’ means a committee estab16 lished, financed, maintained, or controlled by a candidate

17 for other than Federal office.

18 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS.—Notwithstanding section

19 315(a)(4), no funds may be transferred by a State com20 mittee of a political party from its State Party Grassroots

21 Fund to any other State Party Grassroots Fund or to any

22 other political committee, except a transfer may be made

23 to a district or local committee of the same political party

24 in the same State if the district or local committee—
35

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1 ‘‘(1) has established a separate segregated

2 fund; and

3 ‘‘(2) uses the transferred funds solely for dis4 bursements and expenditures under subsection (d).

5 ‘‘(c) AMOUNTS RECEIVED BY GRASSROOTS FUNDS

6 FROM STATE AND LOCAL CANDIDATE COMMITTEES.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any amount received by a

8 State Party Grassroots Fund from a State or local

9 candidate committee for expenditures described in

10 subsection (d) that are for the benefit of the can11 didate for whom such Fund is established shall be

12 treated as meeting the requirements of section

13 325(b)(1) and section 304(e) if—

14 ‘‘(A) the amount is derived from funds

15 which meet the requirements of this Act with

16 respect to any limitation or prohibition as to

17 source or dollar amount specified in paragraphs

18 (1)(A) and (2)(A) of section 315(a); and

19 ‘‘(B) the State or local candidate

20 committee—

21 ‘‘(i) maintains, in the account from

22 which payment is made, records of the

23 sources and amounts of funds for purposes

24 of determining whether those requirements

25 are met; and
36

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1 ‘‘(ii) certifies that the requirements

2 were met.

3 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.—For

4 purposes of paragraph (1)(A), in determining wheth5 er the funds transferred meet the requirements of

6 this Act described in such paragraph—

7 ‘‘(A) a State or local candidate commit8 tee’s cash on hand shall be treated as consisting

9 of the funds most recently received by the com10 mittee; and

11 ‘‘(B) the committee must be able to dem12 onstrate that the cash on hand of such com13 mittee contains funds meeting those require14 ments sufficient to cover the transferred funds.

15 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—Notwithstanding paragraph

16 (1), any State Party Grassroots Fund that receives

17 a transfer described in paragraph (1) from a State

18 or local candidate committee shall be required to

19 meet the reporting requirements of this Act, and

20 shall submit to the Commission all certifications re21 ceived, with respect to receipt of the transfer from

22 the candidate committee.

23 ‘‘(d) DISBURSEMENTS AND EXPENDITURES.—A

24 State committee of a political party shall only make dis-
37

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1 bursements and expenditures from the State Party Grass2 roots Fund of such committee for—

3 ‘‘(1) any generic campaign activity;

4 ‘‘(2) payments described in clauses (v), (ix),

5 and (xi) of paragraph (8)(B) and clauses (iv), (viii),

6 and (ix) of paragraph (9)(B) of section 301;

7 ‘‘(3) subject to the limitations of section

8 315(d), payments described in clause (xii) of para9 graph (8)(B), and clause (ix) of paragraph (9)(B),

10 of section 301 on behalf of candidates other than for

11 President and Vice President;

12 ‘‘(4) voter registration; and

13 ‘‘(5) development and maintenance of voter files

14 during any even-numbered calendar year.’’.

15 SEC. 303. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

16 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of the

17 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434)

18 is amended by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(e) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—

20 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL AND CONGRESSIONAL POLIT21 ICAL COMMITTEES.—The national committee of a

22 political party, any congressional campaign com23 mittee of a political party, and any subordinate com24 mittee of either, shall report all receipts and dis-
38

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1 bursements during the reporting period, whether or

2 not in connection with an election for Federal office.

3 ‘‘(2) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES TO WHICH

4 SECTION 325 APPLIES.—A political committee (not

5 described in paragraph (1)) to which section

6 325(b)(1) applies shall report all receipts and dis7 bursements made for activities described in para8 graphs (1) and (2)(iii) of section 325(b).

