II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1147 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, 

Super PACs and other entities, and for other purposes 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11, 2019 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. LEAHY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

REED, Mr. CARPER, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Mr. CARDIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, 

Mr. TESTER, Mr. UDALL, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. MERKLEY, 

Mr. BENNET, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. COONS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

SCHATZ, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. 

KING, Mr. KAINE, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. 

PETERS, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. CORTEZ

MASTO, Ms. SMITH, Mr. JONES, and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules 

and Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, Super PACs and other 

entities, and for other purposes 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spend4 ing in Elections Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘DISCLOSE Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—DISCLOSE ACT 

Subtitle A—Regulation of Certain Political Spending 

Sec. 101. Clarification of prohibition on participation by foreign nationals in 

election-related activities. 

Sec. 102. Clarification of application of foreign money ban to certain disbursements and activities. 

Sec. 103. Audit and report on illicit foreign money in Federal elections. 

Sec. 104. Prohibition on contributions and donations by foreign nationals in 

connections with ballot initiatives and referenda. 

Sec. 105. Disbursements and activities subject to foreign money ban. 

Subtitle B—Reporting of Campaign-Related Disbursements 

Sec. 111. Reporting of campaign-related disbursements. 

Sec. 112. Application of foreign money ban to disbursements for campaign-related disbursements consisting of covered transfers. 

Sec. 113. Effective date. 

TITLE II—STAND BY EVERY AD ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Stand By Every Ad. 

Sec. 203. Disclaimer requirements for communications made through 

prerecorded telephone calls. 

Sec. 204. No expansion of persons subject to disclaimer requirements on Internet communications. 

Sec. 205. Effective date. 

TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Severability. 


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1 TITLE I—DISCLOSE ACT 

2 Subtitle A—Regulation of Certain 

3 Political Spending 

4 SEC. 101. CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITION ON PARTICIPA5 TION BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN ELECTION6 RELATED ACTIVITIES. 

7 (a) CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITION.—Section 

8 319(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

9 U.S.C. 30121(a)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

11 (1); 

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of para13 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(3) a foreign national to direct, dictate, con17 trol, or directly or indirectly participate in the deci18 sion making process of any person (including a cor19 poration, labor organization, political committee, or 

20 political organization) with regard to such person’s 

21 Federal or non-Federal election-related activity, in22 cluding any decision concerning the making of con23 tributions, donations, expenditures, or disbursements 

24 in connection with an election for any Federal, 


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1 State, or local office or any decision concerning the 

2 administration of a political committee.’’. 

3 (b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.—Section 319 

4 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE REQUIRED

7 PRIOR TO CARRYING OUT ACTIVITY.—Prior to the mak8 ing in connection with an election for Federal office of any 

9 contribution, donation, expenditure, independent expendi10 ture, or disbursement for an electioneering communication 

11 by a corporation, limited liability corporation, or partner12 ship during a year, the chief executive officer of the cor13 poration, limited liability corporation, or partnership (or, 

14 if the corporation, limited liability corporation, or partner15 ship does not have a chief executive officer, the highest 

16 ranking official of the corporation, limited liability cor17 poration, or partnership), shall file a certification with the 

18 Commission, under penalty of perjury, that a foreign na19 tional did not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indi20 rectly participate in the decision making process relating 

21 to such activity in violation of subsection (a)(3), unless 

22 the chief executive officer has previously filed such a cer23 tification during that calendar year.’’. 

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

25 this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 


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1 180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 

2 of this Act, and shall take effect without regard to whether 

3 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

4 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

5 SEC. 102. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN 

6 MONEY BAN TO CERTAIN DISBURSEMENTS 

7 AND ACTIVITIES. 

8 (a) APPLICATION TO DISBURSEMENTS TO SUPER

9 PACS.—Section 319(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election 

10 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)(A)) is 

11 amended by striking the semicolon and inserting the fol12 lowing: ‘‘, including any disbursement to a political com13 mittee which accepts donations or contributions that do 

14 not comply with the limitations, prohibitions, and report15 ing requirements of this Act (or any disbursement to or 

16 on behalf of any account of a political committee which 

17 is established for the purpose of accepting such donations 

18 or contributions);’’. 

19 (b) CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH CORPORATE PACS

20 MAY MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.—Sec21 tion 316(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30118(b)) is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(8) A separate segregated fund established by a cor24 poration may not make a contribution or expenditure durVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Apr 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1147.IS S1147

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1 ing a year unless the fund has certified to the Commission 

2 the following during the year: 

3 ‘‘(A) Each individual who manages the fund, 

4 and who is responsible for exercising decisionmaking 

5 authority for the fund, is a citizen of the United 

6 States or is lawfully admitted for permanent resi7 dence in the United States. 

8 ‘‘(B) No foreign national under section 319 

9 participates in any way in the decisionmaking proc10 esses of the fund with regard to contributions or ex11 penditures under this Act. 

12 ‘‘(C) The fund does not solicit or accept rec13 ommendations from any foreign national under sec14 tion 319 with respect to the contributions or expend15 itures made by the fund. 

16 ‘‘(D) Any member of the board of directors of 

17 the corporation who is a foreign national under sec18 tion 319 abstains from voting on matters concerning 

19 the fund or its activities.’’. 

