I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5011 

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

committees of candidates for election for Federal office and leadership 

PACs from employing immediate family members of the candidates, 

to amend such Act to limit the rate of interest an authorized committee 

of a candidate may pay on loans made to the committee by the candidate, 

to amend such Act to apply the prohibition against the conversion of 

contributions to personal use to contributions to political committees, 

to amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require registered 

lobbyists to identify relatives who are covered officials and disclose lobbying contacts with relatives, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 26, 2014 

Ms. SPEIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

prohibit authorized committees of candidates for election 

for Federal office and leadership PACs from employing 

immediate family members of the candidates, to amend 

such Act to limit the rate of interest an authorized 

committee of a candidate may pay on loans made to 

the committee by the candidate, to amend such Act 

to apply the prohibition against the conversion of contributions to personal use to contributions to political 


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committees, to amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

1995 to require registered lobbyists to identify relatives 

who are covered officials and disclose lobbying contacts 

with relatives, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Making Every Rep5 resentative’s Integrity Transparent Act of 2014’’ or the 

6 ‘‘MERIT Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PROHIBITING CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES FROM EM8 PLOYING RELATIVES OF CANDIDATES. 

9 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 302 of the Federal Elec10 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432) is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(j) RESTRICTIONS ON DEALINGS WITH RELATIVES

13 OF CANDIDATES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITING EMPLOYMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—An au16 thorized committee of a candidate may not em17 ploy in a paid position any individual who is a 

18 relative of the candidate. 

19 ‘‘(B) LEADERSHIP PACS.—A leadership 

20 PAC (as defined in section 304(i)(8)(B)) may 

21 not employ in a paid position any individual 

22 who is a relative of the candidate or individual 


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1 holding Federal office who establishes, finances, 

2 maintains, or controls the leadership PAC. 

3 ‘‘(2) RELATIVE DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

4 the term ‘relative’ means, with respect to a can5 didate or individual holding Federal office, an aunt, 

6 brother, brother-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, 

7 father, father-in-law, first cousin, grandson, grand8 daughter, half-brother, half-sister, husband, mother, 

9 mother-in-law, nephew, niece, sister, sister-in-law, 

10 son, son-in-law, stepbrother, stepdaughter, step11 father, stepmother, stepsister, stepson, uncle, or 

12 wife.’’. 

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

14 subsection (a) shall take effect upon the expiration of the 

15 90-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 SEC. 3. LIMIT ON INTEREST RATE PAID BY CAMPAIGN COM18 MITTEES ON LOANS MADE BY CANDIDATES. 

19 (a) LIMIT ON INTEREST RATE.—Section 302 of the 

20 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432), 

21 as amended by section 2, is further amended by adding 

22 at the end the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(k) LIMIT ON INTEREST RATE PAID ON LOANS

24 MADE BY CANDIDATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) LIMIT.—If an authorized committee of a 

2 candidate accepts a loan from the candidate, the 

3 committee may not pay interest on the loan at an 

4 annual rate higher than the prime rate as of the 

5 date the loan is agreed to plus 2 percentage points. 

6 ‘‘(2) PRIME RATE DEFINED.—In this sub7 section, the term ‘prime rate’ means the bank prime 

8 loan rate published in the Federal Reserve Statis9 tical Release on selected interest rates (daily or 

10 weekly), and commonly referred to as the H.15 re11 lease (or any successor publication).’’. 

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

13 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to loans made on 

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

15 SEC. 4. ENHANCED DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMA16 TION BY CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES. 

17 (a) LOANS MADE BY CANDIDATES.—Section 

18 304(b)(3)(E) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

19 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(3)(E)) is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘and the date and amount or value of such loan;’’ and 

21 inserting the following: ‘‘the date and amount or value of 

22 such loan, and in the case of a loan made to an authorized 

23 committee which is made by or guaranteed by the can24 didate, the terms and conditions of the loan, including the 

25 aggregate amount of the loan, the annualized interest rate 


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1 (and, if the interest rate is variable, a description of how 

2 the rate may vary), the terms and conditions (if any) 

3 under which the interest rate may be changed from fixed 

4 to variable or from variable to fixed, the repayment sched5 ule, the duration of the loan, any fees and penalties which 

6 may be assessed on the borrower, and the requirements 

7 (if any) for loan forgiveness or deferment;’’. 

