I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1444

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reform the financing

of campaigns for election for Federal office.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 4, 2001

Mr. DOOLITTLE (for himself, Mr. DELAY, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. BLUNT, Mrs.

CUBIN, Mr. COX, Mr. DREIER, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. BARR of Georgia,

Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mrs. BONO, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. CAMP, Mr. CANNON, Mr. CANTOR, Mr.

CULBERSON, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. Hansen,

Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. HERGER, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr.

HUNTER, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JONES of North Carolina,

Mr. LARGENT, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. GARY MILLER

of California, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. PENCE, Mr. PICKERING,

Mr. POMBO, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. SCHROCK, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr.

SKEEN, Mr. SPENCE, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. TAYLOR of

North Carolina, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr.

WHITFIELD, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr.

EVERETT, Mr. COLLINS, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. LEWIS of California,

Mr. WATKINS, Ms. DUNN, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. CRANE, Mr. PETERSON

of Pennsylvania, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. HASTINGS

of Washington, Mr. ISSA, Mr. CHAMBLISS, and Mr. BURR of North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and

Means, 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
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reform the financing of campaigns for election for Federal office.

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 ‘‘Citizen Legislature and

5 Political Freedom Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds as follows:

8 (1) The proliferation of campaign finance laws

9 (beginning with the Federal Election Campaign Act

10 of 1971) and the proliferation of government regula11 tions promulgated pursuant to such laws have placed

12 strict limits on contributions by citizens to the can13 didates of their choice, limits which have served to

14 severely hinder the ability of challengers to compete

15 on equal terms with incumbent politicians.

16 (2) The contribution limits imposed by the Fed17 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 force candidates

18 to raise funds in small amounts subject to fixed limi19 tations, inevitably fostering a system under which

20 wealthy candidates and long-term incumbent politi21 cians hold an unfair financial advantage, which in

22 turn serves to discourage potential candidates from

23 seeking public office.
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1 (3) The current campaign finance laws have in2 hibited the full and fair discussion of public policy

3 issues, as challengers who are not well known to the

4 electorate are forced by government regulation to at5 tempt to amass contributions from large numbers of

6 donors at the outset of a campaign. As a result,

7 challengers who lack the necessary resources to

8 bring new issues into the public debate often are

9 eliminated from political campaigns before their

10 voices are even heard.

11 (4) The regulation by government of political

12 speech through the regulation of campaign contribu13 tions and expenditures is patently undemocratic be14 cause it favors institutionalized special interests over

15 grassroots and citizen activity by imposing burden16 some reporting and disclosure requirements and

17 stringent spending limits on the political parties,

18 thereby tilting the financial and tactical advantage

19 in political campaigns to well-financed interest

20 groups and wealthy individuals.

21 (5) The effect of the unreasonably low contribu22 tion limits has been to force more contributors and

23 political activists to operate outside the system, re24 sulting in even less accountability and even greater

25 encouragement of irresponsible behavior.
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1 (6) The only way to encourage the robust dis2 course of public issues and candidates, promote the

3 free exchange of political speech and ideas, protect

4 constitutional freedom, and foster a more informed

5 electorate is to lift all current restrictions on polit6 ical candidate and party contributions and expendi7 tures and to provide full, instantaneous disclosure of

8 all contributions and expenditures in elections for

9 Federal office.

10 SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF LIMITATIONS ON FEDERAL ELECTION

11 CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.

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

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

14 end the following new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(9) The limitations established under this subsection

16 shall not apply to contributions made during calendar

17 years beginning after 2002.’.’

18 SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF TAXPAYER FINANCING OF PRESI19 DENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS.

20 (a) TERMINATION OF DESIGNATION OF INCOME TAX

21 PAYMENTS.—Section 6096 of the Internal Revenue Code

22 of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following

23 new subsection:

24 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to

25 taxable years beginning after December 31, 2001.’’
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1 (b) TERMINATION OF FUND AND ACCOUNT.—

2 (1) TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

3 CAMPAIGN FUND.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 95 of subtitle

5 H of such Code is amended by adding at the

6 end the following new section:

7 ‘‘SEC. 9014. TERMINATION.

