I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7306 

To establish the Democracy Dollars Program under which citizens may direct 

the making of payments to candidates in elections for Federal office 

and to political committees supporting campaigns for election for Federal 

office, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 13, 2018 

Mr. KHANNA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 

Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the Democracy Dollars Program under which 

citizens may direct the making of payments to candidates 

in elections for Federal office and to political committees 

supporting campaigns for election for Federal office, 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 ‘‘Democracy Dollars Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—DEMOCRACY DOLLARS PROGRAM 

Subtitle A—Availability of Democracy Dollars to Qualified Candidates 

Sec. 101. Establishment of Democracy Dollars Program. 

Sec. 102. Eligibility of individuals to participate in Program. 

Sec. 103. Eligibility of candidates and authorized committees to receive payments; use of payments. 

Sec. 104. Democracy Dollars Exploratory Fund. 

Sec. 105. Eligibility of other political committees to receive payments; use of 

payments. 

Sec. 106. Reports on disbursements of funds received under Program. 

Subtitle B—Payments of Democracy Dollars 

Sec. 111. Amount available for eligible individuals to direct for payments. 

Sec. 112. Payments to candidates and committees from available amounts. 

Sec. 113. Limitations on amount of payments to candidates and committees. 

Sec. 114. Protecting privacy of eligible individuals. 

Sec. 115. Remitting unexpended payments. 

Subtitle C—Public Outreach and Education 

Sec. 121. Public outreach and education program. 

Sec. 122. Requiring materials to be provided in minority languages. 

Sec. 123. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—DEMOCRACY FUND COMMISSION 

Sec. 201. Establishment. 

Sec. 202. Membership. 

Sec. 203. Staff. 

Sec. 204. Functions. 

Sec. 205. State responsibility for implementation of Program. 

Sec. 206. Administration of program in case of States without approved implementation plans in effect. 

TITLE III—DEMOCRACY DOLLARS FUND 

Sec. 301. Democracy Dollars Fund. 

Sec. 302. Termination of Presidential Election Campaign Fund; transfer of balance to Democracy Dollars Fund. 

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Violations and penalties. 

Sec. 402. Democracy Dollar Administrator defined. 

Sec. 403. Other definitions. 

TITLE V—SEVERABILITY 

Sec. 501. Severability. 


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1 TITLE I—DEMOCRACY DOLLARS 

2 PROGRAM 

3 Subtitle A—Availability of Democ4 racy Dollars to Qualified Can5 didates 

6 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMOCRACY DOLLARS PRO7 GRAM. 

8 In accordance with this Act, the Democracy Fund 

9 Commission (as established under title II) shall establish 

10 and operate a program to be known as the ‘‘Democracy 

11 Dollars Program’’, under which eligible individuals may 

12 direct that amounts in the Democracy Dollars Fund (as 

13 established under title III) be used to make payments to 

14 eligible candidates for election for Federal office (including 

15 the authorized committees of such candidates) or eligible 

16 political committees, in accordance with subtitle B. 

17 SEC. 102. ELIGIBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS TO PARTICIPATE IN 

18 PROGRAM. 

19 (a) ELIGIBILITY OF REGISTERED VOTERS.—An indi20 vidual is eligible to participate in the Democracy Dollars 

21 Program with respect to an election for Federal office if 

22 the individual is registered to vote in any election for Fed23 eral office during the year in which the election will be 

24 held, as determined on the basis of the most recent version 

25 of the computerized statewide voter registration list mainVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 19, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7306.IH H7306

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1 tained under section 303 of the Help America Vote Act 

2 of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083) by the State in which the indi3 vidual resides. 

4 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR RESIDENTS OF STATES

5 WITHOUT VOTER REGISTRATION.—In the case of an indi6 vidual who is a resident of a State in which there is no 

7 voter registration requirement for any voter in the State 

8 with respect to an election for Federal office, an individual 

9 is eligible to participate in the Program with respect to 

10 an election for Federal office if the individual is eligible 

11 to vote in any election for Federal office in that State. 

12 SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY OF CANDIDATES AND AUTHORIZED 

13 COMMITTEES TO RECEIVE PAYMENTS; USE 

14 OF PAYMENTS. 

15 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—A candidate (including the author16 ized committees of the candidate) is eligible to receive pay17 ments under the Democracy Dollars Program if— 

18 (1) the candidate and each authorized com19 mittee of the candidate registers with the Democracy 

20 Fund Commission to participate in the Program; 

21 (2) each such committee certifies to such Com22 mission that it has established a Democracy Dollars 

23 Exploratory Fund in accordance with section 104; 

24 (3) except as provided in subsection (d), each 

25 such committee certifies to such Commission that, in 


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1 accordance with section 104, the aggregate amount 

2 of qualified contributions that it has accepted, or 

3 that it will accept, to such Democracy Dollars Ex4 ploratory Fund is equal to the applicable threshold 

5 under such section; 

6 (4) each such committee certifies to such Com7 mission that it will maintain a separate account for 

8 payments received under the Program; and 

9 (5) each such committee certifies to such Com10 mission that it will meet the applicable requirements 

11 of this title, including the requirements of subsection 

12 (c) (relating to restrictions on the source of the con13 tributions the candidate and committees may accept 

14 and the expenditures the candidate and committees 

15 may make). 

16 (b) EXCLUSIVE USE OF DEMOCRACY DOLLARS PAY17 MENTS FOR AUTHORIZED CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES.— 

18 (1) AUTHORIZED CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES OF

19 CANDIDATE.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

21 paragraph (2), a candidate (including an au22 thorized committee of the candidate) may use a 

23 payment received under the Program only for 

24 otherwise authorized expenditures in connection 

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1 didate, and may not convert the payment to 

2 personal use. 

