I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2668
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reform the financing
of campaigns for election for Federal office, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 2, 1999
Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. NEY, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. MICA,
and Mr. EWING) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on House Administration
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to
reform the financing of campaigns for election for Fed-
eral office, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Campaign Reform and Election Integrity Act of 1999’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References in act.
TITLE I—BAN ON FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
Sec. 101. Extension of ban on foreign contributions to all campaign-related dis-
bursements; protecting equal participation of eligible voters.
TITLE II—IMPROVING REPORTING OF INFORMATION
Sec. 201. Mandatory electronic filing for certain reports; expediting reporting
of information.
Sec. 202. Reporting of secondary payments; expansion of other types of infor-
mation reported.
Sec. 203. Disclosure requirements for certain soft money expenditures of polit-
ical parties.
TITLE III—STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT AND
ADMINISTRATION OF FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
Sec. 301. Standards for initiation of actions and written responses by Federal
Election Commission.
Sec. 302. Banning acceptance of cash contributions greater than $100.
Sec. 303. Deposit of certain contributions and donations to be returned to do-
nors in Treasury account.
Sec. 304. Alternative procedures for imposition of penalties for reporting viola-
tions.
Sec. 305. Abolition of ex officio membership of Clerk of House of Representa-
tives and Secretary of Senate on Commission.
Sec. 306. Broader prohibition against force and reprisals.
TITLE IV—SIMPLIFYING AND CLARIFYING FEDERAL ELECTION
LAW
Sec. 401. Application of aggregate contribution limit on calendar year basis
during non-election years.
Sec. 402. Treatment of lines of credit obtained by candidates as commercially
reasonable loans.
Sec. 403. Repeal Secretary of Commerce reports on district-specific population.
Sec. 404. Technical correction regarding treatment of honoraria.
TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE
Sec. 501. Effective date.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES IN ACT.
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in
this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amend-
ment to or repeal of a section or other provision, the ref-
erence shall be considered to be made to that section or
other provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act of
1971 .
TITLE I—BAN ON FOREIGN
CONTRIBUTIONS
SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF BAN ON FOREIGN CONTRIBU-
TIONS 
TO 
ALL 
CAMPAIGN-RELATED 
DIS-
BURSEMENTS; PROTECTING EQUAL PARTICI-
PATION OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS.
(a) PROHIBITION ON DISBURSEMENTS BY FOREIGN
NATIONALS.—Section 319 (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended—
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘contributions’’
and inserting ‘‘donations and other disbursements’’;
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘contribution’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘donation or
other disbursement’’; and
(3) in subsection (a), by striking the semicolon
and inserting the following: ‘‘, including any dona-
tion or other disbursement to a political committee
of a political party and any donation or other dis-
bursement for an independent expenditure;’’.
(b) CODIFICATION OF REGULATIONS PROHIBITING
USE OF FOREIGN FUNDS BY MULTICANDIDATE POLIT-
ICAL COMMITTEES; PROTECTING EQUAL PARTICIPATION
OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS IN CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS.—
Section 319 (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (d); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing new subsections:
‘‘(b) It shall be unlawful for any person organized
under or created by the laws of the United States or of
any State or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States to make any donation or other disbursement
to any candidate for political office in connection with an
election for any political office, or to make any donation
or other disbursement to any political committee or to any
organization or account created or controlled by any
United States political party, unless such donation or dis-
bursement is derived solely from funds generated from
such person’s own business activities in the United States.
‘‘(c) Nothing in this Act may be construed to prohibit
any individual eligible to vote in an election for Federal
office from making contributions or expenditures in sup-
port of a candidate for such an election (including vol-
untary contributions or expenditures made through a sep-
arate segregated fund established by the individual’s em-
ployer or labor organization) or otherwise participating in
any campaign for such an election in the same manner
and to the same extent as any other individual eligible to
vote in an election for such office.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply with respect to contributions, do-
nations, and other disbursements made on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
TITLE II—IMPROVING
REPORTING OF INFORMATION
SEC. 201. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING FOR CERTAIN
REPORTS; EXPEDITING REPORTING OF IN-
FORMATION.
