I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 419
To establish a temporary commission to recommend reforms in the laws
relating to elections for Federal office.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 9, 1997
Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. HORN, Mr. MINGE, and Mr.
SERRANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on Rules,
for a period to be subsequently determined 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
in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). The pur-
poses of the Commission are to study the laws relating
to elections for Federal office and to recommend reforms
in those laws.
SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be com-
posed of 8 members appointed by the President, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among
individuals who are not officers or employees of any gov-
ernment and who are specially qualified to serve on the
Commission by reason of education, training, or experi-
ence. In making appointments, the President shall con-
sult—
(1) the Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives with respect to the appointment of 2 members;
(2) the majority leader of the Senate with re-
spect to the appointment of 2 members;
(3) the minority leader of the House of Rep-
resentatives with respect to the appointment of one
member; and
(4) the minority leader of the Senate with re-
spect to the appointment of one member.
(b) CHAIRMAN.—At the time of the appointment, the
President shall designate one member of the Commission
as Chairman of the Commission.
(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. In carrying out
the preceding sentence, the Commission shall ensure that
a substantial number of its meetings are open meetings,
with significant opportunities for testimony from members
of the general public.
(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—
(1) any legislation (including technical and con-
forming provisions) recommended by the Commis-
sion to reform the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) and any other laws
relating to elections for Federal office; and
(2) any proposed amendment to the Constitu-
tion recommended by the Commission as necessary
to reform the laws referred to in paragraph (1).
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;
(9) the impact of out-of-State and out-of-dis-
trict contributions on congressional elections; and
(10) such other matters as are consistent with
the purposes of the Commission under section 2.
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 (or joint resolu-
tion, in the case of a proposed amendment to the Constitu-
tion) of either House of Congress which is introduced as
provided in subsection (c) to carry out the recommenda-
tions of the Commission as set forth in the draft of legisla-
tion 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