II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1274 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to provide for public financing 

for Federal elections through vouchers directed by eligible voters to 

the candidates of their choice. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 1, 2019 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND 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 to provide 

for public financing for Federal elections through vouchers directed by eligible voters to the candidates of their 

choice. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Elections Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMOCRACY DOLLARS PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Election Campaign 

4 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by add5 ing at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘TITLE V—DEMOCRACY 

7 DOLLARS PROGRAM 

‘‘Sec. 501. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 502. Distribution of democracy dollars to eligible individuals. 

‘‘Sec. 503. Requirements for participating candidates. 

‘‘Sec. 504. Use of democracy dollars. 

‘‘Sec. 505. Administration. 

‘‘Sec. 506. Funding. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

9 ‘‘For purposes of this title: 

10 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE ELECTION SERIES.—The 

11 term ‘applicable election series’ means, with respect 

12 to any Federal office, any of the following elections 

13 for such office during an election cycle: 

14 ‘‘(A) A primary election (including a pri15 mary election held for the selection of delegates 

16 to a national nominating convention of a polit17 ical party and a primary held for the expression 

18 of a preference for the nomination of an indi19 vidual for election to the office of President) for 

20 nomination to Federal office. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A convention or caucus of a political 

2 party that has authority to nominate a can3 didate to Federal office. 

4 ‘‘(C) A general election, a special election, 

5 or a runoff election for Federal office. 

6 ‘‘(2) DEMOCRACY DOLLARS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘democracy 

8 dollars’ means a voucher (having such form as 

9 determined by the Commission) that is a Con10 gressional democracy dollar, a Senate democ11 racy dollar, or a Presidential democracy dollar. 

12 ‘‘(B) CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRACY DOL13 LAR.—A Congressional democracy dollar is a 

14 democracy dollar that is restricted such that— 

15 ‘‘(i) it may only be transferred to a 

16 qualified candidate for the office of Rep17 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident 

18 Commissioner to, the Congress; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any election cycle 

20 beginning in 2025 or later, may only be 

21 transferred to a qualified candidate for 

22 such office for a district in the State in 

23 which the eligible individual to whom it is 

24 distributed is a qualified resident. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SENATE DEMOCRACY DOLLAR.—A 

2 Senate democracy dollar is a democracy dollar 

3 that is restricted such that— 

4 ‘‘(i) it may only be transferred to a 

5 qualified candidate for the office of Sen6 ator; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any election cycle 

8 beginning in 2025 or later, may only be 

9 transferred to a qualified candidate for 

10 such office for the State in which the eligi11 ble individual to whom it is distributed is 

12 a qualified resident. 

13 ‘‘(D) PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRACY DOL14 LAR.—A Presidential democracy dollar is a de15 mocracy dollar that is restricted such that it 

16 may only be transferred to qualified candidates 

17 for the offices of President or Vice President. 

18 ‘‘(3) DEMOCRACY DOLLAR ACCOUNT.—The 

19 term ‘democracy dollar account’ means an account 

20 of a participating candidate that consists only of 

21 amounts paid under section 504(a)(3) and that 

22 meets such other requirements as established by the 

23 Commission. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ELECTION CYCLE.—The term ‘election 

2 cycle’ means the 2-year period beginning on January 

3 1 of each odd-numbered year. 

4 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible 

5 individual’ means, with respect to any election cycle, 

6 an individual who— 

7 ‘‘(A) is a citizen or national of the United 

8 States; and 

9 ‘‘(B) has attained the age of 18. 

10 ‘‘(6) PARTICIPATING CANDIDATE.—The term 

11 ‘participating candidate’ means a candidate who is 

12 certified by the Commission under section 503. 

13 ‘‘(7) QUALIFIED RESIDENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

15 subparagraph (B), the term ‘qualified resident’ 

16 means, with respect to any State, an eligible in17 dividual whose primary residence is located in 

18 such State. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) STUDENTS.—Any eligible indi21 vidual who is a full-time student attending 

22 a post-secondary educational institution 

23 may elect to treat the State in which such 

24 institution is located as the State in which 

25 such individual is a qualified resident. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) INDIVIDUALS LIVING ABROAD.— 

2 Any eligible individual whose primary resi3 dence is outside the United States shall be 

4 treated as a qualified resident of— 

5 ‘‘(I) in the case of an eligible in6 dividual who is qualified to vote in a 

7 State, the State in which the indi8 vidual is qualified to vote; or 

9 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other eli10 gible individual, the last State in 

11 which such individual was domiciled 

12 before leaving the United States. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 502. DISTRIBUTION OF DEMOCRACY DOLLARS TO EL14 IGIBLE INDIVIDUALS. 