(a) REQUIRING ELECTRONIC FILING WITHIN 24
HOURS OF CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS AND INDEPENDENT
EXPENDITURES MADE WITHIN 90 DAYS OF ELECTION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 304(a) (2 U.S.C.
434(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(12)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Act, each political committee described in subparagraph
(B)(i) that receives a contribution in an amount equal to
or greater than $200, and any person described in sub-
paragraph (B)(ii) who makes an independent expenditure,
during the period which begins on the 90th day before an
election and ends at the time the polls close for such elec-
tion shall, with respect to any information required to be
filed with the Commission under this section with respect
to such contribution or independent expenditure, file and
preserve the information using electronic mail, the Inter-
net, or such other method of instantaneous transmission
as the Commission may permit, and shall file the informa-
tion within 24 hours after the receipt of the contribution
or the making of the independent expenditure.
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)—
‘‘(i) a political committee described in this
clause is a political committee that has received an
aggregate amount of contributions equal to or great-
er than $50,000 with respect to the election cycle in-
volved; and
‘‘(ii) a person described in this clause is a per-
son who makes an aggregate amount of independent
expenditures during the election cycle involved or
during any of the 2 previous 2-year general election
cycles in an amount equal to or greater than
$10,000.
‘‘(C) The Commission shall make the information
filed under this paragraph available on the Internet imme-
diately upon receipt.’’.
(2) INTERNET DEFINED.—Section 301(19) (2
U.S.C. 431(19)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(19) The term ‘Internet’ means the international
computer network of both Federal and non-Federal inter-
operable packet-switched data networks.’’.
(b) REQUIRING REPORTS OF CERTAIN FILERS TO
BE TRANSMITTED ELECTRONICALLY; CERTIFICATION OF
PRIVATE SECTOR SOFTWARE.—Section 304(a)(11)(A) (2
U.S.C. 434(a)(11)(A)) is amended by striking the period
at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, except that in
the case of a report submitted by a person who reports
an aggregate amount of contributions or expenditures (as
the case may be) in all reports filed with respect to the
election cycle involved (taking into account the period cov-
ered by the report) in an amount equal to or greater than
$50,000, the Commission shall require the report to be
filed and preserved by electronic mail, the Internet, or
such other method of instantaneous transmission as the
Commission may permit. The Commission shall certify (on
an ongoing basis) private sector computer software which
may be used for filing reports by such methods.’’.
(c) REQUIRING REPORTS FOR ALL CONTRIBUTIONS
MADE WITHIN 20 DAYS OF ELECTION; REQUIRING RE-
PORTS
TO
BE
MADE
WITHIN
24 HOURS.—Section
304(a)(6)(A) (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(6)(A)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘after the 20th day, but more
than 48 hours before any election’’ and inserting
during the period which begins on the 20th day be-
fore an election and ends at the time the polls close
for such election’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘48 hours’’ the second place it
appears and inserting the following: ‘‘24 hours (or,
if earlier, by midnight of the day on which the con-
tribution is deposited)’’.
(d) REQUIRING ACTUAL RECEIPT OF CERTAIN INDE-
PENDENT EXPENDITURE REPORTS WITHIN 24 HOURS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(c)(2) (2 U.S.C.
434(c)(2)) is amended in the matter following sub-
paragraph (C)—
(A) by striking ‘‘shall be reported’’ and in-
serting ‘‘shall be filed’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ‘‘Notwithstanding subsection (a)(5),
the time at which the statement under this sub-
section is received by the Secretary, the Com-
mission, or any other recipient to whom the no-
tification is required to be sent shall be consid-
ered the time of filing of the statement with the
recipient.’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
304(a)(5) (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(5)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘or (4)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (4)(A)(ii), or
the second sentence of subsection (c)(2)’’.