3 (B) APPLICATION OF RULES APPLICABLE

4 TO CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES UNDER

5 FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971.— 

6 For purposes of this paragraph, section 313 of 

7 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

8 U.S.C. 30114) shall apply to the use of a pay9 ment under the Program in the same manner 

10 as such section applies to the use of a contribu11 tion or donation described in such section. 

12 (2) CONTRIBUTIONS TO OTHER CANDIDATES.— 

13 A candidate (including an authorized committee of a 

14 candidate) may use a payment received under the 

15 Program to make a contribution to the authorized 

16 committee of another candidate, except that the ag17 gregate amount of contributions made to such a 

18 committee using such payments with respect to an 

19 election may not exceed the limit on the amount of 

20 contributions which may be made to such a com21 mittee with respect to the election under section 

22 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

23 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)). 

24 (c) DEMOCRACY DOLLARS PAYMENTS AS EXCLUSIVE

25 SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.—A 


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1 candidate (including an authorized committee of the can2 didate) receiving a payment under the Democracy Dollars 

3 Program with respect to an election may not accept any 

4 contributions or make any expenditures in connection with 

5 any election occurring during the election cycle for the of6 fice involved other than the following: 

7 (1) Payments made under the Democracy Dol8 lars Program. 

9 (2) Amounts accepted and deposited in the can10 didate’s Democracy Dollars Exploratory Fund under 

11 section 104, so long as such amounts do not exceed 

12 the applicable threshold for the candidate under 

13 such section. 

14 (3) Personal funds (including personal funds of 

15 the candidate or any immediate family member of 

16 the candidate) in an amount that does not exceed an 

17 aggregate amount of $50,000 for all such elections. 

18 (d) PERMITTING CERTIFICATION BY CANDIDATES

19 AND COMMITTEES ACCEPTING EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS

20 TO DEMOCRACY DOLLARS EXPLORATORY FUND.—A can21 didate (including an authorized committee of the can22 didate) which has accepted an aggregate amount of quali23 fied contributions to a Democracy Dollars Exploratory 

24 Fund under section 104 which is greater than the applica25 ble threshold under such section shall be considered to 


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1 meet the requirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (a) 

2 if, not later than 5 business days after the date on which 

3 the aggregate amount of qualified contributions deposited 

4 into such Fund was first equal to such applicable thresh5 old, the candidate provides the Democracy Fund Commis6 sion with— 

7 (1) a statement of the amount of contributions 

8 in such Fund; and 

9 (2) a certification that the candidate or com10 mittee returned all contributions accepted after such 

11 date to the persons who made such contributions. 

12 SEC. 104. DEMOCRACY DOLLARS EXPLORATORY FUND. 

13 (a) REQUIRING ESTABLISHMENT AND MINIMUM

14 BALANCE AS CONDITION OF ELIGIBILITY.—As a condi15 tion of eligibility to receive payments under the Democracy 

16 Dollars Program, a candidate (including the authorized 

17 committees of a candidate) shall— 

18 (1) establish a separate account to be known as 

19 the ‘‘Democracy Dollars Exploratory Fund’’; 

20 (2) accept a qualified contribution (as described 

21 in subsection (b)) from a number of individuals 

22 equal to or greater than the applicable donor thresh23 old described in subsection (c); and 

24 (3) deposit into Democracy Dollars Exploratory 

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1 tions accepted by the candidate or the committee 

2 which is equal to the applicable dollar threshold de3 scribed in subsection (d). 

4 (b) QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTION DESCRIBED.—In this 

5 section, a ‘‘qualified contribution’’ means a contribution 

6 to a candidate or an authorized committee of a candidate 

7 which does not consist of any personal funds of the can8 didate and which is made by an individual who is not a 

9 member of the immediate family of the candidate, except 

10 that such term does not include a contribution made to 

11 the candidate or committee by another candidate (or an 

12 authorized committee of such a candidate) using a pay13 ment received under the Program, as described in section 

14 103(b). 

15 (c) APPLICABLE DONOR THRESHOLD DESCRIBED.— 

16 In this section, the ‘‘applicable donor threshold’’ with re17 spect to a candidate or authorized committee is— 

18 (1) 125 individuals, in the case of a candidate 

19 for a House election; 

20 (2) 250 individuals, in the case of a candidate 

21 for election for the office of Senator; or 

22 (3) 500 individuals, in the case of a candidate 

23 for election for the office of President or Vice Presi24 dent. 


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1 (d) APPLICABLE THRESHOLD DESCRIBED.—In this 

2 section, the ‘‘applicable dollar threshold’’ with respect to 

3 a candidate or authorized committee is— 

4 (1) $50,000, in the case of a candidate for a 

5 House election; 

6 (2) $500,000, in the case of a candidate for 

7 election for the office of Senator; or 

8 (3) $1,000,000, in the case of a candidate for 

9 election for the office of President or Vice President. 

10 SEC. 105. ELIGIBILITY OF OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEES 

11 TO RECEIVE PAYMENTS; USE OF PAYMENTS. 

12 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—A political committee which is not 

13 an authorized committee of a candidate is eligible to re14 ceive payments under the Democracy Dollars Program 

15 if— 

16 (1) the committee registers with the Democracy 

17 Fund Commission to participate in the Program; 

18 and 

19 (2) the committee certifies that it will maintain 

20 a separate account for payments received under the 

21 Program. 

22 (b) EXCLUSIVE USE OF DEMOCRACY DOLLARS PAY23 MENTS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES AND

24 OTHER AUTHORIZED CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A political committee which 

2 is not an authorized committee of a candidate may 

3 use a payment received under the Democracy Dol4 lars Program only to make a contribution to the au5 thorized committee of a candidate, except that a po6 litical committee of a political party may also use a 

7 payment received under the Program for otherwise 

8 authorized expenditures in connection with the cam9 paigns for Federal office of candidates who are 

10 members of the political party, so long as the pay11 ment is not converted to personal use. For purposes 

12 of this paragraph, section 313 of the Federal Elec13 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114) shall 

14 apply to the use of a payment under the Program 

15 in the same manner as such section applies to the 

16 use of a contribution or donation described in such 

17 section. 

