I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 506

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for public

funding for House of Representatives elections, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1997

Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on House Oversight

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to

provide for public funding for House of Representatives

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. PUBLIC FUNDING FOR HOUSE OF REPRESENT4 ATIVES ELECTIONS.

5 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is

6 amended by adding at the end the following new title:
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1 ‘‘TITLE V—PUBLIC FUNDING FOR

2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTA3 TIVES ELECTIONS

4 ‘‘SEC. 501. QUALIFICATIONS FOR PUBLIC FUNDING.

5 ‘‘A House of Representatives candidate qualifies for

6 public funding if, as determined by the Commission—

7 ‘‘(1) at least 6 weeks before the general elec8 tion, the candidate obtains the signatures of 3 per9 cent of the registered voters in the congressional dis10 trict involved; or

11 ‘‘(2) the candidate is the candidate of a political

12 party, the candidate of which, in the preceding gen13 eral election, received more than 25 percent of the

14 vote.

15 ‘‘SEC. 502. LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS TO QUALIFY16 ING HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CAN17 DIDATES.

18 ‘‘(a) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS REQUIREMENT.—

19 A qualifying House of Representatives candidate may not

20 accept contributions other than contributions from individ21 uals that total not more than $100 per individual per elec22 tion cycle.

23 ‘‘(b) IN-STATE CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT.—

24 With respect to each reporting period for an election, at

25 least 80 percent of the total sum of contributions accepted
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1 by a qualifying House of Representatives candidate shall

2 be from the State in which the congressional district in3 volved is located.

4 ‘‘SEC. 503. USE OF PUBLIC FUNDING.

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A qualifying House of Rep6 resentatives candidate may use public funds only for—

7 ‘‘(1) buying time on radio, cable, or television

8 broadcast stations;

9 ‘‘(2) buying rental space on billboards or other

10 outdoor signs;

11 ‘‘(3) buying advertising space in magazines,

12 newspapers, periodicals, and other advertising

13 media, including theaters, the internet, and the

14 worldwide web;

15 ‘‘(4) payment of the cost of producing adver16 tisements for media referred to in paragraphs (1),

17 (2), and (3);

18 ‘‘(5) procurement of computerized campaign

19 software, voter lists, and other voter contact tools;

20 ‘‘(6) payment of the cost of printing and mail21 ing campaign literature;

22 ‘‘(7) payment of the cost of telephone expenses;

23 ‘‘(8) payment of legal and accounting costs as24 sociated with campaigning;

25 ‘‘(9) payment of campaign employees’ salaries;
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1 ‘‘(10) payment of the cost of campaign office

2 equipment and supplies; and

3 ‘‘(11) payment of incidental expenses of the

4 candidate, such as travel and food.

5 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC EXCLUSION.—A qualifying House of

6 Representatives candidate may not use public funds under

7 this title to pay the candidate a salary or personal mort8 gages.

9 ‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF PUBLIC DISBURSEMENT.—A

10 qualifying House of Representatives candidate shall re11 ceive public funds closely approximating the cost of procuring 21 12 ⁄2 hours of television commercial time on local

13 television stations in the district’s media markets. An

14 exact amount shall be determined by the Commission,

15 using (i) the average cost of a media point per media mar16 ket, as defined by Arbitron Area of Dominant Influence,

17 for the 4th quarter of the preceding calendar year, and

18 (ii) a multiplier of 5,000 media points. The funds may

19 be used for any purpose specified in subsection (a).

20 ‘‘(d) DISBURSEMENTS.—The Commission shall make

21 disbursements of public funds under this title upon sub22 mission of evidence that an eligible expense has been in23 curred. No disbursement may be made with respect to an

24 expense incurred more than 4 months before the election

25 involved.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 504. MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PUBLIC FUNDING.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The maximum amount of public

3 funding that a qualifying House of Representatives can4 didate may receive is $750,000.

5 ‘‘(b) INDEXING.—The amount under subsection (a)

6 shall be increased as of the beginning of each even-num7 bered calendar year, based on the increase in the price

8 index determined under section 315(c), except that the

9 base period shall be calendar year 1995.

10 ‘‘SEC. 505. TELEVISION DEBATE REQUIREMENT.

11 ‘‘A qualifying House of Representatives candidate

12 shall be required to participate in at least 2 televised de13 bates, organized by a bipartisan or nonpartisan group, in

14 the congressional district media market.

