I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1637

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 26, 2001

Mr. TIERNEY (for himself, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MORAN of

Virginia, Mr. STARK, Mr. CLAY, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. CONYERS,

Mr. CARSON of Oklahoma, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. BARRETT, Mr. HOEFFEL,

Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. EVANS, Mr. KIND, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr.

FRANK, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. FATTAH,

Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. LEE, Ms. MCKINNEY,

Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Ms.

ESHOO, Mr. FORD, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. LEWIS

of Georgia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. NADLER, Mr. OLVER, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr.

SANDERS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. WEINER) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and

in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Government Reform, 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 reform the financing of Federal 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Clean Money, Clean Elections Act’’.

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

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—CLEAN MONEY FINANCING OF HOUSE ELECTION

CAMPAIGNS

Sec. 101. Findings and declarations.

Sec. 102. Eligibility requirements and benefits of clean money financing of

House election campaigns.

‘‘TITLE V—CLEAN MONEY FINANCING OF HOUSE ELECTION

CAMPAIGNS

‘‘Sec. 501. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 502. Eligibility for clean money.

‘‘Sec. 503. Requirements applicable to clean money candidates.

‘‘Sec. 504. Seed money.

‘‘Sec. 505. Certification by Commission.

‘‘Sec. 506. Benefits for clean money candidates.

‘‘Sec. 507. Administration of clean money.

‘‘Sec. 508. Expenditures made from funds other than clean money.

‘‘Sec. 509. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 103. Reporting requirements for expenditures of private money candidates.

Sec. 104. Transition rule for current election cycle.

TITLE II—INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES; COORDINATED

POLITICAL PARTY EXPENDITURES

Sec. 201. Reporting requirements for independent expenditures.

Sec. 202. Definition of independent expenditure.

Sec. 203. Limit on expenditures by political party committees.

Sec. 204. Party independent expenditures and other coordinated expenditures.

TITLE III—VOTER INFORMATION

Sec. 301. Free broadcast time.

Sec. 302. Broadcast rates and preemption.

Sec. 303. Campaign advertising.

Sec. 304. Limit on Congressional use of the franking privilege.

TITLE IV—SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Sec. 401. Soft money of political parties.

Sec. 402. Increased contribution limits for State committees of political parties

and aggregate contribution limit for individuals.

Sec. 403. Reporting requirements.
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TITLE V—RESTRUCTURING AND STRENGTHENING OF THE

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Sec. 501. Appointment and terms of Commissioners.

Sec. 502. Audits.

Sec. 503. Authority to seek injunction.

Sec. 504. Standard for investigation.

Sec. 505. Petition for certiorari.

Sec. 506. Expedited procedures.

Sec. 507. Promoting expedited availability of FEC reports.

Sec. 508. Power to issue subpoena without signature of chairperson.

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 601. Severability.

Sec. 602. Review of constitutional issues.

Sec. 603. Effective date.

1 TITLE I—CLEAN MONEY FINANC2 ING OF HOUSE ELECTION

3 CAMPAIGNS

4 SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

5 (a) UNDERMINING OF DEMOCRACY BY CAMPAIGN

6 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PRIVATE SOURCES.—The Con7 gress finds and declares that the current system of pri8 vately financed campaigns for election to the House of

9 Representatives has the capacity, and is often perceived

10 by the public, to undermine democracy in the United

11 States by—

12 (1) violating the democratic principle of ‘‘one

13 person, one vote’’ and diminishing the meaning of

14 the right to vote by allowing monied interests to

15 have a disproportionate and unfair influence within

16 the political process;

17 (2) diminishing or giving the appearance of di18 minishing a Member of the House of
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1 Representatives’s accountability to constituents by

2 compelling legislators to be accountable to the major

3 contributors who finance their election campaigns;

4 (3) creating a conflict of interest, perceived or

5 real, by encouraging Members to take money from

6 private interests that are directly affected by Federal

7 legislation;

8 (4) imposing large, unwarranted costs on tax9 payers through legislative and regulatory outcomes

10 shaped by unequal access to lawmakers for cam11 paign contributors;

12 (5) driving up the cost of election campaigns,

13 making it difficult for qualified candidates without

14 personal fortunes or access to campaign contribu15 tions from monied individuals and interest groups to

16 mount competitive House of Representatives election

17 campaigns;

18 (6) disadvantaging challengers, because large

19 campaign contributors tend to give their money to

20 incumbent Members, thus causing House of Rep21 resentatives elections to be less competitive; and

22 (7) burdening incumbents with a preoccupation

23 with fundraising and thus decreasing the time avail24 able to carry out their public responsibilities.
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1 (b) ENHANCEMENT OF DEMOCRACY BY PROVIDING

2 CLEAN MONEY.—Congress finds and declares that pro3 viding the option of the replacement of private campaign

4 contributions with clean money financing for all primary,

5 runoff, and general elections to the House of Representa6 tives would enhance American democracy by—

7 (1) helping to eliminate access to wealth as a

8 determinant of a citizen’s influence within the polit9 ical process and to restore meaning to the principle

10 of ‘‘one person, one vote’’;

11 (2) increasing the public’s confidence in the ac12 countability of Members to the constituents who

13 elect them;

14 (3) eliminating the potentially inherent conflict

15 of interest caused by the private financing of the

16 election campaigns of public officials, thus restoring

17 public confidence in the fairness of the electoral and

18 legislative processes;

19 (4) reversing the escalating cost of elections

20 and saving taxpayers billions of dollars that are (or

21 that are perceived to be) currently misspent due to

22 legislative and regulatory agendas skewed by the in23 fluence of contributions;

24 (5) creating a more level playing field for in25 cumbents and challengers, creating genuine opportu-
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1 nities for all Americans to run for the House of Rep2 resentatives, and encouraging more competitive elec3 tions; and

4 (6) freeing Members from the constant pre5 occupation with raising money, and allowing them

6 more time to carry out their public responsibilities.

7 SEC. 102. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND BENEFITS OF

8 CLEAN MONEY FINANCING OF HOUSE ELEC9 TION CAMPAIGNS.

10 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

11 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the

12 following:

13 ‘‘TITLE V—CLEAN MONEY FI14 NANCING OF HOUSE ELEC15 TION CAMPAIGNS

16 ‘‘SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

17 ‘‘In this title:

18 ‘‘(1) ALLOWABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The term

19 ‘allowable contribution’ means a qualifying contribu20 tion or seed money contribution.

21 ‘‘(2) CLEAN MONEY.—The term ‘clean money’

22 means funds that are made available by the Com23 mission to a clean money candidate under this title.

24 ‘‘(3) CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATE.—The term

25 ‘clean money candidate’ means a candidate for Mem-
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1 ber of or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the

2 Congress who is certified under section 505 as being

3 eligible to receive clean money.

4 ‘‘(4) CLEAN MONEY QUALIFYING PERIOD.—The

5 term ‘clean money qualifying period’ means the pe6 riod beginning on the date that is 180 days before

7 the date of the primary election and ending on the

8 date that is 30 days before the date of the general

9 election. In the event of a special election, the clean

10 money qualifying period shall begin on the earlier

11 date of either the date that is 180 days before the

12 date of the special election or on the date of an13 nouncement of such special election date if same as

14 within 180 days of the date of the special election.

15 It shall end on the date that is 30 days before the

16 date of the special election.

17 ‘‘(5) GENERAL ELECTION PERIOD.—The term

18 ‘general election period’ means, with respect to a

19 candidate, the period beginning on the day after the

20 date of the primary or primary runoff election for

21 the specific office that the candidate is seeking,

22 whichever is later, and ending on the earlier of—

23 ‘‘(A) the date of the general election; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate with2 draws from the campaign or otherwise ceases

3 actively to seek election.

4 ‘‘(6) GENERAL RUNOFF ELECTION PERIOD.—

5 The term ‘general runoff election period’ means,

6 with respect to a candidate, the period beginning on

7 the day following the date of the last general election

8 for the specific office that the candidate is seeking

9 and ending on the date of the runoff election for

10 that office.

11 ‘‘(7) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION

12 FUND.—The term ‘House of Representatives Elec13 tion Fund’ means the fund established by section

14 507(a).

15 ‘‘(8) IMMEDIATE FAMILY.—The term ‘imme16 diate family’ means—

17 ‘‘(A) a candidate’s spouse;

18 ‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grand19 parent, brother, half-brother, sister, or half-sis20 ter of the candidate or the candidate’s spouse;

21 and

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

23 subparagraph (B).

24 ‘‘(9) MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATE.—The term

25 ‘major party candidate’ means a candidate of a po-
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1 litical party of which a candidate for Member of or

2 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress,

3 for President, or for Governor in the preceding 5

4 years received, as a candidate of that party, 25 per5 cent or more of the total number of popular votes

6 received in the State (or Congressional district, if

7 applicable) by all candidates for the same office.