9 ‘‘(3) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—Any po10 litical committee to which paragraph (1) or (2) does

11 not apply shall report any receipts or disbursements

12 that are used in connection with a Federal election.

13 ‘‘(4) ITEMIZATION.—If a political committee

14 has receipts or disbursements to which this sub15 section applies from any person aggregating in ex16 cess of $200 for any calendar year, the political

17 committee shall separately itemize its reporting for

18 such person in the same manner as required in para19 graphs (3)(A), (5), and (6) of subsection (b).

20 ‘‘(5) REPORTING PERIODS.—Reports required

21 to be filed under this subsection shall be filed for the

22 same time periods required for political committees

23 under subsection (a).’’.

24 (b) BUILDING FUND EXCEPTION TO THE DEFINI25 TION OF CONTRIBUTION.—Section 301(8) of the Federal
39

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

2 amended—

3 (1) by striking clause (viii); and

4 (2) by redesignating clauses (ix) through (xiv)

5 as clauses (viii) through (xiii), respectively.

6 (c) REPORTS BY STATE COMMITTEES.—Section 304

7 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

8 434), as amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding

9 at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(f) FILING OF STATE REPORTS.—In lieu of any re11 port required to be filed by this Act, the Commission may

12 allow a State committee of a political party to file with

13 the Commission a report required to be filed under State

14 law if the Commission determines such reports contain

15 substantially the same information.’’.

16 (d) OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

17 (1) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—Section

18 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

19 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub21 paragraph (H);

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub23 paragraph (I); and

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

25 subparagraph:
40

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1 ‘‘(J) in the case of an authorized com2 mittee, disbursements for the primary election,

3 the general election, and any other election in

4 which the candidate participates;’’.

5 (2) NAMES AND ADDRESSES.—Section

6 304(b)(5)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

7 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended by in8 serting ‘‘, and the election to which the operating ex9 penditure relates’’ after ‘‘operating expenditure’’.

10 SEC. 304. SOFT MONEY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN POLIT11 ICAL PARTIES.

12 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

13 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by subsection 303,

14 is amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(g) ELECTION ACTIVITY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN

16 POLITICAL PARTIES.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person other than a com18 mittee of a political party that makes aggregate dis19 bursements totaling in excess of $10,000 with re20 spect to an election cycle for activities described in

21 paragraph (2) shall file a statement with the

22 Commission—

23 ‘‘(A) within 48 hours after the disburse24 ments are made; or
41

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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of disbursements that are

2 made within 20 days of an election, within 24

3 hours after the disbursements are made.

4 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITY.—The activity described in this

5 paragraph is—

6 ‘‘(A) any activity described in section

7 316(b)(2)(A) that refers to any candidate for

8 Federal office, any political party, or any Fed9 eral election; and

10 ‘‘(B) any activity described in subpara11 graph (B) or (C) of section 316(b)(2).

12 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS.—An additional

13 statement shall be filed each time additional dis14 bursements aggregating $10,000 are made by a per15 son described in paragraph (1).

16 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection does not

17 apply to—

18 ‘‘(A) a candidate or a candidate’s author19 ized committee; or

20 ‘‘(B) an independent expenditure.

21 ‘‘(5) CONTENTS.—A statement under this sec22 tion shall contain such information about the dis23 bursements as the Commission shall prescribe,

24 including—
42

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1 ‘‘(A) the name and address of the person

2 or entity to whom the disbursement was made;

3 ‘‘(B) the amount and purpose of the dis4 bursement; and

5 ‘‘(C) if applicable, whether the disburse6 ment was in support of, or in opposition to, a

7 candidate or a political party, and the name of

8 the candidate or the political party.’’.