20 SEC. 103. AUDIT AND REPORT ON ILLICIT FOREIGN MONEY 

21 IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 

23 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is 

24 amended by inserting after section 319 the following new 

25 section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 319A. AUDIT AND REPORT ON DISBURSEMENTS BY 

2 FOREIGN NATIONALS. 

3 ‘‘(a) AUDIT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con5 duct an audit after each Federal election cycle to de6 termine the incidence of illicit foreign money in such 

7 Federal election cycle. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.—In carrying out paragraph 

9 (1), the Commission shall conduct random audits of 

10 any disbursements required to be reported under 

11 this Act, in accordance with procedures established 

12 by the Commission. 

13 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the end 

14 of each Federal election cycle, the Commission shall sub15 mit to Congress a report containing— 

16 ‘‘(1) results of the audit required by subsection 

17 (a)(1); and 

18 ‘‘(2) recommendations to address the presence 

19 of illicit foreign money in elections, as appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal election cycle’ means 

22 the period which begins on the day after the date of 

23 a regularly scheduled general election for Federal of24 fice and which ends on the date of the first regularly 

25 scheduled general election for Federal office held 

26 after such date. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘illicit foreign money’ means any 

2 disbursement by a foreign national (as defined in 

3 section 319(b)) prohibited under such section.’’. 

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

5 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the Federal elec6 tion cycle that began during November 2018, and each 

7 succeeding Federal election cycle. 

8 SEC. 104. PROHIBITION ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONA9 TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN CONNEC10 TIONS WITH BALLOT INITIATIVES AND 

11 REFERENDA. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 319(a)(1)(A) of the Fed13 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

14 30121(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘election;’’ and 

15 inserting the following: ‘‘election, including a State or local 

16 ballot initiative or referendum;’’. 

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

18 this section shall apply with respect to elections held in 

19 2020 or any succeeding year. 

20 SEC. 105. DISBURSEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO 

21 FOREIGN MONEY BAN. 

22 (a) DISBURSEMENTS DESCRIBED.—Section 

23 319(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

24 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 

2 (B); and 

3 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) an expenditure; 

6 ‘‘(D) an independent expenditure; 

7 ‘‘(E) a disbursement for an electioneering 

8 communication (within the meaning of section 

9 304(f)(3)); 

10 ‘‘(F) a disbursement for a paid internet or 

11 paid digital communication that refers to a 

12 clearly identified candidate for election for Fed13 eral office and is disseminated within 60 days 

14 before a general, special, or runoff election for 

15 the office sought by the candidate or 30 days 

16 before a primary or preference election, or a 

17 convention or caucus of a political party that 

18 has authority to nominate a candidate for the 

19 office sought by the candidate; 

20 ‘‘(G) a disbursement for a broadcast, 

21 cable, or satellite communication, or for a paid 

22 internet or paid digital communication, that 

23 promotes, supports, attacks or opposes the elec24 tion of a clearly identified candidate for Fed25 eral, State, or local office (regardless of whether 


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1 the communication contains express advocacy or 

2 the functional equivalent of express advocacy) 

3 and is for the purpose of influencing an elec4 tion; or 

5 ‘‘(H) a disbursement for a broadcast, 

6 cable, or satellite communication, or for any 

7 communication which is placed or promoted for 

8 a fee on an online platform, that discusses a 

9 national legislative issue of public importance in 

10 a year in which a regularly scheduled general 

11 election for Federal office is held, but only if 

12 the disbursement is made by a foreign principal 

13 who is a government of a foreign country or a 

14 foreign political party or an agent of such a for15 eign principal under the Foreign Agents Reg16 istration Act of 1938, as amended.’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to disbursements 

19 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 Subtitle B—Reporting of 

2 Campaign-Related Disbursements 

3 SEC. 111. REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE4 MENTS. 

5 (a) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CORPORA6 TIONS, LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, AND CERTAIN OTHER

7 ENTITIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 324 of the Federal 

9 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30126) 

10 is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 324. DISCLOSURE OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE12 MENTS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any covered organization 

15 that makes campaign-related disbursements aggre16 gating more than $10,000 in an election reporting 

17 cycle shall, not later than 24 hours after each disclo18 sure date, file a statement with the Commission 

19 made under penalty of perjury that contains the in20 formation described in paragraph (2)— 

21 ‘‘(A) in the case of the first statement filed 

22 under this subsection, for the period beginning 

23 on the first day of the election reporting cycle 

24 (or, if earlier, the period beginning one year beVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Apr 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1147.IS S1147

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1 fore the first such disclosure date) and ending 

2 on the first such disclosure date; and 

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent state4 ment filed under this subsection, for the period 

5 beginning on the previous disclosure date and 

6 ending on such disclosure date. 