15 ‘‘SEC. 506. REQUIREMENT FOR ACCEPTANCE OF ADVERTIS16 ING BY RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each radio station and each tele18 vision station shall be—

19 ‘‘(1) required to accept orders for advertise20 ments to be paid for under this title until such ad21 vertising constitutes 40 percent of the station’s total

22 advertising time; and

23 ‘‘(2) subject to random periodic examination of

24 advertising charges paid under this title to ensure

25 that such charges are correct.
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1 ‘‘(b) CONDITION OF LICENSE.—The continuation of

2 an existing license, the renewal of an expiring license, and

3 the issuance of a new license under section 307 of the

4 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 307) shall be

5 conditioned on the agreement by the licensee to abide by

6 the provisions of subsection (a)(1).

7 ‘‘SEC. 507. DEFINITIONS.

8 ‘‘As used in this title—

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘House of Representatives can10 didate’ means a candidate for the office of Rep11 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis12 sioner to, the Congress;

13 ‘‘(2) the term ‘qualifying House of Representa14 tives candidate’ means a House of Representatives

15 candidate who qualifies for public funding under this

16 title; and

17 ‘‘(3) the term ‘congressional district media mar18 ket’ means, with respect to a congressional district,

19 the media market of that district, as determined

20 from the licensing records of the Federal Commu21 nications Commission.’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ø211¿

2 A national committee of a political party, including

3 the national congressional campaign committees of a polit4 ical party, and any officers or agents of such party com5 mittees, shall not solicit or receive any contributions, do6 nations, or transfers of funds, or spend any funds, not

7 subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re8 quirements of this Act. This provision shall apply to any

9 entity that is established, financed, maintained or con10 trolled by a national committee of a political party, includ11 ing the national congressional campaign committees of a

12 political party, and any officer or agents of such party

13 committees, other than an entity that is regulated by sec14 tion (2) below.

15 SEC. 3. ø212¿

16 (a) Any amount expended or disbursed by a State,

17 district, or local committee of a political party, during a

18 calendar year in which a Federal election is held, for any

19 activity which might affect the outcome of a Federal elec20 tion, including but not limited to any voter registration

21 and get-out-the-vote activity, any generic campaign activ22 ity, and any communication that identifies a Federal can23 didate (regardless of whether a State or local candidate

24 is also mentioned or identified) shall be made from funds

25 subject to the limitations, prohibitions and reporting re26 quirements of this Act.
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1 (b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to expenditures or

2 disbursements made by a State, district or local committee

3 of a political party for—

4 (1) a contribution to a candidate other than for

5 Federal office, provided that such contribution is not

6 designated or otherwise earmarked to pay for activi7 ties described in subparagraph (a) above;

8 (2) the costs of a State or district/local political

9 convention;

10 (3) the non-Federal share of a State, district or

11 local party committee’s administrative and overhead

12 expenses (but not including the compensation in any

13 month of any individual who spends more than 20

14 percent of his or her time on activity during such

15 month which may affect the outcome of a Federal

16 election). For purposes of this provision, the non17 federal share of a party committee’s administrative

18 and overhead expenses shall be determined by apply19 ing the ratio of the non-Federal disbursements to

20 the total Federal expenditures and non-Federal dis21 bursements made by the committee during the pre22 vious presidential election year to the committee’s

23 administrative and overhead expenses in the election

24 year in question;
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1 (4) the costs of grassroots campaign materials,

2 including buttons, bumperstickers, and yard signs,

3 which material solely name or depict a State or local

4 candidate; and

5 (5) the cost of any campaign activity conducted

6 solely on behalf of a clearly identified State or local

7 candidate, provided that such activity is not covered

8 by subparagraph (a) above.

9 (c) Any amount spent by a national, State, district

10 or local committee or entity of a political party to raise

11 funds that are used, in whole or in part, to pay the costs

12 of any activity covered by paragraph 2(a) above shall be

13 made from funds subject to the limitations, prohibitions,

14 and reporting requirements of this Act.

15 This provision shall apply to any entity that is estab16 lished, financed, maintained, or controlled by a State, dis17 trict or local committee of a political party or any agent

18 or officer of such party committee in the same manner

19 as it applies to that committee.

