II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2966 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require donor 

disclosure for certain organizations accepting donations from foreign 

nationals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2018 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

require donor disclosure for certain organizations accepting donations from foreign nationals, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Secret Foreign 

5 Interference in Elections Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DONOR DISCLOSURE FOR CERTAIN ORGANIZA2 TIONS ACCEPTING DONATIONS FROM FOR3 EIGN NATIONALS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 324 of the Federal Elec5 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30126) is amended 

6 to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 324. DONOR DISCLOSURE FOR CERTAIN ORGANIZA8 TIONS ACCEPTING DONATIONS FROM FOR9 EIGN NATIONALS. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘campaign13 related disbursement’ means a disbursement by 

14 a covered 501(c) organization for any of the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(i) An independent expenditure con17 sisting of a public communication. 

18 ‘‘(ii) An electioneering communication, 

19 as defined in section 304(f)(3). 

20 ‘‘(iii) A covered transfer. 

21 ‘‘(B) INTENT NOT REQUIRED.—A dis22 bursement for an item described in clause (i), 

23 (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A) shall be treat24 ed as a campaign-related disbursement regard25 less of the intent of the person making the dis26 bursement. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COVERED 501(c) ORGANIZATION.—The 

2 term ‘covered 501(c) organization’ means any orga3 nization that— 

4 ‘‘(A) is described in section 501(c) of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 

6 from taxation under section 501(a) of such 

7 Code (other than an organization described in 

8 section 501(c)(3) of such Code); and 

9 ‘‘(B) has received contributions or dona10 tions in excess of $2,000 during the election re11 porting cycle from a foreign national. 

12 ‘‘(3) COVERED TRANSFER.—The term ‘covered 

13 transfer’ means a transfer described in subsection 

14 (e). 

15 ‘‘(4) DISCLOSURE DATE.—The term ‘disclosure 

16 date’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) the first date during any election re18 porting cycle by which a person— 

19 ‘‘(i) has received contributions or do20 nations in excess of $2,000 from a foreign 

21 national; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) has made campaign-related dis23 bursements aggregating more than 

24 $10,000; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) any other date during such election 

2 reporting cycle by which a covered 501(c) orga3 nization has made campaign-related disburse4 ments aggregating more than $10,000 since the 

5 most recent disclosure date for such election re6 porting cycle. 

7 ‘‘(5) ELECTION REPORTING CYCLE.—The term 

8 ‘election reporting cycle’ means the 2-year period be9 ginning on the date of the most recent general elec10 tion for Federal office. 

11 ‘‘(6) FOREIGN NATIONAL.—The term ‘foreign 

12 national’ has the meaning given such term under 

13 section 319. 

14 ‘‘(7) PAYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ includes 

15 any contribution, donation, transfer, payment of 

16 dues, or other payment. 

17 ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any covered 501(c) organi19 zation that makes campaign-related disbursements 

20 aggregating more than $10,000 in an election re21 porting cycle shall, not later than 24 hours after 

22 each disclosure date, file a statement with the Com23 mission made under penalty of perjury that contains 

24 the information described in paragraph (2)— 


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

2 under this subsection, for the period beginning 

3 on the first day of the election reporting cycle 

4 and ending on the first such disclosure date; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent state7 ment filed under this subsection, for the period 

8 beginning on the previous disclosure date and 

9 ending on such disclosure date. 

10 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa11 tion described in this paragraph is as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) The name of the covered 501(c) orga13 nization. 

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

15 disbursement made by such organization during 

16 the period covered by the statement of more 

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

18 person to whom the disbursement was made. 

19 ‘‘(C) In the case of a campaign-related dis20 bursement that is not a covered transfer, the 

21 election to which the campaign-related disburse22 ment pertains and if the disbursement is made 

23 for a public communication, the name of any 

24 candidate identified in such communication and 


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1 whether such communication is in support of or 

2 in opposition to a candidate. 

3 ‘‘(D) For each payment to the covered 

4 501(c) organization by a foreign national— 

5 ‘‘(i) the name and address of the for6 eign national who made such payment dur7 ing the period covered by the statement; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the date and amount of such 

9 payment; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the aggregate amount of all such 

11 payments made by the foreign national 

12 during the period beginning on the first 

13 day of the election reporting cycle and end14 ing on the disclosure date, 

15 but only if such payment was made by a foreign 

16 national who made payments to the covered 

17 501(c) organization in an aggregate amount of 

18 $2,000 or more during the period beginning on 

19 the first day of the election reporting cycle and 

20 ending on the disclosure date. 

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

22 rules established by the Commission to promote 

23 the purposes of this section. 

24 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS FOR AMOUNTS RECEIVED

25 FROM AFFILIATES.—The requirement to include in a 


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1 statement submitted under paragraph (1) the infor2 mation described in subparagraph (D) of paragraph 

3 (2) shall not apply to any amount which is described 

4 in subsection (e)(2)(A)(i). 

5 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER REPORTS FILED

6 WITH THE COMMISSION.—Information included in a 

7 statement filed under this section may be excluded from 

8 statements and reports filed under section 304. 