(e) CHANGE IN CERTAIN REPORTING FROM A CAL-
ENDAR YEAR BASIS TO AN ELECTION CYCLE BASIS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 304(b) (2 U.S.C.
434(b)) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(or election cycle, in the
case of an authorized committee of a candidate
for Federal office)’’ after ‘‘calendar year’’ each
place it appears in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and
(7); and
(B) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ‘‘cal-
endar year’’ and inserting ‘‘election cycle’’.
(2) ELECTION CYCLE DEFINED.—Section 301
(2 U.S.C. 431) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(20) ELECTION CYCLE.—Except as the Commission
may otherwise provide, the term ‘election cycle’ means,
with respect to an election, the period beginning on the
day after the date of the most recent general election for
the office involved and ending on the date of the election.’’.
(f) CLARIFICATION OF PERMISSIBLE USE OF FAC-
SIMILE MACHINES AND ELECTRONIC MAIL TO FILE RE-
PORTS.—Section 304(a)(11)(A) (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)(A))
is amended by striking ‘‘method,’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘method (including by facsimile device or elec-
tronic mail in the case of any report required to be filed
within 24 hours after the transaction reported has oc-
curred),’’.
SEC. 202. REPORTING OF SECONDARY PAYMENTS; EXPAN-
SION OF OTHER TYPES OF INFORMATION RE-
PORTED.
(a) REQUIRING RECORD KEEPING AND REPORT OF
SECONDARY PAYMENTS BY CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES.—
(1) 
REPORTING.—Section 
304(b)(5)(A) 
(2
U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended by striking the
semicolon at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘,
and, if such person in turn makes expenditures
which aggregate $5,000 or more in an election cycle
to other persons (not including employees) who pro-
vide goods or services to the candidate or the can-
didate’s authorized committees, the name and ad-
dress of such other persons, together with the date,
amount, and purpose of such expenditures;’’.
(2) RECORD KEEPING.—Section 302 (2 U.S.C.
432) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
‘‘(j) A person described in section 304(b)(5)(A) who
makes expenditures which aggregate $5,000 or more in
an election cycle to other persons (not including employ-
ees) who provide goods or services to a candidate or a can-
didate’s authorized committees shall provide to a political
committee the information necessary to enable the com-
mittee to report the information described in such sec-
tion.’’.
(3) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REPORTS.—Nothing
in the amendments made by this subsection may be
construed to affect the terms of any other record-
keeping or reporting requirements applicable to can-
didates or political committees under title III of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
(b) INCLUDING REPORT ON CUMULATIVE CONTRIBU-
TIONS
AND EXPENDITURES
IN POST ELECTION RE-
PORTS.—Section 304(a)(7) (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(7)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘(7)(A)’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(B) In the case of any report required to be filed
by this subsection which is the first report required to be
filed after the date of an election, the report shall include
a statement of the total contributions received and expend-
itures made as of the date of the election.’’.
(c) INCLUDING INFORMATION ON AGGREGATE CON-
TRIBUTIONS IN REPORT ON ITEMIZED CONTRIBUTIONS.—
Section 304(b)(3) (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(3)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after
‘‘such contribution’’ the following: ‘‘and the total
amount of all such contributions made by such per-
son with respect to the election involved’’; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after
‘‘such contribution’’ the following: ‘‘and the total
amount of all such contributions made by such com-
mittee with respect to the election involved’’.
SEC. 203. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN SOFT
MONEY EXPENDITURES OF POLITICAL PAR-
TIES.
(a) TRANSFERS OF FUNDS BY NATIONAL POLITICAL
PARTIES.—Section 304(b)(4) (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (H);
(2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (I); and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(J) in the case of a political committee of
a national political party, all funds transferred
to any political committee of a State or local
political party, without regard to whether or not
the funds are otherwise treated as contributions
or expenditures under this title;’’.