8 ‘‘(10) PERSONAL FUNDS.—The term ‘personal

9 funds’ means an amount that is derived from—

10 ‘‘(A) the personal funds of the candidate

11 or a member of the candidate’s immediate fam12 ily; and

13 ‘‘(B) proceeds of indebtedness incurred by

14 the candidate or a member of the candidate’s

15 immediate family.

16 ‘‘(11) PERSONAL USE.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘personal

18 use’ means the use of funds to fulfill a commit19 ment, obligation, or expense of a person that

20 would exist irrespective of the candidate’s elec21 tion campaign or individual’s duties as a holder

22 of Federal office.

23 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘personal

24 use’ includes, but is not limited to—
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1 ‘‘(i) a home mortgage, rent, or utility

2 payment;

3 ‘‘(ii) a clothing purchase;

4 ‘‘(iii) a noncampaign-related auto5 mobile expense;

6 ‘‘(iv) a country club membership;

7 ‘‘(v) a vacation or other noncampaign8 related trip;

9 ‘‘(vi) a household food item;

10 ‘‘(vii) a tuition payment;

11 ‘‘(viii) admission to a sporting event,

12 concert, theater, or other form of enter13 tainment not associated with an election

14 campaign; and

15 ‘‘(ix) dues, fees, and other payments

16 to a health club or recreational facility.

17 ‘‘(12) PRIMARY ELECTION PERIOD.—The term

18 ‘primary election period’ means the period beginning

19 on the date that is 90 days before the date of the

20 primary election and ending on the date of the pri21 mary election. In the event of a special primary elec22 tion, if applicable, the term ‘primary election period’

23 means the period beginning on the date that is the

24 longer of 90 days before the date of such special pri25 mary election, or the date of establishment by the
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1 appropriate election authority of the special primary

2 election date and ending on the date of the special

3 primary election.

4 ‘‘(13) PRIMARY RUNOFF ELECTION PERIOD.—

5 The term ‘primary runoff election period’ means,

6 with respect to a candidate, the period beginning on

7 the day following the date of the last primary elec8 tion for the specific office that the candidate is seek9 ing and ending on the date of the runoff election for

10 that office.

11 ‘‘(14) PRIVATE MONEY CANDIDATE.—The term

12 ‘private money candidate’ means a candidate for

13 Member of or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to

14 the Congress other than a clean money candidate.

15 ‘‘(15) QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION.—The term

16 ‘qualifying contribution’ means a contribution that—

17 ‘‘(A) is in the amount of $5 exactly;

18 ‘‘(B) is made by an individual who is reg19 istered to vote in the candidate’s State;

20 ‘‘(C) is made during the clean money

21 qualifying period; and

22 ‘‘(D) meets the requirements of section

23 502(a)(2)(D).

24 ‘‘(16) SEED MONEY CONTRIBUTION.—The term

25 ‘seed money contribution’ means a contribution (or
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1 contributions in the aggregate made by any 1 per2 son) of not more than $100.

3 ‘‘(17) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes the

4 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is5 lands, American Samoa, and Guam.

6 ‘‘SEC. 502. ELIGIBILITY FOR CLEAN MONEY.

7 ‘‘(a) PRIMARY ELECTION PERIOD AND PRIMARY

8 RUNOFF ELECTION PERIOD.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate qualifies as a

10 clean money candidate during the primary election

11 period and primary runoff election period if the can12 didate files with the Commission a declaration,

13 signed by the candidate and the treasurer of the

14 candidate’s principal campaign committee, that the

15 candidate—

16 ‘‘(A) has complied and will comply with all

17 of the requirements of this title;

18 ‘‘(B) will not run in the general election as

19 a private money candidate; and

20 ‘‘(C) meets the qualifying contribution re21 quirement of paragraph (2).

22 ‘‘(2) QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION REQUIRE23 MENT.—

24 ‘‘(A) MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATES AND CER25 TAIN INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES.—The re-
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1 quirement of this paragraph is met if, during

2 the clean money qualifying period, a major

3 party candidate (or an independent candidate

4 who meets the minimum vote percentage re5 quired for a major party candidate under sec6 tion 501(9)) receives 1,500 qualifying contribu7 tions.

8 ‘‘(B) OTHER CANDIDATES.—The require9 ment of this paragraph is met if, during the

10 clean money qualifying period, a candidate who

11 is not described in subparagraph (A) receives a

12 number of qualifying contributions that is at

13 least 150 percent of the number of qualifying

14 contributions that a candidate described in sub15 paragraph (A) in the same election is required

16 to receive under subparagraph (A).

17 ‘‘(C) RECEIPT OF QUALIFYING CONTRIBU18 TION.—A qualifying contribution shall—

19 ‘‘(i) be accompanied by the contribu20 tor’s name and home address;

21 ‘‘(ii) be accompanied by a signed

22 statement that the contributor understands

23 the purpose of the qualifying contribution;
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1 ‘‘(iii) be made by a personal check or

2 money order payable to the House of Rep3 resentatives Election Fund or by cash; and

4 ‘‘(iv) be acknowledged by a receipt

5 that is sent to the contributor with a copy

6 kept by the candidate for the Commission

7 and a copy kept by the candidate for the

8 election authorities in the candidate’s

9 State.

10 ‘‘(D) DEPOSIT OF QUALIFYING CONTRIBU11 TIONS IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELEC12 TION FUND.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the

14 date that is 1 day after the date on which

15 the candidate is certified under section

16 505, a candidate shall remit all qualifying

17 contributions to the Commission for de18 posit in the House of Representatives Elec19 tion Fund.

20 ‘‘(ii) CANDIDATES THAT ARE NOT

21 CERTIFIED.—Not later than the last day of

22 the clean money qualifying period, a can23 didate who has received qualifying con24 tributions and is not certified under section

25 505 shall remit all qualifying contributions
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1 to the Commission for deposit in the

2 House of Representatives Election Fund.

3 ‘‘(3) TIME TO FILE DECLARATION.—A declara4 tion under paragraph (1) shall be filed by a can5 didate not later than the date that is 30 days before

6 the date of the primary election. With respect to any

7 special primary election, a declaration under para8 graph (1) shall be filed by a candidate not later than

9 the date that is 30 days before the special primary

10 election.

11 ‘‘(b) GENERAL ELECTION PERIOD.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate qualifies as a

13 clean money candidate during the general election

14 period if—

15 ‘‘(A)(i) the candidate qualified as a clean

16 money candidate during the primary election

17 period (and primary runoff election period, if

18 applicable); or

19 ‘‘(ii) the candidate files with the Commis20 sion a declaration, signed by the candidate and

21 the treasurer of the candidate’s principal com22 mittee, that the candidate—

23 ‘‘(I) has complied and will comply

24 with all the requirements of this title; and
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1 ‘‘(II) meets the qualifying contribu2 tion requirement of subsection (a)(2);

3 ‘‘(B) the candidate files with the Commis4 sion a written agreement between the candidate

5 and the candidate’s political party in which the

6 political party agrees not to make any expendi7 tures in connection with the general election of

8 the candidate in excess of the limit in section

9 315(d)(3)(C); and

10 ‘‘(C) the candidate’s party nominated the

11 candidate to be placed on the ballot for the gen12 eral election or the candidate qualified to be

13 placed on the ballot as an independent can14 didate, and the candidate is qualified under

15 State law to be on the ballot.

16 ‘‘(2) TIME TO FILE DECLARATION OR STATE17 MENT.—A declaration or statement required to be

18 filed under paragraph (1) shall be filed by a can19 didate not later than the date that is 30 days before

20 the date of the general election. With respect to any

21 special general election, a declaration or statement

22 required to be filed under paragraph (1) shall be

23 filed by a candidate not later than the date that is

24 30 days before the date of the special general elec25 tion.
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1 ‘‘(c) GENERAL RUNOFF ELECTION PERIOD.—A can2 didate qualifies as a clean money candidate during the

3 general runoff election period if the candidate qualified as

4 a clean money candidate during the general election pe5 riod.

6 ‘‘SEC. 503. REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO CLEAN MONEY

7 CANDIDATES.

8 ‘‘(a) CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.—

9 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION OF PRIVATE CONTRIBU10 TIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in this title,

11 during the election cycle of a clean money candidate,

12 the candidate shall not accept contributions other

13 than clean money from any source.

14 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF EXPENDITURES FROM

15 PRIVATE SOURCES.—Except as otherwise provided in

16 this title, during the election cycle of a clean money

17 candidate, the candidate shall not make expenditures

18 from any amounts other than clean money amounts.

19 ‘‘(b) USE OF PERSONAL FUNDS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A clean money candidate

21 shall not use personal funds to make an expenditure

22 except as provided in paragraph (2).

