I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1623 
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for the 
treatment of payments for child care and other personal use services 
as an authorized campaign expenditure, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 7, 2019 
Ms. PORTER 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 
provide for the treatment of payments for child care 
and other personal use services as an authorized cam-
paign expenditure, 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; FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Help America Run Act’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Everyday Americans experience barriers to 
entry before they can consider running for office to 
serve their communities. 
(2) Current law states that campaign funds 
cannot be spent on everyday expenses that would 
exist whether or not a candidate were running for 
office, like rent and food. While the law seems neu-
tral, its actual effect is to privilege the independently 
wealthy who want to run, because given the de-
mands of running for office, candidates who must 
work to pay for childcare or to afford health insur-
ance are effectively being left out of the process, 
even if they have sufficient support to mount a via-
ble campaign. 
(3) Thus current practice favors those prospec-
tive candidates who do not need to rely on a regular 
paycheck to make ends meet. The consequence is 
that everyday Americans who have firsthand knowl-
edge of the importance of stable childcare, a safety 
net, or great public schools are less likely to get a 
seat at the table. This governance by the few is anti-
thetical to the democratic experiment, but most im-
portantly, when lawmakers do not share the con-
cerns of everyday Americans, their policies reflect 
that. 
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(4) These circumstances have contributed to a 
Congress that does not always reflect everyday 
Americans. The New York Times reported in 2019 
that fewer than 5 percent of representatives cite 
blue-collar or service jobs in their biographies. A 
2015 survey by the Center for Responsive Politics 
showed that the median net worth of lawmakers was 
just over $1 million in 2013, or 18 times the wealth 
of the typical American household. 
(5) These circumstances have also contributed 
to a governing body that does not reflect the nation 
it serves. For instance, women are 51 percent of the 
American population. Yet even with a record number 
of women serving in the One Hundred Sixteenth 
Congress, the Pew Research Center notes that more 
than three out of four Members of this Congress are 
male. The Center for American Women And Politics 
found that one third of women legislators surveyed 
had been actively discouraged from running for of-
fice, often by political professionals. This type of dis-
couragement, combined with the prohibitions on 
using campaign funds for domestic needs like 
childcare, burdens that still fall disproportionately 
on American women, particularly disadvantages 
working mothers. These barriers may explain why 
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only 10 women in history have given birth while 
serving in Congress, in spite of the prevalence of 
working parents in other professions. Yet working 
mothers and fathers are best positioned to create 
policy that reflects the lived experience of most 
Americans. 
(6) Working mothers, those caring for their el-
derly parents, and young professionals who rely on 
their jobs for health insurance should have the free-
dom to run to serve the people of the United States. 
Their networks and net worth are simply not the 
best indicators of their strength as prospective pub-
lic servants. In fact, helping ordinary Americans to 
run may create better policy for all Americans. 
(c) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to ensure 
that all Americans who are otherwise qualified to serve 
this Nation are able to run for office, regardless of their 
economic status. By expanding permissible uses of cam-
paign funds and providing modest assurance that testing 
a run for office will not cost one’s livelihood, the Help 
America Run Act will facilitate the candidacy of represent-
atives who more accurately reflect the experiences, chal-
lenges, and ideals of everyday Americans. 
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SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILD CARE AND 
OTHER PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AU-
THORIZED CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE. 
(a) PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AUTHORIZED CAM-
PAIGN EXPENDITURE.—Section 313 of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILD CARE 
AND OTHER PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AUTHORIZED 
CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—For pur-
poses of subsection (a), the payment by an author-
ized committee of a candidate for any of the per-
sonal use services described in paragraph (3) shall 
be treated as an authorized expenditure if the serv-
ices are necessary to enable the participation of the 
candidate in campaign-connected activities. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) LIMIT ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF PAY-
MENTS.—The total amount of payments made 
by an authorized committee of a candidate for 
personal use services described in paragraph (3) 
may not exceed the limit which is applicable 
under any law, rule, or regulation on the 
amount of payments which may be made by the 
committee for the salary of the candidate (with-
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out regard to whether or not the committee 
makes payments to the candidate for that pur-
pose). 
‘‘(B) 
CORRESPONDING
REDUCTION
IN 
AMOUNT OF SALARY PAID TO CANDIDATE.—To 
the extent that an authorized committee of a 
candidate makes payments for the salary of the 
candidate, any limit on the amount of such pay-
ments which is applicable under any law, rule, 
or regulation shall be reduced by the amount of 
any payments made to or on behalf of the can-
didate for personal use services described in 
paragraph (3), other than personal use services 
described in subparagraph (E) of such para-
graph. 
‘‘(C) EXCLUSION
OF
CANDIDATES
WHO 
ARE OFFICEHOLDERS.—Paragraph (1) does not 
apply with respect to an authorized committee 
of a candidate who is a holder of Federal office. 
‘‘(3) PERSONAL USE SERVICES DESCRIBED.— 
The personal use services described in this para-
graph are as follows: 
‘‘(A) Child care services. 
‘‘(B) Elder care services. 
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