I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1614 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2007 

Mr. TIERNEY (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. PLATTS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways 

and Means, and Oversight 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 House elections, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Clean Money, Clean Elections Act of 2007’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—CLEAN ELECTION FINANCING OF HOUSE ELECTION 

CAMPAIGNS 

Subtitle A—Clean Election Financing Program 

Sec. 101. Findings and declarations. 

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

House election campaigns. 

‘‘TITLE V—CLEAN ELECTIONS FINANCING OF HOUSE ELECTION 

CAMPAIGNS 

‘‘Sec. 501. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 502. House Clean Elections Fund. 

‘‘Sec. 503. Eligibility for allocations from the Fund. 

‘‘Sec. 504. Seed money contribution requirement. 

‘‘Sec. 505. Qualifying contribution requirement. 

‘‘Sec. 506. Contribution and expenditure requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 507. Certification by Commission. 

‘‘Sec. 508. Benefits for participating candidates. 

‘‘Sec. 509. Allocations from the Fund. 

‘‘Sec. 510. Payment of fair fight funds. 

‘‘Sec. 511. Administration of the House clean elections system. 

‘‘Sec. 512. Violations and penalties. 

‘‘Sec. 513. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 103. Reporting requirements for nonparticipating candidates. 

Sec. 104. Modification of electioneering communication reporting requirements. 

Sec. 105. Limitation on coordinated expenditures by political party committees 

with participating candidates. 

Sec. 106. Treatment of coordinated expenditures as contributions. 

Sec. 107. Audits. 

Sec. 108. Tax credit for voluntary donations to House Clean Elections Fund. 

Subtitle B—Clean Elections Review Commission 

Sec. 111. Establishment of Commission. 

Sec. 112. Structure and membership of the Commission. 

Sec. 113. Powers of the Commission. 

Sec. 114. Administration. 

Sec. 115. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—VOTER INFORMATION 

Sec. 201. Free broadcast time. 

Sec. 202. Broadcast rates and preemption. 

Sec. 203. Limit on Congressional use of the franking privilege. 

TITLE III—RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION 

COMMISSION 

Sec. 301. Petition for certiorari. 

Sec. 302. Promoting expedited availability of FEC reports. 

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Severability. 

Sec. 402. Review of constitutional issues. 

Sec. 403. Effective date. 


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1 TITLE I—CLEAN ELECTION FI2 NANCING OF HOUSE ELEC3 TION CAMPAIGNS 

4 Subtitle A—Clean Election 

5 Financing Program 

6 SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS. 

7 (a) UNDERMINING OF DEMOCRACY BY CAMPAIGN

8 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PRIVATE SOURCES.—The House 

9 finds and declares that the current system of privately fi10 nanced campaigns for election to the United States House 

11 has the capacity, and is often perceived by the public, to 

12 undermine democracy in the United States by— 

13 (1) creating a conflict of interest, perceived or 

14 real, by encouraging Representatives to accept large 

15 campaign contributions from private interests that 

16 are directly affected by Federal legislation; 

17 (2) diminishing or giving the appearance of di18 minishing a Representative’s accountability to con19 stituents by compelling legislators to be accountable 

20 to the major contributors who finance their election 

21 campaigns; 

22 (3) violating the democratic principle of ‘‘one 

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

24 the right to vote by allowing monied interests to 


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1 have a disproportionate and unfair influence within 

2 the political process; 

3 (4) imposing large, unwarranted costs on tax4 payers through legislative and regulatory outcomes 

5 shaped by unequal access to lawmakers for cam6 paign contributors; 

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

8 making it difficult for qualified candidates without 

9 personal wealth or access to campaign contributions 

10 from monied individuals and interest groups to 

11 mount competitive House election campaigns; 

12 (6) disadvantaging challengers, because large 

13 campaign contributors tend to donate their money to 

14 incumbent Representatives, thus causing House elec15 tions to be less competitive; and 

16 (7) burdening incumbents with a preoccupation 

17 with fundraising and thus decreasing the time avail18 able to carry out their public responsibilities. 

19 (b) ENHANCEMENT OF DEMOCRACY BY PROVIDING

20 ALLOCATIONS FROM THE HOUSE CLEAN ELECTIONS

21 FUND.—The House finds and declares that providing the 

22 option of the replacement of private campaign contribu23 tions with allocations from the House Clean Elections 

24 Fund for all primary, runoff, and general elections to the 

25 House would enhance American democracy by— 


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1 (1) eliminating the potentially inherent conflict 

2 of interest created by the private financing of the 

3 election campaigns of public officials, thus restoring 

4 public confidence in the integrity and fairness of the 

5 electoral and legislative processes; 

6 (2) increasing the public’s confidence in the ac7 countability of Representatives to the constituents 

8 who elect them; 

9 (3) helping to eliminate access to wealth as a 

10 determinant of a citizen’s influence within the polit11 ical process and to restore meaning to the principle 

12 of ‘‘one person, one vote’’; 

13 (4) reversing the escalating cost of elections 

14 and saving taxpayers billions of dollars that are (or 

15 that are perceived to be) currently allocated based 

16 upon legislative and regulatory agendas skewed by 

17 the influence of campaign contributions; 

18 (5) creating a more level playing field for in19 cumbents and challengers by creating genuine oppor20 tunities for all Americans to run for the House and 

21 by encouraging more competitive elections; and 

22 (6) freeing Representatives from the incessant 

23 preoccupation with raising money, and allowing 

24 them more time to carry out their public responsibil25 ities. 


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1 SEC. 102. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND BENEFITS OF 

2 CLEAN ELECTIONS FINANCING OF HOUSE 

3 ELECTION CAMPAIGNS. 

4 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 

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

6 following: 

7 ‘‘TITLE V—CLEAN ELECTIONS FI8 NANCING OF HOUSE ELEC9 TION CAMPAIGNS 

10 ‘‘SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

11 ‘‘In this title: 

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

13 ‘allocation from the Fund’ means an allocation of 

14 money from the House Clean Elections Fund to a 

15 participating candidate pursuant to sections 510 and 

16 511. 

17 ‘‘(2) CLEAN ELECTIONS QUALIFYING PERIOD.— 

18 The term ‘clean elections qualifying period’ means 

19 the period beginning on the date that is 180 days 

20 before the date of the primary election and ending 

21 on the date that is 30 days before the date of the 

22 primary election or, in the case of a state that does 

23 not hold a primary election, the date prescribed by 

24 State law as the last day to qualify for a position 

25 on the general election ballot. In the event of a spe26 cial election, the clean money qualifying period shall 


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1 begin on the earlier date of either the date that is 

2 180 days before the date of the special election or 

3 on the date of announcement of such special election 

4 date if same as within 180 days of the date of the 

5 special election. It shall end on the date that is 30 

6 days before the date of the special election. 