15 ‘‘(a) PROCESS AND METHODS FOR DISTRIBUTION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of an eligible 

17 individual who is a qualified resident of a State in 

18 which an election for Federal office (other than a 

19 runoff election) is held, the Commission shall pro20 vide to such individual democracy dollars that may 

21 be used only in such election in the amount deter22 mined under subsection (b). 

23 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) TIME FOR MAKING REQUEST.—Any 

25 request under subsection (a) shall be made— 


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1 ‘‘(i) no earlier than the first day of 

2 the election cycle in which the election oc3 curs; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) no later than 10 days before the 

5 date of the election to which it relates. 

6 In the case of elections to nominate a candidate 

7 for election to a Federal office which do not 

8 occur on the same day, clause (ii) shall be ap9 plied by using the date of last such election oc10 curring in the State. 

11 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON DISTRIBUTIONS.— 

12 Except in the case of a special election, the 

13 Commission shall not provide democracy dollars 

14 to any individual for more than one primary 

15 election and one general election for each of the 

16 following offices: 

17 ‘‘(i) The office of Representative in, or 

18 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 

19 Congress. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The office of Senator. 

21 ‘‘(iii) The office of President and Vice 

22 President. 

23 ‘‘(3) METHODS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

25 subparagraph (B), democracy dollars shall be 


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1 distributed in such manner as the Commission 

2 determines appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(B) PILOT PROGRAM FOR MAILED DE4 MOCRACY DOLLARS.—The Commission shall 

5 conduct a pilot program for the distribution of 

6 democracy dollars through the mail. If the 

7 Commission determines that such program is a 

8 cost effective way to expand participation and 

9 attract a more diverse group of participants, 

10 the Commission shall expand such program for 

11 future elections. 

12 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF TYPE AND AMOUNT OF

13 DEMOCRACY DOLLARS PROVIDED.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount determined 

15 under this section is— 

16 ‘‘(A) in the case of any election (other than 

17 a runoff election) for the office of Representa18 tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner 

19 to, the Congress, the Congressional amount; 

20 ‘‘(B) in the case of any election (other 

21 than a runoff election) for nomination to the of22 fice of Senator, the Senate amount; and 

23 ‘‘(C) in the case of any election for nomi24 nation to the office of, or the office of, PresiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1274.IS S1274

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1 dent or Vice President, the Presidential 

2 amount. 

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS.—For purposes of this title: 

4 ‘‘(A) CONGRESSIONAL AMOUNT.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Congressional 

6 amount is an amount equal to $100. 

7 ‘‘(ii) INCREASE.—In the case of any 

8 election cycle beginning after 2022, the 

9 amount determined under clause (i) for 

10 any election cycle shall be the sum of the 

11 dollar amount in effect under such clause 

12 for the preceding election cycle increased 

13 by the product of— 

14 ‘‘(I) 75 percent (or the percent15 age specified pursuant to section 

16 505(c) for such election cycle) of the 

17 percentage (if any) by which— 

18 ‘‘(aa) the average of the 

19 total amount of contributions re20 ceived during the preceding elec21 tion cycle by each candidate for 

22 the office of Representative in, or 

23 Delegate or Resident Commis24 sioner to, the Congress who is 


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1 not a participating candidate; ex2 ceeds 

3 ‘‘(bb) the average of the 

4 total amount of contributions re5 ceived during the preceding elec6 tion cycle by each participating 

7 candidate for the office of Rep8 resentative in, or Delegate or 

9 Resident Commissioner to, the 

10 Congress; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the dollar amount in effect 

12 under clause (i) for the preceding 

13 election cycle. 