9 TITLE IV—ENFORCEMENT

10 SEC. 401. FILING OF REPORTS USING COMPUTERS AND

11 FACSIMILE MACHINES.

12 Section 302(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

13 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by striking para14 graph (11) and inserting the following:

15 ‘‘(11) FILING OF REPORTS USING COMPUTERS

16 AND FACSIMILE MACHINES.—

17 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED FILING.—The Commission

18 may promulgate a regulation under which a

19 person required to file a designation, statement,

20 or report under this Act—

21 ‘‘(i) is required to maintain and file a

22 designation, statement, or report for any

23 calendar year in electronic form accessible

24 by computers if the person has, or has rea25 son to expect to have, aggregate contribu-
43

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1 tions or expenditures in excess of a thresh2 old amount determined by the Commission;

3 and

4 ‘‘(ii) may maintain and file a designa5 tion, statement, or report in that manner

6 if not required to do so under regulations

7 prescribed under clause (i).

8 ‘‘(B) FACSIMILE MACHINE.—The Commis9 sion shall promulgate a regulation that allows a

10 person to file a designation, statement, or re11 port required by this Act through the use of

12 facsimile machines.

13 ‘‘(C) VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURE.—

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In promulgating a

15 regulation under this paragraph, the Com16 mission shall provide methods (other than

17 requiring a signature on the document

18 being filed) for verifying a designation,

19 statement, or report covered by the regula20 tions.

21 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF

22 VERIFICATION.—A document verified

23 under any of the methods shall be treated

24 for all purposes (including penalties for
44

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1 perjury) in the same manner as a docu2 ment verified by signature.’’.

3 SEC. 402. AUDITS.

4 (a) RANDOM AUDITS.—Section 311(b) of the Federal

5 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(b)) is

6 amended—

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Commis8 sion’’; and

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

10 ‘‘(2) RANDOM AUDITS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para12 graph (1), the Commission may conduct ran13 dom audits and investigations to ensure vol14 untary compliance with this Act.

15 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Commission shall

16 not institute an audit or investigation of a can17 didate’s authorized committee under subpara18 graph (A) until the candidate is no longer a

19 candidate for the office sought by the candidate

20 in that election cycle.

21 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY.—This paragraph

22 does not apply to an authorized committee of a

23 candidate for President or Vice President sub24 ject to audit under section 9007 or 9038 of the

25 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’.
45

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1 (b) EXTENSION OF PERIOD DURING WHICH CAM2 PAIGN AUDITS MAY BE BEGUN.—Section 311(b) of the

3 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(b))

4 is amended by striking ‘‘6 months’’ and inserting ‘‘12

5 months’’.

6 SEC. 403. AUTHORITY TO SEEK INJUNCTION.

7 Section 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

8 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) is amended—

9 (1) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(13) AUTHORITY TO SEEK INJUNCTION.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, at any time in a pro12 ceeding described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4),

13 the Commission believes that—

14 ‘‘(i) there is a substantial likelihood that a

15 violation of this Act is occurring or is about to

16 occur;

17 ‘‘(ii) the failure to act expeditiously will re18 sult in irreparable harm to a party affected by

19 the potential violation;

20 ‘‘(iii) expeditious action will not cause

21 undue harm or prejudice to the interests of oth22 ers; and

23 ‘‘(iv) the public interest would be best

24 served by the issuance of an injunction;
46

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1 the Commission may initiate a civil action for a tem2 porary restraining order or a preliminary injunction

3 pending the outcome of the proceedings described in

4 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4).

5 ‘‘(B) VENUE.—An action under subparagraph

6 (A) shall be brought in the United States district

7 court for the district in which the defendant resides,

8 transacts business, or may be found, or in which the

9 violation is occurring, has occurred, or is about to

10 occur.’’;

11 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘(5) or (6)’’

12 and inserting ‘‘(5), (6), or (13)’’; and

13 (3) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘(6)’’ and in14 serting ‘‘(6) or (13)’’.

15 SEC. 404. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR KNOWING AND WILL16 FUL VIOLATIONS.

17 Section 309(a)(5)(B) of the Federal Election Cam18 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(5)(B)) is amended

19 by striking ‘‘the greater of $10,000 or an amount equal

20 to 200 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘the greater of $15,000 or

21 an amount equal to 300 percent’’.