23 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—A seed money contribution

24 or qualifying contribution from the candidate or a
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1 member of the candidate’s immediate family shall

2 not be considered to be use of personal funds.

3 ‘‘SEC. 504. SEED MONEY.

4 ‘‘(a) SEED MONEY LIMIT.—A clean money candidate

5 may accept seed money contributions in an aggregate

6 amount not exceeding $35,000.

7 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTION LIMIT.—Except as provided in

8 section 502(a)(2), a clean money candidate shall not ac9 cept a contribution from any person except a seed money

10 contribution (as defined in section 501).

11 ‘‘(c) RECORDS.—A clean money candidate shall

12 maintain a record of the contributor’s name, street ad13 dress, and amount of the contribution.

14 ‘‘(d) USE OF SEED MONEY.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A clean money candidate

16 may expend seed money for any election campaign17 related costs, including costs to open an office, fund

18 a grassroots campaign, or hold community meetings.

19 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITED USES.—A clean money can20 didate shall not expend seed money for—

21 ‘‘(A) a television or radio broadcast; or

22 ‘‘(B) personal use.

23 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Unless a seed money contribution or

24 expenditure made with a seed money contribution has

25 been reported previously under section 304, a clean money
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1 candidate shall file with the Commission a report dis2 closing all seed money contributions and expenditures not

3 later than 48 hours after—

4 ‘‘(1) the earliest date on which the Commission

5 makes funds available to the candidate for an elec6 tion period under paragraph (1) or (2) of section

7 506(b); or

8 ‘‘(2) the end of the clean money qualifying pe9 riod,

10 whichever occurs first.

11 ‘‘(f) TIME TO ACCEPT SEED MONEY CONTRIBU12 TIONS.—A clean money candidate may accept seed money

13 contributions for an election from the day after the date

14 of the previous general election for the office to which the

15 candidate is seeking election through the earliest date on

16 which the Commission makes funds available to the can17 didate for an election period under paragraph (1) or (2)

18 of section 506(b).

19 ‘‘(g) DEPOSIT OF UNSPENT SEED MONEY CON20 TRIBUTIONS.—A clean money candidate shall remit any

21 unspent seed money to the Commission, for deposit in the

22 House of Representatives Election Fund, not later than

23 the earliest date on which the Commission makes funds

24 available to the candidate for an election period under

25 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 506(b).
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1 ‘‘(h) NOT CONSIDERED AN EXPENDITURE.—An ex2 penditure made with seed money shall not be treated as

3 an expenditure for purposes of section 506(f)(2).

4 ‘‘SEC. 505. CERTIFICATION BY COMMISSION.

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

6 candidate files a declaration under section 502, the Com7 mission shall—

8 ‘‘(1) determine whether the candidate meets the

9 eligibility requirements of section 502; and

10 ‘‘(2) certify whether or not the candidate is a

11 clean money candidate.

12 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.—The Com13 mission may revoke a certification under subsection (a)

14 if a candidate fails to comply with this title.

15 ‘‘(c) REPAYMENT OF BENEFITS.—If certification is

16 revoked under subsection (b), the candidate shall repay

17 to the House of Representatives Election Fund an amount

18 equal to the value of benefits received under this title.

19 ‘‘SEC. 506. BENEFITS FOR CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A clean money candidate shall

21 be entitled to—

22 ‘‘(1) a clean money amount for each election

23 period to make or obligate to make expenditures

24 during the election period for which the clean money

25 is provided, as provided in subsection (c);
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1 ‘‘(2) media benefits under section 315 of the

2 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315); and

3 ‘‘(3) an aggregate amount of increase in the

4 clean money amount in response to certain inde5 pendent expenditures and expenditures of a private

6 money candidate under subsection (d) that, in the

7 aggregate, are in excess of 125 percent of the clean

8 money amount of the clean money candidate.

9 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT OF CLEAN MONEY AMOUNT.—

10 ‘‘(1) PRIMARY ELECTION.—The Commission

11 shall make funds available to a clean money can12 didate on the later of—

13 ‘‘(A) the date on which the candidate is

14 certified as a clean money candidate under sec15 tion 505; or

16 ‘‘(B) the date on which the primary elec17 tion period begins.

18 ‘‘(2) GENERAL ELECTION.—The Commission

19 shall make funds available to a clean money can20 didate not later than 48 hours after—

21 ‘‘(A) certification of the primary election

22 or primary runoff election result; or

23 ‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate is

24 certified as a clean money candidate under sec25 tion 505 for the general election,
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1 whichever occurs first.

2 ‘‘(3) RUNOFF ELECTION.—The Commission

3 shall make funds available to a clean money can4 didate not later than 48 hours after the certification

5 of the primary or general election result (as applica6 ble).

7 ‘‘(c) CLEAN MONEY AMOUNTS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), the clean money amount paid to a clean

10 money candidate with respect to an election shall be

11 equal to the applicable percentage of 80 percent of

12 the base amount for the election cycle involved, ex13 cept that in no event may the amount determined

14 under this subsection for a clean money candidate

15 for an election cycle be less than the amount deter16 mined under this subsection for the candidate for

17 the previous election cycle.

18 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION FOR UNCONTESTED ELEC19 TIONS.—If a clean money candidate has no opposi20 tion in an election for which a payment is made

21 under this section, the clean money amount paid

22 shall be 40 percent of the amount otherwise deter23 mined under paragraph (1).

24 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—In this

2 subsection, the ‘applicable percentage’ is as fol3 lows:

4 ‘‘(i) 25 percent, in the case of a can5 didate in a primary election who is not a

6 major party candidate.

7 ‘‘(ii) 40 percent, in the case of a

8 major party candidate in a primary elec9 tion.

10 ‘‘(iii) 60 percent, in the case of any

11 candidate in a general election.

12 ‘‘(B) BASE AMOUNT.—In this subsection,

13 the term ‘base amount’ means (with respect to

14 an election cycle) the national average of all

15 amounts expended by winning candidates dur16 ing the 3 most recent general elections for

17 Member of, or Delegate or Resident Commis18 sioner to, the Congress preceding the election

19 cycle involved.

20 ‘‘(d) MATCHING FUNDS IN RESPONSE TO INDE21 PENDENT EXPENDITURES AND EXPENDITURES OF PRI22 VATE MONEY CANDIDATES.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission—

24 ‘‘(A) receives notification under—
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1 ‘‘(i) subparagraphs (A) or (B) of sec2 tion 304(c)(2) that a person has made or

3 obligated to make an independent expendi4 ture in an aggregate amount of $1,000 or

5 more in an election period or that a person

6 has made or obligated to make an inde7 pendent expenditure in an aggregate

8 amount of $500 or more during the 20

9 days preceding the date of an election in

10 support of another candidate or against a

11 clean money candidate; or

12 ‘‘(ii) section 304(e)(1) that a private

13 money candidate has made or obligated to

14 make expenditures in an aggregate amount

15 in excess of 100 percent of the amount of

16 clean money provided to a clean money

17 candidate who is an opponent of the pri18 vate money candidate in the same election;

19 and

20 ‘‘(B) determines that the aggregate

21 amount of expenditures reported under sub22 paragraph (A) in an election period is in excess

23 of 125 percent of the amount of clean money

24 provided to a clean money candidate who is an

25 opponent of the private money candidate in the
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1 same election or against whom the independent

2 expenditure is made,

3 the Commission shall make available to the clean

4 money candidate, not later than 24 hours after re5 ceiving a notification under subparagraph (A), an

6 aggregate amount of increase in clean money in an

7 amount equal to the aggregate amount of expendi8 tures that is in excess of 125 percent of the amount

9 of clean money provided to the clean money can10 didate as determined under subparagraph (B).

11 ‘‘(2) CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES OPPOSED BY

12 MORE THAN 1 PRIVATE MONEY CANDIDATE.—For

13 purposes of paragraph (1), if a clean money can14 didate is opposed by more than 1 private money can15 didate in the same election, the Commission shall

16 take into account only the amount of expenditures of

17 the private money candidate that expends, in the ag18 gregate, the greatest amount (as determined each

19 time notification is received under section

20 304(e)(1)).

21 ‘‘(3) CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES OPPOSED BY

22 CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES.—If a clean money can23 didate is opposed by a clean money candidate, the

24 increase in clean money amounts under paragraph

25 (1) shall be made available to the clean money can-
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1 didate if independent expenditures are made against

2 the clean money candidate or in behalf of the oppos3 ing clean money candidate in the same manner as

4 the increase would be made available for a clean

5 money candidate who is opposed by a private money

6 candidate.