14 ‘‘(iii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In 

15 the case of any election cycle beginning 

16 after 2022 for which there is no increase 

17 under clause (ii), the Congressional 

18 amount in effect for such election cycle 

19 shall be the sum of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the greater of the dollar 

21 amount specified in clause (i) or the 

22 dollar amount the amount in effect for 

23 the most recent election cycle for 

24 which there was such an increase; 

25 plus 


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1 ‘‘(II) the percent increase deter2 mined under section 315(c), deter3 mined as if the base period were— 

4 ‘‘(aa) if there was no prior 

5 increase in such dollar amount 

6 pursuant to clause (ii), 2021; or 

7 ‘‘(bb) in any other case, the 

8 calendar year immediately pre9 ceding the first calendar year in 

10 the election cycle for which the 

11 most recent such prior increase 

12 occurred. 

13 ‘‘(B) SENATE AMOUNT.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Senate 

15 amount is an amount equal to $100. 

16 ‘‘(ii) INCREASE.—In the case of any 

17 election cycle beginning after 2022, the 

18 amount determined under clause (i) for 

19 any election cycle shall be the sum of the 

20 dollar amount in effect under such clause 

21 for the preceding election cycle increased 

22 by the product of— 

23 ‘‘(I) 75 percent (or the percent24 age specified pursuant to section 


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1 505(c) for such election cycle) of the 

2 percentage (if any) by which— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the average of the 

4 total amount of contributions re5 ceived during the preceding elec6 tion cycle by each candidate for 

7 the office of Senator who is not 

8 a participating candidate; exceeds 

9 ‘‘(bb) the average of the 

10 total amount of contributions re11 ceived during the preceding elec12 tion cycle by each participating 

13 candidate for the office of Sen14 ator; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the dollar amount in effect 

16 under clause (i) for the preceding 

17 election cycle. 

18 ‘‘(iii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In 

19 the case of any election cycle beginning 

20 after 2022 for which there is no increase 

21 under clause (ii), the Senate amount in ef22 fect for such election cycle shall be the sum 

23 of— 

24 ‘‘(I) the greater of the dollar 

25 amount specified in clause (i) or the 


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1 dollar amount the amount in effect for 

2 the most recent election cycle for 

3 which there was such an increase; 

4 plus 

5 ‘‘(II) the percent increase deter6 mined under section 315(c), deter7 mined as if the base period were— 

8 ‘‘(aa) if there was no prior 

9 increase in such dollar amount 

10 pursuant to clause (ii), 2021; or 

11 ‘‘(bb) in any other case, the 

12 calendar year immediately pre13 ceding the first calendar year in 

14 the election cycle for which the 

15 most recent such prior increase 

16 occurred. 

17 ‘‘(C) PRESIDENTIAL AMOUNT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Presidential 

19 amount is an amount equal to $100. 

20 ‘‘(ii) INCREASE.—The amount deter21 mined under clause (i) for any election 

22 cycle following the election cycle beginning 

23 on January 1, 2021, in which there is an 

24 election for the office of President shall be 

25 the sum of the dollar amount in effect 


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1 under such clause for the preceding elec2 tion cycle increased by the product of— 

3 ‘‘(I) 75 percent (or the percent4 age specified pursuant to section 

5 505(c) for such election cycle) of the 

6 percentage (if any) by which— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the average of the 

8 total amount of contributions re9 ceived during the preceding elec10 tion cycle in which there was an 

11 election for the office of Presi12 dent by each candidate for such 

13 office who is not a participating 

14 candidate; exceeds 

15 ‘‘(bb) the average of the 

16 total amount of contributions re17 ceived during such preceding 

18 election cycle by each partici19 pating candidate for the office of 

20 President; and 

21 ‘‘(II) the dollar amount in effect 

22 under clause (i) for the preceding 

23 election cycle. 

24 ‘‘(iii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In 

25 the case of any election cycle beginning 


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1 after 2022 for which there is no increase 

2 under clause (ii), the Presidential amount 

3 in effect for such election cycle shall be the 

4 sum of— 

5 ‘‘(I) the greater of the dollar 

6 amount specified in clause (i) or the 

7 dollar amount the amount in effect for 

8 the most recent election cycle for 

9 which there was such an increase; 

10 plus 

11 ‘‘(II) the percent increase deter12 mined under section 315(c), deter13 mined as if the base period were— 

14 ‘‘(aa) if there was no prior 

15 increase in such dollar amount 

16 pursuant to clause (ii), 2021; or 

17 ‘‘(bb) in any other case, the 

18 calendar year immediately pre19 ceding the first calendar year in 

20 the election cycle for which the 

21 most recent such prior increase 

22 occurred. 

