I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2788 
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit a candidate 
for election to the office of Senator or Member of the House of Rep-
resentatives from making campaign expenditures for the election from 
amounts that were not raised during the election cycle for that office, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2011 
Mr. WOODALL (for himself and Mr. BARTLETT) 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 
prohibit a candidate for election to the office of Senator 
or Member of the House of Representatives from making 
campaign expenditures for the election from amounts 
that were not raised during the election cycle for that 
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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Competitive Elections 
Act of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROHIBITING CANDIDATES FROM MAKING EXPEND-
ITURES OF CAMPAIGN FUNDS NOT RAISED 
DURING ELECTION CYCLE. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—Title III of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended 
by inserting after section 315A the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 315B. PROHIBITING CANDIDATES FROM MAKING EX-
PENDITURES OF FUNDS NOT RAISED DURING 
ELECTION CYCLE. 
‘‘(a) RESTRICTION ON EXPENDITURES.—An author-
ized committee of a candidate for election for the office 
of Senator or the office of Representative in, or Delegate 
or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress may not make 
any expenditure of funds in support of the candidate’s 
campaign for election that were not deposited in the ac-
count of the committee during the election cycle for the 
office involved. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR CANDIDATES FACING CERTAIN 
OPPONENTS.— 
‘‘(1) STATEMENTS
OF
EXPENDITURES
FROM 
PERSONAL FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) INITIAL
NOTIFICATION.—Not later 
than 24 hours after a candidate for election for 
the office of Senator or the office of Represent-
ative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner 
to, the Congress makes expenditures from per-
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sonal funds during the election cycle in an ag-
gregate amount that exceeds $100,000, the can-
didate shall file a statement with the Commis-
sion and each other candidate in the same elec-
tion that sets forth the amount by which ex-
penditures from personal funds made by the 
candidate during the cycle exceeds $100,000. 
‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—After 
a candidate files an initial statement under sub-
paragraph (A), the candidate shall file an addi-
tional statement each time the candidate makes 
or obligates to make expenditures from personal 
funds during the election cycle in an aggregate 
amount that exceeds $50,000. Such additional 
statement shall be filed not later than 24 hours 
after the expenditure is made, and shall set 
forth the amount of expenditures from personal 
funds made by the candidate since the most re-
cent statement filed under this paragraph. 
‘‘(2) PERMITTING USE OF PREVIOUSLY RAISED 
FUNDS
BASED
ON
STATEMENTS
FROM
OPPO-
NENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), an author-
ized committee of a candidate who receives a state-
ment under paragraph (1) from another candidate 
in the election may make expenditures of funds that 
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on the date of the next regularly scheduled general 
election for that office; and 
‘‘(2) with respect to a candidate for election for 
the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resi-
dent Commissioner to, the Congress, the period be-
ginning on the day after the most recent regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal office and 
ending on the date of the next regularly scheduled 
general election for Federal office.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to each election 
cycle that begins after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘election 
cycle’’ has the meaning given such term in section 315B(c) 
of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as added 
by subsection (a)). 
Æ 
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