7 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa8 tion described in this paragraph is as follows: 

9 ‘‘(A) The name of the covered organization 

10 and the principal place of business of such or11 ganization and, in the case of a covered organi12 zation that is a corporation (other than a busi13 ness concern that is an issuer of a class of secu14 rities registered under section 12 of the Securi15 ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l) or 

16 that is required to file reports under section 

17 15(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 78o(d))) or an en18 tity described in subsection (e)(2), a list of the 

19 beneficial owners (as defined in paragraph 

20 (4)(A)) of the entity that— 

21 ‘‘(i) identifies each beneficial owner by 

22 name and current residential or business 

23 street address; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) if any beneficial owner exercises 

25 control over the entity through another 


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1 legal entity, such as a corporation, partner2 ship, limited liability company, or trust, 

3 identifies each such other legal entity and 

4 each such beneficial owner who will use 

5 that other entity to exercise control over 

6 the entity. 

7 ‘‘(B) The amount of each campaign-related 

8 disbursement made by such organization during 

9 the period covered by the statement of more 

10 than $1,000, and the name and address of the 

11 person to whom the disbursement was made. 

12 ‘‘(C) In the case of a campaign-related dis13 bursement that is not a covered transfer, the 

14 election to which the campaign-related disburse15 ment pertains and if the disbursement is made 

16 for a public communication, the name of any 

17 candidate identified in such communication and 

18 whether such communication is in support of or 

19 in opposition to a candidate. 

20 ‘‘(D) A certification by the chief executive 

21 officer or person who is the head of the covered 

22 organization that the campaign-related dis23 bursement is not made in cooperation, consulta24 tion, or concert with or at the request or sug25 gestion of a candidate, authorized committee, or 


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1 agent of a candidate, political party, or agent of 

2 a political party. 

3 ‘‘(E)(i) If the covered organization makes 

4 campaign-related disbursements using exclu5 sively funds in a segregated bank account con6 sisting of funds that were paid directly to such 

7 account by persons other than the covered orga8 nization that controls the account, for each 

9 such payment to the account— 

10 ‘‘(I) the name and address of each 

11 person who made such payment during the 

12 period covered by the statement; 

13 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 

14 payment; and 

15 ‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 

16 such payments made by the person during 

17 the period beginning on the first day of the 

18 election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

19 period beginning one year before the dis20 closure date) and ending on the disclosure 

21 date, 

22 but only if such payment was made by a person 

23 who made payments to the account in an aggre24 gate amount of $10,000 or more during the pe25 riod beginning on the first day of the election 


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1 reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the period begin2 ning one year before the disclosure date) and 

3 ending on the disclosure date. 

4 ‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2020, sec5 tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de6 scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 

7 such section applies to the limitations estab8 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 

9 (a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 

10 purposes of applying such section to the 

11 amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 

12 period’ shall be 2020. 

13 ‘‘(F)(i) If the covered organization makes 

14 campaign-related disbursements using funds 

15 other than funds in a segregated bank account 

16 described in subparagraph (E), for each pay17 ment to the covered organization— 

18 ‘‘(I) the name and address of each 

19 person who made such payment during the 

20 period covered by the statement; 

21 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 

22 payment; and 

23 ‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 

24 such payments made by the person during 

25 the period beginning on the first day of the 


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1 election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

2 period beginning one year before the dis3 closure date) and ending on the disclosure 

4 date, 

5 but only if such payment was made by a person 

6 who made payments to the covered organization 

7 in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more 

8 during the period beginning on the first day of 

9 the election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

10 period beginning one year before the disclosure 

11 date) and ending on the disclosure date. 

12 ‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2020, sec13 tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de14 scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 

15 such section applies to the limitations estab16 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 

17 (a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 

18 purposes of applying such section to the 

19 amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 

20 period’ shall be 2020. 

21 ‘‘(G) Such other information as required in 

22 rules established by the Commission to promote 

23 the purposes of this section. 

24 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) AMOUNTS RECEIVED IN ORDINARY

2 COURSE OF BUSINESS.—The requirement to in3 clude in a statement filed under paragraph (1) 

4 the information described in paragraph (2) 

5 shall not apply to amounts received by the cov6 ered organization in commercial transactions in 

7 the ordinary course of any trade or business 

8 conducted by the covered organization or in the 

9 form of investments (other than investments by 

10 the principal shareholder in a limited liability 

11 corporation) in the covered organization. For 

12 purposes of this subparagraph, amounts re13 ceived by a covered organization as remittances 

14 from an employee to the employee’s collective 

15 bargaining representative shall be treated as 

16 amounts received in commercial transactions in 

17 the ordinary course of the business conducted 

18 by the covered organization. 

19 ‘‘(B) DONOR RESTRICTION ON USE OF

20 FUNDS.—The requirement to include in a state21 ment submitted under paragraph (1) the infor22 mation described in subparagraph (F) of para23 graph (2) shall not apply if— 

24 ‘‘(i) the person described in such sub25 paragraph prohibited, in writing, the use of 


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1 the payment made by such person for cam2 paign-related disbursements; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the covered organization agreed 

4 to follow the prohibition and deposited the 

5 payment in an account which is segregated 

6 from any account used to make campaign7 related disbursements. 

8 ‘‘(C) THREAT OF HARASSMENT OR RE9 PRISAL.—The requirement to include any infor10 mation relating to the name or address of any 

11 person (other than a candidate) in a statement 

12 submitted under paragraph (1) shall not apply 

13 if the inclusion of the information would subject 

14 the person to serious threats, harassment, or 

15 reprisals. 