7 ‘‘(3) CLEAN ELECTIONS START DATE.—The 

8 term ‘clean elections start date’ means, with respect 

9 to any candidate, the date that is 180 days before— 

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

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

12 hold a primary election, the date prescribed by 

13 State law as the last day to qualify for a posi14 tion on the general election ballot. 

15 ‘‘(4) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the 

16 House Clean Elections Fund established by section 

17 502. 

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

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

20 candidate, the period beginning on the day after the 

21 date of the primary or primary runoff election for 

22 the specific office that the candidate is seeking, 

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

24 ‘‘(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) IMMEDIATE FAMILY.—The term ‘imme12 diate family’ means, with respect to any candidate— 

13 ‘‘(A) the candidate’s spouse; 

14 ‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grand15 parent, brother, half-brother, sister, or half-sis16 ter of the candidate or the candidate’s spouse; 

17 and 

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

19 subparagraph (B). 

20 ‘‘(8) INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE.—The term 

21 ‘independent candidate’ means a candidate for Rep22 resentative who is— 

23 ‘‘(A) not affiliated with any political party; 

24 or 

25 ‘‘(B) affiliated with a political party that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a candidate in a 

2 State that holds a primary election for 

3 Representative, does not hold a primary 

4 election for Representative; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a candidate in a 

6 State that does not hold primary election 

7 for Representative, does not have ballot 

8 status in such State. 

9 ‘‘(9) MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘major 

11 party candidate’ means a candidate for Rep12 resentative who is affiliated with a major polit13 ical party. 

14 ‘‘(B) MAJOR POLITICAL PARTY.—The term 

15 ‘major political party’ means, with respect to 

16 any State, a political party of which a candidate 

17 for the office of Representative, President, or 

18 Governor in the preceding 5 years, received, as 

19 a candidate of that party in such State, 25 per20 cent or more of the total number of popular 

21 votes cast for such office in such State. 

22 ‘‘(10) MINOR PARTY CANDIDATE.—The term 

23 ‘minor party candidate’ means a candidate for Rep24 resentative who is affiliated with a political party 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) holds a primary for House nomina2 tions; and 

3 ‘‘(B) is not a major political party. 

4 ‘‘(11) NONPARTICIPATING CANDIDATE.—The 

5 term ‘nonparticipating candidate’ means a candidate 

6 for Representative or Delegate or Resident Commis7 sioner to the Congress who is not a participating 

8 candidate. 

9 ‘‘(12) PARTICIPATING CANDIDATE.—The term 

10 ‘participating candidate’ means a candidate for Rep11 resentative who is certified under section 507 as 

12 being eligible to receive an allocation from the Fund. 

13 ‘‘(13) PRIMARY ELECTION PERIOD.—The term 

14 ‘primary election period’ means the period beginning 

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

16 primary election and ending on the date of the pri17 mary election. In the event of a special primary elec18 tion, if applicable, such term means the period be19 ginning on the date that is the longer of 90 days be20 fore the date of such special primary election, or the 

21 date of establishment by the appropriate election au22 thority of the special primary election date and end23 ing on the date of the special primary election. 

24 ‘‘(14) PRIMARY ELECTION RUNOFF PERIOD.— 

25 The term ‘primary election runoff period’ means, 


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1 with respect to a candidate, the period beginning on 

2 the day following the date of the last primary elec3 tion for the specific office that the candidate is seek4 ing and ending on the date of the runoff election for 

5 that office. 

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

7 ‘qualifying contribution’ means, with respect to a 

8 candidate, a contribution that— 

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

10 ‘‘(B) is made by an individual who— 

11 ‘‘(i) is a resident of the State with re12 spect to which the candidate is seeking 

13 election; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) is not prohibited from making a 

15 contribution under this Act; 

16 ‘‘(C) is made during the clean elections 

17 qualifying period; and 

18 ‘‘(D) meets the requirements of section 

19 505(c). 

20 ‘‘(16) REPRESENTATIVE.—The term ‘Rep21 resentative’ includes a Delegate or Resident Com22 missioner to the Congress. 

23 ‘‘(17) SEED MONEY CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

24 ‘seed money contribution’ means a contribution or 

25 contributions by any 1 individual— 


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1 ‘‘(A) aggregating not more than $100; and 

2 ‘‘(B) made to a candidate after the date of 

3 the most recent previous election for the office 

4 which the candidate is seeking and before the 

5 date the candidate has been certified as a par6 ticipating candidate under section 507(a). 

7 ‘‘(18) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes the 

8 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is9 lands, American Samoa, and Guam. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 502. HOUSE CLEAN ELECTIONS FUND. 

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

12 Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘House Clean Elec13 tions Fund’. 

14 ‘‘(b) DEPOSITS.—The Commission shall deposit 

15 unspent seed money contributions, qualifying contribu16 tions, penalty amounts received under this title, and 

17 amounts appropriated for clean money financing in the 

18 House Clean Elections Fund. 

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

20 portions of the Fund in obligations of the United States 

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

22 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

23 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUND.— 

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

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1 tions to participating candidates in accordance with 

2 sections 510 and 511. 

3 ‘‘(2) INSUFFICIENT AMOUNTS.—Under regula4 tions established by the Commission, rules similar to 

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

6 Code shall apply. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 503. ELIGIBILITY FOR ALLOCATIONS FROM THE 

8 FUND. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A candidate for Representative 

10 is eligible to receive an allocation from the Fund for any 

11 election if the candidate meets the following requirements: 

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

13 statement of intent to seek certification as a partici14 pating candidate under this title during the period 

15 beginning on the clean elections start date and end16 ing on the last day of the clean elections qualifying 

17 period. 

18 ‘‘(2) The candidate has complied with the seed 

19 money contribution requirements of section 504. 

20 ‘‘(3) The candidate meets the qualifying con21 tribution requirements of section 505. 

22 ‘‘(4) Not later than the last day of the clean 

23 elections qualifying period, the candidate files with 

24 the Commission an affidavit signed by the candidate 


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

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

4 comply with the contribution and expenditure 

5 requirements of section 506; 

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

8 election for the office that such candidate is 

9 seeking; and 

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

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

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

14 allocation from the Fund for a general election or a gen15 eral run off election unless the candidate’s party nomi16 nated the candidate to be placed on the ballot for the gen17 eral election or the candidate qualified to be placed on the 

18 ballot as an independent candidate, and the candidate is 

19 qualified under State law to be on the ballot. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 504. SEED MONEY CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT. 

21 ‘‘A candidate for Representative meets the seed 

22 money contribution requirements of this section if the can23 didate meets the following requirements: 


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1 ‘‘(1) SEPARATE ACCOUNTING.—The candidate 

2 maintains seed money contributions in a separate 

3 account. 

4 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The candidate 

5 deposits into the House Clean Elections Fund or re6 turns to donors an amount equal to the amount of 

7 any seed money contributions which, in the aggre8 gate, exceed the sum of $50,000. 

9 ‘‘(3) USE OF SEED MONEY.—The candidate 

10 makes expenditures from seed money contributions 

11 only for campaign-related costs. 

12 ‘‘(4) RECORDS.—The candidate maintains a 

13 record of the name and street address of any con14 tributor of a seed money contribution and the 

15 amount of any such contribution. 