20 SEC. 4. ø213¿

21 No national, State, district or local committee of a

22 political party shall solicit any funds for or make any do23 nations to any organization that is exempt from Federal

24 taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c).
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1 SEC. 5. ø214¿

2 No candidate for Federal office, individual holding

3 Federal office, or any agent of such candidate or office4 holder, may solicit or receive any funds in connection with

5 any Federal election unless such funds are subject to the

6 limitations, prohibitions and reporting requirements of

7 this Act; This provision shall not apply to the solicitation

8 or receipt of funds by an individual who is a candidate

9 for a non-Federal office if such activity is permitted under

10 State law for such individual’s non-Federal campaign com11 mittee.

12 SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. ø215¿

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

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

15 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub16 section:

17 ‘‘(d) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—(1) The national

18 committee of a political party, any congressional campaign

19 committee of a political party, and any subordinate com20 mittee of either, shall report all receipts and disburse21 ments during the reporting period, whether or not in con22 nection with an election for Federal office.

23 ‘‘(2) A political committee (not described in para24 graph (1)) to which section 325 applies shall report all

25 receipts and disbursements including separate schedules
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1 for receipts and disbursements for any State Party Grass2 roots Fund described in section 301(21).

3 ‘‘(3) Any political committee to which section 325 ap4 plies shall include in its report under paragraph (1) or

5 (2) the amount of any transfer described in section

6 325(d)(2) and shall itemize such amounts to the extent

7 required by subsection (b)(3)(A).

8 ‘‘(4) Any political committee to which paragraph (1)

9 or (2) does not apply shall report any receipts or disburse10 ments that are used in connection with a Federal election.

11 ‘‘(5) If a political committee has receipts or disburse12 ments to which this subsection applies from any person

13 aggregating in excess of $200 for any calendar year, the

14 political committee shall separately itemize its reporting

15 for such person in the same manner as required in sub16 section (b) (3)(A), (5), or (6).

17 ‘‘(6) Reports required to be filed under this sub18 section shall be filed for the same time periods required

19 for political committees under subsection (a).’’.

20 (b) REPORT OF EXEMPT CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

21 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

22 U.S.C. 431(8)) is amended by inserting at the end the

23 following:

24 ‘‘(C) The exclusion provided in subpara25 graph (B)(viii) shall not apply for purposes of
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1 any requirement to report contributions under

2 this Act, and all such contributions aggregating

3 in excess of $50 shall be reported.’’.

4 (c) REPORTS BY STATE COMMITTEES.—Section 304

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

6 434), as amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding

7 at the end the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(e) FILING OF STATE REPORTS.—In lieu of any re9 port required to be filed by this Act, the Commission may

10 allow a State committee of a political party to file with

11 the Commission a report required to be filed under State

12 law if the Commission determines such reports contain

13 substantially the same information.’’.

14 (d) OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

15 (1) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—Section

16 304(b)(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

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

18 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub19 paragraph (H);

20 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub21 paragraph (I); and

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

23 subparagraph:

24 ‘‘(J) in the case of an authorized commit25 tee, disbursements for the primary election, the
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1 general election, and any other election in which

2 the candidate participates;’’.

3 (2) NAMES AND ADDRESSES.—Section

4 304(b)(5)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

5 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘within the calendar year’’;

7 and

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and the election to

9 which the operating expenditure relates’’ after

10 ‘‘operating expenditure’’.

11 SEC. 7. SOFT MONEY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN POLITICAL

12 PARTIES. ø221¿

13 Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act

14 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 215(c),

15 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub16 section:

17 ‘‘(f) ELECTION ACTIVITY OF PERSONS OTHER THAN

18 POLITICAL PARTIES.—(1)(A)(i) If any person to which

19 section 325 does not apply makes (or obligates to make)

20 disbursements for activities described in section 325(b) in

21 excess of $2,000, such person shall file a statement—

22 ‘‘(I) on or before the date that is 48 hours be23 fore the disbursements (or obligations) are made; or
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1 ‘‘(II) in the case of disbursements (or obliga2 tions) that are required to be made within 14 days

3 of the election, on or before such 14th day.

4 ‘‘(ii) An additional statement shall be filed each time

5 additional disbursements aggregating $2,000 are made (or

6 obligated to be made) by a person described in clause (i).