8 The provisions of this chapter shall not apply with

9 respect to any presidential election (or any presidential

10 nominating convention) after December 31, 2002, or to

11 any candidate in such an election.’’

12 (B) TRANSFER OF EXCESS FUNDS TO GEN13 ERAL FUND.—Section 9006 of such Code is

14 amended by adding at the end the following

15 new subsection:

16 ‘‘(d) TRANSFER OF FUNDS REMAINING AFTER

17 2002.—The Secretary shall transfer all amounts in the

18 fund after December 31, 2002, to the general fund of the

19 Treasury.’’

20 (2) TERMINATION OF ACCOUNT.—Chapter 96

21 of subtitle H of such Code is amended by adding at

22 the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 9043. TERMINATION.

2 The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any

3 candidate with respect to any presidential election after

4 December 31, 2002.’’

5 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—

6 (1) The table of sections for chapter 95 of sub7 title H of such Code is amended by adding at the

8 end the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 9014. Termination.’’

9 (2) The table of sections for chapter 96 of sub10 title H of such Code is amended by adding at the

11 end the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 9043. Termination.’’

12 SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN SOFT

13 MONEY EXPENDITURES OF POLITICAL PAR14 TIES.

15 (a) TRANSFERS OF FUNDS BY NATIONAL POLITICAL

16 PARTIES.—Section 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election

17 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara19 graph (H);

20 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara21 graph (I); and

22 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub23 paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(J) in the case of a political committee of

2 a national political party, all funds transferred

3 to any political committee of a State or local

4 political party, without regard to whether or not

5 the funds are otherwise treated as contributions

6 or expenditures under this title;’’.

7 (b) DISCLOSURE BY STATE AND LOCAL POLITICAL

8 PARTIES OF INFORMATION REPORTED UNDER STATE

9 LAW.—Section 304 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434), as amend10 ed by section 502(a) of the Department of Transportation

11 and Related Agencies Act, 2001 (as enacted into law by

12 reference under section 101(a) of Public Law 106–346),

13 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub14 section:

15 ‘‘(e) If a political committee of a State or local polit16 ical party is required under a State or local law, rule, or

17 regulation to submit a report on its disbursements to an

18 entity of the State or local government, the committee

19 shall file a copy of the report with the Commission at the

20 time it submits the report to such an entity.’’.

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

22 this section shall apply with respect to elections occurring

23 after January 2003.
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1 SEC. 6. PROMOTING EXPEDITED AVAILABILITY OF FEC RE2 PORTS.

3 (a) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING FOR ALL RE4 PORTS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(a)(11) of the

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

7 434(a)(11)), as amended by section 639(a) of the

8 Treasury and General Government Appropriations

9 Act, 2000 (Public Law 106–58), is amended—

10 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘a

11 person required to file—’’ and all that follows

12 and inserting the following: ‘‘each person re13 quired to file a report under this Act shall be

14 required to maintain and file such report in

15 electronic form accessible by computers.’’;

16 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘des17 ignations, statements, and reports’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘documents’’; and

19 (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking

20 ‘‘means, with respect to’’ and all that follows

21 and inserting the following: ‘‘means any report,

22 designation, statement, or notification required

23 by this Act to be filed with the Commission or

24 the Secretary of the Senate.’’.

25 (2) PLACEMENT OF ALL REPORTS ON INTER26 NET.—Section 304(a)(11)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C.
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1 434(a)(11)(B)), as amended by section 639(a) of the

2 Treasury and General Government Appropriations

3 Act, 2000 (Public Law 106–58), is amended—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘a designation, statement,

5 report, or notification’’ and inserting ‘‘each re6 port’’; and

7 (B) by striking ‘‘the designation, state8 ment, report, or notification’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘the report’’.