9 ‘‘(d) FILING.—Statements required to be filed under 

10 subsection (a) shall be subject to the requirements of sec11 tion 304(d) to the same extent and in the same manner 

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

13 or (g) of section 304. 

14 ‘‘(e) COVERED TRANSFER DEFINED.— 

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

16 ‘covered transfer’ means any transfer or payment of 

17 funds by a covered 501(c) organization to another 

18 person if the covered 501(c) organization— 

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

20 the amounts be used for— 

21 ‘‘(i) campaign-related disbursements 

22 (other than covered transfers); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

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1 ing for such campaign-related disburse2 ments; 

3 ‘‘(B) made such transfer or payment in re4 sponse to a solicitation or other request for a 

5 donation or payment for— 

6 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam7 paign-related disbursements (other than 

8 covered transfers); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

10 person for the purpose of making or pay11 ing for such campaign-related disburse12 ments; 

13 ‘‘(C) engaged in discussions with the re14 cipient of the transfer or payment regarding— 

15 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam16 paign-related disbursements (other than 

17 covered transfers); or 

18 ‘‘(ii) donating or transferring any 

19 amount of such transfer or payment to an20 other person for the purpose of making or 

21 paying for such campaign-related disburse22 ments; 

23 ‘‘(D) made campaign-related disburse24 ments (other than a covered transfer) in an ag25 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 


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1 2-year period ending on the date of the transfer 

2 or payment, or knew or had reason to know 

3 that the person receiving the transfer or pay4 ment made such disbursements in such an ag5 gregate amount during that 2-year period; or 

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

7 person receiving the transfer or payment would 

8 make campaign-related disbursements in an ag9 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

10 2-year period beginning on the date of the 

11 transfer or payment. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TRANSFERS

13 AMONG AFFILIATES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TRANS15 FERS AMONG AFFILIATES.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 

17 transfer’ does not include an amount 

18 transferred by one covered 501(c) organi19 zation to another covered 501(c) organiza20 tion if such transfer is treated as a trans21 fer between affiliates under subparagraph 

22 (B). 

23 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—If the aggre24 gate amount of transfers described in 


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1 clause (i) exceeds $50,000 in any election 

2 reporting cycle— 

3 ‘‘(I) the covered 501(c) organiza4 tion which makes such transfers shall 

5 provide to the covered 501(c) organi6 zation receiving such transfers the in7 formation required under subsection 

8 (b)(2)(D) (applied by substituting ‘the 

9 period beginning on the first day of 

10 the election reporting cycle and ending 

11 on the date of the most recent trans12 fer described in subsection 

13 (e)(2)(A)(i)’ for ‘the period covered by 

14 the statement’ in clause (i) thereof); 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(II) the covered 501(c) organi17 zation receiving such transfers shall 

18 report the information described in 

19 subclause (I) on any statement filed 

20 under subsection (a)(1) as if any con21 tribution, donation, or transfer to 

22 which such information relates was 

23 made directly to the covered 501(c) 

24 organization receiving the transfer. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFERS BE2 TWEEN AFFILIATES.—A transfer of amounts 

3 from one covered 501(c) organization to an4 other covered 501(c) organization shall be 

5 treated as a transfer between affiliates if— 

6 ‘‘(i) one of the organizations is an af7 filiate of the other organization; or 

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

9 affiliate of the same organization, 

10 except that the transfer shall not be treated as 

11 a transfer between affiliates if one of the orga12 nizations is established for the purpose of mak13 ing campaign-related disbursements. 

14 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AFFILIATE STA15 TUS.—For purposes of this paragraph, the fol16 lowing organizations shall be considered to be 

17 affiliated with each other: 

18 ‘‘(i) A membership organization, in19 cluding a trade or professional association, 

20 and the related State and local entities of 

21 that organization. 

22 ‘‘(ii) A national or international labor 

23 organization and its State or local unions, 

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1 national unions and its State and local en2 tities. 

3 ‘‘(D) COVERAGE OF TRANSFERS TO AF4 FILIATED SECTION 501(c)(3) ORGANIZA5 TIONS.—This paragraph shall apply with re6 spect to an amount transferred by a covered 

7 501(c) organization to an organization de8 scribed in paragraph (3) of section 501(c) of 

9 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 

10 from tax under section 501(a) of such Code in 

11 the same manner as this paragraph applies to 

12 an amount transferred by a covered 501(c) or13 ganization to another covered 501(c) organiza14 tion.’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 304(f)(6) 

16 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘Any requirement’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

18 section 324(c), any requirement’’. 

19 (c) COORDINATION WITH FINCEN.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Finan21 cial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Depart22 ment of the Treasury shall provide the Federal Elec23 tion Commission with such information as necessary 

24 to assist in administering and enforcing section 324 


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1 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as 

2 added by this subsection. 

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

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

5 of the Federal Election Commission, in consultation 

6 with the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforce7 ment Network of the Department of the Treasury, 

8 shall submit to Congress a report with recommenda9 tions for providing further legislative authority to as10 sist in the administration and enforcement of such 

11 section 324. 

