I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1100
To establish a temporary commission to recommend reforms in the laws
relating to elections for Federal office.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 1, 1995
Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. MEEHAN,
Mr. TORRICELLI, Ms. RIVERS, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin,
Mr. SERRANO, Ms. WOOLSEY, and Mr. FATTAH) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Oversight and, in ad-
dition, to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To establish a temporary commission to recommend reforms
in the laws relating to elections for Federal office.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Election Law
Reform Commission Act’’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF COMMISSION.
There is established a commission to be known as the
‘‘Federal Election Law Reform Commission’’ (hereinafter
(c) TERMS.—The members of the Commission shall
serve for the life of the Commission.
(d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall
be filled in the manner in which the original appointment
was made.
(e) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 4
members of the Commission may be of the same political
party.
SEC. 4. POWERS OF COMMISSION.
(a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for the pur-
pose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act
at times and places, take testimony, and receive evidence
as the Commission considers appropriate.
(b) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commission
shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold
hearings. Any member of the Commission may, if author-
ized by the Commission, take any action which the Com-
mission is authorized to take under this section.
SEC. 5. REPORT AND RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION.
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the Con-
gress a report of the activities of the Commission, together
with a draft of legislation (including technical and con-
forming provisions) recommended by the Commission to
reform the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2
U.S.C. 431 et seq.) and any other laws relating to elec-
tions for Federal office.
SEC. 6. MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE COMMIS-
SION.
In formulating its draft of legislation under section
5, the Commission shall consider—
(1) the growth pattern of expenditures in elec-
tions for Federal office;
(2) the appropriateness of public financing,
communications vouchers, and postage subsidies
with respect to elections for Federal office;
(3) the option of expenditure limitations for
achieving a balance of campaign resources between
challengers and incumbents in elections for Federal
office;
(4) possible mechanisms of enforcement with
respect to expenditures in elections for Federal of-
fice, including (A) voluntary compliance through in-
centives such as direct public financing, communica-
tions vouchers, and postage subsidies, and (B) man-
datory compliance through imposition of penalties,
such as taxes on excess expenditures;
(5) the nature and extent of election related
spending (for party building, get-out-the-vote, and
similar activities) that is not currently regulated
under Federal law (commonly known as ‘‘soft
money’’);
(6) the impact of non-party multicandidate po-
litical committees (commonly known as ‘‘political ac-
tion committees’’) on elections for Federal office;
(7) the adequacy of existing limitations on the
contributions and activities of such committees, as
well as the adequacy of existing limitations on the
contributions and activities of individuals and other
persons;
(8) the influence of independent expenditures
on elections for Federal office, through television ad-
vertising and otherwise, and the possibility of taking
independent expenditures into account in the com-
putation of contribution and expenditures with re-
spect to candidates who benefit from independent
expenditures; and
(9) the impact of out-of-State and out-of-Dis-
trict contributions on congressional elections.
SEC. 7. FAST-TRACK PROCEDURES.
(a) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND
SENATE.—This section is enacted by the Congress—
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of
the House of Representatives and the Senate, re-
spectively, and as such they shall be considered as
part of the rules of each House, respectively, or of
that House to which they specifically apply, and
such rules shall supersede other rules only to the ex-
tent that they are inconsistent therewith; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional
right of either House to change the rules (so far as
relating to such House) at any time, in the same
manner and to the same extent as in the case of any
other rule of that House.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term
‘‘Federal election bill’’ means only a bill of either House
of Congress which is introduced as provided in subsection
(c) to carry out the recommendations of the Commission
as set forth in the draft of legislation referred to in section
5.
(c) INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL.—Within 3 days
after the Commission submits its draft legislation under
section 5, a Federal election bill shall be introduced (by
request) in the House by the majority leader of the House
and shall be introduced (by request) in the Senate by the
majority leader of the Senate. Such bills shall be referred
to the appropriate committees.
(d) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED.— No amendment to
a Federal election bill shall be in order in either the House
of Representatives or the Senate; and no motion to sus-
pend the application of this subsection shall be in order
in either House; nor shall it be in order in either House
to entertain a request to suspend the application of this
subsection by unanimous consent.
(e) PERIOD FOR COMMITTEE AND FLOOR CONSIDER-
ATION.—
(1) If the committee of either House to which
a Federal election bill has been referred has not re-
ported it at the close of the 20th day after its intro-
duction, such committee shall be automatically dis-
charged from further consideration of the bill and it
shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. If prior
to the passage by one House of a Federal election
bill of that House, that House receives the same
Federal election bill from the other House, then—
(A) the procedure in that House shall be
the same as if no Federal election bill had been
received from the other House; but
(B) the vote on final passage shall be on
the Federal election bill of the other House.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), in comput-
ing a number of days in either House, there shall be
excluded the days on which that House is not in ses-
sion because of an adjournment of more than 3 days
to a day certain or an adjournment of the Congress
sine die.
(f) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE.—
(1) A motion in the House of Representatives
to proceed to the consideration of a Federal election
bill shall be highly privileged except that a motion to
proceed to consider may only be made on the second
legislative day after the calendar day on which the
Member making the motion announces to the House
his intention to do so. The motion to proceed to con-
sider is not debatable. An amendment to the motion
shall not be in order, nor shall it be in order to move
to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed
to or disagreed to.
(2) Consideration of a Federal election bill in
the House of Representatives shall be in the House
with debate limited to not more than 10 hours,
which shall be divided equally between those favoring
and those opposing the bill. The previous question
on the Federal election bill shall be considered as or-
dered to final passage without intervening motion. It
shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote
by which a Federal election bill is agreed to or dis-
agreed to.
designee. Such leaders, or either of them, may, from
time under their control on the passage of a Federal
election bill, allot additional time to any Senator
during the consideration of any debatable motion or
appeal.
(4) A motion in the Senate to further limit de-
bate is not debatable. A motion to recommit a Fed-
eral election bill is not in order.
SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) PAY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES OF MEMBERS.—(1)
Each member of the Commission, other than the Chair-
man, shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily equivalent
of the annual rate of basic pay payable for level IV of
the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5,
United States Code, for each day (including travel time)
during which the member is engaged in the actual per-
formance of duties vested in the Commission. The Chair-
man shall be paid for each day referred to in the preceding
sentence at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the an-
nual rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive
Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States
Code.
(2) Members of the Commission shall receive travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in ac-
cordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United
States Code.
(b) STAFF DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall, with-
out regard to section 5311(b) of title 5, United States
Code, appoint a staff director, who shall be paid at the
rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States
Code.
(c) STAFF.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Direc-
tor, with the approval of the Commission, may appoint
and fix the pay of additional personnel.
(2) The Director may make such appointments with-
out regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code,
governing appointments in the competitive service, and
any personnel so appointed may be paid without regard
to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chap-
ter 53 of that title relating to classification and General
Schedule pay rates, except that an individual so appointed
may not receive pay in excess of the maximum annual rate
of basic pay payable for grade GS–15 of the General
Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States
Code.
(d) DETAILS.—Upon request of the Director, the
head of any Federal department or agency may detail, on
a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that depart-
ment or agency to the Commission to assist the Commis-
sion in carrying out its duties under this Act.
(e) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission
may procure by contract the temporary or intermittent
services of experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109
of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 9. TERMINATION.
The Commission shall cease to exist 3 months after
the date of the submission of its report under section 5.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com-
mission such sums as are necessary to carry out its duties
under this Act.
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