10 (b) REQUIRING REPORTS FOR ALL CONTRIBUTIONS

11 MADE TO ANY POLITICAL COMMITTEE WITHIN 90 DAYS

12 OF ELECTION; REQUIRING REPORTS TO BE MADE WITH13 IN 24 HOURS.—Section 304(a)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

14 434(a)(6)) is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(6)(A) Each political committee shall notify the Sec16 retary or the Commission, and the Secretary of State, as

17 appropriate, in writing, of any contribution received by the

18 committee during the period which begins on the 90th day

19 before an election and ends at the time the polls close for

20 such election. This notification shall be made within 24

21 hours (or, if earlier, by midnight of the day on which the

22 contribution is deposited) after the receipt of such con23 tribution and shall include the name of the candidate in24 volved (as appropriate) and the office sought by the can-
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1 didate, the identification of the contributor, and the date

2 of receipt and amount of the contribution.

3 ‘‘(B) The notification required under this paragraph

4 shall be in addition to all other reporting requirements

5 under this Act.’’.

6 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

7 this section shall apply with respect to reports for periods

8 beginning on or after January 1, 2003.

9 SEC. 7. WAIVER OF ‘‘BEST EFFORTS’’ EXCEPTION FOR IN10 FORMATION ON IDENTIFICATION OF CON11 TRIBUTORS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302(i) of the Federal

13 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(i)) is

14 amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘(i) When the treasurer’’ and

16 inserting ‘‘(i)(1) Except as provided in paragraph

17 (2), when the treasurer’’; and

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

19 paragraph:

20 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to

21 information regarding the identification of any person who

22 makes a contribution or contributions aggregating more

23 than $200 during a calendar year (as required to be pro24 vided under subsection (c)(3)).’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to persons making

3 contributions for elections occurring after January 2003.

4 SEC. 8. PROHIBITING INVOLUNTARY ASSESSMENT OF

5 FUNDS BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS FOR PO6 LITICAL ACTIVITIES.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 316 of the Federal Elec8 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is amended

9 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

10 ‘‘(c)(1) Except with the separate, prior, written, vol11 untary authorization of each individual involved, it shall

12 be unlawful for any labor organization described in this

13 section to collect from or assess its members or nonmem14 bers any dues, initiation fee, or other payment if any part

15 of such dues, fee, or payment will be used for political

16 activity in which the labor organization is engaged.

17 ‘‘(2) An authorization described in paragraph (1)

18 shall remain in effect until revoked and may be revoked

19 at any time. Each labor organization collecting from or

20 assessing amounts from an individual with an authoriza21 tion in effect under such paragraph shall provide the indi22 vidual with a statement that the individual may at any

23 time revoke the authorization.

24 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘polit25 ical activity’ means any activity carried out for the pur-
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1 pose of influencing (in whole or in part) any election for

2 Federal office, influencing the consideration or outcome

3 of any Federal legislation or the issuance or outcome of

4 any Federal regulations, or educating individuals about

5 candidates for election for Federal office or any Federal

6 legislation.’’.

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

8 subsection (a) shall apply to amounts collected or assessed

9 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 9. CHANGE IN NAME OF FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS11 SION.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 306 of the Federal Elec13 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c) is amended—

14 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘FEDERAL

15 ELECTION COMMISSION’’ and inserting ‘‘FEDERAL

16 CAMPAIGN REGULATION COMMISSION’’; and

17 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (a)(1), by

18 striking ‘‘Federal Election Commission’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘Federal Campaign Regulation Commission’’.

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 431(10) of

21 such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(10)) is amended by striking ‘‘Fed22 eral Election Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal Cam23 paign Regulation Commission’’.

24 (c) REFERENCES IN OTHER LAWS AND DOCU25 MENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law or
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1 any rule or regulation, any reference in any law, rule, reg2 ulation, or other document to the Federal Election Com3 mission shall be deemed to be a reference to the Federal

4 Campaign Regulation Commission.

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