16 ‘‘(4) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

17 this section: 

18 ‘‘(A) BENEFICIAL OWNER DEFINED.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro20 vided in clause (ii), the term ‘beneficial 

21 owner’ means, with respect to any entity, 

22 a natural person who, directly or indi23 rectly— 


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1 ‘‘(I) exercises substantial control 

2 over an entity through ownership, vot3 ing rights, agreement, or otherwise; or 

4 ‘‘(II) has a substantial interest in 

5 or receives substantial economic bene6 fits from the assets of an entity. 

7 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘bene8 ficial owner’ shall not include— 

9 ‘‘(I) a minor child; 

10 ‘‘(II) a person acting as a nomi11 nee, intermediary, custodian, or agent 

12 on behalf of another person; 

13 ‘‘(III) a person acting solely as 

14 an employee of an entity and whose 

15 control over or economic benefits from 

16 the entity derives solely from the em17 ployment status of the person; 

18 ‘‘(IV) a person whose only inter19 est in an entity is through a right of 

20 inheritance, unless the person also 

21 meets the requirements of clause (i); 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(V) a creditor of an entity, un24 less the creditor also meets the re25 quirements of clause (i). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ANTI-ABUSE RULE.—The excep2 tions under clause (ii) shall not apply if 

3 used for the purpose of evading, circum4 venting, or abusing the provisions of clause 

5 (i) or paragraph (2)(A). 

6 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE DATE.—The term ‘dis7 closure date’ means— 

8 ‘‘(i) the first date during any election 

9 reporting cycle by which a person has 

10 made campaign-related disbursements ag11 gregating more than $10,000; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) any other date during such elec13 tion reporting cycle by which a person has 

14 made campaign-related disbursements ag15 gregating more than $10,000 since the 

16 most recent disclosure date for such elec17 tion reporting cycle. 

18 ‘‘(C) ELECTION REPORTING CYCLE.—The 

19 term ‘election reporting cycle’ means the 2-year 

20 period beginning on the date of the most recent 

21 general election for Federal office. 

22 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ in23 cludes any contribution, donation, transfer, pay24 ment of dues, or other payment. 

25 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) OTHER REPORTS FILED WITH THE COM2 MISSION.—Information included in a statement filed 

3 under this section may be excluded from statements 

4 and reports filed under section 304. 

5 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT AS SEPARATE SEGREGATED

6 FUND.—A segregated bank account referred to in 

7 subsection (a)(2)(E) may be treated as a separate 

8 segregated fund for purposes of section 527(f)(3) of 

9 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

10 ‘‘(c) FILING.—Statements required to be filed under 

11 subsection (a) shall be subject to the requirements of sec12 tion 304(d) to the same extent and in the same manner 

13 as if such reports had been required under subsection (c) 

14 or (g) of section 304. 

15 ‘‘(d) CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT DE16 FINED.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

18 ‘campaign-related disbursement’ means a disburse19 ment by a covered organization for any of the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(A) An independent expenditure which ex22 pressly advocates the election or defeat of a 

23 clearly identified candidate for election for Fed24 eral office, or is the functional equivalent of ex25 press advocacy because, when taken as a whole, 


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1 it can be interpreted by a reasonable person 

2 only as advocating the election or defeat of a 

3 candidate for election for Federal office. 

4 ‘‘(B) Any public communication which re5 fers to a clearly identified candidate for election 

6 for Federal office and which promotes or sup7 ports the election of a candidate for that office, 

8 or attacks or opposes the election of a candidate 

9 for that office, without regard to whether the 

10 communication expressly advocates a vote for or 

11 against a candidate for that office. 

12 ‘‘(C) An electioneering communication, as 

13 defined in section 304(f)(3). 

14 ‘‘(D) A covered transfer. 

15 ‘‘(2) INTENT NOT REQUIRED.—A disbursement 

16 for an item described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), 

17 or (D) of paragraph (1) shall be treated as a cam18 paign-related disbursement regardless of the intent 

19 of the person making the disbursement. 

20 ‘‘(e) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this 

21 section, the term ‘covered organization’ means any of the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(1) A corporation (other than an organization 

24 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986). 


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1 ‘‘(2) A limited liability corporation that is not 

2 otherwise treated as a corporation for purposes of 

3 this Act (other than an organization described in 

4 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986). 

6 ‘‘(3) An organization described in section 

7 501(c) of such Code and exempt from taxation 

8 under section 501(a) of such Code (other than an 

9 organization described in section 501(c)(3) of such 

10 Code). 

11 ‘‘(4) A labor organization (as defined in section 

12 316(b)). 

13 ‘‘(5) Any political organization under section 

14 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other 

15 than a political committee under this Act (except as 

16 provided in paragraph (6)). 

17 ‘‘(6) A political committee with an account that 

18 accepts donations or contributions that do not com19 ply with the contribution limits or source prohibi20 tions under this Act, but only with respect to such 

21 accounts. 