16 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—Unless a seed money contribu17 tion or an expenditure made with a seed money con18 tribution has been reported previously under section 

19 304, the candidate files with the Commission a re20 port disclosing all seed money contributions and ex21 penditures not later than 48 hours after receiving 

22 notification of the determination with respect to the 

23 certification of the candidate under section 507. 

24 ‘‘(6) TIME TO ACCEPT SEED MONEY CONTRIBU25 TIONS.—A clean elections candidate may accept seed 


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1 money contributions for an election from the day 

2 after the date of the previous general election for the 

3 office to which the candidate is seeking election 

4 through 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). 

8 ‘‘(7) DEPOSIT OF UNSPENT SEED MONEY CON9 TRIBUTIONS.—A clean elections candidate shall 

10 remit any unspent seed money to the Commission, 

11 for deposit in the House Clean Elections Fund, not 

12 later than the earliest date on which the Commission 

13 makes funds available to the candidate for an elec14 tion period. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 505. QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT. 

16 ‘‘(a) MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATES AND CERTAIN

17 INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES.—The requirement of this 

18 section is met if, during the clean money qualifying period, 

19 a major party candidate (or an independent candidate who 

20 meets the minimum vote percentage required for a major 

21 party candidate under section 501(9)) receives 1,500 

22 qualifying contributions. 

23 ‘‘(b) OTHER CANDIDATES.—The requirement of this 

24 section is met if, during the clean money qualifying period, 

25 a candidate who is not described in subsection (a) receives 


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1 a number of qualifying contributions that is at least 150 

2 percent of the number of qualifying contributions that a 

3 candidate described in subsection (a) in the same election 

4 is required to receive under subsection (a). 

5 ‘‘(c) RECEIPT OF QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION.—A 

6 qualifying contribution shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) be accompanied by the contributor’s name 

8 and home address; 

9 ‘‘(2) be accompanied by a signed statement that 

10 the contributor understands the purpose of the 

11 qualifying contribution; 

12 ‘‘(3) be made by a personal check, debit card, 

13 credit card, or money order payable to the House 

14 Clean Elections Fund or by cash; and 

15 ‘‘(4) be acknowledged by a receipt that is sent 

16 to the contributor with a copy kept by the candidate 

17 for the Commission and a copy kept by the can18 didate for the election authorities in the candidate’s 

19 State. 

20 ‘‘(d) DEPOSIT OF QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTIONS IN

21 HOUSE CLEAN ELECTIONS FUND.— 

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

23 that is 1 day after the date on which the candidate 

24 is certified under section 507, a candidate shall 


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1 remit all qualifying contributions to the Commission 

2 for deposit in the House Clean Elections Fund. 

3 ‘‘(2) CANDIDATES THAT ARE NOT CER4 TIFIED.—Not later than the last day of the clean 

5 money qualifying period, a candidate who has re6 ceived qualifying contributions and is not certified 

7 under section 507 shall remit all qualifying contribu8 tions to the Commission for deposit in the House 

9 Clean Elections Fund. 

10 ‘‘(e) VERIFICATION OF QUALIFYING CONTRIBU11 TIONS.—The Commission shall establish procedures for 

12 the auditing and verification of qualifying contributions to 

13 ensure that such contributions meet the requirements of 

14 this section. Such procedures may provide for verification 

15 through the means of a postcard or other method, as de16 termined by the Commission. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 506. CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE REQUIRE18 MENTS. 

19 ‘‘A candidate for Representative meets the require20 ments of this section if, during the election cycle of the 

21 candidate, the candidate— 

22 ‘‘(1) except as provided in subsection (b), ac23 cepts no contributions other than— 

24 ‘‘(A) seed money contributions; 


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1 ‘‘(B) qualifying contributions made payable 

2 to the House Clean Elections Fund; and 

3 ‘‘(C) allocations from the House Clean 

4 Elections Fund under sections 510 and 511; 

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

6 other than from— 

7 ‘‘(A) amounts received from seed money 

8 contributions; and 

9 ‘‘(B) amounts received from the House 

10 Clean Elections Fund; and 

11 ‘‘(3) makes no expenditures from personal 

12 funds or the funds of any immediate family member 

13 (other than funds received through seed money con14 tributions). 

15 For purposes of this subsection, a payment made by a po16 litical party in coordination with a participating candidate 

17 shall not be treated as a contribution to or as an expendi18 ture made by the participating candidate. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 507. CERTIFICATION BY COMMISSION. 

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

21 candidate for Representative files an affidavit under sec22 tion 503(a)(4), the Commission shall— 

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

24 eligibility requirements of section 503; 


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

2 participating candidate; and 

3 ‘‘(3) notify the candidate of the Commission’s 

4 determination. 

5 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may re7 voke a certification under subsection (a) if— 

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

9 on the ballot at any time after the date of cer10 tification; or 

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

12 with the requirements of this title. 

13 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT OF BENEFITS.—If certifi14 cation is revoked under paragraph (1), the candidate 

15 shall repay to the House Clean Elections Fund an 

16 amount equal to the value of benefits received under 

17 this title plus interest (at a rate determined by the 

18 Commission) on any such amount received. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 508. BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES. 

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

21 be entitled to— 

22 ‘‘(1) for each election with respect to which a 

23 candidate is certified as a participating candidate— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an allocation from the Fund to make 

2 or obligate to make expenditures with respect to 

3 such election, as provided in section 510; 

4 ‘‘(B) fair fight funds, as provided in sec5 tion 511; and 

6 ‘‘(2) media benefits under section 315 of the 

7 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315). 

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

9 THE FUND.—Allocations from the Fund received by a par10 ticipating candidate under sections 510 and 511 may only 

11 be used for campaign-related costs. 

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

13 Not later than the date that is 45 days after the date of 

14 the election, a participating candidate shall remit to the 

15 Commission for deposit in the House Clean Elections 

16 Fund any unspent amounts paid to such candidate under 

17 this title for such election. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 509. ALLOCATIONS FROM THE FUND. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make allo20 cations from the Fund under section 508(a)(1)(A) to a 

21 participating candidate— 

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

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

24 date on which such candidate is certified as a par25 ticipating candidate under section 507; 


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

2 than 48 hours after— 

3 ‘‘(A) the date the certification of the re4 sults of the primary election or the primary 

5 runoff election; or 

6 ‘‘(B) in any case in which there is no pri7 mary election, the date the candidate qualifies 

8 to be placed on the ballot; and 

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

10 a general runoff election, not later than 48 hours 

11 after the certification of the results of the primary 

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

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

14 distribute funds available to participating candidates 

15 under this section through the use of an electronic funds 

16 exchange or a debit card. 

17 ‘‘(c) MONEY AMOUNTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), the clean money amount paid to a clean 

20 money candidate with respect to an election shall be 

21 equal to the applicable percentage of 80 percent of 

22 the base amount for the election cycle involved, ex23 cept that in no event may the amount determined 

24 under this subsection for a clean money candidate 

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1 mined under this subsection for the candidate for 

2 the previous election cycle. 