23 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION.—The 

2 Commission shall obtain such information from 

3 Federal agencies and from State and local gov4 ernments as is necessary to identify eligible in5 dividuals, determine the State in which the eli6 gible individual is a qualified resident, and de7 liver democracy dollars to such eligible individ8 uals. 

9 ‘‘(B) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Commis10 sion shall treat any information obtained under 

11 subparagraph (A) as confidential and shall take 

12 such action as necessary to protect the privacy 

13 of such information. 

14 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—No individual shall be treat15 ed as a qualified resident of more than 1 State. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 503. REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING CAN17 DIDATES. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall certify a 

19 candidate as a participating candidate if such candidate— 

20 ‘‘(1) receives qualified contributions and trans21 fers of democracy dollars with an aggregate value of 

22 not less than the threshold amount; 

23 ‘‘(2) establishes a democracy dollar account; 

24 ‘‘(3) certifies that the candidate has complied, 

25 and, if such candidate is certified as a participating 


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1 candidate under this section, will comply, with the 

2 contribution requirements under subsection (c) with 

3 respect to all elections in the applicable election se4 ries for the Federal office that the candidate is seek5 ing; and 

6 ‘‘(4) certifies that the candidate has complied, 

7 and, if such candidate is certified as a participating 

8 candidate under this section, will comply, with the 

9 personal fund requirements under subsection (d) 

10 with respect to all elections in the applicable election 

11 series for the Federal office that the candidate is 

12 seeking. 

13 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THRESHOLD AMOUNT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of sub16 section (a), the threshold amount with respect 

17 to any election cycle is— 

18 ‘‘(i) in the case of a candidate for the 

19 office of Representative in, or Delegate or 

20 Resident Commissioner to, the Congress, 

21 $50,000; 

22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a candidate for the 

23 office of Senator, $500,000; and 


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

2 office of President or Vice President, 

3 $1,000,000. 

4 ‘‘(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In any 

5 calendar year after 2022, section 315(c)(1)(B) 

6 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

7 (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(1)(B)) shall apply to each 

8 amount described in subparagraph (A) in the 

9 same manner as such section applies to the lim10 itations established under subsections (a)(1)(A), 

11 (a)(1)(B), (a)(3), and (h) of such section, ex12 cept that for purposes of applying such section 

13 to the amounts described in subparagraph (A), 

14 the ‘base period’ shall be calendar year 2021. 

15 ‘‘(2) RETURN OF VOUCHERS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case of any 

17 transfer of democracy dollars to a candidate 

18 who is not certified under this section before 

19 the date that is 30 days before the date of the 

20 applicable election, such transfer shall be voided 

21 and the eligible individual who transferred such 

22 democracy dollars shall be permitted to transfer 

23 such democracy dollars (or replacement democ24 racy dollars with equivalent value) to another 

25 participating candidate. 


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1 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE ELECTION.—For pur2 poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘applicable 

3 election’ means, with respect to any candidate, 

4 the earliest of— 

5 ‘‘(i) the primary election for nomina6 tion to the office for which the candidate 

7 is running; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a convention or caucus of a polit9 ical party that has authority to nominate a 

10 candidate for such office; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) the election for Federal office. 

12 In the case of a candidate for the office of 

13 President, such term means the first primary 

14 election or caucus held for the selection of dele15 gates to a national nominating convention of a 

16 political party. 

17 ‘‘(c) CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A candidate meets the con19 tribution requirement of this subsection if the can20 didate does not accept any contribution other than 

21 qualified contributions. 

22 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTION.—For purposes 

23 of this subsection: 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

25 contribution’ means any contribution from an 


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1 individual so long as the aggregate amount of 

2 contributions received by such candidate from 

3 such individual during the election cycle do not 

4 exceed the applicable amount. 

5 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

7 subparagraph (A), the applicable amount 

8 is— 

9 ‘‘(I) in the case of the election 

10 cycle beginning in 2021, $1,000; 

11 ‘‘(II) in the case of the election 

12 cycle beginning in 2023, $800; 

13 ‘‘(III) in the case of the election 

14 cycle beginning in 2025, $600; 

15 ‘‘(IV) in the case of the election 

16 cycle beginning in 2027, $400; and 

17 ‘‘(V) in the case of any election 

18 cycle beginning in 2029 or later, 

19 $200. 