18 (2) LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF CONTRIBUTION.— 

19 The aggregate amount of contributions made by a 

20 committee under this section to the authorized com21 mittee of a candidate using payments received under 

22 the Democracy Dollars Program with respect to an 

23 election may not exceed the limit on the amount of 

24 contributions which may be made to such an author25 ized committee with respect to the election under 


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1 section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign 

2 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)). 

3 SEC. 106. REPORTS ON DISBURSEMENTS OF FUNDS RE4 CEIVED UNDER PROGRAM. 

5 (a) REQUIRING COMMITTEES TO FILE REPORTS.— 

6 Each authorized committee of a candidate or other polit7 ical committee which receives payments under the Democ8 racy Dollars Program shall file reports with the Democ9 racy Fund Commission listing the name and address of 

10 each person who has received any disbursement from the 

11 separate account maintained by the committee for pay12 ments received under the Program (and, if applicable, 

13 from the Democracy Dollars Exploratory Fund established 

14 pursuant to section 104) in an aggregate amount or value 

15 in excess of $200 during the period covered by the report, 

16 together with the date and amount of any such disburse17 ment. 

18 (b) TIMING OF REPORTS; PERIOD OF COVERAGE.— 

19 A committee shall file a report required under this section 

20 with respect to an election at the same time as the com21 mittee files a report required under section 304(a) of the 

22 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

23 30104) with respect to that election, and each report filed 

24 under this section shall be complete as of the same period 


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1 applicable to the report the committee files at that time 

2 under section 304(a) of such Act. 

3 (c) ELECTRONIC FILING; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

4 (1) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—In ac5 cordance with regulations promulgated by the De6 mocracy Fund Commission, a committee shall file 

7 each report required under this section in electronic 

8 form accessible by computers. 

9 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Commission 

10 shall make a report filed under this section available 

11 for inspection by the public in the offices of the 

12 Commission and accessible to the public on the 

13 internet not later than 24 hours after the Commis14 sion receives the report. 

15 (3) METHODS FOR VERIFICATION.—In promul16 gating regulations under this subsection, the Com17 mission shall provide methods (other than requiring 

18 a signature on the document being filed) for 

19 verifying reports filed under this section. Any docu20 ment verified under any of the methods shall be 

21 treated for all purposes (including penalties for per22 jury) in the same manner as a document verified by 

23 signature. 


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1 Subtitle B—Payments of 

2 Democracy Dollars 

3 SEC. 111. AMOUNT AVAILABLE FOR ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS 

4 TO DIRECT FOR PAYMENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the first day of each 

6 odd-numbered year (beginning with 2019), an eligible in7 dividual may direct the Democracy Dollar Administrator 

8 to make payments with respect to elections for Federal 

9 office held in the following year (or, in the case of special 

10 elections, an election held in either such odd-numbered 

11 year or the following year) in an aggregate amount equal 

12 to the sum of the following: 

13 (1) A House election share of— 

14 (A) for 2019, $10; or 

15 (B) for 2021 and each subsequent odd16 numbered year, the amount established under 

17 this paragraph for the previous odd-numbered 

18 year increased by the adjustment percentage for 

19 House elections (as described in paragraph (1) 

20 of subsection (b)) for the year. 

21 (2) If a regularly scheduled election for the of22 fice of Senator will be held during the following year 

23 in the State in which the individual resides, a Senate 

24 election share of— 

25 (A) for 2019, $15; or 


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1 (B) for 2021 and each subsequent odd2 numbered year, the amount established under 

3 this paragraph for the previous odd-numbered 

4 year increased by the adjustment percentage for 

5 Senate elections (as described in paragraph (2) 

6 of subsection (b)) for the year. 

7 (3) If an election for the office of President and 

8 Vice President will be held during the following year, 

9 a presidential election share of— 

10 (A) for 2019, $25; or 

11 (B) for 2023 and each fourth year there12 after, the amount established under this para13 graph for the previous odd-numbered year in14 creased by the adjustment percentage for presi15 dential elections (as described in paragraph (3) 

16 of subsection (b)) for the year. 

17 (b) ADJUSTMENT PERCENTAGES DESCRIBED.— 

18 (1) HOUSE ELECTIONS.—The adjustment per19 centage for House elections for an odd-numbered 

20 year is the greater of 100 percent or the percentage 

21 (if any) by which— 

22 (A) the aggregate amount of contributions 

23 made to authorized committees of candidates 

24 for House elections in the previous year from 


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1 sources other than payments under the Democ2 racy Dollars Program; exceeded 

3 (B) the aggregate of amount of contribu4 tions made to such authorized committees for 

5 such elections that consisted of payments under 

6 the Program, including payments made to such 

7 authorized committees by other political com8 mittees using payments under the Program (as 

9 described in section 105(b)). 

10 (2) SENATE ELECTIONS.—The adjustment per11 centage for Senate elections for an odd-numbered 

12 year is the greater of 100 percent or the percentage 

13 (if any) by which— 

14 (A) the aggregate amount of contributions 

15 made to authorized committees of candidates 

16 for elections for the office of Senator in the pre17 vious year from sources other than payments 

18 under the Democracy Dollars Program; exceed19 ed 

20 (B) the aggregate of amount of contribu21 tions made to such authorized committees for 

22 such elections that consisted of payments under 

23 the Program, including payments made to such 

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1 mittees using payments under the Program (as 

2 described in section 105(b)). 