22 ‘‘(f) COVERED TRANSFER DEFINED.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

24 ‘covered transfer’ means any transfer or payment of 


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1 funds by a covered organization to another person if 

2 the covered organization— 

3 ‘‘(A) designates, requests, or suggests that 

4 the amounts be used for— 

5 ‘‘(i) campaign-related disbursements 

6 (other than covered transfers); or 

7 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

8 person for the purpose of making or pay9 ing for such campaign-related disburse10 ments; 

11 ‘‘(B) made such transfer or payment in re12 sponse to a solicitation or other request for a 

13 donation or payment for— 

14 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam15 paign-related disbursements (other than 

16 covered transfers); or 

17 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

18 person for the purpose of making or pay19 ing for such campaign-related disburse20 ments; 

21 ‘‘(C) engaged in discussions with the re22 cipient of the transfer or payment regarding— 

23 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam24 paign-related disbursements (other than 

25 covered transfers); or 


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•S 1147 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) donating or transferring any 

2 amount of such transfer or payment to an3 other person for the purpose of making or 

4 paying for such campaign-related disburse5 ments; 

6 ‘‘(D) made campaign-related disburse7 ments (other than a covered transfer) in an ag8 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

9 2-year period ending on the date of the transfer 

10 or payment, or knew or had reason to know 

11 that the person receiving the transfer or pay12 ment made such disbursements in such an ag13 gregate amount during that 2-year period; or 

14 ‘‘(E) knew or had reason to know that the 

15 person receiving the transfer or payment would 

16 make campaign-related disbursements in an ag17 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

18 2-year period beginning on the date of the 

19 transfer or payment. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered transfer’ 

21 does not include any of the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) A disbursement made by a covered 

23 organization in a commercial transaction in the 

24 ordinary course of any trade or business con25 ducted by the covered organization or in the 


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•S 1147 IS

1 form of investments made by the covered orga2 nization. 

3 ‘‘(B) A disbursement made by a covered 

4 organization if— 

5 ‘‘(i) the covered organization prohib6 ited, in writing, the use of such disburse7 ment for campaign-related disbursements; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the recipient of the disbursement 

10 agreed to follow the prohibition and depos11 ited the disbursement in an account which 

12 is segregated from any account used to 

13 make campaign-related disbursements. 

14 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING TRANSFERS

15 AMONG AFFILIATES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) SPECIAL RULE.—A transfer of an 

17 amount by one covered organization to another 

18 covered organization which is treated as a 

19 transfer between affiliates under subparagraph 

20 (C) shall be considered a covered transfer by 

21 the covered organization which transfers the 

22 amount only if the aggregate amount trans23 ferred during the year by such covered organi24 zation to that same covered organization is 

25 equal to or greater than $50,000. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF

2 CERTAIN PAYMENTS AMONG AFFILIATES.—In 

3 determining the amount of a transfer between 

4 affiliates for purposes of subparagraph (A), to 

5 the extent that the transfer consists of funds 

6 attributable to dues, fees, or assessments which 

7 are paid by individuals on a regular, periodic 

8 basis in accordance with a per-individual cal9 culation which is made on a regular basis, the 

10 transfer shall be attributed to the individuals 

11 paying the dues, fees, or assessments and shall 

12 not be attributed to the covered organization. 

13 ‘‘(C) DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFERS BE14 TWEEN AFFILIATES.—A transfer of amounts 

15 from one covered organization to another cov16 ered organization shall be treated as a transfer 

17 between affiliates if— 

18 ‘‘(i) one of the organizations is an af19 filiate of the other organization; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) each of the organizations is an 

21 affiliate of the same organization, 

22 except that the transfer shall not be treated as 

23 a transfer between affiliates if one of the orga24 nizations is established for the purpose of mak25 ing campaign-related disbursements. 


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•S 1147 IS

1 ‘‘(D) DETERMINATION OF AFFILIATE STA2 TUS.—For purposes of subparagraph (C), a 

3 covered organization is an affiliate of another 

4 covered organization if— 

5 ‘‘(i) the governing instrument of the 

6 organization requires it to be bound by de7 cisions of the other organization; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the governing board of the orga9 nization includes persons who are specifi10 cally designated representatives of the 

11 other organization or are members of the 

12 governing board, officers, or paid executive 

13 staff members of the other organization, or 

14 whose service on the governing board is 

15 contingent upon the approval of the other 

16 organization; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) the organization is chartered by 

18 the other organization. 

19 ‘‘(E) COVERAGE OF TRANSFERS TO AF20 FILIATED SECTION 501(c)(3) ORGANIZA21 TIONS.—This paragraph shall apply with re22 spect to an amount transferred by a covered or23 ganization to an organization described in para24 graph (3) of section 501(c) of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 


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•S 1147 IS

1 section 501(a) of such Code in the same man2 ner as this paragraph applies to an amount 

3 transferred by a covered organization to an4 other covered organization. 

5 ‘‘(g) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REPORTING REQUIRE6 MENTS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

7 waive or otherwise affect any other requirement of this 

8 Act which relates to the reporting of campaign-related dis9 bursements.’’. 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

11 304(f)(6) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘Any requirement’’ and inserting ‘‘Ex13 cept as provided in section 324(b), any require14 ment’’. 

15 (b) COORDINATION WITH FINCEN.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Finan17 cial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Depart18 ment of the Treasury shall provide the Federal Elec19 tion Commission with such information as necessary 

20 to assist in administering and enforcing section 324 

21 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as 

22 added by this section. 