3 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION FOR UNCONTESTED ELEC4 TIONS.—If a clean money candidate has no opposi5 tion in an election for which a payment is made 

6 under this section, the clean money amount paid 

7 shall be 40 percent of the amount otherwise deter8 mined under paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—In this 

11 subsection, the ‘applicable percentage’ is as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(i) 25 percent, in the case of a minor 

14 party or independent candidate in a pri15 mary election. 

16 ‘‘(ii) 40 percent, in the case of a 

17 major party candidate in a primary elec18 tion. 

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

20 candidate in a general election. 

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

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

23 an election cycle) the national average of all 

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1 ing the 2 most recent general elections for Rep2 resentative preceding the election cycle involved. 

3 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENT BY MEDIA MARKET.— 

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

5 consultation with the Federal Communications 

6 Commission, shall establish an index reflecting 

7 the costs of the media markets in each State. 

8 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT.—At the beginning of 

9 each year, the Commission shall increase the 

10 amount under paragraph (1) (after application 

11 of paragraph (3)) based on the index estab12 lished under subparagraph (A). 

13 ‘‘SEC. 510. PAYMENT OF FAIR FIGHT FUNDS. 

14 ‘‘(a) DETERMINATION OF RIGHT TO PAYMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall, on 

16 a regular basis, make a determination on— 

17 ‘‘(A) the amount of opposing funds with 

18 respect to each participating candidate, and 

19 ‘‘(B) the applicable amount with respect to 

20 each participating candidate. 

21 ‘‘(2) BASIS OF DETERMINATIONS.—The Com22 mission shall make determinations under paragraph 

23 (1) based on— 

24 ‘‘(A) reports filed by the relevant opposing 

25 candidate under section 304(a) with respect to 


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1 amounts described in subsection (c)(1)(A)(i)(I); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) reports filed by political committees 

4 under section 304(a) and by other persons 

5 under section 304(c) with respect to— 

6 ‘‘(i) opposing funds described in 

7 clauses (ii)(I) and (iii)(I) of subsection 

8 (c)(1)(A); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) applicable amounts described in 

10 subparagraphs (B)(i) and (C)(i) of sub11 section (b)(2). 

12 ‘‘(3) REQUESTS FOR DETERMINATION RELAT13 ING TO CERTAIN ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICA14 TIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A participating can16 didate may request to the Commission to make 

17 a determination under paragraph (1) with re18 spect to any relevant opposing candidate with 

19 respect to— 

20 ‘‘(i) opposing funds described in 

21 clauses (ii)(II) and (iii)(II) of subsection 

22 (c)(1)(A); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) applicable amounts described in 

24 subparagraphs (B)(ii) and (C)(ii) of sub25 section (b)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(B) TIME FOR MAKING DETERMINA2 TION.—In the case of any such request, the 

3 Commission shall make such determination and 

4 notify the participating candidate of such deter5 mination not later than— 

6 ‘‘(i) 24 hours after receiving such re7 quest during the 3-week period ending on 

8 the date of the election, and 

9 ‘‘(ii) 48 hours after receiving such re10 quest at any other time. 

11 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

13 make available to the participating candidate fair 

14 fight funds in an amount equal to the amount of op15 posing funds that is in excess of the applicable 

16 amount— 

17 ‘‘(A) immediately after making any deter18 mination under subsection (a) with respect to 

19 any participating candidate during the 3-week 

20 period ending on the date of the election, and 

21 ‘‘(B) not later than 24 hours after making 

22 such determination at any other time. 

23 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—For purposes of 

24 this section, the applicable amount is an amount 

25 equal to the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the sum of— 

2 ‘‘(i) the amount of seed money con3 tribution received by the participating can4 didate; plus 

5 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a participating 

6 candidate who is a minor party candidate 

7 running in a general election or an inde8 pendent candidate, the allocation from the 

9 Fund which would have been provided to 

10 such candidate for such election if such 

11 candidate were a major party candidate; or 

12 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other partici13 pating candidate, an amount equal to the 

14 allocation from the Fund to such candidate 

15 for such election under section 510(c); and 

16 ‘‘(B) the amount of fair fight funds pre17 viously provided to the participating candidate 

18 under this subsection for the election. 

19 ‘‘(3) LIMITS ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The 

20 aggregate of fair fight funds that a participating 

21 candidate receives under this subsection for any elec22 tion shall not exceed 200 percent of the allocation 

23 from the Fund that the participating candidate re24 ceives for such election under section 510(c). 

25 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 


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1 ‘‘(1) OPPOSING FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘opposing 

3 funds’ means, with respect to any participating 

4 candidate for any election, the sum of— 

5 ‘‘(i)(I) the greater of the total con6 tributions received by the relevant oppos7 ing candidate or the total expenditures 

8 made by such relevant opposing candidate; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(II) in the case of a relevant oppos11 ing candidate who is a participating can12 didate, an amount equal to the sum of the 

13 amount of seed money contributions re14 ceived by the relevant opposing candidate, 

15 the value of any vouchers received by the 

16 relevant opposing candidate for the general 

17 election under section 315A of the Commu18 nications Act of 1934, and the allocation 

19 from the Fund under section 510(c) for 

20 the relevant opposing candidate for such 

21 election; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the sum of— 

23 ‘‘(I) the amount of independent 

24 expenditures made advocating the 


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1 election of such relevant opposing can2 didate; plus 

3 ‘‘(II) the amount of disburse4 ments for electioneering communica5 tions which promote or support such 

6 relevant opposing candidate; plus 

7 ‘‘(iii) the sum of— 

8 ‘‘(I) the amount of independent 

9 expenditures made advocating the de10 feat of such participating candidate; 

11 plus 

12 ‘‘(II) the amount of disburse13 ments for electioneering communica14 tions which attack or oppose such par15 ticipating candidate. 

16 ‘‘(2) RELEVANT OPPOSING CANDIDATE.—The 

17 term ‘relevant opposing candidate’ means, with re18 spect to any participating candidate, the opposing 

19 candidate of such participating candidate with re20 spect to whom the amount under paragraph (1) is 

21 the greatest. 

22 ‘‘(3) ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION.—The 

23 term ‘electioneering communication’ has the mean24 ing given such term under section 304(f)(3), except 


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1 that subparagraph (A)(i)(II)(aa) thereof shall be ap2 plied by substituting ‘30’ for ‘60’. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 511. ADMINISTRATION OF THE HOUSE CLEAN ELEC4 TIONS SYSTEM. 