7 ‘‘(e) LIMITS ON MATCHING FUNDS.—The aggregate

8 amount of clean money that a clean money candidate re9 ceives to match independent expenditures and the expendi10 tures of private money candidates under subsection (d)

11 shall not exceed 200 percent of the clean money amount

12 that the clean money candidate receives under subsection

13 (c).

14 ‘‘(f) EXPENDITURES MADE WITH CLEAN MONEY

15 AMOUNTS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The clean money amount

17 received by a clean money candidate shall be used

18 only for the purpose of making or obligating to make

19 expenditures during the election period for which the

20 clean money is provided.

21 ‘‘(2) EXPENDITURES IN EXCESS OF CLEAN

22 MONEY AMOUNT.—A clean money candidate shall

23 not make expenditures or incur obligations in excess

24 of the clean money amount.
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1 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITED USES.—The clean money

2 amount received by a clean money candidate shall

3 not be—

4 ‘‘(A) converted to a personal use; or

5 ‘‘(B) used in violation of law.

6 ‘‘(4) REPAYMENT; CIVIL PENALTIES.—

7 ‘‘(A) If the Commission determines that

8 any benefit made available to a clean money

9 candidate under this title was not used as pro10 vided for in this title, or that a clean money

11 candidate has violated any of the spending lim12 its or dates for remission of funds contained in

13 this Act, the Commission shall so notify the

14 candidate and the candidate shall pay to the

15 House of Representatives’ Election Fund an

16 amount equal to the amount of benefits so

17 used, or the amount spent in excess of the lim18 its or the amount not timely remitted, as appro19 priate.

20 ‘‘(B) Any action by the Commission in ac21 cordance with this section shall not preclude en22 forcement proceedings by the Commission in ac23 cordance with section 309(a), including a refer24 ral by the Commission to the Attorney General
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1 in the case of an apparent knowing and willful

2 violation of this title.

3 ‘‘(g) REMITTING OF CLEAN MONEY AMOUNTS.—Not

4 later than the date that is 14 days after the last day of

5 the applicable election period, a clean money candidate

6 shall remit any unspent clean money amount to the Com7 mission for deposit in the House of Representatives Elec8 tion Fund.

9 ‘‘SEC. 507. ADMINISTRATION OF CLEAN MONEY.

10 ‘‘(a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION

11 FUND.—

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

13 the Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘House of

14 Representatives Election Fund’.

15 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—The Commission shall deposit

16 unspent seed money contributions, qualifying con17 tributions, penalty amounts received under this title,

18 and amounts appropriated for clean money financing

19 in the House of Representatives Election Fund.

20 ‘‘(3) FUNDS.—The Commission shall withdraw

21 the clean money amount for a clean money can22 didate from the House of Representatives Election

23 Fund.

24 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall promul25 gate regulations to—
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1 ‘‘(1) effectively and efficiently monitor and en2 force the limits on use of private money by clean

3 money candidates;

4 ‘‘(2) effectively and efficiently monitor use of

5 publicly financed amounts under this title; and

6 ‘‘(3) enable clean money candidates to monitor

7 expenditures and comply with the requirements of

8 this title.

9 ‘‘SEC. 508. EXPENDITURES MADE FROM FUNDS OTHER

10 THAN CLEAN MONEY.

11 ‘‘If a clean money candidate makes an expenditure

12 using funds other than funds provided under this title, the

13 Commission shall assess a civil penalty against the can14 didate in an amount that is not more than 10 times the

15 amount of the expenditure.

16 ‘‘SEC. 509. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the

18 House of Representatives Election Fund such sums as are

19 necessary to carry out this title.’’.

20 SEC. 103. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPENDITURES

21 OF PRIVATE MONEY CANDIDATES.

22 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

23 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 502(a)

24 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agen25 cies Act, 2001 (as enacted into law by reference under
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1 section 101(a) of Public Law 106–346), is amended by

2 adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(e) PRIVATE MONEY CANDIDATES.—

4 ‘‘(1) EXPENDITURES IN EXCESS OF CLEAN

5 MONEY AMOUNTS.—Not later than 48 hours after

6 making or obligating to make an expenditure, a pri7 vate money candidate (as defined in section 501)

8 that makes or obligates to make expenditures, in an

9 aggregate amount in excess of 100 percent of the

10 amount of clean money provided to a clean money

11 candidate (as defined in section 501), during an

12 election period (as defined by section 501) who is an

13 opponent of the clean money candidate shall file

14 with the Commission a report stating the amount of

15 each expenditure (in increments of an aggregate

16 amount of $100) made or obligated to be made.

17 ‘‘(2) PLACE OF FILING; NOTIFICATION.—

18 ‘‘(A) PLACE OF FILING.—A report under

19 this subsection shall be filed with the Commis20 sion.

21 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF CLEAN MONEY

22 CANDIDATES.—Not later than 24 hours after

23 receipt of a report under this subsection, the

24 Commission shall notify each clean money can25 didate seeking nomination for election to, or
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1 election to, the office in question, of the receipt

2 of the report.

3 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may,

5 on a request of a candidate or on its own initia6 tive, make a determination that a private

7 money candidate has made, or has obligated to

8 make, expenditures in excess of the applicable

9 amount in paragraph (1).

10 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—In the case of such

11 a determination, the Commission shall notify

12 each clean money candidate seeking nomination

13 for election to, or election to, the office in ques14 tion, of the making of the determination not

15 later than 24 hours after making the deter16 mination.

17 ‘‘(C) TIME TO COMPLY WITH REQUEST

18 FOR DETERMINATION.—A determination made

19 at the request of a candidate shall be made not

20 later than 48 hours after the date of the re21 quest.’’.

22 SEC. 104. TRANSITION RULE FOR CURRENT ELECTION

23 CYCLE.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the election cycle in effect

25 on the date of enactment of this Act, a candidate may
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1 be certified as a clean money candidate (as defined in sec2 tion 501 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

3 (2 U.S.C. 431)), notwithstanding the acceptance of con4 tributions or making of expenditures from private funds

5 before the date of enactment that would, absent this sec6 tion, disqualify the candidate as a clean money candidate.

7 (b) PRIVATE FUNDS.—A candidate may be certified

8 as a clean money candidate only if any private funds ac9 cepted and not expended before the date of enactment of

10 this Act are—

11 (1) returned to the contributor; or

12 (2) submitted to the Federal Election Commis13 sion for deposit in the House of Representatives

14 Election Fund (as defined in section 501 of the Fed15 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

16 431)).

17 TITLE II—INDEPENDENT EX18 PENDITURES; COORDINATED

19 POLITICAL PARTY EXPENDI20 TURES

21 SEC. 201. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR INDEPENDENT

22 EXPENDITURES.

23 (a) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.—Section 304(c)

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

25 434(c)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(c)(1) Every person’’ and in2 serting the following:

3 ‘‘(c) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

5 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED FILING.—Except as pro6 vided in paragraph (2), every person’’;

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by redesignating subpara8 graphs (A), (B), and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and

9 (iii), respectively, and adjusting the margins accord10 ingly;

11 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as

12 subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively, and adjust13 ing the margins accordingly;

14 (4) by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(2) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTIONS

16 WITH A CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATE.—

17 ‘‘(A) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES MORE

18 THAN 20 DAYS BEFORE AN ELECTION.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 48

20 hours after making an independent ex21 penditure, more than 20 days before the

22 date of an election, in support of an oppo23 nent of or in opposition to a clean money

24 candidate (as defined in section 501), a

25 person that makes independent expendi-
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1 tures in an aggregate amount in excess of

2 $1,000 during an election period (as de3 fined in section 501) shall file with the

4 Commission a statement containing the in5 formation described in clause (ii).

6 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS OF STATEMENT.—A

7 statement under subparagraph (A) shall

8 include a certification, under penalty of

9 perjury, that contains the information re10 quired by subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii).

11 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS.—An

12 additional statement shall be filed for each

13 aggregate of independent expenditures that

14 exceeds $1,000.

15 ‘‘(B) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES DUR16 ING THE 20 DAYS PRECEDING AN ELECTION.—

17 Not later than 24 hours after making or obli18 gating to make an independent expenditure in

19 support of an opponent of or in opposition to a

20 clean money candidate in an aggregate amount

21 in excess of $500, during the 20 days preceding

22 the date of an election, a person that makes or

23 obligates to make the independent expenditure

24 shall file with the Commission a statement stat-
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1 ing the amount of each independent expenditure

2 made or obligated to be made.

3 ‘‘(C) PLACE OF FILING; NOTIFICATION.—

4 ‘‘(i) PLACE OF FILING.—A report or

5 statement under this paragraph shall be

6 filed with the Commission.