3 (3) PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.—The adjust4 ment percentage for presidential elections for a year 

5 is the greater of 100 percent or the percentage (if 

6 any) by which— 

7 (A) the aggregate amount of contributions 

8 made to authorized committees of candidates 

9 for the most recent election for the office of 

10 President from sources other than payments 

11 under the Democracy Dollars Program; exceed12 ed 

13 (B) the aggregate amount of contributions 

14 made to such authorized committees for such 

15 election that consisted of payments under the 

16 Program, including payments made to such au17 thorized committees by other political commit18 tees using payments under the Program (as de19 scribed in section 105(b)). 

20 (c) TREATMENT OF SPECIAL ELECTIONS.— 

21 (1) HOUSE ELECTIONS.—If an eligible indi22 vidual is a resident of a congressional district in 

23 which a special House election will be held, the 

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1 graph (1) of subsection (a) for the individual shall 

2 be increased by $10. 

3 (2) SENATE ELECTIONS.—If an eligible indi4 vidual is a resident of a State in which a special 

5 election will be held for the office of Senator, the 

6 Senate election share amount set forth under para7 graph (2) for the individual shall be increased by 

8 $15. 

9 (d) NO CARRY-OVER OF AMOUNTS.—On the last day 

10 of each even-numbered year, the amount available under 

11 this section with respect to an eligible individual shall be 

12 reduced to $0, and no further payments may be made 

13 under this Act with respect to elections held in such year. 

14 (e) INDEXING OF AMOUNTS.—In any calendar year 

15 after 2019, section 315(c)(1)(B) of the Federal Election 

16 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(1)(B)) shall 

17 apply to each amount described in this section in the same 

18 manner as such section applies to the limitations estab19 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(3), and 

20 (h) of such section, except that for purposes of applying 

21 such section to the amounts described in this section, the 

22 ‘‘base period’’ shall be 2019. 

23 (f) PROHIBITING PAYING INDIVIDUALS TO DIRECT

24 PAYMENTS TO CANDIDATES AND COMMITTEES.—It shall 

25 be unlawful— 


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1 (1) for any person to provide money or any2 thing of value to an eligible individual, or to make 

3 an express promise to provide money or anything of 

4 value to an eligible individual, in exchange for the el5 igible individual directing the Democracy Dollar Ad6 ministrator to make payments to a candidate or 

7 committee under the Democracy Dollars Program; 

8 or 

9 (2) for an eligible individual to solicit money or 

10 anything of value from another person in exchange 

11 for the eligible individual directing the Democracy 

12 Dollar Administrator to make payments to a can13 didate or committee under the Democracy Dollars 

14 Program. 

15 SEC. 112. PAYMENTS TO CANDIDATES AND COMMITTEES 

16 FROM AVAILABLE AMOUNTS. 

17 (a) REQUESTS BY ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—An eligi18 ble individual may submit to the Democracy Dollar Ad19 ministrator a request to make a payment from the amount 

20 available to the eligible individual under section 111 to an 

21 eligible candidate or political committee identified by the 

22 eligible individual, in such amount as the eligible indi23 vidual may specify. 

24 (b) PAYMENTS BY DEMOCRACY DOLLAR ADMINIS25 TRATOR.—Upon the expiration of the 5-day period which 


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1 begins on the date the eligible individual submits a request 

2 under subsection (a), the Democracy Dollar Administrator 

3 shall make a payment to the eligible candidate or political 

4 committee identified by the individual in the request, in 

5 the amount specified in the request, unless during such 

6 5-day period, the individual notifies the Administrator 

7 that the individual cancels the request. 

8 (c) STATEMENT OF BALANCE OF AMOUNTS REMAIN9 ING.—After making a payment to an eligible candidate or 

10 political committee at the direction of an individual, the 

11 Democracy Dollar Administrator shall transmit to the in12 dividual (as promptly as the Administrator determines to 

13 be feasible, in accordance with regulations promulgated by 

14 the Commission) a statement of the amount remaining for 

15 the individual to use for payments under the Democracy 

16 Dollars Program during the year. 

17 SEC. 113. LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS TO CAN18 DIDATES AND COMMITTEES. 

19 (a) LIMITATIONS BASED ON TYPE OF ELECTION.— 

20 The total amount of payments made at the direction of 

21 an eligible individual to candidates and the authorized 

22 committees of candidates may not exceed— 

23 (1) in the case of candidates for House elec24 tions, the House election share amount set forth 

25 under paragraph (1) of section 111(a); 


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1 (2) in the case of candidates for election for the 

2 office of Senator, the Senate election share amount 

3 set forth under paragraph (2) of section 111(a); and 

4 (3) in the case of candidates for election for the 

5 office of President, the presidential election share 

6 amount set forth under paragraph (3) of section 

7 111(a). 

8 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN PRESIDENTIAL

9 ELECTIONS.—In the case of elections for the office of 

10 President held in a year in which the incumbent is a can11 didate— 

12 (1) the total amount of payments made at the 

13 direction of an eligible individual to candidates and 

14 the authorized committees of candidates in primary 

15 elections for such office may not exceed 40 percent 

16 of the presidential election share amount set forth 

17 under paragraph (3) of section 111(a); and 

18 (2) the total amount of payments made at the 

19 direction of an eligible individual to candidates and 

20 the authorized committees of candidates in the gen21 eral election for such office may not exceed 60 per22 cent of the presidential election share amount set 

23 forth under paragraph (3) of section 111(a). 


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1 SEC. 114. PROTECTING PRIVACY OF ELIGIBLE INDIVID2 UALS. 

3 (a) NO TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS AS CONTRIBU4 TIONS MADE BY INDIVIDUALS TO CANDIDATES OR COM5 MITTEES.—A payment made to a candidate or committee 

6 under the Democracy Dollars Program at the direction of 

7 an eligible individual, as described in this subtitle, shall 

8 not be treated as a contribution made to the candidate 

9 or committee by the eligible individual for purposes of the 

10 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 

11 et seq.). 