8 (b) PAYMENTS TO RELATIVES OF CANDIDATES.— 

9 (1) PAYMENTS FOR OPERATING EXPENSES.— 

10 Section 304(b)(5)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

11 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended by striking the semicolon 

12 at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, and, if the 

13 person to whom the expenditure is made is a relative 

14 of the candidate (as defined in section 302(j)(2)) or 

15 is a business organization with respect to which a 

16 relative of the candidate (as so defined) serves as an 

17 officer or director, the name and address of the rel18 ative and the type of relative involved;’’. 

19 (2) OTHER DISBURSEMENTS.—Section 

20 304(b)(6)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(6)(A)) is 

21 amended by striking the semicolon at the end and 

22 inserting the following: ‘‘, and, if the person who re23 ceived the disbursement is a relative of the candidate 

24 (as defined in section 302(j)(2)) or is a business or25 ganization with respect to which a relative of the 


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1 candidate (as so defined) serves as an officer or di2 rector, the name and address of the relative and the 

3 type of relative involved;’’. 

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

5 this section shall apply with respect to reports filed under 

6 section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF RULES APPLICABLE TO USES 

9 OF CONTRIBUTIONS ACCEPTED BY POLIT10 ICAL COMMITTEES. 

11 (a) PROHIBITING CONVERSION TO PERSONAL

12 USE.—Section 313(b)(2) of the Federal Election Cam13 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 439a(b)(2)) is amended by 

14 striking ‘‘the candidate’s election campaign or individual’s 

15 duties as a holder of Federal office,’’ and inserting the 

16 following: ‘‘the candidate’s election campaign, the individ17 ual’s duties as a holder of Federal office, or the political 

18 committee’s political activities (as the case may be),’’. 

19 (b) CLARIFICATION THAT CONTRIBUTIONS MAY BE

20 USED FOR AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES IN CONNECTION

21 WITH POLITICAL ACTIVITIES AND FOR OTHER LAWFUL

22 PURPOSES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 313(a) of such Act 

24 (2 U.S.C. 439a(a)) is amended— 


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

2 by striking ‘‘accepted by a candidate’’ and in3 serting ‘‘accepted by a candidate or a political 

4 committee’’; 

5 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

6 by striking ‘‘used by the candidate or indi7 vidual’’ and inserting ‘‘used by the candidate, 

8 individual, or political committee’’; and 

9 (C) in paragraph (1), by striking the semi10 colon at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, 

11 or, in the case of a political committee, in con12 nection with the committee’s political activi13 ties;’’. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

15 313(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 439a(a)) is amended— 

16 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘for ordi17 nary and necessary expenses’’ and inserting ‘‘in 

18 the case of a candidate or individual, for ordi19 nary and necessary expenses’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘for con21 tributions’’ and inserting ‘‘in the case of a can22 didate or individual, for contributions’’; 

23 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘for 

24 transfers’’ and inserting ‘‘in the case of a can25 didate or individual, for transfers’’; and 


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1 (D) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘for do2 nations’’ and inserting ‘‘in the case of a can3 didate or individual, for donations’’. 

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

5 this section shall apply with respect to elections occurring 

6 after December 2014. 