5 ‘‘(a) REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall pre6 scribe regulations to carry out the purposes of this title, 

7 including regulations— 

8 ‘‘(1) to establish procedures for— 

9 ‘‘(A) verifying the amount of valid quali10 fying contributions with respect to a candidate; 

11 ‘‘(B) effectively and efficiently monitoring 

12 and enforcing the limits on the use of personal 

13 funds by participating candidates; 

14 ‘‘(C) the expedited payment of fair fight 

15 funds during the 3-week period ending on the 

16 date of the election; 

17 ‘‘(D) monitoring the use of allocations 

18 from the Fund under this title through audits 

19 or other mechanisms; and 

20 ‘‘(E) returning unspent disbursements and 

21 disposing of assets purchased with allocations 

22 from the Fund; 

23 ‘‘(2) providing for the administration of the 

24 provisions of this title with respect to special elec25 tions; 


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1 ‘‘(3) pertaining to the replacement of can2 didates; and 

3 ‘‘(4) for attributing expenditures to specific 

4 elections for the purposes of calculating opposing 

5 funds. 

6 ‘‘(b) OPERATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commission 

7 shall maintain normal business hours during the weekend 

8 immediately before any general election for the purposes 

9 of administering the provisions of this title, including the 

10 distribution of fair fight funds under section 511. 

11 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.—Not later than April 1, 2009, and 

12 every 2 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit to 

13 the Committee on House Administration of the House of 

14 Representatives a report documenting, evaluating, and 

15 making recommendations relating to the administrative 

16 implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this 

17 title. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 512. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES. 

19 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF CONTRIBU20 TION AND EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.—If a can21 didate who has been certified as a participating candidate 

22 under section 507(a) accepts a contribution or makes an 

23 expenditure that is prohibited under section 506, the Com24 mission shall assess a civil penalty against the candidate 

25 in an amount that is not more than 10 times the amount 


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1 of the contribution or expenditure. Any amounts collected 

2 under this subsection shall be deposited into the House 

3 Clean Elections Fund. 

4 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR IMPROPER USE OF CLEAN

5 ELECTIONS FUND.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission deter7 mines that any benefit made available to a partici8 pating candidate under this title was not used as 

9 provided for in this title or that a participating can10 didate has violated any of the dates for remission of 

11 funds contained in this title, the Commission shall 

12 so notify the candidate and the candidate shall pay 

13 to the House Clean Elections Fund an amount equal 

14 to— 

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

16 remitted, as appropriate, and 

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

18 rate determined by the Commission). 

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

20 action by the Commission in accordance with this 

21 subsection shall not preclude enforcement pro22 ceedings by the Commission in accordance with sec23 tion 309(a), including a referral by the Commission 

24 to the Attorney General in the case of an apparent 

25 knowing and willful violation of this title. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 513. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

3 House Clean Elections Fund such sums as are necessary 

4 to carry out this title.’’. 

5 SEC. 103. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR NONPARTICI6 PATING CANDIDATES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 304 of the Federal Elec8 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) NONPARTICIPATING CANDIDATES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REPORT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each nonparticipating 

13 candidate who is opposed to a participating 

14 candidate and who receives contributions or 

15 makes expenditures aggregating more than the 

16 threshold amount shall, within 48 hours of the 

17 date such aggregate contributions or expendi18 tures exceed the threshold amount, file with the 

19 Commission a report stating the total amount 

20 of contributions received and expenditures made 

21 or obligated by such candidate. 

22 ‘‘(B) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.—For purposes 

23 of this paragraph, the term ‘threshold amount’ 

24 means 75 percent of the allocation from the 

25 Fund that a participating candidate would be 

26 entitled to receive in such election under section 


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1 510 if the participating candidate were a major 

2 party candidate. 

3 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC REPORTS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any re5 ports required under subsection (a), each non6 participating candidate who is required to make 

7 a report under paragraph (1) shall make the 

8 following reports: 

9 ‘‘(i) A report which shall be filed not 

10 later than 5 p.m. on the forty-second day 

11 before the date on which the election in12 volving such candidate is held and which 

13 shall be complete through the forty-fourth 

14 day before such date. 

15 ‘‘(ii) A report which shall be filed not 

16 later than 5 p.m. on the twenty-first day 

17 before the date on which the election in18 volving such candidate is held and which 

19 shall be complete through the twenty-third 

20 day before such date. 

21 ‘‘(iii) A report which shall be filed not 

22 later than 5 p.m. on the twelfth day before 

23 the date on which the election involving 

24 such candidate is held and which shall be 


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1 complete through the fourteenth day before 

2 such date. 

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTING WITHIN 2

4 WEEKS OF ELECTION.—Each nonparticipating 

5 candidate who is required to make a report 

6 under paragraph (1) and who receives contribu7 tions or makes expenditures aggregating more 

8 than $1,000 at any time after the fourteenth 

9 day before the date of the election involving 

10 such candidate shall make a report to the Com11 mission not later than 24 hours after such con12 tributions are received or such expenditures are 

13 made. 

14 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report 

15 required under this paragraph shall state the 

16 total amount of contributions received and ex17 penditures made or obligated to be made during 

18 the period covered by the report. 

19 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub20 section and section 309(a)(13), the terms ‘non21 participating candidate’, ‘participating candidate’, 

22 and ‘allocation from the Fund’ have the respective 

23 meanings given to such terms under section 501.’’. 

24 (b) INCREASED PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO FILE.— 

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


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1 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437(g)) is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(13) INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES WITH RE4 SPECT TO REPORTING BY NONPARTICIPATING CAN5 DIDATES.—For purposes of paragraphs (5) and (6), 

6 any civil penalty with respect to a violation of sec7 tion 304(i) shall not exceed the greater of— 

8 ‘‘(A) the amount otherwise applicable with9 out regard to this paragraph; or 

10 ‘‘(B) for each day of the violation, 3 times 

11 the amount of the fair fight funds under section 

12 511 that otherwise would have been allocated to 

13 the participating candidate but for such viola14 tion.’’. 

15 SEC. 104. MODIFICATION OF ELECTIONEERING COMMU16 NICATION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

17 Paragraph (2) of section 304(f) of the Federal Elec18 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(2)) is amend19 ed by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and (F) as sub20 paragraphs (F) and (G), respectively, and by inserting 

21 after subparagraph (D) the following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(E) in the case of a communication refer23 ring to any candidate in an election involving a 

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1 tion 501(9)), a transcript of the electioneering 

2 communication.’’. 

3 SEC. 105. LIMITATION ON COORDINATED EXPENDITURES 

4 BY POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES WITH 

5 PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(d)(3) of the Federal 

7 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

10 (B) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and 

11 (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as re12 designated by paragraph (1), the following new sub13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(A) in the case of a candidate for election 

15 to the office of Representative who is a partici16 pating candidate (as defined in section 501), 

17 the lesser of— 

18 ‘‘(i) 10 percent of the allocation from 

19 the House Clean Elections Fund that the 

20 participating candidate is eligible to receive 

21 for the general election under section 

22 510(c)(3); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the amount which would (but for 

24 this subparagraph) apply with respect to 

25 such candidate under subparagraph (B);’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph (B) 

2 of section 315(d)(3) of such Act, as redesignated by sub3 section (a), is amended by inserting ‘‘who is not a partici4 pating candidate (as so defined)’’ after ‘‘office of Rep5 resentative’’. 