12 (b) ENSURING ANONYMITY OF INDIVIDUALS DIRECT13 ING PAYMENTS TO CANDIDATES AND COMMITTEES.—In 

14 making payments to candidates and political committees 

15 under this section at the request of an eligible individual, 

16 the Democracy Dollar Administrator shall take all prac17 ticable steps to ensure that no information relating to the 

18 identity of the individual who requests that the payment 

19 be made to the candidate or committee is disclosed or oth20 erwise made known to the candidate or the committee, in21 cluding through the use of blind trusts or similar devices. 

22 SEC. 115. REMITTING UNEXPENDED PAYMENTS. 

23 (a) REMITTANCE REQUIRED.—Not later than the 

24 date that is 10 days after the date on which a candidate 

25 withdraws from an election or no longer qualifies to be 

26 on the ballot for an election, any authorized committee of 


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1 the candidate to which payments were made under the 

2 Program shall remit to the Democracy Dollars Fund 

3 under section 301 any amounts in the separate account 

4 established by the committee for payments received under 

5 the Program (as described in section 103(a)(3)) which re6 main unexpended as of such date. 

7 (b) REALLOCATION TO AMOUNTS AVAILABLE FOR

8 PAYMENTS AT DIRECTION OF ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 

9 To the greatest extent practicable, the Democracy Dollar 

10 Administrator shall increase the amounts available under 

11 this subtitle for an eligible individual to make payments 

12 under the Democracy Dollars Program to take into ac13 count the remittance of unspent amounts under this sec14 tion by an authorized committee that were attributable to 

15 payments made at the request of the eligible individual, 

16 and shall allocate such increase— 

17 (1) to the House election share set forth for the 

18 individual under paragraph (1) of section 111(a), in 

19 the case of an authorized committee of a candidate 

20 for a House election; 

21 (2) to the Senate election share set forth for 

22 the individual under paragraph (2) of section 

23 111(a), in the case of an authorized committee of a 

24 candidate for election to the office of Senator; and 


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1 (3) to the presidential election share set forth 

2 for the individual under paragraph (3) of section 

3 111(a), in the case of an authorized committee of a 

4 candidate for election to the office of President or 

5 Vice President. 

6 Subtitle C—Public Outreach and 

7 Education 

8 SEC. 121. PUBLIC OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

9 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—As part of carrying out 

10 the Democracy Dollar Program, the Democracy Dollar 

11 Administrator, in consultation with the Democracy Fund 

12 Commission and such other persons as the Administrator 

13 determines to be appropriate, shall develop and carry out 

14 a State-based public outreach and education campaign to 

15 increase public awareness regarding the ability of eligible 

16 individuals to direct that payments to be made to can17 didates and committees under the Program. 

18 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—In carrying out the pub19 lic outreach and education program under this subtitle, 

20 the Democracy Dollar Administration may make grants 

21 to local election officials and nonprofit organizations (in22 cluding organizations described in section 504(c) of the 

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) to carry out appropriate 

24 outreach and education activities, under such terms and 

25 conditions as the Administrator considers appropriate. 


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1 (c) WEBSITE.—In carrying out the public outreach 

2 and education program under this subtitle, the Democracy 

3 Dollar Administrator, in consultation with the Democracy 

4 Fund Commission and such other persons as the Adminis5 trator determines to be appropriate, shall develop, estab6 lish, and update as necessary, a single State-sponsored 

7 public website through which the public may obtain, in an 

8 easy to understand and user-friendly format, information 

9 about the Democracy Dollar Program, including the abil10 ity of eligible individuals to direct payments to be made 

11 to candidates and committees under the Program. 

12 (d) SOCIAL MEDIA.—The Democracy Dollar Admin13 istrator may use publicly available social media platforms 

14 to supplement the public outreach and education program 

15 under this subtitle and to support the operation of the 

16 pubic website developed and established under subsection 

17 (c). 

18 SEC. 122. REQUIRING MATERIALS TO BE PROVIDED IN MI19 NORITY LANGUAGES. 

20 As part of carrying out the Democracy Dollar Pro21 gram, the Democracy Dollar Administrator shall ensure 

22 that forms, materials, and information relating to the Pro23 gram are provided in the applicable language of language 

24 minority groups, as defined in section 203 of the Voting 

25 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503). 


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1 SEC. 123. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this subtitle such sums as may be necessary for each of 

4 the fiscal years 2019 through 2023. 

5 TITLE II—DEMOCRACY FUND 

6 COMMISSION 

7 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT. 

8 There is hereby established the Democracy Fund 

9 Commission (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commis10 sion’’), which shall be responsible for administering the 

11 Democracy Dollars Program under this Act. 

12 SEC. 202. MEMBERSHIP. 

13 (a) APPOINTMENT.— 

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

15 composed of 5 members appointed by the President 

16 with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

17 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual is eligible 

18 to serve as a Member of the Commission if the indi19 vidual is a retired judge of the United States. 

20 (3) RESTRICTIONS ON OUTSIDE EMPLOY21 MENT.—A member of the Commission may not en22 gage in any other business, vocation, or employment. 

23 Any individual who is engaging in any other busi24 ness, vocation, or employment at the time of the in25 dividual’s appointment to the Commission shall terVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 19, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7306.IH H7306

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1 minate or liquidate such activity no later than 90 

2 days after such appointment. 

3 (4) VACANCIES; NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF

4 REMAINING MEMBERS.—A vacancy in the member5 ship of the Commission shall be filled in the same 

6 manner as the original appointment, and shall have 

7 no effect on the authority of the remaining members 

8 of the Commission to carry out their duties under 

9 this Act. 

10 (b) TERM OF SERVICE.— 

11 (1) SINGLE 10-YEAR TERM.—Except as pro12 vided in paragraphs (2) and (3), a member of the 

13 Commission shall serve for a term of 10 years, and 

14 may not be reappointed to an additional term, ex15 cept that an individual may serve after the expira16 tion of that individual’s term until a successor has 

17 begun serving as a member of the Commission. 