(b) DISCLOSURE BY STATE AND LOCAL POLITICAL
PARTIES
OF INFORMATION REPORTED UNDER STATE
LAW.—Section 304 (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(d) If a political committee of a State or local polit-
ical party is required under a State or local law, rule, or
regulation to submit a report on its disbursements to an
entity of the State or local government, the committee
shall file a copy of the report with the Commission at the
time it submits the report to such an entity.’’.
TITLE III—STRENGTHENING EN-
FORCEMENT 
AND 
ADMINIS-
TRATION OF FEDERAL ELEC-
TION COMMISSION
SEC. 301. STANDARDS FOR INITIATION OF ACTIONS AND
WRITTEN RESPONSES BY FEDERAL ELEC-
TION COMMISSION.
(a) STANDARD
FOR INITIATION
OF ACTIONS
BY
FEC.—Section 309(a)(2) (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(2)) is
amended by striking ‘‘it has reason to believe’’ and all that
follows through ‘‘of 1954,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘it
has a reason to seek additional information regarding a
possible violation of this Act or of chapter 95 or chapter
96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that has oc-
curred or is about to occur (based on the same criteria
applicable under this paragraph prior to the enactment of
the Campaign Reform and Election Integrity Act of
1999),’’.
(b) REQUIRING FEC TO PROVIDE WRITTEN RE-
SPONSES TO QUESTIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title III (2 U.S.C. 431 et
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 308 the
following new section:
‘‘OTHER WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS
‘‘SEC. 308A. (a) PERMITTING RESPONSES.—In addi-
tion to issuing advisory opinions under section 308, the
Commission shall issue written responses pursuant to this
section with respect to a written request concerning the
application of this Act, chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, a rule or regulation pre-
scribed by the Commission, or an advisory opinion issued
by the Commission under section 308, with respect to a
specific transaction or activity by the person, if the Com-
mission finds the application of the Act, chapter, rule, reg-
ulation, or advisory opinion to the transaction or activity
to be clear and unambiguous.
‘‘(b) PROCEDURE FOR RESPONSE.—
‘‘(1) ANALYSIS BY STAFF.—The staff of the
Commission shall analyze each request submitted
under this section. If the staff believes that the
standard described in subsection (a) is met with re-
spect to the request, the staff shall circulate a state-
ment to that effect together with a draft response to
the request to the members of the Commission.
‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF RESPONSE.—Upon the expi-
ration of the 3-day period beginning on the date the
statement and draft response is circulated (excluding
weekends or holidays), the Commission shall issue
the response, unless during such period any member
of the Commission objects to issuing the response.
‘‘(c) EFFECT OF RESPONSE.—
‘‘(1) SAFE
HARBOR.—Notwithstanding any
other provisions of law, any person who relies upon
any provision or finding of a written response issued
under this section and who acts in good faith in ac-
cordance with the provisions and findings of such re-
sponse shall not, as a result of any such act, be sub-
ject to any sanction provided by this Act or by chap-
ter 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986.
‘‘(2) NO RELIANCE BY OTHER PARTIES.—Any
written response issued by the Commission under
this section may only be relied upon by the person
involved in the specific transaction or activity with
respect to which such response is issued, and may
not be applied by the Commission with respect to
any other person or used by the Commission for en-
forcement or regulatory purposes.
‘‘(d) 
PUBLICATION
OF
REQUESTS
AND
RE-
SPONSES.—The Commission shall make public any re-
quest for a written response made, and the responses
issued, under this section. In carrying out this subsection,
the Commission may not make public the identity of any
person submitting a request for a written response unless
the person specifically authorizes to Commission to do so.
‘‘(e) COMPILATION
OF INDEX.—The Commission
shall compile, publish, and regularly update a complete
and detailed index of the responses issued under this sec-
tion through which responses may be found on the basis
of the subjects included in the responses.’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
307(a)(7) (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)(7)) is amended by
striking ‘‘of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘and other writ-
ten responses under section 308A’’.
