475 
SEC. 4208. POLITICAL RECORD REQUIREMENTS FOR ON-
LINE PLATFORMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 304 of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104), as amend-
ed by section 4002, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(k) DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN ONLINE ADVERTISE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS FOR ONLINE PLAT-
FORMS.—An online platform shall maintain, 
and make available for online public inspection 
in machine readable format, a complete record 
of any request to purchase on such online plat-
form a qualified political advertisement which is 
made by a person whose aggregate requests to 
purchase qualified political advertisements on 
such online platform during the calendar year 
exceeds $500. 
‘‘(B) 
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
ADVER-
TISERS.—Any person who requests to purchase 
a qualified political advertisement on an online 
platform shall provide the online platform with 
such information as is necessary for the online 
platform to comply with the requirements of 
subparagraph (A). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00475
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
476 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF RECORD.—A record main-
tained under paragraph (1)(A) shall contain— 
‘‘(A) a digital copy of the qualified political 
advertisement; 
‘‘(B) a description of the audience targeted 
by the advertisement, the number of views gen-
erated from the advertisement, and the date 
and time that the advertisement is first dis-
played and last displayed; and 
‘‘(C) information regarding— 
‘‘(i) the average rate charged for the 
advertisement; 
‘‘(ii) the name of the candidate to 
which the advertisement refers and the of-
fice to which the candidate is seeking elec-
tion, the election to which the advertise-
ment refers, or the national legislative 
issue to which the advertisement refers (as 
applicable); 
‘‘(iii) in the case of a request made 
by, or on behalf of, a candidate, the name 
of the candidate, the authorized committee 
of the candidate, and the treasurer of such 
committee; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00476
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
477 
‘‘(iv) in the case of any request not 
described in clause (iii), the name of the 
person purchasing the advertisement, the 
name and address of a contact person for 
such person, and a list of the chief execu-
tive officers or members of the executive 
committee or of the board of directors of 
such person, and, if the person purchasing 
the advertisement is acting as the agent of 
a foreign principal under the Foreign 
Agents Registration Act of 1938, as 
amended (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.), a state-
ment that the person is acting as the agent 
of a foreign principal and the identification 
of the foreign principal involved. 
‘‘(3) ONLINE PLATFORM.—For purposes of this 
subsection, the term ‘online platform’ means any 
public-facing website, web application, or digital ap-
plication (including a social network, ad network, or 
search engine) which— 
‘‘(A) sells qualified political advertise-
ments; and 
‘‘(B) has 50,000,000 or more unique 
monthly United States visitors or users for a 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00477
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
478 
majority of months during the preceding 12 
months. 
‘‘(4) QUALIFIED POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT.— 
For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘qualified 
political advertisement’ means any advertisement 
(including search engine marketing, display adver-
tisements, video advertisements, native advertise-
ments, and sponsorships) that— 
‘‘(A) is made by or on behalf of a can-
didate; or 
‘‘(B) communicates a message relating to 
any political matter of national importance, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(i) a candidate; 
‘‘(ii) any election to Federal office; or 
‘‘(iii) a national legislative issue of 
public importance. 
‘‘(5) TIME TO MAINTAIN FILE.—The informa-
tion required under this subsection shall be made 
available as soon as possible and shall be retained by 
the online platform for a period of not less than 4 
years. 
‘‘(6) SAFE HARBOR FOR PLATFORMS MAKING 
BEST EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY REQUESTS WHICH ARE 
SUBJECT
TO
RECORD
MAINTENANCE
REQUIRE-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00478
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
479 
MENTS.—In accordance with rules established by the 
Commission, if an online platform shows that the 
platform used best efforts to determine whether or 
not a request to purchase a qualified political adver-
tisement was subject to the requirements of this sub-
section, the online platform shall not be considered 
to be in violation of such requirements. 
‘‘(7) PENALTIES.—For penalties for failure by 
online platforms, and persons requesting to purchase 
a qualified political advertisement on online plat-
forms, to comply with the requirements of this sub-
section, see section 309.’’. 
(b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 
Commission shall establish rules— 
(1) requiring common data formats for the 
record required to be maintained under section 
304(k) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (as added by subsection (a)) so that all online 
platforms submit and maintain data online in a com-
mon, machine-readable and publicly accessible for-
mat; 
(2) establishing search interface requirements 
relating to such record, including searches by can-
didate name, issue, purchaser, and date; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00479
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
480 
(3) establishing the criteria for the safe harbor 
exception provided under paragraph (6) of section 
304(k) of such Act (as added by subsection (a)). 