23 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman 

25 of the Federal Election Commission, in consultation 


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•S 1147 IS

1 with the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforce2 ment Network of the Department of the Treasury, 

3 shall submit to Congress a report with recommenda4 tions for providing further legislative authority to as5 sist in the administration and enforcement of such 

6 section 324. 

7 SEC. 112. APPLICATION OF FOREIGN MONEY BAN TO DIS8 BURSEMENTS FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED DIS9 BURSEMENTS CONSISTING OF COVERED 

10 TRANSFERS. 

11 Section 319(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Cam12 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)(A)), as amend13 ed by section 102, is amended by striking the semicolon 

14 and inserting the following: ‘‘, and any disbursement, 

15 other than a disbursement described in section 

16 324(a)(3)(A), to another person who made a campaign17 related disbursement consisting of a covered transfer (as 

18 described in section 324) during the 2-year period ending 

19 on the date of the disbursement;’’. 

20 SEC. 113. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

21 The amendments made by this subtitle shall apply 

22 with respect to disbursements made on or after January 

23 1, 2020, and shall take effect without regard to whether 

24 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

25 regulations to carry out such amendments. 


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1 TITLE II—STAND BY EVERY AD 

2 ACT 

3 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Stand By Every Ad 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 202. STAND BY EVERY AD. 

7 (a) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

8 CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318 of the Federal 

9 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120) is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(e) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR

13 COMMUNICATIONS NOT AUTHORIZED BY CANDIDATES OR

14 COMMITTEES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (6), any communication described in para17 graph (3) of subsection (a) which is transmitted in 

18 an audio or video format (including an Internet or 

19 digital communication), or which is an Internet or 

20 digital communication transmitted in a text or 

21 graphic format, shall include, in addition to the re22 quirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (a), the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(A) The individual disclosure statement 

25 described in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 


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•S 1147 IS

1 paying for the communication is an individual) 

2 or the organizational disclosure statement de3 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) (if the person pay4 ing for the communication is not an individual). 

5 ‘‘(B) If the communication is transmitted 

6 in a video format, or is an Internet or digital 

7 communication which is transmitted in a text or 

8 graphic format, and is paid for in whole or in 

9 part with a payment which is treated as a cam10 paign-related disbursement under section 324— 

11 ‘‘(i) the Top Five Funders list (if ap12 plicable); or 

13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 

14 which, as determined on the basis of cri15 teria established in regulations issued by 

16 the Commission, is of such short duration 

17 that including the Top Five Funders list in 

18 the communication would constitute a 

19 hardship to the person paying for the com20 munication by requiring a disproportionate 

21 amount of the content of the communica22 tion to consist of the Top Five Funders 

23 list, the name of a website which contains 

24 the Top Five Funders list (if applicable) 

25 or, in the case of an Internet or digital 


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•S 1147 IS

1 communication, a hyperlink to such 

2 website. 

3 ‘‘(C) If the communication is transmitted 

4 in an audio format and is paid for in whole or 

5 in part with a payment which is treated as a 

6 campaign-related disbursement under section 

7 324— 

8 ‘‘(i) the Top Two Funders list (if ap9 plicable); or 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 

11 which, as determined on the basis of cri12 teria established in regulations issued by 

13 the Commission, is of such short duration 

14 that including the Top Two Funders list in 

15 the communication would constitute a 

16 hardship to the person paying for the com17 munication by requiring a disproportionate 

18 amount of the content of the communica19 tion to consist of the Top Two Funders 

20 list, the name of a website which contains 

21 the Top Two Funders list (if applicable). 

22 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS DESCRIBED.— 

23 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL DISCLOSURE STATE24 MENTS.—The individual disclosure statement 

25 described in this subparagraph is the following: 


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•S 1147 IS

1 ‘I am llllllll, and I approve this 

2 message.’, with the blank filled in with the 

3 name of the applicable individual. 

4 ‘‘(B) ORGANIZATIONAL DISCLOSURE

5 STATEMENTS.—The organizational disclosure 

6 statement described in this subparagraph is the 

7 following: ‘I am llllllll, the 

8 llllllll of llllllll, and 

9 llllllll approves this message.’, 

10 with— 

11 ‘‘(i) the first blank to be filled in with 

12 the name of the applicable individual; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the second blank to be filled in 

14 with the title of the applicable individual; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the third and fourth blank each 

17 to be filled in with the name of the organi18 zation or other person paying for the com19 munication. 

20 ‘‘(3) METHOD OF CONVEYANCE OF STATE21 MENT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) COMMUNICATIONS IN TEXT OR

23 GRAPHIC FORMAT.—In the case of a commu24 nication to which this subsection applies which 

25 is transmitted in a text or graphic format, the 


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•S 1147 IS

1 disclosure statements required under paragraph 

2 (1) shall appear in letters at least as large as 

3 the majority of the text in the communication. 

4 ‘‘(B) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN

5 AUDIO FORMAT.—In the case of a communica6 tion to which this subsection applies which is 

7 transmitted in an audio format, the disclosure 

8 statements required under paragraph (1) shall 

9 be made by audio by the applicable individual 

10 in a clear and conspicuous manner. 