22 SEC. 405. PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY INDIVID23 UALS NOT QUALIFIED TO VOTE.

24 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 319 of the Federal Elec25 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended—
47

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1 (1) in the heading by adding ‘‘AND INDIVID2 UALS NOT QUALIFIED TO REGISTER TO

3 VOTE’’ at the end; and

4 (2) in subsection (a)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘(a) It shall’’ and inserting

6 the following:

7 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) FOREIGN NATIONALS.—It shall’’; and

9 (B) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS NOT QUALIFIED TO VOTE.—

11 It shall be unlawful for an individual who is not

12 qualified to register to vote in a Federal election to

13 make a contribution, or to promise expressly or

14 impliedly to make a contribution, in connection with

15 a Federal election; or for any person to knowingly

16 solicit, accept, or receive a contribution in connection

17 with a Federal election from an individual who is not

18 qualified to register to vote in a Federal election.’’.

19 (b) INCLUSION IN DEFINITION OF IDENTIFICA20 TION.—Section 301(13) of the Federal Election Campaign

21 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(13)) is amended—

22 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ the first place it ap24 pears; and
48

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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and an affirmation that

2 the individual is an individual who is not pro3 hibited by section 319 from making a contribu4 tion’’ after ‘‘employer’’; and

5 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘and an

6 affirmation that the person is a person that is not

7 prohibited by section 319 from making a contribu8 tion’’ after ‘‘such person’’.

9 SEC. 406. USE OF CANDIDATES’ NAMES.

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

11 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(e)) is amended by striking para12 graph (4) and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(4)(A) The name of each authorized com14 mittee shall include the name of the candidate who

15 authorized the committee under paragraph (1).

16 ‘‘(B) A political committee that is not an au17 thorized committee shall not—

18 ‘‘(i) include the name of any can19 didate in its name, or

20 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a national,

21 State, or local party committee, use the

22 name of any candidate in any activity on

23 behalf of such committee in such a context

24 as to suggest that the committee is an au25 thorized committee of the candidate or
49

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1 that the use of the candidate’s name has

2 been authorized by the candidate.’’.

3 SEC. 407. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.

4 Section 309(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

5 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)), as amended by section 403,

6 is amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(14) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.—

8 ‘‘(A) 60 DAYS PRECEDING AN ELECTION.—

9 If the complaint in a proceeding is filed within

10 60 days immediately preceding a general elec11 tion, the Commission may take action described

12 in this paragraph.

13 ‘‘(B) RESOLUTION BEFORE ELECTION.—If

14 the Commission determines, on the basis of

15 facts alleged in the complaint and other facts

16 available to the Commission, that there is clear

17 and convincing evidence that a violation of this

18 Act has occurred, is occurring, or is about to

19 occur and it appears that the requirements for

20 relief stated in clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) of

21 paragraph (13)(A) are met, the Commission

22 may—

23 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings,

24 shortening the time periods for proceedings

25 under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as
50

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1 necessary to allow the matter to be re2 solved in sufficient time before the election

3 to avoid harm or prejudice to the interests

4 of the parties; or

5 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines

6 that there is insufficient time to conduct

7 proceedings before the election, imme8 diately seek relief under paragraph

9 (13)(A).

10 ‘‘(C) COMPLAINT WITHOUT MERIT.—If the

11 Commission determines, on the basis of facts

12 alleged in the complaint and other facts avail13 able to the Commission, that the complaint is

14 clearly without merit, the Commission may—

15 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings,

16 shortening the time periods for proceedings

17 under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as

18 necessary to allow the matter to be re19 solved in sufficient time before the election

20 to avoid harm or prejudice to the interests

21 of the parties; or

22 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines

23 that there is insufficient time to conduct

24 proceedings before the election, summarily

25 dismiss the complaint.’’.
51

•S 1502 IS

1 TITLE V—SEVERABILITY;

2 REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE

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. REGULATIONS.

12 The Federal Election Commission shall promulgate

13 any regulations required to carry out this Act and the

14 amendments made by this Act.

15 SEC. 503. EFFECTIVE DATE.

16 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act and

17 the amendments made by this Act take effect on the date

18 that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

Æ