(c) REPORTING.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and biannually there-
after, the Chairman of the Federal Election Commission 
shall submit a report to Congress on— 
(1) matters relating to compliance with and the 
enforcement of the requirements of section 304(k) of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as 
added by subsection (a); 
(2) recommendations for any modifications to 
such section to assist in carrying out its purposes; 
and 
(3) identifying ways to bring transparency and 
accountability to political advertisements distributed 
online for free. 
SEC. 4209. PREVENTING CONTRIBUTIONS, EXPENDITURES, 
INDEPENDENT 
EXPENDITURES, 
AND 
DIS-
BURSEMENTS FOR ELECTIONEERING COM-
MUNICATIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN 
THE FORM OF ONLINE ADVERTISING. 
Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121), as amended by section 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00480
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
481 
4101(b), is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF BROADCAST STATIONS, 
PROVIDERS OF CABLE AND SATELLITE TELEVISION, AND 
ONLINE PLATFORMS.— 
‘‘(1) RESPONSIBILITIES DESCRIBED.—Each tel-
evision or radio broadcast station, provider of cable 
or satellite television, or online platform (as defined 
in section 304(k)(3)) shall make reasonable efforts 
to ensure that communications described in section 
318(a) and made available by such station, provider, 
or platform are not purchased by a foreign national, 
directly or indirectly. For purposes of the previous 
sentence, a station, provider, or online platform shall 
not be considered to have made reasonable efforts 
under this paragraph in the case of the availability 
of a communication unless the station, provider, or 
online platform directly inquires from the individual 
or entity making such purchase whether the pur-
chase is to be made by a foreign national, directly 
or indirectly. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES FOR DISBURSEMENT PAID 
WITH
CREDIT
CARD.—For purposes of paragraph 
(1), a television or radio broadcast station, provider 
of cable or satellite television, or online platform 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00481
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
482 
shall be considered to have made reasonable efforts 
under such paragraph in the case of a purchase of 
the availability of a communication which is made 
with a credit card if— 
‘‘(A) the individual or entity making such 
purchase is required, at the time of making 
such purchase, to disclose the credit verification 
value of such credit card; and 
‘‘(B) the billing address associated with 
such credit card is located in the United States 
or, in the case of a purchase made by an indi-
vidual who is a United States citizen living out-
side of the United States, the individual pro-
vides the television or radio broadcast station, 
provider of cable or satellite television, or online 
platform with the United States mailing ad-
dress the individual uses for voter registration 
purposes.’’. 
SEC. 4210. INDEPENDENT STUDY ON MEDIA LITERACY AND 
ONLINE POLITICAL CONTENT CONSUMPTION. 
(a) INDEPENDENT STUDY.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Elec-
tion Commission shall commission an independent study 
and report on media literacy with respect to online polit-
ical content consumption among voting-age Americans. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00482
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
483 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The study and report under sub-
section (a) shall include the following: 
(1) An evaluation of media literacy skills, such 
as the ability to evaluate sources, synthesize multiple 
accounts into a coherent understanding of an issue, 
understand the context of communications, and re-
sponsibly create and share information, among vot-
ing-age Americans. 
(2) An analysis of the effects of media literacy 
education and particular media literacy skills on the 
ability to critically consume online political content, 
including political advertising. 
(3) Recommendations for improving voting-age 
Americans’ ability to critically consume online polit-
ical content, including political advertising. 
(c) DEADLINE.—Not later than 270 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the entity conducting the 
study and report under subsection (a) shall submit the re-
port to the Commission. 
(d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 
days after receiving the report under subsection (c), the 
Commission shall submit the report to the Committee on 
House Administration of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00483
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
484 
Senate, together with such comments on the report as the 
Commission considers appropriate. 
(e) DEFINITION OF MEDIA LITERACY.—The term 
‘‘media literacy’’ means the ability to— 
(1) access relevant and accurate information 
through media; 
(2) critically analyze media content and the in-
fluences of media; 
(3) evaluate the comprehensiveness, relevance, 
credibility, authority, and accuracy of information; 
(4) make educated decisions based on informa-
tion obtained from media and digital sources; 
(5) operate various forms of technology and 
digital tools; and 
(6) reflect on how the use of media and tech-
nology may affect private and public life. 
Subtitle D—Stand By Every Ad 
SEC. 4301. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Stand By Every 
Ad Act’’. 
SEC. 4302. STAND BY EVERY AD. 