7 ‘‘(ii) NOTIFICATION OF CLEAN MONEY

8 CANDIDATES.—Not later than 24 hours,

9 but excluding the time from 5:00 p.m. Fri10 day through and until 9:00 a.m. the fol11 lowing Monday, and legal holidays after re12 ceipt of a statement under this paragraph,

13 the Commission shall notify each clean

14 money candidate seeking nomination for

15 election to, or election to, the office in

16 question of the receipt of a statement.

17 ‘‘(D) DETERMINATION BY THE COMMIS18 SION.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission

20 may, on request of a candidate or on its

21 own initiative, make a determination that a

22 person has made or obligated to make

23 independent expenditures with respect to a

24 candidate that in the aggregate exceed the
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1 applicable amount under subparagraph

2 (A).

3 ‘‘(ii) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than

4 24 hours after making a determination

5 under clause (i), the Commission shall no6 tify each clean money candidate in the

7 election of the making of the determina8 tion.

9 ‘‘(iii) TIME TO COMPLY WITH RE10 QUEST FOR DETERMINATION.—A deter11 mination made at the request of a can12 didate shall be made not later than 48

13 hours after the date of the request.’’.

14 SEC. 202. DEFINITION OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301 of the Federal Elec16 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended

17 by striking paragraph (17) and inserting the following:

18 ‘‘(17) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘inde20 pendent expenditure’’ means an expenditure

21 made by a person other than a candidate or

22 candidate’s authorized committee—

23 ‘‘(i) that is made for a communication

24 that contains express advocacy; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) is made without the participation

2 or cooperation of and without coordination

3 with a candidate (within the meaning of

4 section 301(8)(A)(iii)).

5 ‘‘(B) EXPRESS ADVOCACY.—The term ‘ex6 press advocacy’ means a communication that is

7 made through a broadcast medium, newspaper,

8 magazine, billboard, direct mail, or similar type

9 of communication and that—

10 ‘‘(i) advocates the election or defeat of

11 a clearly identified candidate, including

12 any communication that—

13 ‘‘(I) contains a phrase such as

14 ‘vote for’, ‘re-elect’, ‘support’, ‘cast

15 your ballot for’, ‘(name of candidate)

16 for Congress’, ‘(name of candidate) in

17 (year involved)’, ‘vote against’, ‘de18 feat’, ‘reject’, ‘put a stop to (name of

19 candidate)’, ‘send (name of candidate)

20 home’; or

21 ‘‘(II) contains campaign slogans

22 or individual words that in context

23 can have no reasonable meaning other

24 than to recommend the election or de-
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1 feat of 1 or more clearly identified

2 candidates; or

3 ‘‘(ii)(I) refers to a clearly identified

4 candidate;

5 ‘‘(II) is made not more than 60 days

6 before the date of a general election; and

7 ‘‘(III) is not solely devoted to a pend8 ing legislative issue before an open session

9 of Congress.’’.

10 (b) DEFINITION APPLICABLE WHEN PROVISION NOT

11 IN EFFECT.—For purposes of the Federal Election Cam12 paign Act of 1971, during any period beginning after the

13 effective date of this Act in which the definition, or any

14 part of the definition, under section 301(17)(B) of that

15 Act (as added by subsection (a)) is not in effect, the defini16 tion of ‘‘express advocacy’’ shall mean, in addition to the

17 part of the definition that is in effect, a communication

18 that clearly identifies a candidate and taken as a whole

19 and with limited reference to external events, such as

20 proximity to an election, expresses unmistakable support

21 for or opposition to 1 or more clearly identified candidates.

22 SEC. 203. LIMIT ON EXPENDITURES BY POLITICAL PARTY

23 COMMITTEES.

24 Section 315(d)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign

25 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)(3)) is amended—
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1 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

2 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by

3 striking ‘‘in the case’’ and inserting ‘‘except as

4 provided in subparagraph (C), in the case’’, and

5 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

6 (2) in subparagraph (B)—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘in the case’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘except as provided in subparagraph (C), in the

9 case’’, and

10 (B) by striking the period at the end and

11 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

12 (3) by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(C) in the case of an election to the office of

14 Representative in or Delegate or Resident Commis15 sioner to the Congress in which 1 or more can16 didates is a clean money candidate (as defined in

17 section 501), 10 percent of the amount of clean

18 money that a clean money candidate is eligible to re19 ceive for the general election period.’’.

20 SEC. 204. PARTY INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES AND

21 OTHER COORDINATED EXPENDITURES.

22 (a) DETERMINATION TO MAKE COORDINATED EX23 PENDITURES.—Section 315(d) of the Federal Election

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

25 (1) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘coordinated’’ after

2 ‘‘make’’; and

3 (B) by striking ‘‘(2) and (3)’’ and inserting

4 ‘‘(2), (3), and (4)’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(4)(A) Before a committee of a political party makes

7 a coordinated expenditure in connection with a general

8 election campaign for Federal office in excess of $5,000,

9 the committee shall file with the Commission a certifi10 cation, signed by the treasurer, that the committee has

11 not made and will not make any independent expenditures

12 in connection with that campaign for Federal office. A

13 party committee that determines to make a coordinated

14 expenditure shall not make any transfer of funds in the

15 same election cycle to, or receive any transfer of funds

16 in the same election cycle from, any other party committee

17 that determines to make independent expenditures in con18 nection with the same campaign for Federal office.

19 ‘‘(B) A committee of a political party shall be consid20 ered to be in coordination with a candidate of the party

21 if the committee—

22 ‘‘(i) makes a payment for a communication or

23 anything of value in coordination with the candidate,

24 as described in section 301(8)(A)(iii);
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1 ‘‘(ii) makes a coordinated expenditure under

2 this subsection on behalf of the candidate;

3 ‘‘(iii) participates in joint fundraising with the

4 candidate or in any way solicits or receives a con5 tribution on behalf of the candidate;

6 ‘‘(iv) communicates with the candidate, or an

7 agent of the candidate (including a pollster, media

8 consultant, vendor, advisor, or staff member), acting

9 on behalf of the candidate, about advertising, mes10 sage, allocation of resources, fundraising, or other

11 campaign matters related to the candidate’s cam12 paign, including campaign operations, staffing, tac13 tics or strategy; or

14 ‘‘(v) provides in-kind services, polling data, or

15 anything of value to the candidate.

16 ‘‘(C) For purposes of this paragraph, all political

17 committees established and maintained by a national polit18 ical party (including all congressional campaign commit19 tees) and all political committees established by State po20 litical parties shall be considered to be a single political

21 committee.

22 ‘‘(D) For purposes of subparagraph (A), any coordi23 nation between a committee of a political party and a can24 didate of the party after the candidate has filed a state25 ment of candidacy constitutes coordination for the period
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1 beginning with the filing of the statement of candidacy

2 and ending at the end of the election cycle.’’.

3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—

4 (1) AMENDMENT OF DEFINITION OF CONTRIBU5 TION.—Section 301(8) of the Federal Election Cam6 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)) is amended—

7 (A) in subparagraph (A)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of

9 clause (i);

10 (ii) by striking the period at the end

11 of clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(iii) a payment made for a commu15 nication or anything of value that is for

16 the purpose of influencing an election for

17 Federal office and that is made in coordi18 nation with a candidate (as defined in sub19 paragraph (C)).’’; and

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

21 ‘‘(C) For the purposes of subparagraph

22 (A)(iii), the term ‘payment made in coordina23 tion with a candidate’ includes—

24 ‘‘(i) a payment made by a person in

25 cooperation, consultation, or concert with,
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1 at the request or suggestion of, or pursu2 ant to any general or particular under3 standing with a candidate, the candidate’s

4 authorized committee, or an agent acting

5 on behalf of a candidate or authorized

6 committee;

7 ‘‘(ii) a payment made by a person for

8 the dissemination, distribution, or republi9 cation, in whole or in part, of any broad10 cast or any written, graphic, or other form

11 of campaign material prepared by a can12 didate, a candidate’s authorized committee,

13 or an agent of a candidate or authorized

14 committee (not including a communication

15 described in paragraph (9)(B)(i) or a com16 munication that expressly advocates the

17 candidate’s defeat);

18 ‘‘(iii) a payment made based on infor19 mation about a candidate’s plans, projects,

20 or needs provided to the person making the

21 payment by the candidate or the can22 didate’s agent who provides the informa23 tion with a view toward having the pay24 ment made;
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1 ‘‘(iv) a payment made by a person if,

2 in the same election cycle in which the pay3 ment is made, the person making the pay4 ment is serving or has served as a member,

5 employee, fundraiser, or agent of the can6 didate’s authorized committee in an execu7 tive or policymaking position;

8 ‘‘(v) a payment made by a person if

9 the person making the payment has served

10 in any formal policy or advisory position

11 with the candidate’s campaign or has par12 ticipated in strategic or policymaking dis13 cussions with the candidate’s campaign re14 lating to the candidate’s pursuit of nomi15 nation for election, or election, to Federal

16 office, in the same election cycle as the

17 election cycle in which the payment is

18 made; and

19 ‘‘(vi) a payment made by a person if

20 the person making the payment retains the

21 professional services of an individual or

22 person who has provided or is providing

23 campaign-related services in the same elec24 tion cycle to a candidate in connection with

25 the candidate’s pursuit of nomination for
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1 election, or election, to Federal office, in2 cluding services relating to the candidate’s

3 decision to seek Federal office, and the

4 payment is for services of which the pur5 pose is to influence that candidate’s elec6 tion.