7 ‘‘(B) This paragraph shall not apply to—

8 ‘‘(i) a candidate or a candidate’s authorized

9 committees; or

10 ‘‘(ii) an independent expenditure (as defined in

11 section 301(17)).

12 ‘‘(2) Any statement under this section shall be filed

13 with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House

14 of Representatives, and the Secretary of State (or equiva15 lent official) of the State involved, as appropriate, and

16 shall contain such information as the Commission shall

17 prescribe, including whether the disbursement is in sup18 port of, or in opposition to, 1 or more candidates or any

19 political party. The Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of

20 the House of Representatives shall, as soon as possible

21 (but not later than 24 hours after receipt), transmit a

22 statement to the Commission. Not later than 48 hours

23 after receipt, the Commission shall transmit the statement

24 to—
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1 ‘‘(A) the candidates or political parties involved;

2 or

3 ‘‘(B) if the disbursement is not in support of,

4 or in opposition to, a candidate or political party,

5 the State committees of each political party in the

6 State involved.

7 ‘‘(3) The Commission may make its own determina8 tion that disbursements described in paragraph (1) have

9 been made or are obligated to be made. The Commission

10 shall notify the candidates or political parties described

11 in paragraph (2) not later than 24 hours after its deter12 mination.’’.

13 SEC. 8. CONTRIBUTIONS THROUGH INTERMEDIARIES AND

14 CONDUITS. ø231¿

15 Section 315(a)(8) of the Federal Election Campaign

16 Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(8)) is amended to read

17 as follows:

18 ‘‘(8) For the purposes of this subsection:

19 ‘‘(A) Contributions made by a person, ei20 ther directly or indirectly, to or on behalf of a

21 particular candidate, including contributions

22 that are in any way earmarked or otherwise di23 rected through an intermediary or conduit to a

24 candidate, shall be treated as contributions
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1 from the person to the candidate. If a contribu2 tion is made to a candidate through an

3 intermediary or conduit, the intermediary or

4 conduit shall report the original source and the

5 intended recipient of the contribution to the

6 Commission and the intended recipient.

7 ‘‘(B) Contributions made directly or indi8 rectly by a person to or on behalf of a particu9 lar candidate through an intermediary or con10 duit, including contributions arranged to be

11 made by an intermediary or conduit, shall be

12 treated as contributions from the intermediary

13 or conduit to the candidate if—

14 ‘‘(i) the contributions made through

15 the intermediary or conduit are in the form

16 of a check or other negotiable instrument

17 made payable to the intermediary or con18 duit rather than the intended recipient; or

19 ‘‘(ii) the intermediary or conduit is—

20 ‘‘(I) a political committee, a po21 litical party, or an officer, employee,

22 or agent of either;

23 ‘‘(II) a person whose activities

24 are required to be reported under sec25 tion 308 of the Federal Regulation of
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1 Lobbying Act (2 U.S.C. 267), the

2 Foreign Agents Registration Act of

3 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.), or any

4 successor Federal law requiring a per5 son who is a lobbyist or foreign agent

6 to report the activities of such person;

7 ‘‘(III) a person who is prohibited

8 from making contributions under sec9 tion 316 or a partnership; or

10 ‘‘(IV) an officer, employee, or

11 agent of a person described in sub12 clause (II) or (III) acting on behalf of

13 such person.

14 ‘‘(C) The term ‘contributions arranged to

15 be made’ includes—

16 ‘‘(i)(I) contributions delivered directly

17 or indirectly to a particular candidate or

18 the candidate’s authorized committee or

19 agent by the person who facilitated the

20 contribution; and

21 ‘‘(II) contributions made directly or

22 indirectly to a particular candidate or the

23 candidate’s authorized committee or agent

24 that are provided at a fundraising event
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1 sponsored by an intermediary or conduit

2 described in subparagraph (B);

3 (D) This paragraph shall not prohibit—

4 ‘‘(i) fundraising efforts for the benefit

5 of a candidate that are conducted by an6 other candidate or Federal officeholder; or

7 ‘‘(ii) the solicitation by an individual

8 using the individual’s resources and acting

9 in the individual’s own name of contribu10 tions from other persons in a manner not

11 described in paragraphs (B) and (C).’’.

12 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

13 The amendments made by this Act shall apply with

14 respect to elections taking place after øTO BE SUP15 PLIED¿.

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