18 (2) STAGGERING OF INITIAL TERMS.—Of the 

19 members first appointed to the Commission— 

20 (A) one (as designated at the time of ap21 pointment) shall serve for a term of 2 years; 

22 (B) one (as designated at the time of ap23 pointment) shall serve for a term of 4 years; 


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1 (C) one (as designated at the time of ap2 pointment) shall serve for a term of 6 years; 

3 and 

4 (D) one (as designated at the time of ap5 pointment) shall serve for a term of 8 years. 

6 (3) PERMITTING INDIVIDUALS SERVING INITIAL

7 STAGGERED TERM TO BE REAPPOINTED TO A FULL

8 TERM.—An individual who is one of the members 

9 first appointed to the Commission to serve for an 

10 initial term of 2 years under subparagraph (A) of 

11 paragraph (2) or to serve for an initial term of 4 

12 years under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) may 

13 be appointed subsequently to serve a term of 10 

14 years under paragraph (1). 

15 (4) VACANCY.—An individual appointed to fill a 

16 vacancy occurring in the membership of the Com17 mission before the expiration of the term for which 

18 the individual’s predecessor was appointed shall 

19 serve only for the remainder of that term. 

20 (c) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis21 sion shall receive compensation at a rate equivalent to the 

22 most recent rate of compensation applicable to the indi23 vidual as a judge of the United States. 

24 (d) PROCESS IN EVENT OF DEADLOCK.—If a vote 

25 by the members of the Commission on any matter results 


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1 in a tie, the vote of the longest-serving member (or, in 

2 the case of members first appointed to serve for initial 

3 terms under paragraph (2) of subsection (b), the vote of 

4 the member appointed for the longest term) shall prevail. 

5 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO EXECUTIVE

6 SCHEDULE LEVEL IV POSITIONS.—Section 5315 of title 

7 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘Member, Democracy Fund Commission.’’. 

10 SEC. 203. STAFF. 

11 (a) AUTHORITY TO APPOINT STAFF.—The Commis12 sion may appoint and fix the pay of such personnel as 

13 the Commission considers appropriate. 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

15 LAWS.—The personnel of the Commission may be ap16 pointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 

17 States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

18 service, and may be paid without regard to the provisions 

19 of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that 

20 title relating to classification and General Schedule pay 

21 rates, except that an individual so appointed may not re22 ceive pay in excess of the annual rate of basic pay in effect 

23 for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule. 

24 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission 

25 may procure temporary and intermittent services to the 


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1 same extent as is authorized by section 3109(b) of title 

2 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to 

3 exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 

4 in effect for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule (5 

5 U.S.C. 5332). 

6 (d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

7 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department 

8 or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the 

9 personnel of that department or agency to the Commission 

10 to assist it in carrying out its duties. 

11 SEC. 204. FUNCTIONS. 

12 The Commission shall administer the Democracy 

13 Dollars Program under this Act. In administering the Pro14 gram, the Commission shall carry out the following: 

15 (1) The Commission shall promulgate regula16 tions to carry out the Democracy Dollars Program, 

17 including regulations applicable to State implemen18 tation plans under section 205, and shall review the 

19 regulations not less frequently than every 4 years. 

20 (2) The Commission shall solicit and review ap21 plications from States for the approval of State im22 plementation plans under section 205(b). 

23 (3) In the case of States whose implementation 

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1 mission shall monitor and audit the performance of 

2 such States in carrying out such plans. 

3 (4) In accordance with section 206, the Com4 mission carry out the Democracy Dollars Program 

5 with respect to States that do not have an approved 

6 implementation plan in effect. 

7 (5) The Commission shall carry out such other 

8 activities as the Commission considers appropriate to 

9 administer the Democracy Dollars Program. 

10 SEC. 205. STATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION 

11 OF PROGRAM. 

12 (a) RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADMINISTRATION OF PRO13 GRAM.—Except as provided in section 206, each State 

14 shall administer the Democracy Dollars Program with re15 spect to individuals who are residents of the State, in ac16 cordance with a State implementation plan approved by 

17 the Commission under subsection (b). 

18 (b) APPROVAL OF STATE IMPLEMENTATION

19 PLANS.— 

20 (1) APPROVAL BY COMMISSION.—Each State 

21 shall submit its plan for administering the Democ22 racy Dollars Program to the Commission, who shall 

23 approve the plan if the Commission finds that the 

24 plan meets each of the following conditions: 


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1 (A) The plan includes such provisions and 

2 safeguards as are necessary to ensure the effec3 tive administration of the Program in the State 

4 in a nonpartisan and competent manner. 

5 (B) If the plan permits the use of private 

6 financial intermediaries to assist in the proc7 essing of requests made by eligible individuals 

8 to make payments to candidates and political 

9 committees under subtitle B of title I— 

10 (i) to the greatest extent feasible, the 

11 State uses a competitive bidding process to 

12 select such intermediaries for participation 

13 in the implementation of the plan; and 

14 (ii) the plan requires these inter15 mediaries to meet the requirements of sec16 tion 114(b) (relating to ensuring the ano17 nymity of such individuals) and to take ac18 tions to deter fraud and abuse. 

19 (C) The plan is overseen by a certified au20 thority designated by the State. 

21 (D) The plan meets such other require22 ments as the Commission may by regulation re23 quire. 

24 (2) PERIOD FOR WHICH APPROVED PLAN IS IN

25 EFFECT.—If the Commission approves a State plan 


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1 under this subsection, the plan shall be in effect for 

2 a 4-year period, and the Commission may extend the 

3 plan for additional 4-year periods at the request of 

4 the State if the Commission finds that the plan con5 tinues to meet the conditions set forth in paragraph 

6 (1). 