(c) STANDARD FORM FOR COMPLAINTS; STRONGER
DISCLAIMER LANGUAGE.—
(1) STANDARD
FORM.—Section 309(a)(1) (2
U.S.C. 437g(a)(1)) is amended by inserting after
‘‘shall be notarized,’’ the following: ‘‘shall be in a
standard form prescribed by the Commission, shall
not include (but may refer to) extraneous mate-
rials,’’.
(2) 
DISCLAIMER
LANGUAGE.—Section
309(a)(1) (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘(a)(1)’’ and inserting
‘‘(a)(1)(A)’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
‘‘(B) The written notice of a complaint provided by
the Commission under subparagraph (A) to a person al-
leged to have committed a violation referred to in the com-
plaint shall include a cover letter (in a form prescribed
by the Commission) and the following statement: ‘The en-
closed complaint has been filed against you with the Fed-
eral Election Commission. The Commission has not
verified or given official sanction to the complaint. The
Commission will make no decision to pursue the complaint
for a period of at least 15 days from your receipt of this
complaint. You may, if you wish, submit a written state-
ment to the Commission explaining why the Commission
should take no action against you based on this complaint.
If the Commission should decide to seek additional infor-
mation, you will be notified and be given further oppor-
tunity to respond.’ ’’.
SEC. 302. BANNING ACCEPTANCE OF CASH CONTRIBU-
TIONS GREATER THAN $100.
Section 315 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(i) No candidate or political committee may accept
any contributions of currency of the United States or cur-
rency of any foreign country from any person which, in
the aggregate, exceed $100.’’.
SEC. 303. DEPOSIT OF CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS AND DO-
NATIONS TO BE RETURNED TO DONORS IN
TREASURY ACCOUNT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.)
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS AND
DONATIONS TO BE RETURNED TO DONORS
‘‘SEC. 323. (a) TRANSFER TO COMMISSION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act, if a political committee intends
to return any contribution or donation given to the
political committee, the committee shall transfer the
contribution or donation to the Commission if—
‘‘(A) the contribution or donation is in an
amount equal to or greater than $500 (other
than a contribution or donation returned within
90 days of receipt by the committee); or
‘‘(B) the contribution or donation was
made in violation of section 315, 316, 317, 319,
or 320 (other than a contribution or donation
returned within 90 days of receipt by the com-
mittee).
‘‘(2) INFORMATION
INCLUDED
WITH
TRANS-
FERRED CONTRIBUTION OR DONATION.—A political
committee shall include with any contribution or do-
nation transferred under paragraph (1)—
‘‘(A) a request that the Commission return
the contribution or donation to the person mak-
ing the contribution or donation; and
‘‘(B) 
information 
regarding 
the 
cir-
cumstances surrounding the making of the con-
tribution or donation and any opinion of the po-
litical committee concerning whether the con-
tribution or donation may have been made in
violation of this Act.
‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF ESCROW ACCOUNT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall
establish a single interest-bearing escrow ac-
count for deposit of amounts transferred under
paragraph (1).
‘‘(B) 
DISPOSITION
OF
AMOUNTS
RE-
CEIVED.—On receiving an amount from a polit-
ical committee under paragraph (1), the Com-
mission shall—
‘‘(i) deposit the amount in the escrow
account established under subparagraph
(A); and
‘‘(ii) notify the Attorney General and
the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue
Service of the receipt of the amount from
the political committee.
‘‘(C) USE OF INTEREST.—Interest earned
on amounts in the escrow account established
under subparagraph (A) shall be applied or
used for the same purposes as the donation or
contribution on which it is earned.
‘‘(4) TREATMENT
OF
RETURNED
CONTRIBU-
TION OR DONATION AS A COMPLAINT.—The transfer
of any contribution or donation to the Commission
under this section shall be treated as the filing of a
complaint under section 309(a).