6 SEC. 106. TREATMENT OF COORDINATED EXPENDITURES 

7 AS CONTRIBUTIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(8) of the Federal 

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

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause 

13 (i); 

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

15 clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(iii) a payment made for a commu18 nication or anything of value that is for 

19 the purpose of influencing an election for 

20 Federal office and that is made in coordi21 nation with a candidate (as defined in sub22 paragraph (C)).’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(C) For the purposes of subparagraph 

2 (A)(iii), the term ‘payment made in coordina3 tion with a candidate’ includes— 

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

5 cooperation, consultation, or concert with, 

6 at the request or suggestion of, or pursu7 ant to any general or particular under8 standing with a candidate, the candidate’s 

9 authorized committee, or an agent acting 

10 on behalf of a candidate or authorized 

11 committee; 

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

13 the dissemination, distribution, or republi14 cation, in whole or in part, of any broad15 cast or any written, graphic, or other form 

16 of campaign material prepared by a can17 didate, a candidate’s authorized committee, 

18 or an agent of a candidate or authorized 

19 committee (not including a communication 

20 described in paragraph (9)(B)(i) or a com21 munication that expressly advocates the 

22 candidate’s defeat); 

23 ‘‘(iii) a payment made based on infor24 mation about a candidate’s plans, projects, 

25 or needs provided to the person making the 


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1 payment by the candidate or the can2 didate’s agent who provides the informa3 tion with a view toward having the pay4 ment made; 

5 ‘‘(iv) a payment made by a person if, 

6 in the same election cycle in which the pay7 ment is made, the person making the pay8 ment is serving or has served as a member, 

9 employee, fundraiser, or agent of the can10 didate’s authorized committee in an execu11 tive or policymaking position; 

12 ‘‘(v) a payment made by a person if 

13 the person making the payment has served 

14 in any formal policy or advisory position 

15 with the candidate’s campaign or has par16 ticipated in strategic or policymaking dis17 cussions with the candidate’s campaign re18 lating to the candidate’s pursuit of nomi19 nation for election, or election, to Federal 

20 office, in the same election cycle as the 

21 election cycle in which the payment is 

22 made; and 

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

24 the person making the payment retains the 

25 professional services of an individual or 


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1 person who has provided or is providing 

2 campaign-related services in the same elec3 tion cycle to a candidate in connection with 

4 the candidate’s pursuit of nomination for 

5 election, or election, to Federal office, in6 cluding services relating to the candidate’s 

7 decision to seek Federal office, and the 

8 payment is for services of which the pur9 pose is to influence that candidate’s elec10 tion. 

11 ‘‘(D) For purposes of subparagraph 

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

13 services in support of a candidate’s pursuit of 

14 nomination for election, or election, to Federal 

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

16 fundraising, or campaign research.’’. 

17 (b) EXCEPTION FOR CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES.— 

18 Section 315(a)(7) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(7)) is 

19 amended by striking paragraph (B) and inserting the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(B)(i) except as provided in clause (ii), a pay22 ment made in coordination with a candidate (as de23 scribed in section 301(8)(A)(iii)) shall be considered 

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

25 purposes of any provision of this Act that imposes 


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1 a limitation on the making of expenditures by a can2 didate, shall be treated as an expenditure by the 

3 candidate for purposes of this paragraph, and 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a clean money candidate (as 

5 defined in section 501), a payment made in coordi6 nation with a candidate by a committee of a political 

7 party shall not be treated as a contribution to the 

8 candidate for purposes of section 503(b)(1) or an ex9 penditure made by the candidate for purposes of sec10 tion 503(b)(2);’’. 

11 SEC. 107. AUDITS. 

12 Section 311(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

13 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(b)) is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Commis15 sion’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(2) AUDITS OF PARTICIPATING CAN18 DIDATES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para20 graph (1), after every primary, general, and 

21 runoff election, the Commission shall conduct 

22 random audits and investigations of not less 

23 than 30 percent of the authorized committees of 

24 candidates who are participating candidates (as 

25 defined in section 501). 


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1 ‘‘(B) SELECTION OF SUBJECTS.—The sub2 jects of audits and investigations under this 

3 paragraph shall be selected on the basis of im4 partial criteria established by a vote of at least 

5 4 members of the Commission.’’. 

6 SEC. 108. TAX CREDIT FOR VOLUNTARY DONATIONS TO 

7 HOUSE CLEAN ELECTIONS FUND. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part IV of sub9 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

10 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

11 section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 30D. CREDIT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO HOUSE CLEAN 

13 ELECTIONS FUND. 

14 ‘‘(a) CREDIT ALLOWED.—There shall be allowed as 

15 a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for the 

16 taxable year an amount equal to the lesser of— 

17 ‘‘(1) the amount contributed to the House 

18 Clean Elections Fund by the taxpayer during such 

19 taxable year, or 

20 ‘‘(2) $500. 

21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) NO CREDIT FOR QUALIFYING CONTRIBU23 TIONS.—No credit shall be allowed under subsection 

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1 tribution (as defined under section 501(11) of the 

2 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971). 

3 ‘‘(2) NO CREDIT FOR DESIGNATIONS UNDER

4 SECTION 6097.—No credit shall be allowed with re5 spect to any amount designated under section 6097. 

6 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION WITH OTHER CREDITS.— 

7 The credit allowed by subsection (a) for any taxable 

8 year shall not exceed the excess (if any) of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the regular tax liability (as defined in 

10 section 26(b)) reduced by the sum of the credits 

11 allowable under subpart A and sections 27, 30, 

12 30B, and 30C, over 

13 ‘‘(B) the tentative minimum tax for the 

14 taxable year. 

15 ‘‘(c) HOUSE CLEAN ELECTIONS FUND.—For pur16 poses of this section, the term ‘House Clean Elections 

17 Fund’ means the fund established under section 502 of 

18 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. 

19 ‘‘(d) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction 

20 shall be allowed under this chapter for any amount for 

21 which a credit is allowed under subsection (a).’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of section 

23 for subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:57 Mar 26, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1614.IH H1614

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1 serting after the item relating to section 30C the following 

2 new item: 

‘‘Sec. 30D. Credit for contributions to House Clean Elections Fund.’’. 

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

4 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

5 December 31, 2007. 

6 Subtitle B—Clean Elections Review 

7 Commission 

8 SEC. 111. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com10 mission to be known as the ‘‘Clean Elections Review Com11 mission’’ (hereafter in this subtitle referred to as the 

12 ‘‘Commission’’). 

13 (b) DUTIES.— 

14 (1) REVIEW OF CLEAN ELECTIONS FINANC15 ING.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—After each general elec17 tion for Federal office, the Commission shall 

18 conduct a comprehensive review of the House 

19 clean elections financing program under title V 

20 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, 

21 including— 

22 (i) the number and value of qualifying 

23 contributions a candidate is required to ob24 tain under section 505 of such Act to qual25 ify for allocations from the Fund; 


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1 (ii) the amount of allocations from the 

2 House Clean Elections Fund that can3 didates may receive under sections 510 

4 and 511 of such Act; 

5 (iii) the overall satisfaction of partici6 pating candidates with the program; and 

7 (iv) such other matters relating to fi8 nancing of House campaigns as the Com9 mission determines are appropriate. 

