I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3954 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform the system of 
public financing for Presidential elections, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 4, 2017 
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on House Administration 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform 
the system of public financing for Presidential elections, 
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 
‘‘Empower Act of 2017’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 
Sec. 1001. Increase in and modifications to matching payments. 
Sec. 1002. Eligibility requirements for matching payments. 
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Sec. 1003. Repeal of expenditure limitations. 
Sec. 1004. Period of availability of matching payments. 
Sec. 1005. Examination and audits of matchable contributions. 
Sec. 1006. Modification to limitation on contributions for Presidential primary 
candidates. 
TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 
Sec. 2001. Modification of eligibility requirements for public financing. 
Sec. 2002. Repeal of expenditure limitations and use of qualified campaign con-
tributions. 
Sec. 2003. Matching payments and other modifications to payment amounts. 
Sec. 2004. Increase in limit on coordinated party expenditures. 
Sec. 2005. Establishment of uniform date for release of payments. 
Sec. 2006. Amounts in Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 
Sec. 2007. Use of general election payments for general election legal and ac-
counting compliance. 
TITLE III—OTHER CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORMS 
Sec. 3001. Regulations with respect to best efforts for identifying persons mak-
ing contributions. 
Sec. 3002. Rules relating to joint fundraising committees. 
Sec. 3003. Disclosure of bundled contributions to Presidential campaigns; in-
crease in threshold for bundled contributions by lobbyists. 
Sec. 3004. Repeal of special contribution limits for contributions to national 
parties for certain purposes. 
Sec. 3005. Judicial review of actions related to campaign finance laws. 
Sec. 3006. Treatment of internet communications made by political committees 
as public communications. 
Sec. 3007. Clarification of applicability of contribution limits to certain political 
committees. 
TITLE I—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 
SEC. 1001. INCREASE IN AND MODIFICATIONS TO MATCH-
ING PAYMENTS. 
(a) INCREASE AND MODIFICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section 
9034(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘an amount equal to the 
amount of each contribution’’ and inserting ‘‘an 
amount equal to 600 percent of the amount of 
each matchable contribution (disregarding any 
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amount of contributions from any person to the 
extent that the total of the amounts contributed 
by such person for the election exceeds $200)’’; 
and 
(B) by striking ‘‘authorized committees’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘$250’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘authorized committees’’. 
(2) 
MATCHABLE
CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 
9034 of such Code is amended— 
(A) by striking the last sentence of sub-
section (a); and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(c) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION DEFINED.—For 
purposes of this section and section 9033(b)— 
‘‘(1) MATCHABLE
CONTRIBUTION.—The term 
‘matchable contribution’ means, with respect to the 
nomination for election to the office of President of 
the United States, a contribution by an individual to 
a candidate or an authorized committee of a can-
didate with respect to which the candidate has cer-
tified in writing that— 
‘‘(A) the individual making such contribu-
tion has not made aggregate contributions (in-
cluding such matchable contribution) to such 
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candidate and the authorized committees of 
such candidate in excess of $1,000 for the elec-
tion; 
‘‘(B) such candidate and the authorized 
committees of such candidate will not accept 
contributions from such individual (including 
such matchable contribution) aggregating more 
than the amount described in subparagraph 
(A); and 
‘‘(C) such contribution was not— 
‘‘(i) forwarded from the contributor 
by any person other than an individual, or 
‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com-
mittee from a contributor or contributors, 
but credited by the committee or candidate 
to another person who is not an individual 
through records, designations, or other 
means of recognizing (whether in writing 
or not in writing) that a certain amount of 
money has been raised by such person. 
‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION.—For purposes of this 
subsection, the term ‘contribution’ means a gift of 
money made by a written instrument which identi-
fies the individual making the contribution by full 
name and mailing address, but does not include a 
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subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money, or 
anything of value or anything described in subpara-
graph (B), (C), or (D) of section 9032(4).’’. 
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Section 9032(4) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘section 9034(a)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 9034’’. 
(B) Section 9033(b)(3) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘matching contributions’’ 
and inserting ‘‘matchable contributions’’. 
(b) MODIFICATION OF PAYMENT LIMITATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 9034(b) of such 
Code is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Every’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Every’’, 
(2) by striking ‘‘shall not exceed’’ and all that 
follows 
and 
inserting 
‘‘shall 
not 
exceed 
$300,000,000.’’, and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(3) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any ap-
plicable period beginning after 2019, the dollar 
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amount in paragraph (1) shall be increased by 
an amount equal to— 
‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 
‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de-
termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal-
endar year following the year which such 
applicable period begins, determined by 
substituting ‘calendar year 2018’ for ‘cal-
endar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 
thereof. 
‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes 
of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable period’ 
means the 4-year period beginning with the 
first day following the date of the general elec-
tion for the office of President and ending on 
the date of the next such general election. 
‘‘(C) ROUNDING.—If any amount as ad-
justed under subparagraph (1) is not a multiple 
of $10,000, such amount shall be rounded to 
the nearest multiple of $10,000.’’. 
SEC. 1002. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING 
PAYMENTS. 
(a) AMOUNT OF AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTIONS PER 
STATE; DISREGARDING OF AMOUNTS CONTRIBUTED IN 
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EXCESS OF $200.—Section 9033(b)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 
(1) 
by 
striking 
‘‘$5,000’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘$25,000’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘20 States’’ and inserting the 
following: ‘‘20 States (disregarding any amount of 
contributions from any such resident to the extent 
that the total of the amounts contributed by such 
resident for the election exceeds $200)’’. 
(b) CONTRIBUTION LIMIT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 
9033(b) of such Code is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(4) the candidate and the authorized commit-
tees of the candidate will not accept aggregate con-
tributions from any person with respect to the nomi-
nation for election to the office of President of the 
United States in excess of $1,000 for the election.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Section 9033(b) of such Code is 
amended by adding at the end the following 
new flush sentence: 
‘‘For purposes of paragraph (4), the term ‘contribution’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 301(8) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 
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(B) Section 9032(4) of such Code, as 
amended by section 1001(a)(3)(A) is amended 
by inserting ‘‘or 9033(b)’’ after ‘‘9034’’. 
(c) BAN ON ACCEPTANCE OF BUNDLED CONTRIBU-
TIONS.—Section 9033(b) of such Code, as amended by 
subsection (b), is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(3); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (4) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) the candidate and the authorized com-
mittee of the candidate will not accept any bundled 
contribution (as defined in section 304(i)(8) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971) forwarded 
by or credited to a person described in section 
304(i)(7) of such Act.’’. 
(d) PARTICIPATION IN SYSTEM FOR PAYMENTS FOR 
GENERAL ELECTION.—Section 9033(b) of such Code, as 
amended by subsection (c), is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(4); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (5) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 
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(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(6) if the candidate is nominated by a political 
party for election to the office of President, the can-
didate will apply for and accept payments with re-
spect to the general election for such office in ac-
cordance with chapter 95.’’. 
SEC. 1003. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 9035 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(a) PERSONAL EXPENDITURE LIMITATION.—No 
candidate shall knowingly make expenditures from his per-
sonal funds, or the personal funds of his immediate family, 
in connection with his campaign for nomination for elec-
tion to the office of President in excess of, in the aggre-
gate, $50,000.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 
section 9033(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) the candidate will comply with the per-
sonal expenditure limitation under section 9035,’’. 
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SEC. 1004. PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF MATCHING PAY-
MENTS. 
Section 9032(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by striking ‘‘the beginning of the cal-
endar year in which a general election for the office of 
President of the United States will be held’’ and inserting 
‘‘the date that is 6 months prior to the date of the earliest 
State primary election’’. 
SEC. 1005. EXAMINATION AND AUDITS OF MATCHABLE CON-
TRIBUTIONS. 
Section 9038(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘and matchable contribu-
tions accepted by’’ after ‘‘qualified campaign expenses of’’. 
SEC. 1006. MODIFICATION TO LIMITATION ON CONTRIBU-
TIONS FOR PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY CAN-
DIDATES. 
Section 315(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(6)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘calendar year’’ and inserting ‘‘four-year election 
cycle’’. 
TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 
SEC. 2001. MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 
FOR PUBLIC FINANCING. 
Subsection (a) of section 9003 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to receive 
any payments under section 9006, the candidates of a po-
litical party in a presidential election shall meet the fol-
lowing requirements: 
‘‘(1) PARTICIPATION
IN
PRIMARY
PAYMENT 
SYSTEM.—The candidate for President received pay-
ments under chapter 96 for the campaign for nomi-
nation for election to be President. 
‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS
WITH
COMMISSION.—The 
candidates, in writing— 
‘‘(A) agree to obtain and furnish to the 
Commission such evidence as it may request of 
the qualified campaign expenses of such can-
didates, 
‘‘(B) agree to keep and furnish to the 
Commission such records, books, and other in-
formation as it may request, and 
‘‘(C) agree to an audit and examination by 
the Commission under section 9007 and to pay 
any amounts required to be paid under such 
section. 
‘‘(3) BAN ON BUNDLED CONTRIBUTIONS.—The 
candidates certify to the Commission, under penalty 
of perjury and within such time prior to the day of 
the presidential election as the Commission shall 
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