‘‘(b) USE
OF AMOUNTS PLACED
IN ESCROW TO
COVER FINES AND PENALTIES.—The Commission or the
Attorney General may require any amount deposited in
the escrow account under subsection (a)(3) to be applied
toward the payment of any fine or penalty imposed under
this Act or title 18, United States Code, against the per-
son making the contribution or donation.
‘‘(c) RETURN
OF CONTRIBUTION
OR DONATION
AFTER DEPOSIT IN ESCROW.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall re-
turn a contribution or donation deposited in the es-
crow account under subsection (a)(3) to the person
making the contribution or donation if—
‘‘(A) within 180 days after the date the
contribution or donation is transferred, the
Commission has not made a determination
under section 309(a)(2) to seek additional in-
formation regarding whether or not the con-
tribution or donation was made in violation of
this Act; or
‘‘(B)(i) the contribution or donation will
not be used to cover fines, penalties, or costs
pursuant to subsection (b); or
‘‘(ii) if the contribution or donation will be
used for those purposes, that the amounts re-
quired for those purposes have been withdrawn
from the escrow account and subtracted from
the returnable contribution or donation.
‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON STATUS OF INVESTIGA-
TION.—The return of a contribution or donation by
the Commission under this subsection shall not be
construed as having an effect on the status of an in-
vestigation by the Commission or the Attorney Gen-
eral of the contribution or donation or the cir-
cumstances surrounding the contribution or dona-
tion, or on the ability of the Commission or the At-
torney General to take future actions with respect to
the contribution or donation.’’.
(b) AMOUNTS USED TO DETERMINE AMOUNT OF
PENALTY
FOR VIOLATION.—Section 309(a) (2 U.S.C.
437g(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (9) the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(10) For purposes of determining the amount of a
civil penalty imposed under this subsection for violations
of section 323, the amount of the donation involved shall
be treated as the amount of the contribution involved.’’.
(c) DONATION DEFINED.—Section 323, as added by
subsection (a), is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(d) DONATION DEFINED.—In this section, the term
‘donation’ means a gift, subscription, loan, advance, or de-
posit of money or anything else of value made by any per-
son to a national committee of a political party or a Sen-
atorial or Congressional Campaign Committee of a na-
tional political party for any purpose, but does not include
a contribution (as defined in section 301(8)).’’.
(d) DISGORGEMENT AUTHORITY.—Section 309 (2
U.S.C. 437g) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(e) Any conciliation agreement, civil action, or crimi-
nal action entered into or instituted under this section
may require a person to forfeit to the Treasury any con-
tribution, donation, or expenditure that is the subject of
the agreement or action for transfer to the Commission
for deposit in accordance with section 323.’’.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall apply to contributions
or donations refunded on or after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, without regard to whether the Federal
Election Commission or Attorney General has issued regu-
lations to carry out section 323 of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by subsection (a)) by
such date.
SEC. 304. ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES FOR IMPOSITION OF
PENALTIES FOR REPORTING VIOLATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 309(a)(4) (2 U.S.C.
437g(a)(4)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘clause
(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clauses (ii) and subparagraph
(C)’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(C)(i) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in the
case of a violation of any requirement under this Act relat-
ing to the reporting of receipts or disbursements, the Com-
mission may—
‘‘(I) find that a person committed such a viola-
tion on the basis of information obtained pursuant
to the procedures described in paragraphs (1) and
(2); and
‘‘(II) based on such finding, require the person
to pay a civil money penalty in an amount deter-
mined under a schedule of penalties which is estab-
lished and published by the Commission and which
takes into account the amount of the violation in-
volved, the existence of previous violations by the
person, and such other factors as the Commission
considers appropriate (but which in no event exceeds
$20,000).
‘‘(ii) The Commission may not make any determina-
tion adverse to a person under clause (i) until the person
has been given written notice and an opportunity to be
heard before the Commission.