11 ‘‘(C) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN

12 VIDEO FORMAT.—In the case of a communica13 tion to which this subsection applies which is 

14 transmitted in a video format, the information 

15 required under paragraph (1)— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall appear in writing at the end 

17 of the communication or in a crawl along 

18 the bottom of the communication in a clear 

19 and conspicuous manner, with a reasonable 

20 degree of color contrast between the back21 ground and the printed statement, for a 

22 period of at least 6 seconds; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) shall also be conveyed by an 

24 unobscured, full-screen view of the applica25 ble individual or by the applicable indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Apr 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1147.IS S1147

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•S 1147 IS

1 vidual making the statement in voice-over 

2 accompanied by a clearly identifiable pho3 tograph or similar image of the individual, 

4 except in the case of a Top Five Funders 

5 list. 

6 ‘‘(4) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—The 

7 term ‘applicable individual’ means, with respect to a 

8 communication to which this subsection applies— 

9 ‘‘(A) if the communication is paid for by 

10 an individual, the individual involved; 

11 ‘‘(B) if the communication is paid for by a 

12 corporation, the chief executive officer of the 

13 corporation (or, if the corporation does not have 

14 a chief executive officer, the highest ranking of15 ficial of the corporation); 

16 ‘‘(C) if the communication is paid for by a 

17 labor organization, the highest ranking officer 

18 of the labor organization; and 

19 ‘‘(D) if the communication is paid for by 

20 any other person, the highest ranking official of 

21 such person. 

22 ‘‘(5) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST AND TOP TWO

23 FUNDERS LIST DEFINED.— 

24 ‘‘(A) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST.—The term 

25 ‘Top Five Funders list’ means, with respect to 


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•S 1147 IS

1 a communication which is paid for in whole or 

2 in part with a campaign-related disbursement 

3 (as defined in section 324), a list of the five 

4 persons who, during the 12-month period end5 ing on the date of the disbursement, provided 

6 the largest payments of any type in an aggre7 gate amount equal to or exceeding $10,000 to 

8 the person who is paying for the communication 

9 and the amount of the payments each such per10 son provided. If two or more people provided 

11 the fifth largest of such payments, the person 

12 paying for the communication shall select one of 

13 those persons to be included on the Top Five 

14 Funders list. 

15 ‘‘(B) TOP TWO FUNDERS LIST.—The term 

16 ‘Top Two Funders list’ means, with respect to 

17 a communication which is paid for in whole or 

18 in part with a campaign-related disbursement 

19 (as defined in section 324), a list of the persons 

20 who, during the 12-month period ending on the 

21 date of the disbursement, provided the largest 

22 and the second largest payments of any type in 

23 an aggregate amount equal to or exceeding 

24 $10,000 to the person who is paying for the 

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1 ments each such person provided. If two or 

2 more persons provided the second largest of 

3 such payments, the person paying for the com4 munication shall select one of those persons to 

5 be included on the Top Two Funders list. 

6 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN PAY7 MENTS.—For purposes of subparagraphs (A) 

8 and (B), in determining the amount of pay9 ments made by a person to a person paying for 

10 a communication, there shall be excluded the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(i) Any amounts provided in the or13 dinary course of any trade or business con14 ducted by the person paying for the com15 munication or in the form of investments 

16 in the person paying for the communica17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Any payment which the person 

19 prohibited, in writing, from being used for 

20 campaign-related disbursements, but only 

21 if the person paying for the communication 

22 agreed to follow the prohibition and depos23 ited the payment in an account which is 

24 segregated from any account used to make 

25 campaign-related disbursements. 


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•S 1147 IS

1 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN COMMU2 NICATIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) EXCEPTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS

4 PAID FOR BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN

5 POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—This subsection does 

6 not apply to any communication to which sub7 section (d)(2) applies. 

8 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF VIDEO COMMUNICA9 TIONS LASTING 10 SECONDS OR LESS.—In the 

10 case of a communication to which this sub11 section applies which is transmitted in a video 

12 format, or is an Internet or digital communica13 tion which is transmitted in a text or graphic 

14 format, the communication shall meet the fol15 lowing requirements: 

16 ‘‘(i) The communication shall include 

17 the individual disclosure statement de18 scribed in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 

19 paying for the communication is an indi20 vidual) or the organizational disclosure 

21 statement described in paragraph (2)(B) 

22 (if the person paying for the communica23 tion is not an individual). 

24 ‘‘(ii) The statement described in 

25 clause (i) shall appear in writing at the 


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•S 1147 IS

1 end of the communication, or in a crawl 

2 along the bottom of the communication, in 

3 a clear and conspicuous manner, with a 

4 reasonable degree of color contrast between 

5 the background and the printed statement, 

6 for a period of at least 4 seconds. 

7 ‘‘(iii) The communication shall in8 clude, in a clear and conspicuous manner, 

9 a website address with a landing page 

10 which will provide all of the information 

11 described in paragraph (1) with respect to 

12 the communication. Such address shall ap13 pear for the full duration of the commu14 nication. 

15 ‘‘(iv) To the extent that the format in 

16 which the communication is made permits 

17 the use of a hyperlink, the communication 

18 shall include a hyperlink to the website ad19 dress described in clause (iii).’’. 