7 ‘‘(D) For purposes of subparagraph

8 (C)(vi), the term ‘professional services’ includes

9 services in support of a candidate’s pursuit of

10 nomination for election, or election, to Federal

11 office such as polling, media advice, direct mail,

12 fundraising, or campaign research.’’.

13 (2) DEFINITION OF CONTRIBUTION IN SECTION

14 315(a)(7).—Section 315(a)(7) of the Federal Elec15 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(7)) is

16 amended by striking paragraph (B) and inserting

17 the following:

18 ‘‘(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), a pay19 ment made in coordination with a candidate (as de20 scribed in section 301(8)(A)(iii)) shall be considered

21 to be a contribution to the candidate, and, for the

22 purposes of any provision of this Act that imposes

23 a limitation on the making of expenditures by a can24 didate, shall be treated as an expenditure by the

25 candidate for purposes of this paragraph.
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1 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a clean money candidate (as

2 defined in section 501), a payment made in coordi3 nation with a candidate by a committee of a political

4 party shall not be treated as a contribution to the

5 candidate for purposes of section 503(b)(1) or an ex6 penditure made by the candidate for purposes of sec7 tion 503(b)(2).’’.

8 (c) MEANING OF CONTRIBUTION OR EXPENDITURE

9 FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTION 316.—Section 316(b)(2)

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

11 441b(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘shall include’’ and

12 inserting ‘‘includes a contribution or expenditure (as those

13 terms are defined in section 301) and also includes’’.

14 TITLE III—VOTER INFORMATION

15 SEC. 301. FREE BROADCAST TIME.

16 Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

17 U.S.C. 315) is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a), in the third sentence, by

19 striking ‘‘within the meaning of this subsection’’ and

20 inserting ‘‘within the meaning of this subsection or

21 subsection (c)’’;

22 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as

23 subsections (d) and (e), respectively;

24 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol25 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(c) FREE BROADCAST TIME.—

2 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF TIME.—A clean money can3 didate shall be entitled to receive—

4 ‘‘(A) 30 minutes of free broadcast time

5 during each of the primary election period and

6 the primary runoff election period; and

7 ‘‘(B) 75 minutes of free broadcast time

8 during the general election period and general

9 runoff election period.

10 ‘‘(2) TIME DURING WHICH THE BROADCAST IS

11 SHOWN.—The broadcast time under paragraph (1)

12 shall be—

13 ‘‘(A) with respect to a television broadcast,

14 the time between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on

15 any day that falls on Monday through Friday;

16 ‘‘(B) with respect to a radio broadcast, the

17 time between 7:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. or be18 tween 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on any day that

19 falls on Monday through Friday; or

20 ‘‘(C) with respect to any broadcast, such

21 other time to which the candidate and broad22 caster may agree.

23 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM REQUIRED OF ANY STATION.—

24 The amount of free broadcast time that any 1 sta25 tion is required to make available to any 1 clean
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1 money candidate during each of the primary election

2 period, primary runoff election period, and general

3 election period shall not exceed 15 minutes.’’; and

4 (4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para5 graph (1))—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para7 graph (1);

8 (B) by striking the period at the end of

9 paragraph (2) and inserting a semicolon, and

10 by redesignating that paragraph as paragraph

11 (4);

12 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(2) the term ‘clean money candidate’ has the

15 meaning given in section 501 of the Federal Election

16 Campaign Act of 1971;

17 ‘‘(3) the terms ‘general election period’ and

18 ‘general runoff election period’ have the meaning

19 given in section 501 of the Federal Election Cam20 paign Act of 1971;’’; and

21 (D) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(5) the term ‘primary election period’ has the

23 meaning given in section 501 of the Federal Election

24 Campaign Act of 1971;
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1 ‘‘(6) the term ‘private money candidate’ has the

2 meaning given in section 501 of the Federal Election

3 Campaign Act of 1971; and

4 ‘‘(7) the term ‘primary runoff election period’

5 has the meaning given in section 501 of the Federal

6 Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’.

7 SEC. 302. BROADCAST RATES AND PREEMPTION.

8 (a) BROADCAST RATES.—Section 315(b) of the Com9 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)) is amended—

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

11 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and adjust12 ing the margins accordingly;

13 (2) by striking ‘‘The charges’’ and inserting the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), the charges’’; and

17 (3) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(2) CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES.—In the case

19 of a clean money candidate, the charges for the use

20 of a television broadcasting station shall not exceed

21 50 percent of the lowest charge described in para22 graph (1)(A) during—

23 ‘‘(A) the 30 days preceding the date of a

24 primary or primary runoff election in which the

25 candidate is opposed; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the 60 days preceding the date of a

2 general or special election in which the can3 didate is opposed.

4 ‘‘(3) OTHER HOUSE CANDIDATES.—In the case

5 of a candidate for election for Member of, or Dele6 gate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress who

7 is not a clean money candidate, paragraph (1)(A)

8 shall not apply.

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

10 a candidate for Member of or Delegate or Resident

11 Commissioner to the Congress a rate card that

12 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 (b) PREEMPTION.—Section 315 of the Communica19 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315) (as amended by section

20 301) is amended—

21 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as

22 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol24 lowing:

25 ‘‘(d) PREEMPTION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), a licensee shall not preempt the use of a

3 broadcasting station by a legally qualified candidate

4 for Member of or Delegate or Resident Commis5 sioner to the Congress who has purchased and paid

6 for such use.

7 ‘‘(2) CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND CONTROL OF LI8 CENSEE.—If a program to be broadcast by a broad9 casting station is preempted because of cir10 cumstances beyond the control of the broadcasting

11 station, any candidate advertising spot scheduled to

12 be broadcast during that program may also be pre13 empted.’’.

14 (c) REVOCATION OF LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PER15 MIT ACCESS.—Section 312(a)(7) of the Communications

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

17 (1) by striking ‘‘or repeated’’;

18 (2) by inserting ‘‘or cable system’’ after ‘‘broad19 casting station’’; and

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

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

22 terms, conditions, and business practices as apply to

23 the most favored advertiser of the licensee’’.
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1 SEC. 303. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING.

2 (a) CONTENTS OF CAMPAIGN ADVERTISEMENTS.—

3 Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

4 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended—

5 (1) in subsection (a)—

6 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph

7 (1)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘Whenever a political committee makes

10 a disbursement for the purpose of financ11 ing any communication through any broad12 casting station, newspaper, magazine, out13 door advertising facility, mailing, or any

14 other type of general public political adver15 tising, or whenever’’; and

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘direct’’; and

17 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and

18 permanent street address’’ after ‘‘name’’; and

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

20 ‘‘(c) Any printed communication described in sub21 section (a) shall be—

22 ‘‘(1) of sufficient type size to be clearly read23 able by the recipient of the communication;

24 ‘‘(2) contained in a printed box set apart from

25 the other contents of the communication; and
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1 ‘‘(3) consist of a reasonable degree of color con2 trast between the background and the printed state3 ment.

4 ‘‘(d)(1) Any broadcast or cablecast communication

5 described in subsection (a)(1) or subsection (a)(2) shall

6 include, in addition to the requirements of those sub7 sections, an audio statement that identifies the candidate

8 and states that the candidate has approved the commu9 nication.

10 ‘‘(2) If a broadcast or cablecast communication de11 scribed in paragraph (1) is broadcast or cablecast by

12 means of television, the communication shall include, in

13 addition to the audio statement under paragraph (1), a

14 written statement which appears at the end of the commu15 nication in a clearly readable manner with a reasonable

16 degree of color contrast between the background and the

17 printed statement, for a period of at least 4 seconds.

18 ‘‘(e) Any broadcast or cablecast communication de19 scribed in subsection (a)(3) shall include, in addition to

20 the requirements of those subsections, in a clearly spoken

21 manner, the following statement: ‘llllllll is

22 responsible for the content of this advertisement.’ (with

23 the blank to be filled in with the name of the political

24 committee or other person paying for the communication

25 and the name of any connected organization of the payor).
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1 If broadcast or cablecast by means of television, the state2 ment shall also appear in a clearly readable manner with

3 a reasonable degree of color contrast between the back4 ground and the printed statement, for a period of at least

5 4 seconds.’’.