7 (c) PAYMENT OF COSTS OF IMPLEMENTATION.— 

8 (1) AUTHORIZATION TO RECEIVE PAYMENTS.— 

9 A State whose implementation plan under this sub10 title is approved and in effect with respect to a year 

11 may receive payments from the Commission to cover 

12 the costs of carrying out the plan during the year, 

13 in the form of advance payments in accordance with 

14 paragraph (2) or reimbursement in accordance with 

15 paragraph (3), at the option of the State. 

16 (2) ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE ADVANCE PAY17 MENTS.—A State is eligible to receive advance pay18 ments under this subsection with respect to a year 

19 if the State submits to the Commission, at such time 

20 and in such form as the Commission may require, 

21 an application containing— 

22 (A) a statement of the reasonable and nec23 essary costs the State expects to incur in car24 rying out its implementation plan under this 

25 subtitle during the year; and 


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1 (B) such other information and assurances 

2 as the Commission may require. 

3 (3) ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE REIMBURSE4 MENT.—A State is eligible to receive reimbursement 

5 under this subsection for the reasonable and nec6 essary costs the State incurred in carrying out its 

7 implementation plan during a year if the State sub8 mits to the Commission, at such time and in such 

9 form as the Commission may require, an application 

10 containing— 

11 (A) a statement of the reasonable and nec12 essary costs the State incurred in carrying out 

13 its implementation plan during the year; and 

14 (B) such other information and assurances 

15 as the Commission may require. 

16 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

18 as are necessary for payments under this subsection. 

19 (d) REVOCATION OF APPROVAL; RECAPTURE OF AD20 VANCE PAYMENTS.—If the Commission determines that 

21 the implementation plan of a State whose implementation 

22 plan under this subtitle is approved is no longer in compli23 ance with the applicable requirements for such a plan, or 

24 if the Commission determines that the State is admin25 istering the plan in a biased or incompetent manner— 


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1 (1) the Commission shall revoke the approval of 

2 the plan; and 

3 (2) the State shall repay the Commission for 

4 any advance payments made under subsection (c) 

5 with respect to any period during which the plan 

6 was not in compliance with such requirements or 

7 was administered in a biased or incompetent man8 ner. 

9 SEC. 206. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM IN CASE OF 

10 STATES WITHOUT APPROVED IMPLEMENTA11 TION PLANS IN EFFECT. 

12 (a) ADMINISTRATION BY COMMISSION AUTHOR13 IZED.—If a State does not have an approved State imple14 mentation plan in effect with respect to a year under sec15 tion 205, the Commission shall administer the Democracy 

16 Dollars Program during the year with respect to individ17 uals who are residents of the State, in accordance with 

18 a Federal implementation plan for the State that meets 

19 the requirements of subsection (b). 

20 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL RECEIVERSHIP IN

21 CASE OF REVOCATION ON GROUNDS OF BIAS OR INCOM22 PETENCE.— 

23 (1) RECEIVERSHIP.—If a State does not have 

24 an approved State implementation plan in effect be25 cause, in accordance with subsection (d) of section 


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1 205, the Commission revoked its approval of a State 

2 implementation plan on the grounds that the State 

3 administered the plan in a biased or incompetent 

4 manner, the Commission may file an action to ap5 point a receiver to administer the Democracy Dollars 

6 Program in the State. 

7 (2) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF RE8 QUEST FOR RECEIVERSHIP.—In any action brought 

9 by the Commission to appoint a receiver under this 

10 subsection, the following rules shall apply: 

11 (A) The action shall be filed in the appro12 priate district court of the United States and 

13 shall be heard by a 3-judge court convened pur14 suant to section 2284 of title 28, United States 

15 Code. 

16 (B) A final decision in the action shall be 

17 reviewable only by appeal directly to the Su18 preme Court of the United States. Such appeal 

19 shall be taken by the filing of a notice of appeal 

20 within 10 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional 

21 statement within 30 days, of the entry of the 

22 final decision. 

23 (C) It shall be the duty of the appropriate 

24 district court of the United States and the Su25 preme Court of the United States to advance on 


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1 the docket and to expedite to the greatest ex2 tent possible the disposition of the action and 

3 the appeal. 

4 (c) FEDERAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN DE5 SCRIBED.—A Federal implementation plan for a State 

6 meets the requirements of this subsection if— 

7 (1) the plan meets the conditions described in 

8 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 205(b) which 

9 would apply to a State implementation plan of the 

10 State under such section; 

11 (2) to the extent that the Commission requests 

12 information and assistance from the State in order 

13 to carry out the plan, the plan provides for a method 

14 by which the Commission may reimburse the State 

15 for the costs incurred in providing such information 

16 and assistance; and 

17 (3) the plan meets such other requirements as 

18 the Commission may require. 

19 TITLE III—DEMOCRACY 

20 DOLLARS FUND 

21 SEC. 301. DEMOCRACY DOLLARS FUND. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

23 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 

24 ‘‘Democracy Dollars Fund’’ (hereafter referred to as the 

25 ‘‘Fund’’). 


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1 (b) USES OF FUND.—Amounts in the Fund shall be 

2 used— 

3 (1) for payments to candidates and political 

4 committees under subtitle B of title I; 

5 (2) for advance payments and reimbursements 

6 to States under section 205; 

7 (3) for payments to States as described in para8 graph (2) of section 206(b); and 

9 (4) for the administration of the Democracy 

10 Dollars Program by the Democracy Fund Commis11 sion. 

12 (c) CONTENTS OF FUND.—The Fund shall consist 

13 of— 

14 (1) amounts appropriated or transferred to the 

15 Fund under law, including amounts transferred 

16 under section 9006(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue 

17 Code of 1986; 

18 (2) repayments made by States under para19 graph (2) of section 205(d); 

20 (3) unspent payments under the Program which 

21 are remitted under section 115; 

22 (4) civil penalties assessed under section 401; 

23 and 

24 (5) interest earned on balances of the Fund. 