(a) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS
FOR 
CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318 of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120), as 
amended by section 4207(b)(1), is further amended— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00484
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
485 
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(e) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR 
COMMUNICATIONS NOT AUTHORIZED BY CANDIDATES OR 
COMMITTEES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (6), any communication described in para-
graph (3) of subsection (a) which is transmitted in 
an audio or video format (including an Internet or 
digital communication), or which is an Internet or 
digital communication transmitted in a text or 
graphic format, shall include, in addition to the re-
quirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (a), the 
following: 
‘‘(A) The individual disclosure statement 
described in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 
paying for the communication is an individual) 
or the organizational disclosure statement de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(B) (if the person pay-
ing for the communication is not an individual). 
‘‘(B) If the communication is transmitted 
in a video format, or is an Internet or digital 
communication which is transmitted in a text or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00485
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
486 
graphic format, and is paid for in whole or in 
part with a payment which is treated as a cam-
paign-related disbursement under section 324— 
‘‘(i) the Top Five Funders list (if ap-
plicable); or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 
which, as determined on the basis of cri-
teria established in regulations issued by 
the Commission, is of such short duration 
that including the Top Five Funders list in 
the communication would constitute a 
hardship to the person paying for the com-
munication by requiring a disproportionate 
amount of the content of the communica-
tion to consist of the Top Five Funders 
list, the name of a website which contains 
the Top Five Funders list (if applicable) 
or, in the case of an Internet or digital 
communication, 
a 
hyperlink 
to 
such 
website. 
‘‘(C) If the communication is transmitted 
in an audio format and is paid for in whole or 
in part with a payment which is treated as a 
campaign-related disbursement under section 
324— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00486
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
487 
‘‘(i) the Top Two Funders list (if ap-
plicable); or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 
which, as determined on the basis of cri-
teria established in regulations issued by 
the Commission, is of such short duration 
that including the Top Two Funders list in 
the communication would constitute a 
hardship to the person paying for the com-
munication by requiring a disproportionate 
amount of the content of the communica-
tion to consist of the Top Two Funders 
list, the name of a website which contains 
the Top Two Funders list (if applicable). 
‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS DESCRIBED.— 
‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL
DISCLOSURE
STATE-
MENTS.—The individual disclosure statement 
described in this subparagraph is the following: 
‘I am llllllll, and I approve this 
message.’, with the blank filled in with the 
name of the applicable individual. 
‘‘(B) 
ORGANIZATIONAL
DISCLOSURE 
STATEMENTS.—The organizational disclosure 
statement described in this subparagraph is the 
following: 
‘I 
am 
llllllll, 
the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00487
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
488 
llllllll of llllllll, and 
llllllll approves this message.’, 
with— 
‘‘(i) the first blank to be filled in with 
the name of the applicable individual; 
‘‘(ii) the second blank to be filled in 
with the title of the applicable individual; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the third and fourth blank each 
to be filled in with the name of the organi-
zation or other person paying for the com-
munication. 
‘‘(3) METHOD
OF
CONVEYANCE
OF
STATE-
MENT.— 
‘‘(A) 
COMMUNICATIONS
IN
TEXT
OR 
GRAPHIC FORMAT.—In the case of a commu-
nication to which this subsection applies which 
is transmitted in a text or graphic format, the 
disclosure statements required under paragraph 
(1) shall appear in letters at least as large as 
the majority of the text in the communication. 
‘‘(B) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN 
AUDIO FORMAT.—In the case of a communica-
tion to which this subsection applies which is 
transmitted in an audio format, the disclosure 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00488
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
489 
statements required under paragraph (1) shall 
be made by audio by the applicable individual 
in a clear and conspicuous manner. 
‘‘(C) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN 
VIDEO FORMAT.—In the case of a communica-
tion to which this subsection applies which is 
transmitted in a video format, the information 
required under paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(i) shall appear in writing at the end 
of the communication or in a crawl along 
the bottom of the communication in a clear 
and conspicuous manner, with a reasonable 
degree of color contrast between the back-
ground and the printed statement, for a 
period of at least 6 seconds; and 
‘‘(ii) shall also be conveyed by an 
unobscured, full-screen view of the applica-
ble individual or by the applicable indi-
vidual making the statement in voice-over 
accompanied by a clearly identifiable pho-
tograph or similar image of the individual, 
except in the case of a Top Five Funders 
list. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00489
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
490 
‘‘(4) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—The 
term ‘applicable individual’ means, with respect to a 
communication to which this subsection applies— 
‘‘(A) if the communication is paid for by 
an individual, the individual involved; 
‘‘(B) if the communication is paid for by a 
corporation, the chief executive officer of the 
corporation (or, if the corporation does not have 
a chief executive officer, the highest ranking of-
ficial of the corporation); 
‘‘(C) if the communication is paid for by a 
labor organization, the highest ranking officer 
of the labor organization; and 
‘‘(D) if the communication is paid for by 
any other person, the highest ranking official of 
such person. 