20 ‘‘(ii) INDEXING.—In any calendar 

21 year after 2030, section 315(c)(1)(B) of 

22 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

23 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(1)(B)) shall 

24 apply to the $200 amount described in 

25 clause (i)(V) in the same manner as such 


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1 section applies to the limitations estab2 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), 

3 (a)(1)(B), (a)(3), and (h) of such section, 

4 except that for purposes of applying such 

5 section to the $200 amount described in 

6 clause (i)(V), the ‘base period’ shall be cal7 endar year 2029. 

8 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR RUNOFF ELEC9 TIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

11 runoff election, the amount in effect under 

12 subparagraph (B) shall be increased by 

13 $200. 

14 ‘‘(ii) INDEXING.—In any calendar 

15 year after 2022, section 315(c)(1)(B) of 

16 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

17 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(1)(B)) shall 

18 apply to the $200 amount described in 

19 clause (i) in the same manner as such sec20 tion applies to the limitations established 

21 under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 

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

23 for purposes of applying such section to 

24 the $200 amount described in clause (i), 


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1 the ‘base period’ shall be calendar year 

2 2021. 

3 ‘‘(d) PERSONAL FUNDS REQUIREMENT.—A can4 didate meets the personal funds requirement of this sub5 section if the candidate does not spend personal funds (in6 cluding personal funds of the candidate or any immediate 

7 family member of the candidate) in an amount in excess 

8 of $2,500 for any election in the applicable election series. 

9 ‘‘(e) REVOCATION; PROHIBITION ON PARTICIPA10 TION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Commission 

11 may— 

12 ‘‘(1) revoke a certification awarded under this 

13 section for any candidate who has violated the rules 

14 of this title; or 

15 ‘‘(2) refuse to certify any candidate under this 

16 section if such candidate has violated the rules of 

17 this title in any preceding election for Federal office 

18 in which such candidate was a participating can19 didate. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 504. USE OF DEMOCRACY DOLLARS. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) TRANSFER OF DEMOCRACY DOLLARS TO

23 PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES.—An eligible individual 

24 may transfer democracy dollars to participating can25 didates in increments that are multiples of $10. In 


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1 any case in which an individual transfers an amount 

2 that is not a multiple of $10, such amount shall be 

3 treated as a transfer in amount equal to the next 

4 lowest multiple of $10. 

5 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS TREATED AS CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

6 The amount of any democracy dollars transferred by 

7 an eligible individual to a participating candidate 

8 shall be treated as a contribution by such eligible in9 dividual to the principal campaign committee of the 

10 participating candidate for purposes of this Act, in11 cluding section 304 (relating to reports by political 

12 committees) and 315 (relating to limitations on con13 tributions). 

14 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED INTO DEMOC15 RACY DOLLARS ACCOUNT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subsection 506(b), not later than 5 business 

18 days after receiving notice of a transfer of de19 mocracy dollars to a candidate, the Commission 

20 shall pay into the democracy dollar account of 

21 a participating candidate an amount equal to 

22 the value of the democracy dollars so trans23 ferred to such candidate. 

24 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM AMOUNTS.—Notwith25 standing subparagraph (A), the Commission 


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1 under regulations may require a minimum value 

2 threshold of democracy dollars transferred to a 

3 particular candidate before making a payment 

4 under subparagraph (A). 

5 ‘‘(b) USE OF AMOUNTS IN ACCOUNTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PERMISSIBLE USES.—Amounts in a de7 mocracy dollars account may be used— 

8 ‘‘(A) for otherwise authorized expenditures 

9 in connection with the campaign for Federal of10 fice of the candidate; 

11 ‘‘(B) subject to the limitations of section 

12 315(a), for contributions to another candidate 

13 for a Federal office in the same State as the 

14 Federal office that the candidate is seeking or 

15 for the office of President or Vice President; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(C) as provided in subsection (c) (relating 

18 to return of funds). 

19 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITED USES.—Amounts in a democ20 racy dollars account shall not— 

21 ‘‘(A) be converted by any person to per22 sonal use (within the meaning of section 

23 313(b)); 


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1 ‘‘(B) be used to reimburse any eligible in2 dividual for the transfer of democracy dollars; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(C) be used to make any payment to any 

5 member of the family of the candidate (includ6 ing for any expenditure described in paragraph 

7 (1)(A)). 