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1 (d) AUTHORITY TO MAKE PAYMENTS AT REQUEST

2 OF STATE OR DEMOCRACY FUND COMMISSION.—With re3 spect to a payment made under the Program at the direc4 tion of an eligible individual pursuant to section 112, the 

5 Secretary of the Treasury shall make such payment from 

6 the Fund upon the request of the Democracy Dollar Ad7 ministrator for the individual involved. 

8 SEC. 302. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAM9 PAIGN FUND; TRANSFER OF BALANCE TO DE10 MOCRACY DOLLARS FUND. 

11 (a) TERMINATION OF DESIGNATION OF INCOME TAX

12 PAYMENTS.—Section 6096 of the Internal Revenue Code 

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

14 new subsection: 

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

16 taxable years beginning after December 31, 2016.’’. 

17 (b) TERMINATION OF FUND AND ACCOUNT.— 

18 (1) TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

19 CAMPAIGN FUND.— 

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

21 H of such Code is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following new section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 9014. TERMINATION. 

24 ‘‘The provisions of this chapter shall not apply with 

25 respect to any presidential election (or any presidential 


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1 nominating convention) after the date of the enactment 

2 of this section, or to any candidate in such an election.’’. 

3 (B) TRANSFER OF REMAINING FUNDS.— 

4 Section 9006 of such Code is amended by add5 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(d) TRANSFER OF FUNDS REMAINING AFTER TER7 MINATION.—Of the amounts in the fund as of the date 

8 of the enactment of this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(1) the Secretary shall transfer $63,002,400 

10 to the 10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund 

11 described in section 9008(i)(2), to be available as de12 scribed in such section; and 

13 ‘‘(2) the Secretary shall transfer the remainder 

14 to the Democracy Dollars Fund under title III of 

15 the Democracy Dollars Act.’’. 

16 (2) TERMINATION OF ACCOUNT.—Chapter 96 

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

18 the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 9043. TERMINATION. 

20 ‘‘The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any 

21 candidate with respect to any presidential election after 

22 the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 

23 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) The table of sections for chapter 95 of sub2 title H of such Code is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 9014. Termination.’’. 

4 (2) The table of sections for chapter 96 of sub5 title H of such Code is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 9043. Termination.’’. 

7 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS 

8 PROVISIONS 

9 SEC. 401. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES. 

10 (a) IMPROPER USE OF DEMOCRACY DOLLARS PAY11 MENTS.—If the Democracy Dollar Administrator deter12 mines that any payment made under this Act to a can13 didate or committee was not used as provided for in this 

14 Act, the Administrator shall so notify the candidate or 

15 committee, and may impose a civil penalty on the can16 didate or committee in an amount equal to 500 percent 

17 of the amount of the payment that was used improperly. 

18 (b) IMPROPER USE OF OUTSIDE FUNDS BY CAN19 DIDATES AND AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES RECEIVING DE20 MOCRACY DOLLAR PAYMENTS.—If the Democracy Dollar 

21 Administrator determines that a candidate, including an 

22 authorized committee of the candidate, receiving a pay23 ment under this Act with respect to an election used 

24 amounts in connection with an election occurring in the 


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1 election cycle involved in violation of section 103(c), the 

2 Administrator shall so notify the candidate or committee, 

3 and may impose a civil penalty on the candidate or com4 mittee in an amount equal to 200 percent of the amounts 

5 used by the candidate or committee in violation of section 

6 103(c) in connection with the election. 

7 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

8 (1) IMPOSITION OF PENALTY.—Any person who 

9 knowingly and willfully commits a violation of this 

10 Act which involves the making, receiving, or report11 ing of any amounts— 

12 (A) aggregating $25,000 or more during a 

13 calendar year shall be fined under title 18, 

14 United States Code, or imprisoned for not more 

15 than 5 years, or both; or 

16 (B) aggregating $2,000 or more (but less 

17 than $25,000) during a calendar year shall be 

18 fined under title 18, United States Code, or im19 prisoned for not more than 1 year, or both. 

20 (2) REFERRAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL.—If the 

21 Democracy Dollar Administrator determines that 

22 there is probable cause to believe that a knowing 

23 and willful violation of this Act has occurred, the 

24 Administrator may refer such apparent violation to 

25 the Attorney General. 


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1 SEC. 402. DEMOCRACY DOLLAR ADMINISTRATOR DEFINED. 

2 In this Act, the ‘‘Democracy Dollar Administrator’’ 

3 with respect to an eligible individual is— 

4 (1) in the case of an individual who is a resi5 dent of a State with a State implementation plan 

6 approved by the Democracy Fund Commission under 

7 section 205(b), the official of the State who is des8 ignated to administer the Democracy Dollars Pro9 gram in the State under such plan; or 

10 (2) in the case of an individual who is not a 

11 resident of a State described in paragraph (1), the 

12 Democracy Fund Commission under section 206. 

13 SEC. 403. OTHER DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act— 

15 (1) each of the terms ‘‘candidate’’, ‘‘election’’, 

16 ‘‘authorized committee’’, and ‘‘political committee’’ 

17 has the meaning given such term in the Federal 

18 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et 

19 seq.); 

20 (2) the term ‘‘election cycle’’ means, with re21 spect to an office, the period beginning on the day 

22 after the date of the most recent regularly scheduled 

23 general election for such office and ending on the 

24 date of the next regularly scheduled general election 

25 for such office; 


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1 (3) the term ‘‘House election’’ means an elec2 tion for the office of Representative in, or Delegate 

3 or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress; and 

4 (4) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

5 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

6 of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the United 

7 States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 

8 Northern Mariana Islands. 

9 TITLE V—SEVERABILITY 

10 SEC. 501. SEVERABILITY. 

11 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 

12 by this Act, or the application of a provision of this Act 

13 or an amendment made by this Act to any person or cir14 cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 

15 of this Act, and the application of the provisions to any 

16 person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the hold17 ing. 

Æ 


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