10 (B) CRITERIA FOR REVIEW.—In con11 ducting the review under subparagraph (A), the 

12 Commission shall consider the following: 

13 (i) REVIEW OF QUALIFYING CON14 TRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS.—The Com15 mission shall consider whether the number 

16 and value of qualifying contributions re17 quired strikes a balance between the im18 portance of voter choice and fiscal respon19 sibility, taking into consideration the num20 ber of primary and general election partici21 pating candidates, the electoral perform22 ance of those candidates, program cost, 

23 and any other information the Commission 

24 determines is appropriate. 


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1 (ii) REVIEW OF PROGRAM ALLOCA2 TIONS.—The Commission shall consider 

3 whether allocations from the House Clean 

4 Elections Fund under sections 509 and 

5 510 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

6 of 1974 are sufficient for voters in each 

7 State to learn about the candidates to cast 

8 an informed vote, taking into account the 

9 historic amount of spending by winning 

10 candidates, media costs, primary election 

11 dates, and any other information the Com12 mission determines is appropriate. 

13 (2) REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND PRO14 POSED LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 

15 (A) REPORT.—Not later than March 30 

16 following any general election for Federal office, 

17 the Commission shall submit a report to Con18 gress on the review conducted under paragraph 

19 (1). Such report shall contain a detailed state20 ment of the findings, conclusions, and rec21 ommendations of the Commission based on 

22 such review, and shall contain any proposed leg23 islative language (as required under subpara24 graph (C)) of the Commission. 


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1 (B) FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND REC2 OMMENDATIONS.—A finding, conclusion, or rec3 ommendation of the Commission shall be in4 cluded in the report under subparagraph (A) 

5 only if not less than 3 members of the Commis6 sion voted for such finding, conclusion, or rec7 ommendation. 

8 (C) LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—The report under 

10 subparagraph (A) shall include legislative 

11 language with respect to any recommenda12 tion involving— 

13 (I) an increase in the number or 

14 value of qualifying contributions; or 

15 (II) an increase in the amount of 

16 allocations from the House Clean 

17 Elections Fund. 

18 (ii) FORM.—The legislative language 

19 shall be in the form of a proposed bill for 

20 introduction in Congress and shall not in21 clude any recommendation not related to 

22 matter described subclause (I) or (II) of 

23 clause (i). 


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1 SEC. 112. STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMIS2 SION. 

3 (a) APPOINTMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

5 composed of 5 members, of whom— 

6 (A) 1 shall be appointed by the Speaker of 

7 the House of Representatives; 

8 (B) 1 shall be appointed by the Minority 

9 Leader of the House; and 

10 (C) 3 shall be appointed jointly by the 

11 members appointed under subparagraphs (A) 

12 and (B). 

13 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The members shall be 

15 individuals who are nonpartisan and, by reason 

16 of their education, experience, and attainments, 

17 exceptionally qualified to perform the duties of 

18 members of the Commission. 

19 (B) PROHIBITION.—No member of the 

20 Commission may be— 

21 (i) a member of Congress; 

22 (ii) an employee of the Federal Gov23 ernment; 

24 (iii) a registered lobbyist; or 

25 (iv) an officer or employee of a polit26 ical party or political campaign. 


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1 (3) DATE.—Members of the Commission shall 

2 be appointed not later than 60 days after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (4) TERMS.—A member of the Commission 

5 shall be appointed for a term of 5 years. 

6 (b) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall 

7 be filled not later than 30 calendar days after the date 

8 on which the Commission is given notice of the vacancy, 

9 in the same manner as the original appointment. The indi10 vidual appointed to fill the vacancy shall serve only for 

11 the unexpired portion of the term for which the individ12 ual’s predecessor was appointed. 

13 (c) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall designate 

14 a Chairperson from among the members of the Commis15 sion. 

16 SEC. 113. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

17 (a) MEETINGS AND HEARINGS.— 

18 (1) MEETINGS.—The Commission may hold 

19 such hearings, sit and act at such times and places, 

20 take such testimony, and receive such evidence as 

21 the Commission considers advisable to carry out the 

22 purposes of this Act. 

23 (2) QUORUM.—Four members of the Commis24 sion shall constitute a quorum for purposes of votVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:57 Mar 26, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1614.IH H1614

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1 ing, but a quorum is not required for members to 

2 meet and hold hearings. 

3 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

4 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart5 ment or agency such information as the Commission con6 siders necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

7 Upon request of the Chairperson of the Commission, the 

8 head of such department or agency shall furnish such in9 formation to the Commission. 

10 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

11 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

12 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of 

13 the Federal Government. 

14 (d) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

15 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

16 SEC. 114. ADMINISTRATION. 

17 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member, other 

20 than the Chairperson, shall be paid at a rate 

21 equal to the daily equivalent of the minimum 

22 annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV 

23 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

24 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in25 cluding travel time) during which such member 


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1 is engaged in the performance of the duties of 

2 the Commission. 

3 (B) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson 

4 shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily equiva5 lent of the minimum annual rate of basic pay 

6 prescribed for level III of the Executive Sched7 ule under section 5314 of title 5, United States 

8 Code, for each day (including travel time) dur9 ing which such member is engaged in the per10 formance of the duties of the Commission. 

11 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive 

12 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist13 ence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of 

14 title 5, United States Code, while away from their 

15 homes or regular places of business in performance 

16 of services for the Commission. 

17 (b) PERSONNEL.— 

18 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a 

19 staff headed by an Executive Director. The Execu20 tive Director shall be paid at a rate equivalent to a 

21 rate established for the Senior Executive Service 

22 under section 5382 of title 5, United States Code. 

23 (2) STAFF APPOINTMENT.—With the approval 

24 of the Chairperson, the Executive Director may apVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:57 Mar 26, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1614.IH H1614

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1 point such personnel as the Executive Director and 

2 the Commission determines to be appropriate. 

3 (3) ACTUARIAL EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.— 

4 With the approval of the Chairperson, the Executive 

5 Director may procure temporary and intermittent 

6 services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United 

7 States Code. 

8 (4) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

9 Upon the request of the Chairperson, the head of 

10 any Federal agency may detail, without reimburse11 ment, any of the personnel of such agency to the 

12 Commission to assist in carrying out the duties of 

13 the Commission. Any such detail shall not interrupt 

14 or otherwise affect the civil service status or privi15 leges of the Federal employee. 

16 (5) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Commission 

17 shall have reasonable access to materials, resources, 

18 statistical data, and other information from the Li19 brary of Congress and other agencies and elected 

20 representatives of the executive and legislative 

21 branches of the Federal Government. The Chair22 person of the Commission shall make requests for 

23 such access in writing when necessary. 


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1 SEC. 115. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this subtitle. 