8 ‘‘(c) RETURN OF FUNDS.—Not later than the date 

9 that is 10 business days after the earliest of the date on 

10 which the participating candidate— 

11 ‘‘(1) withdraws from an election in the applica12 ble election series; 

13 ‘‘(2) no longer qualifies to be on the ballot for 

14 any election in the applicable election series; or 

15 ‘‘(3) loses an election in the applicable election 

16 series; 

17 the participating candidate shall remit to the Commission 

18 any amounts in the democracy dollars account of such 

19 candidate that remain unexpended as of such date. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 505. ADMINISTRATION. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall by regula22 tions establish rules for the administration of this title. 

23 ‘‘(b) AUDITS.—The Commission shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) conduct random audits of participating 

25 candidates under this title; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) establish rules for the conduct of such au2 dits, including rules relating to appropriate sample 

3 sizes for such audits. 

4 ‘‘(c) REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT OF CERTAIN

5 AMOUNTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) REVIEW.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After each general 

8 election for Federal office, the Commission shall 

9 conduct a review of the dollar amount for the 

10 Congressional amount, the Senate amount, and 

11 the Presidential amount under section 502(b). 

12 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In conducting such re13 view, the Commission shall consider whether 

14 the amounts are sufficient to allow participating 

15 candidates to run robust campaigns and to 

16 compete with candidates that are not partici17 pating candidates. 

18 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT.—Based on the review con19 ducted under paragraph (1), the Commission may 

20 increase the 75 percent amount under subpara21 graphs (A)(ii), (B)(ii), and (C)(ii) of section 

22 502(b)(2), except that such amount may not be ad23 justed to an amount in excess of 200 percent. 

24 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC OUTREACH.—The Commission shall es25 tablish an information program to make eligible individVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1274.IS S1274

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•S 1274 IS

1 uals aware of the availability of democracy dollars under 

2 this title. Such program shall include the targeting of com3 munities and individuals who have not previously made 

4 contributions to candidates. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 506. FUNDING. 

6 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby appro8 priated such sums as necessary to carry out the pur9 poses of this title. 

10 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Any amounts appro11 priated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain 

12 available without fiscal year limitation until ex13 pended. 

14 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERS IN EXCESS OF AP15 PROPRIATIONS.—In any case in which the aggregate 

16 amount of democracy dollars transferred to participating 

17 candidates exceeds the amount appropriated under sub18 section (a), the Commission shall make payments under 

19 section 504(a)(3) in full based on the order in time in 

20 which the Commission was notified of the transfer.’’. 

21 (b) REPORTING OF DEMOCRACY DOLLAR CONTRIBU22 TIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(b)(3) of the 

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

25 30104(b)(3)(A)) is amended— 


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•S 1274 IS

1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(A)’’; and 

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

3 ‘‘(ii) individual who makes a contribution 

4 of democracy dollars (as defined in section 501) 

5 during the reporting period, except that in 

6 order to protect the privacy of such individual, 

7 any identity information other than the zip 

8 code, city, and occupation of such individual 

9 shall be provided on a separate list which shall 

10 not be made available to the public;’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

12 311(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30111(4)) is amend13 ed by striking the last sentence and inserting ‘‘The 

14 Commission shall exclude from the public record any 

15 list provided under the preceding sentence or under 

16 section 304(b)(3)(A)(ii).’’. 

17 (c) REPEAL OF PRESIDENTIAL FINANCING SYS18 TEM.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Internal Revenue Code 

20 of 1986 is amended by striking subtitle H. 

21 (2) REPEAL OF INCOME TAX DESIGNATIONS.— 

22 Subchapter A of chapter 61 of the Internal Revenue 

23 Code of 1986 is amended by striking part VIII. 

24 (3) TRANSFER OF REMAINING AMOUNTS.— 

25 Amounts remaining in the Presidential Election 


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1 Campaign Fund on the date described in subsection 

2 (c) shall be transferred to the general fund of the 

3 Treasury. 

4 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (A) The table of subtitles for the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

7 the item relating to subtitle H. 

8 (B) The table of parts for subchapter A of 

9 chapter 61 of such Code is amended by striking 

10 the item relating to part VIII. 

11 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall apply with respect to elections for Fed13 eral office occurring after December 31, 2020. 

Æ 


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