‘‘(iii) Any person against whom an adverse deter-
mination is made under this subparagraph may obtain a
review of such determination by filing in the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia or for the dis-
trict in which the person resides or transacts business
(prior to the expiration of the 30-day period which begins
on the date the person receives notification of the deter-
mination) a written petition requesting that the deter-
mination be modified or set aside.’’.
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
309(a)(6)(A) (2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(6)(A)) is amended by
striking ‘‘paragraph (4)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph
(4)’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring
on or after January 1, 2001.
SEC. 305. ABOLITION OF EX OFFICIO MEMBERSHIP OF
CLERK OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AND SECRETARY OF SENATE ON COMMIS-
SION.
Section 306(a) (2 U.S.C. 437c(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the Secretary
of the Senate and the Clerk’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘right to vote, and’’; and
(2) in paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), by striking
‘‘(other than the Secretary of the Senate and the
Clerk of the House of Representatives)’’ each place
it appears.
SEC. 306. BROADER PROHIBITION AGAINST FORCE AND RE-
PRISALS.
Section 
316(b)(3) 
(2 
U.S.C. 
441b(b)(3)) 
is
amended—
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through
(C) as subparagraphs (B) through (D); and
(2) by inserting before subparagraph (B) (as so
redesignated) the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(A) for such a fund to cause another person
to make a contribution or expenditure by physical
force, job discrimination, financial reprisals, or the
threat of force, job discrimination, or financial re-
prisal;’’.
TITLE 
IV—SIMPLIFYING 
AND
CLARIFYING FEDERAL ELEC-
TION LAW
SEC. 401. APPLICATION OF AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTION
LIMIT ON CALENDAR YEAR BASIS DURING
NON-ELECTION YEARS.
Section 315(a)(3) (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)) is amended
by striking the second sentence.
SEC. 402. TREATMENT OF LINES OF CREDIT OBTAINED BY
CANDIDATES AS COMMERCIALLY REASON-
ABLE LOANS.
Section 
301(8)(B) 
(2 
U.S.C. 
431(8)(B)) 
is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (xiii);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause
(xiv) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
clause:
‘‘(xv) any loan of money derived from an ad-
vance on a candidate’s brokerage account, credit
card, home equity line of credit, or other line of
credit available to the candidate, if such loan is
made in accordance with applicable law and under
commercially reasonable terms and if the person
making such loan makes loans in the normal course
of the person’s business.’’.
SEC. 403. REPEAL SECRETARY OF COMMERCE REPORTS ON
DISTRICT-SPECIFIC POPULATION.
(a) REPEAL REPORT BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
ON DISTRICT-SPECIFIC VOTING AGE POPULATION.—Sec-
tion 315(e) (2 U.S.C. 441a(e)) is amended by striking
‘‘States, of each State, and of each congressional district’’
and inserting ‘‘States and of each State’’.
(b) DEADLINE FOR REPORTING OF CERTAIN AN-
NUAL ESTIMATES TO COMMISSION.—
(1) PRICE INDEX.—Section 315(c)(1) (2 U.S.C.
441a(c)(1)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘At the beginning’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Not later than February 15’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘as there become available
necessary data from the Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics of the Department of Labor,’’.
(2) VOTING AGE POPULATION.—Section 315(e)
(2 U.S.C. 441a(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘During
the first week of January 1975, and every subse-
quent year,’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than February
15 of 1975 and each subsequent year,’’.
SEC. 404. TECHNICAL CORRECTION REGARDING TREAT-
MENT OF HONORARIA.
Section 301(8)(B) (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)), as amended
by section 402, is further amended—
(1) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (xiii);
(2) by striking clause (xiv); and
(3) by redesignating clause (xv) as clause (xiv).
TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE
SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as otherwise specifically provided, this Act
and the amendments made by this Act shall apply with
respect to elections occurring after January 2001.
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