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

13 this section shall apply with respect to disbursements 

14 made on or after January 1, 2019, and shall take effect 

15 without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 

16 Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out 

17 such amendments. 

18 SEC. 3. DUE DILIGENCE REQUIREMENTS. 

19 (a) CERTIFICATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal 

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

22 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

23 new section: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 325. CERTIFICATIONS. 

25 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO FILE CERTIFICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each covered organization 

2 that makes a report under section 304 with respect 

3 to an independent expenditure or a disbursement for 

4 the direct costs of producing an electioneering com5 munication shall include with such report a certifi6 cation described in subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) COVERED 501(c) ORGANIZATIONS.—Each 

8 covered 501(c) organization (within the meaning of 

9 section 324) that makes a report under section 324 

10 with respect to a campaign-related disbursement 

11 shall include with such report a certification de12 scribed in subsection (b). 

13 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A certification is described 

15 in this subsection if the certification is made by the 

16 principal executive officer or officers and the prin17 cipal financial officer or officers of such covered or18 ganization, or persons performing similar functions, 

19 stating that— 

20 ‘‘(A) the signing officer has reviewed the 

21 report; 

22 ‘‘(B) the organization has met the due dili23 gence requirements under paragraph (2); and 

24 ‘‘(C) based on the officer’s knowledge, 

25 none of the funds used to make any expenditure 


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1 or disbursement described in the report or 

2 statement were provided by a foreign national 

3 (as defined in section 319). 

4 ‘‘(2) DUE DILIGENCE REQUIREMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The due diligence re6 quirement under this paragraph shall be met if 

7 the organization affirmatively verifies that each 

8 contribution or donation received by the organi9 zation during the 2-year period ending on the 

10 date of the expenditure or disbursement de11 scribed in subsection (a) was not a contribution 

12 or donation that was made, directly or indi13 rectly, by a foreign national (within the mean14 ing of section 319). 

15 ‘‘(B) USE OF SEGREGATED ACCOUNT.—In 

16 the case of an organization with a separate seg17 regated account from which the expenditure or 

18 disbursement described in subsection (a) was 

19 made, subparagraph (A) shall be applied only 

20 with respect to contributions and donations 

21 made to such account. 

22 ‘‘(c) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this 

23 subsection, the term ‘covered organization’ means any of 

24 the following: 


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

2 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986). 

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

5 otherwise treated as a corporation for purposes of 

6 this Act (other than an organization described in 

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

8 1986). 

9 ‘‘(3) An organization described in section 

10 501(c) of such Code and exempt from taxation 

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

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

13 Code). 

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

15 316(b)). 

16 ‘‘(5) Any political organization under section 

17 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other 

18 than a political committee under this Act (except as 

19 provided in paragraph (6)). 

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

21 accepts donations or contributions that do not com22 ply with the contribution limits or source prohibi23 tions under this Act, but only with respect to such 

24 accounts.’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

2 by subsection (a) shall apply to reports required to 

3 be filed after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (b) REPORTING OF SUSPICIOUS DONATIONS.— 

5 (1) COVERED 501(c) ORGANIZATIONS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 501 of the In7 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(s) REQUIREMENT TO REPORT CERTAIN CON10 TRIBUTIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No organization described 

12 in subsection (c) (other than an organization de13 scribed in paragraph (3) thereof) shall be exempt 

14 from tax under subsection (a) unless such organiza15 tion reports any disqualified foreign contribution, 

16 not later than 15 days after receiving such contribu17 tion, to the entities listed in paragraph (3). 

18 ‘‘(2) DISQUALIFIED FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION.— 

19 For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘disquali20 fied foreign contribution’ means any donation or 

21 contribution received from foreign national (within 

22 the meaning of section 319 of the Federal Election 

23 Campaign Act of 1971) and which is made or re24 ceived for a purpose described in section 319(a) of 

25 such Act. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ENTITIES.—The entities described in this 

2 paragraph are the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) The Internal Revenue Service. 

4 ‘‘(B) The Federal Election Commission. 

5 ‘‘(C) The Financial Crimes Enforcement 

6 Network of the Department of Treasury. 

7 ‘‘(D) The Department of Justice.’’. 

8 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

9 made by this paragraph shall apply to contribu10 tions made after the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act. 

12 (2) CORPORATE ENTITIES.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each corporation and 

14 each limited liability corporation that is not oth15 erwise treated as a corporation under the Fed16 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 shall re17 port any disqualified foreign contribution (as 

18 defined in section 501(s) of the Internal Rev19 enue Code of 1986), not later than 15 days 

20 after receiving such contribution, to the fol21 lowing entities: 

22 (i) The Federal Election Commission. 

23 (ii) The Financial Crimes Enforce24 ment Network of the Department of 

25 Treasury. 


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1 (iii) The Department of Justice. 

2 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

3 not apply to any entity that is an organization 

4 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986. 

6 (C) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who 

7 fails to make a report under subparagraph (A) 

8 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon con9 viction thereof, shall be fined not more than 

10 $100,000, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, 

11 or both, together with the costs of prosecution. 

Æ 


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