20 (b) APPLICATION OF EXPANDED REQUIREMENTS TO

21 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CONSISTING OF CAMPAIGN22 RELATED DISBURSEMENTS.—Section 318(a) of such Act 

23 (52 U.S.C. 30120(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘for the pur24 pose of financing communications expressly advocating the 

25 election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate’’ and 


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•S 1147 IS

1 inserting ‘‘for a campaign-related disbursement, as de2 fined in section 324, consisting of a public communica3 tion’’. 

4 (c) EXCEPTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS PAID FOR BY

5 POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMIT6 TEES.—Section 318(d)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

7 30120(d)(2)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OTHERS’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES’’; 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘Any communication’’ and in11 serting ‘‘(A) Any communication’’; 

12 (3) by inserting ‘‘which (except to the extent 

13 provided in subparagraph (B)) is paid for by a polit14 ical committee (including a political committee of a 

15 political party) and’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

16 (4) by striking ‘‘or other person’’ each place it 

17 appears; and 

18 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(B)(i) This paragraph does not apply to a 

21 communication paid for in whole or in part during 

22 a calendar year with a campaign-related disburse23 ment, but only if the covered organization making 

24 the campaign-related disbursement made campaign25 related disbursements (as defined in section 324) agVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Apr 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1147.IS S1147

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•S 1147 IS

1 gregating more than $10,000 during such calendar 

2 year. 

3 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i), in determining 

4 the amount of campaign-related disbursements made 

5 by a covered organization during a year, there shall 

6 be excluded the following: 

7 ‘‘(I) Any amounts received by the covered 

8 organization in the ordinary course of any trade 

9 or business conducted by the covered organiza10 tion or in the form of investments in the cov11 ered organization. 

12 ‘‘(II) Any amounts received by the covered 

13 organization from a person who prohibited, in 

14 writing, the organization from using such 

15 amounts for campaign-related disbursements, 

16 but only if the covered organization agreed to 

17 follow the prohibition and deposited the 

18 amounts in an account which is segregated 

19 from any account used to make campaign-re20 lated disbursements.’’. 

21 SEC. 203. DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMUNICA22 TIONS MADE THROUGH PRERECORDED TELE23 PHONE CALLS. 

24 (a) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.— 


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•S 1147 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 318(a) of the Fed2 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

3 30120(a)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘mailing,’’ 

4 each place it appears the following: ‘‘telephone call 

5 which consists in substantial part of a prerecorded 

6 audio message,’’. 

7 (2) APPLICATION TO COMMUNICATIONS SUB8 JECT TO EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 Section 318(e)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

10 30120(e)(1)), as added by section 202(a), is amend11 ed in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by 

12 striking ‘‘which is transmitted in an audio or video 

13 format’’ and inserting ‘‘which is transmitted in an 

14 audio or video format or which consists of a tele15 phone call consisting in substantial part of a 

16 prerecorded audio message’’. 

17 (b) TREATMENT AS COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED

18 IN AUDIO FORMAT.— 

19 (1) COMMUNICATIONS BY CANDIDATES OR AU20 THORIZED PERSONS.—Section 318(d) of such Act 

21 (52 U.S.C. 30120(d)) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(3) PRERECORDED TELEPHONE CALLS.—Any 

24 communication described in paragraph (1), (2), or 

25 (3) of subsection (a) (other than a communication 


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•S 1147 IS

1 which is subject to subsection (e)) which is a tele2 phone call consisting in substantial part of a 

3 prerecorded audio message shall include, in addition 

4 to the requirements of such paragraph, the audio 

5 statement required under subparagraph (A) of para6 graph (1) or the audio statement required under 

7 paragraph (2) (whichever is applicable), except that 

8 the statement shall be made at the beginning of the 

9 telephone call.’’. 

10 (2) COMMUNICATIONS SUBJECT TO EXPANDED

11 DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.—Section 318(e)(3) of 

12 such Act (52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(3)), as added by sec13 tion 202(a), is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following new subparagraph: 

15 ‘‘(D) PRERECORDED TELEPHONE

16 CALLS.—In the case of a communication to 

17 which this subsection applies which is a tele18 phone call consisting in substantial part of a 

19 prerecorded audio message, the communication 

20 shall be considered to be transmitted in an 

21 audio format.’’. 


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•S 1147 IS

1 SEC. 204. NO EXPANSION OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO DIS2 CLAIMER REQUIREMENTS ON INTERNET 

3 COMMUNICATIONS. 

4 Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this 

5 title may be construed to require any person who is not 

6 required under section 318 of the Federal Election Cam7 paign Act of 1971 (as provided under section 110.11 of 

8 title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations) to include 

9 a disclaimer on communications made by the person 

10 through the Internet to include any disclaimer on any such 

11 communications. 

12 SEC. 205. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 The amendments made by this title shall apply with 

14 respect to communications made on or after January 1, 

15 2020, and shall take effect without regard to whether or 

16 not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

17 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

18 TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

19 SEC. 301. SEVERABILITY. 

20 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

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

22 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu23 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

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


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•S 1147 IS

1 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

2 affected by the holding. 

Æ 


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