4 TITLE II—VOTER INFORMATION 

5 SEC. 201. FREE BROADCAST TIME. 

6 Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

7 U.S.C. 315) is amended— 

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

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

10 inserting ‘‘within the meaning of this subsection or 

11 subsection (c)’’; 

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

13 ‘‘(f) FREE BROADCAST TIME.— 

14 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF TIME.—A clean money can15 didate shall be entitled to receive— 

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

17 during each of the primary election period and 

18 the primary runoff election period; and 

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

20 during the general election period and general 

21 runoff election period. 

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

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

24 shall be— 


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

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

3 any day that falls on Monday through Friday; 

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

5 time between 7:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. or be6 tween 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on any day that 

7 falls on Monday through Friday; or 

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

9 other time to which the candidate and broad10 caster may agree. 

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

12 The amount of free broadcast time that any 1 sta13 tion is required to make available to any 1 clean 

14 money candidate during each of the primary election 

15 period, primary runoff election period, and general 

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

17 (3) in subsection (c)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para19 graph (1); 

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

21 paragraph (2) and inserting a semicolon, and 

22 by redesignating that paragraph as paragraph 

23 (4); 

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

25 following: 


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

2 meaning given in section 501 of the Federal Election 

3 Campaign Act of 1971; 

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

5 ‘general runoff election period’ have the meaning 

6 given in section 501 of the Federal Election Cam7 paign Act of 1971;’’; and 

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

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

10 meaning given in section 501 of the Federal Election 

11 Campaign Act of 1971; 

12 ‘‘(6) the term ‘private money candidate’ has the 

13 meaning given in section 501 of the Federal Election 

14 Campaign Act of 1971; and 

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

16 has the meaning given in section 501 of the Federal 

17 Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

18 SEC. 202. BROADCAST RATES AND PREEMPTION. 

19 (a) BROADCAST RATES.—Section 315(b) of the Com20 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)) is amended— 

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

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

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

24 ‘‘(3) CLEAN MONEY CANDIDATES.—In the case 

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


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1 of a television broadcasting station shall not exceed 

2 50 percent of the lowest charge described in para3 graph (1)(A) during— 

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

5 primary or primary runoff election in which the 

6 candidate is opposed; and 

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

8 general or special election in which the can9 didate is opposed. 

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

11 of a candidate for election for Member of or Dele12 gate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress who 

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

14 shall not apply. 

15 ‘‘(5) RATE CARDS.—A licensee shall provide to 

16 a candidate for Member of or Delegate or Resident 

17 Commissioner to the Congress a rate card that dis18 closes— 

19 ‘‘(A) the rate charged under this sub20 section; and 

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

22 determine the rate charged under this sub23 section.’’. 


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1 (b) PREEMPTION.—Section 315 of such Act (47 

2 U.S.C. 315), as amended by section 201, is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(g) PREEMPTION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), a licensee shall not preempt the use of a 

7 broadcasting station by a legally qualified candidate 

8 for Member of or Delegate or Resident Commis9 sioner to the Congress who has purchased and paid 

10 for such use. 

11 ‘‘(2) CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND CONTROL OF LI12 CENSEE.—If a program to be broadcast by a broad13 casting station is preempted because of cir14 cumstances beyond the control of the broadcasting 

15 station, any candidate advertising spot scheduled to 

16 be broadcast during that program may also be pre17 empted.’’. 

18 (c) REVOCATION OF LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PER19 MIT ACCESS.—Section 312(a)(7) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 

20 312(a)(7)) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘or repeated’’; 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘or cable system’’ after ‘‘broad23 casting station’’; and 

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

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


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1 terms, conditions, and business practices as apply to 

2 the most favored advertiser of the licensee’’. 

3 SEC. 203. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL USE OF THE FRANK4 ING PRIVILEGE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3210(a)(6) of title 39, 

6 United States Code, is amended by striking subparagraph 

7 (A) and inserting the following: 

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

9 of Congress or a Congressional Committee or Sub10 committee of which such Member is Chairman or Ranking 

11 Member shall not mail any mass mailing as franked mail 

12 during the period which begins 90 days before date of the 

13 primary election and ends on the date of the general elec14 tion with respect to any Federal office which such Member 

15 holds, unless the Member has made a public announce16 ment that the Member will not be a candidate for reelec17 tion to any Federal office in that year. 

18 ‘‘(ii) A Member of Congress or a Congressional Com19 mittee or Subcommittee of which such Member is Chair20 man or Ranking Member may mail a mass mailing as 

21 franked mail if— 

22 ‘‘(I) the purpose of the mailing is to commu23 nicate information about a public meeting; and 

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

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1 committee, as appropriate, and the date, time, and 

2 place of the public meeting.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) Section 3210(a)(6) of title 39, United 

5 States Code, is amended by striking subparagraph 

6 (B) and by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

7 through (F) as subparagraphs (B) through (E), re8 spectively. 

9 (2) Section 3210(a)(6)(E) of title 39, United 

10 States Code, as redesignated by paragraph (1), is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (C)’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’. 

13 TITLE III—RESPONSIBILITIES 

14 OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION 

15 COMMISSION 

16 SEC. 301. PETITION FOR CERTIORARI. 

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

18 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)(6)) is amended by insert19 ing ‘‘(including a proceeding before the Supreme Court on 

20 certiorari)’’ after ‘‘appeal’’. 

21 SEC. 302. PROMOTING EXPEDITED AVAILABILITY OF FEC 

22 REPORTS. 

23 (a) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Section 

24 304(a)(11) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

25 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)) is amended— 


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

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

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

4 file such designation, statement, or report in elec5 tronic form accessible by computers.’’; 

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

7 hours’’ and all that follows through ‘‘filed electroni8 cally)’’ and inserting ‘‘24 hours’’; and 

9 (3) by striking subparagraph (D). 

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)(A) of such Act (2 

14 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(6)(A) Each political committee shall notify the 

16 Commission and the Secretary of State, as appropriate, 

17 in writing, of any contribution received by the committee 

18 during the period which begins on the 90th day before an 

19 election and ends at the time the polls close for such elec20 tion. This notification shall be made within 24 hours (or, 

21 if earlier, by midnight of the day on which the contribution 

22 is deposited) after the receipt of such contribution and 

23 shall include the name of the candidate involved (as appro24 priate) and the office sought by the candidate, the identiVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:57 Mar 26, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1614.IH H1614

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1 fication of the contributor, and the date of receipt and 

2 amount of the contribution.’’. 

3 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS 

4 PROVISIONS 

5 SEC. 401. SEVERABILITY. 

6 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

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

8 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu9 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

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

11 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

12 affected by the holding. 

13 SEC. 402. REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES. 

14 An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme 

15 Court of the United States from any final judgment, de16 cree, or order issued by any court ruling on the constitu17 tionality of any provision of this Act or amendment made 

18 by this Act. 

19 SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

20 Except as otherwise provided for in this Act, this Act 

21 and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

22 on January 1, 2008. 

Æ 


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