7 SEC. 6. REQUIRING LOBBYISTS TO IDENTIFY RELATIVES 

8 WHO ARE COVERED OFFICIALS AND DIS9 CLOSE LOBBYING CONTACTS WITH REL10 ATIVES. 

11 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF RELATIVES WHO ARE COV12 ERED OFFICIALS IN REGISTRATION STATEMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(b)(6) of the Lob14 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6)) 

15 is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(6) for each employee of the registrant who 

17 has acted or whom the registrant expects to act as 

18 a lobbyist on behalf of the client— 

19 ‘‘(A) the name of the employee; 

20 ‘‘(B) the position in which the employee 

21 served if such employee has served as a covered 

22 executive branch official or a covered legislative 

23 branch official in the 20 years before the date 

24 on which the employee first acted as a lobbyist 

25 on behalf of the client; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the name of each relative of the em2 ployee who serves currently or who served pre3 viously as a covered executive branch official or 

4 a covered legislative branch official and, in the 

5 case of an official who is or was a Member of 

6 Congress, the Congressional Bioguide Identifier 

7 assigned to the Member by the Clerk of the 

8 House of Representatives or the Secretary of 

9 the Senate, as the case may be.’’. 

10 (2) UPDATES TO REGISTRATION FOR LOBBY11 ISTS WHO BECOME RELATIVES OF COVERED OFFI12 CIALS AFTER REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of such Act 

13 (2 U.S.C. 1603) is amended by adding at the end 

14 the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(e) UPDATES TO REGISTRATION FOR EMPLOYEES

16 WHO BECOME RELATIVES OF COVERED OFFICIALS.—If, 

17 after a registrant registers under this section, an employee 

18 of the registrant who is identified in the registration under 

19 subsection (b)(6) becomes the relative of a covered legisla20 tive branch official or a covered executive branch official, 

21 the registrant shall update the registration to include the 

22 information described in subparagraph (B) of such sub23 section with respect to the employee and the official not 

24 later than 90 days after the employee becomes the relative 

25 of the official.’’. 


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1 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULE FOR

2 CURRENT REGISTRANTS.— 

3 (A) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

4 made by this subsection shall apply with respect 

5 to registrations made under section 4 of the 

6 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (B) TRANSITION RULE.—A registrant who 

9 registered under section 4 of the Lobbying Dis10 closure Act of 1995 prior to the date of the en11 actment of this Act shall include the informa12 tion described in section 4(b)(6)(C) of such Act 

13 (as added by paragraph (1)) in the next quar14 terly report on lobbying activities which the reg15 istrant files under section 5(a) of such Act after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 (b) INCLUSION OF LOBBYING CONTACTS WITH REL18 ATIVES IN QUARTERLY REPORTS ON LOBBYING ACTIVI19 TIES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(b)(2) of such Act 

21 (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)(2)) is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub23 paragraph (C); 

24 (B) by striking the semicolon at the end of 

25 subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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

2 subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(E) if, on behalf of the client, any lob4 byist employed by the registrant contacted a 

5 relative who is a covered legislative branch offi6 cial or covered executive branch official, a state7 ment identifying the lobbyist, the official (and, 

8 if the official is a Member of Congress, the 

9 Congressional Bioguide Identifier assigned to 

10 the Member by the Clerk of the House of Rep11 resentatives or the Secretary of the Senate, as 

12 the case may be), the subject matter of the con13 tact, and the type of relative involved;’’. 

14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

15 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to reports 

16 filed under section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act 

17 of 1995 with respect to quarterly periods which 

18 begin on or after the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act. 

20 (c) RELATIVE DEFINED.—Section 3 of such Act (2 

21 U.S.C. 1602) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraph (16) as para23 graph (17); and 

24 (2) by inserting after paragraph (15) the fol25 lowing new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(16) RELATIVE.—The term ‘relative’ means, 

2 with respect to a lobbyist or employee of a reg3 istrant, an aunt, brother, brother-in-law, daughter, 

4 daughter-in-law, father, father-in-law, first cousin, 

5 grandson, granddaughter, half-brother, half-sister, 

6 husband, mother, mother-in-law, nephew, niece, sis7 ter, sister-in-law, son, son-in-law, stepbrother, step8 daughter, stepfather, stepmother, stepsister, stepson, 

9 uncle, or wife.’’. 

Æ 


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