6 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUE ADVER7 TISEMENTS.—Section 304 of the Federal Election Cam8 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) (as amended by section

9 103) is amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(f) ISSUE ADVERTISEMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person that makes or ob12 ligates to make a disbursement to purchase an issue

13 advertisement shall file a report with the Commis14 sion not later than 48 hours after making or obli15 gating to make the disbursement, containing the fol16 lowing information—

17 ‘‘(A) the amount of the disbursement;

18 ‘‘(B) the information required under sub19 section (b)(3)(A) for each person that makes a

20 contribution, in an aggregate amount of $1,000

21 or greater in a calendar year, to the person who

22 makes the disbursement;

23 ‘‘(C) the name and address of the person

24 making the disbursement; and
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1 ‘‘(D) the purpose of the issue advertise2 ment.

3 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF ISSUE ADVERTISEMENT.—

4 In this subsection, the term ‘issue advertisement’

5 means a communication through a broadcasting sta6 tion, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facil7 ity, mailing, or any other type of general public po8 litical advertising—

9 ‘‘(A) the purchase of which is not an inde10 pendent expenditure or a contribution;

11 ‘‘(B) that contains the name or likeness of

12 a candidate for Member of or Delegate or Resi13 dent Commissioner to the Congress;

14 ‘‘(C) that is communicated during an elec15 tion year; and

16 ‘‘(D) that recommends a position on a po17 litical issue.’’.

18 SEC. 304. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL USE OF THE FRANK19 ING PRIVILEGE.

20 Section 3210(a)(6) of title 39, United States Code,

21 is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting

22 the following:

23 ‘‘(A)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), a Member

24 of Congress shall not mail any mass mailing as franked

25 mail during the period which begins on the first day of
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1 the primary election period (as described in section

2 501(12) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971)

3 and ends on the date of the general election for that office

4 (other than any portion of such period between the date

5 of the primary election and the first day of the general

6 election period), unless the Member has made a public an7 nouncement that the Member will not be a candidate for

8 reelection in that year or for election to any other Federal

9 office.

10 ‘‘(ii) A Member of Congress may mail a mass mailing

11 as franked mail if—

12 ‘‘(I) the purpose of the mailing is to commu13 nicate information about a public meeting; and

14 ‘‘(II) the content of the mailed matter includes

15 only the Representative’s name, and the date, time,

16 and place of the public meeting.’’.

17 TITLE IV—SOFT MONEY OF

18 POLITICAL PARTIES

19 SEC. 401. SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES.

20 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

21 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

22 end the following new section:

23 ‘‘SOFT MONEY OF POLITICAL PARTIES

24 ‘‘SEC. 323. (a) NATIONAL COMMITTEES.—

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A national committee of a

26 political party (including a national congressional
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1 campaign committee of a political party) and any of2 ficers or agents of such party committees, shall not

3 solicit, receive, or direct to another person a con4 tribution, donation, or transfer of funds, or spend

5 any funds, that are not subject to the limitations,

6 prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act.

7 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall

8 apply to an entity that is directly or indirectly estab9 lished, financed, maintained, or controlled by a na10 tional committee of a political party (including a na11 tional congressional campaign committee of a polit12 ical party), or an entity acting on behalf of a na13 tional committee, and an officer or agent acting on

14 behalf of any such committee or entity.

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

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An amount that is ex17 pended or disbursed by a State, district, or local

18 committee of a political party (including an entity

19 that is directly or indirectly established, financed,

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

21 local committee of a political party and an officer or

22 agent acting on behalf of such committee or entity)

23 for Federal election activity shall be made from

24 funds subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and re25 porting requirements of this Act.
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1 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL ELECTION ACTIVITY.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Federal

3 election activity’ means—

4 ‘‘(i) voter registration activity during

5 the period that begins on the date that is

6 120 days before the date a regularly sched7 uled Federal election is held and ends on

8 the date of the election;

9 ‘‘(ii) voter identification, get-out-the10 vote activity, or generic campaign activity

11 conducted in connection with an election in

12 which a candidate for Federal office ap13 pears on the ballot (regardless of whether

14 a candidate for State or local office also

15 appears on the ballot); and

16 ‘‘(iii) a communication that refers to a

17 clearly identified candidate for Federal of18 fice (regardless of whether a candidate for

19 State or local office is also mentioned or

20 identified) and is made for the purpose of

21 influencing a Federal election (regardless

22 of whether the communication is express

23 advocacy).

24 ‘‘(B) EXCLUDED ACTIVITY.—The term

25 ‘Federal election activity’ does not include an
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1 amount expended or disbursed by a State, dis2 trict, or local committee of a political party

3 for—

4 ‘‘(i) campaign activity conducted sole5 ly on behalf of a clearly identified can6 didate for State or local office, provided

7 the campaign activity is not a Federal elec8 tion activity described in subparagraph

9 (A);

10 ‘‘(ii) a contribution to a candidate for

11 State or local office, provided the contribu12 tion is not designated or used to pay for a

13 Federal election activity described in sub14 paragraph (A);

15 ‘‘(iii) the costs of a State, district, or

16 local political convention;

17 ‘‘(iv) the costs of grassroots campaign

18 materials, including buttons, bumper stick19 ers, and yard signs, that name or depict

20 only a candidate for State or local office;

21 ‘‘(v) the non-Federal share of a State,

22 district, or local party committee’s admin23 istrative and overhead expenses (but not

24 including the compensation in any month

25 of an individual who spends more than 20
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1 percent of the individual’s time on Federal

2 election activity) as determined by a regu3 lation promulgated by the Commission to

4 determine the non-Federal share of a

5 State, district, or local party committee’s

6 administrative and overhead expenses; and

7 ‘‘(vi) the cost of constructing or pur8 chasing an office facility or equipment for

9 a State, district or local committee.

10 ‘‘(c) FUNDRAISING COSTS.—An amount spent by a

11 national, State, district, or local committee of a political

12 party, by an entity that is established, financed, main13 tained, or controlled by a national, State, district, or local

14 committee of a political party, or by an agent or officer

15 of any such committee or entity, to raise funds that are

16 used, in whole or in part, to pay the costs of a Federal

17 election activity shall be made from funds subject to the

18 limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of

19 this Act.

20 ‘‘(d) TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—A national,

21 State, district, or local committee of a political party (in22 cluding a national congressional campaign committee of

23 a political party), an entity that is directly or indirectly

24 established, financed, maintained, or controlled by any

25 such national, State, district, or local committee or its
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1 agent, and an officer or agent acting on behalf of any such

2 party committee or entity, shall not solicit any funds for,

3 or make or direct any donations to, an organization that

4 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue

5 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section

6 501(a) of such Code (or has submitted an application to

7 the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service for de8 termination of tax-exemption under such section).

9 ‘‘(e) CANDIDATES.—

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

11 holding Federal office, agent of a candidate or indi12 vidual holding Federal office, or an entity directly or

13 indirectly established, financed, maintained or con14 trolled by or acting on behalf of one or more can15 didates or individuals holding Federal office, shall

16 not—

17 ‘‘(A) solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or

18 spend funds in connection with an election for

19 Federal office, including funds for any Federal

20 election activity, unless the funds are subject to

21 the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re22 quirements of this Act; or

23 ‘‘(B) solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or

24 spend funds in connection with any election

25 other than an election for Federal office or dis-
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1 burse funds in connection with such an election

2 unless the funds—

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

4 permitted with respect to contributions to

5 candidates and political committees under

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

7 and

8 ‘‘(ii) are not from sources prohibited

9 by this Act from making contributions with

10 respect to an election for Federal office.

11 ‘‘(2) STATE LAW.—Paragraph (1) does not

12 apply to the solicitation, receipt, or spending of

13 funds by an individual who is a candidate for a

14 State or local office in connection with such election

15 for State or local office if the solicitation, receipt, or

16 spending of funds is permitted under State law for

17 any activity other than a Federal election activity.

18 ‘‘(3) FUNDRAISING EVENTS.—Notwithstanding

19 paragraph (1), a candidate may attend, speak, or be

20 a featured guest at a fundraising event for a State,

21 district, or local committee of a political party.’’.
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1 SEC. 402. INCREASED CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR STATE

2 COMMITTEES OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND

3 AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTION LIMIT FOR INDI4 VIDUALS.

5 (a) CONTRIBUTION LIMIT FOR STATE COMMITTEES

6 OF POLITICAL PARTIES.—Section 315(a)(1) of the Fed7 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1))

8 is amended—

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

10 the end;

11 (2) in subparagraph (C)—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘(other than a committee

13 described in subparagraph (D))’’ after ‘‘com14 mittee’’; and

15 (B) by striking the period at the end and

16 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

17 (3) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(D) to a political committee established and

19 maintained by a State committee of a political party

20 in any calendar year that, in the aggregate, exceed

21 $10,000’’.

22 (b) AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTION LIMIT FOR INDI23 VIDUAL.—Section 315(a)(3) of the Federal Election Cam24 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended by

25 striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000’’.
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1 SEC. 403. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

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

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

4 (as amended by sections 103 and 303(b)) is amended by

5 adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(g) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—

7 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL AND CONGRESSIONAL POLIT8 ICAL COMMITTEES.—The national committee of a

9 political party, any national congressional campaign

10 committee of a political party, and any subordinate

11 committee of either, shall report all receipts and dis12 bursements during the reporting period.

13 ‘‘(2) OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES TO WHICH

14 SECTION 323 APPLIES.—In addition to any other re15 porting requirements applicable under this Act, a

16 political committee (not described in paragraph (1))

17 to which section 323(b)(1) applies shall report all re18 ceipts and disbursements made for activities de19 scribed in paragraphs (2)(A) and (2)(B)(v) of sec20 tion 323(b).

21 ‘‘(3) ITEMIZATION.—If a political committee

22 has receipts or disbursements to which this sub23 section applies from any person aggregating in ex24 cess of $200 for any calendar year (or election cycle,

25 in the case of an authorized committee of a can26 didate for Federal office), the political committee
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1 shall separately itemize its reporting for such person

2 in the same manner as required in paragraphs

3 (3)(A), (5), and (6) of subsection (b).

4 ‘‘(4) REPORTING PERIODS.—Reports required

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

6 same time periods required for political committees

7 under subsection (a).’’.

8 (b) BUILDING FUND EXCEPTION TO THE DEFINI9 TION OF CONTRIBUTION.—Section 301(8)(B) of the Fed10 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B))

11 is amended—

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

13 (2) by redesignating clauses (ix) through (xv)

14 as clauses (viii) through (xiv), respectively.

15 TITLE V—RESTRUCTURING AND

16 STRENGTHENING OF THE

17 FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS18 SION

19 SEC. 501. APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF COMMISSIONERS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 306(a) of the Federal

21 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437c(a)) is

22 amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (1)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘(1) There is established’’

25 and inserting ‘‘(1)(A) There is established’’;
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1 (B) by striking the second sentence and in2 serting the following:

3 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis4 sion is composed of 6 members appointed by the Presi5 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the United

6 States Senate, and 1 member appointed by the President

7 from among persons recommended by the Commission as

8 provided in subparagraph (D).’’;

9 (C) by striking ‘‘No more than’’ and in10 serting the following:

11 ‘‘(C) PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more than’’; and

12 (D) by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(D) NOMINATION BY COMMISSION OF ADDITIONAL

14 MEMBER.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Com16 mission shall recommend to the President, by a vote

17 of 4 members, 3 persons for the appointment to the

18 Commission.

19 ‘‘(ii) VACANCY.—On vacancy of the position of

20 the member appointed under this subparagraph, a

21 member shall be appointed to fill the vacancy in the

22 same manner as provided in clause (i).’’; and

23 (2) in paragraphs (3) and (4), by striking

24 ‘‘(other than the Secretary of the Senate and the

25 Clerk of the House of Representatives)’’.
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1 (b) TRANSITION RULE.—Not later than 90 days after

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall

3 recommend persons for appointment under section

4 306(a)(1)(D) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

5 1971, as added by section 501(a)(1)(D) of this Act.

6 SEC. 502. AUDITS.

7 (a) RANDOM AUDIT.—Section 311(b) of the Federal

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

9 amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Commis11 sion’’; and

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

13 ‘‘(2) RANDOM AUDITS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para15 graph (1), after every primary, general, and

16 runoff election, the Commission may conduct

17 random audits and investigations to ensure vol18 untary compliance with this Act.

19 ‘‘(B) SELECTION OF SUBJECTS.—The sub20 jects of audits and investigations under this

21 paragraph shall be selected on the basis of im22 partial criteria established by a vote of at least

23 4 members of the Commission.

24 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION.—This paragraph does

25 not apply to an authorized committee of a can-
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1 didate for President or Vice President subject

2 to audit under chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal

3 Revenue Code of 1986.’’.

4 SEC. 503. AUTHORITY TO SEEK INJUNCTION.

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

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

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

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

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, at any time in a pro10 ceeding described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4),

11 the Commission believes that—

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

13 violation of this Act is occurring or is about to

14 occur;

15 ‘‘(ii) the failure to act expeditiously will re16 sult in irreparable harm to a party affected by

17 the potential violation;

18 ‘‘(iii) expeditious action will not cause

19 undue harm or prejudice to the interests of oth20 ers; and

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

22 served by the issuance of an injunction;

23 the Commission may initiate a civil action for a tem24 porary restraining order or preliminary injunction
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1 pending the outcome of proceedings under para2 graphs (1), (2), (3), and (4).

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

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

5 court for the district in which the defendant resides,

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

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

8 occur.’’;

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

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

11 (3) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘(6)’’ and in12 serting ‘‘(6) or (13)’’.

13 SEC. 504. STANDARD FOR INVESTIGATION.

14 Section 309(a)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign

15 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437f(a)(2)) is amended by striking

16 ‘‘reason to believe that’’ and inserting ‘‘reason to open an

17 investigation on whether’’.

18 SEC. 505. PETITION FOR CERTIORARI.

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

20 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)) is amended by inserting

21 ‘‘(including a proceeding before the Supreme Court on cer22 tiorari)’’ after ‘‘appeal’’.
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1 SEC. 506. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.

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

3 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)) (as amended by section 503)

4 is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(14) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.—

6 ‘‘(A) 60 DAYS BEFORE A GENERAL ELEC7 TION.—If the complaint in a proceeding was

8 filed within 60 days before the date of a general

9 election, the Commission may take action de10 scribed in this subparagraph.

11 ‘‘(B) RESOLUTION BEFORE AN ELEC12 TION.—If the Commission determines, on the

13 basis of facts alleged in the complaint and other

14 facts available to the Commission, that there is

15 clear and convincing evidence that a violation of

16 this Act has occurred, is occurring, or is about

17 to occur and it appears that the requirements

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

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

20 may—

21 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings,

22 shortening the time periods for proceedings

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

24 necessary to allow the matter to be re25 solved in sufficient time before the election
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1 to avoid harm or prejudice to the interests

2 of the parties; or

3 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines

4 that there is insufficient time to conduct

5 proceedings before the election, imme6 diately seek relief under paragraph

7 (13)(A).

8 ‘‘(C) MERITLESS COMPLAINTS.—If the

9 Commission determines, on the basis of facts

10 alleged in the complaint and other facts avail11 able to the Commission, that the complaint is

12 clearly without merit, the Commission may—

13 ‘‘(i) order expedited proceedings,

14 shortening the time periods for proceedings

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

16 necessary to allow the matter to be re17 solved in sufficient time before the election

18 to avoid harm or prejudice to the interests

19 of the parties; or

20 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines

21 that there is insufficient time to conduct

22 proceedings before the election, summarily

23 dismiss the complaint.’’.
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1 SEC. 507. PROMOTING EXPEDITED AVAILABILITY OF FEC

2 REPORTS.

3 (a) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Section

4 304(a)(11) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

5 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)) is amended—

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

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

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

9 file such designation, statement, or report in elec10 tronic form accessible by computers.’’; and

11 (2) by striking subparagraph (D).

12 (b) REQUIRING REPORTS FOR ALL CONTRIBUTIONS

13 MADE TO ANY POLITICAL COMMITTEE WITHIN 90 DAYS

14 OF ELECTION; REQUIRING REPORTS TO BE MADE WITH15 IN 24 HOURS.—Section 304(a)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

16 434(a)(6)) is amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘(6)(A) Each political committee shall notify the Sec18 retary or the Commission, and the Secretary of State, as

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

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

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

22 such election. This notification shall be made within 24

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

24 contribution is deposited) after the receipt of such con25 tribution and shall include the name of the candidate in26 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 SEC. 508. POWER TO ISSUE SUBPOENA WITHOUT SIGNA7 TURE OF CHAIRPERSON.

8 Section 307(a)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign

9 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)(3)) is amended by striking

10 ‘‘, signed by the chairman or the vice chairman,’’.

11 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

12 PROVISIONS

13 SEC. 601. SEVERABILITY.

14 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by

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

16 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu17 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made

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

19 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be

20 affected by the holding.

21 SEC. 602. REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES.

22 An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme

23 Court of the United States from any final judgment, de24 cree, or order issued by any court ruling on the constitu-
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1 tionality of any provision of this Act or amendment made

2 by this Act.

3 SEC. 603. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

5 take effect on January 1, 2002.

Æ