‘‘(5) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST AND TOP TWO 
FUNDERS LIST DEFINED.— 
‘‘(A) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST.—The term 
‘Top Five Funders list’ means, with respect to 
a communication which is paid for in whole or 
in part with a campaign-related disbursement 
(as defined in section 324), a list of the five 
persons who, during the 12-month period end-
ing on the date of the disbursement, provided 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00490
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
491 
the largest payments of any type in an aggre-
gate amount equal to or exceeding $10,000 to 
the person who is paying for the communication 
and the amount of the payments each such per-
son provided. If two or more people provided 
the fifth largest of such payments, the person 
paying for the communication shall select one of 
those persons to be included on the Top Five 
Funders list. 
‘‘(B) TOP TWO FUNDERS LIST.—The term 
‘Top Two Funders list’ means, with respect to 
a communication which is paid for in whole or 
in part with a campaign-related disbursement 
(as defined in section 324), a list of the persons 
who, during the 12-month period ending on the 
date of the disbursement, provided the largest 
and the second largest payments of any type in 
an aggregate amount equal to or exceeding 
$10,000 to the person who is paying for the 
communication and the amount of the pay-
ments each such person provided. If two or 
more persons provided the second largest of 
such payments, the person paying for the com-
munication shall select one of those persons to 
be included on the Top Two Funders list. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00491
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
492 
‘‘(C) 
EXCLUSION
OF
CERTAIN
PAY-
MENTS.—For purposes of subparagraphs (A) 
and (B), in determining the amount of pay-
ments made by a person to a person paying for 
a communication, there shall be excluded the 
following: 
‘‘(i) Any amounts provided in the or-
dinary course of any trade or business con-
ducted by the person paying for the com-
munication or in the form of investments 
in the person paying for the communica-
tion. 
‘‘(ii) Any payment which the person 
prohibited, in writing, from being used for 
campaign-related disbursements, but only 
if the person paying for the communication 
agreed to follow the prohibition and depos-
ited the payment in an account which is 
segregated from any account used to make 
campaign-related disbursements. 
‘‘(6) SPECIAL
RULES
FOR
CERTAIN
COMMU-
NICATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) EXCEPTION
FOR
COMMUNICATIONS 
PAID FOR BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN 
POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—This subsection does 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00492
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
493 
not apply to any communication to which sub-
section (d)(2) applies. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF VIDEO COMMUNICA-
TIONS LASTING 10 SECONDS OR LESS.—In the 
case of a communication to which this sub-
section applies which is transmitted in a video 
format, or is an Internet or digital communica-
tion which is transmitted in a text or graphic 
format, the communication shall meet the fol-
lowing requirements: 
‘‘(i) The communication shall include 
the individual disclosure statement de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 
paying for the communication is an indi-
vidual) or the organizational disclosure 
statement described in paragraph (2)(B) 
(if the person paying for the communica-
tion is not an individual). 
‘‘(ii) The statement described in 
clause (i) shall appear in writing at the 
end of the communication, or in a crawl 
along the bottom of the communication, in 
a clear and conspicuous manner, with a 
reasonable degree of color contrast between 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00493
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
494 
the background and the printed statement, 
for a period of at least 4 seconds. 
‘‘(iii) The communication shall in-
clude, in a clear and conspicuous manner, 
a website address with a landing page 
which will provide all of the information 
described in paragraph (1) with respect to 
the communication. Such address shall ap-
pear for the full duration of the commu-
nication. 
‘‘(iv) To the extent that the format in 
which the communication is made permits 
the use of a hyperlink, the communication 
shall include a hyperlink to the website ad-
dress described in clause (iii).’’. 
(b) APPLICATION OF EXPANDED REQUIREMENTS TO 
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CONSISTING
OF CAMPAIGN- 
RELATED DISBURSEMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 318(a) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 30120(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘for 
the purpose of financing communications expressly 
advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identi-
fied candidate’’ and inserting ‘‘for a campaign-re-
lated disbursement, as defined in section 324, con-
sisting of a public communication’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00494
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
495 
(2) CLARIFICATION OF EXEMPTION FROM IN-
CLUSION OF CANDIDATE DISCLAIMER STATEMENT IN 
FEDERAL
JUDICIAL
NOMINATION
COMMUNICA-
TIONS.—Section 318(a)(3) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
30120(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘shall state’’ 
and inserting ‘‘shall (except in the case of a Federal 
judicial nomination communication, as defined in 
section 324(d)(2)) state’’. 
(c) EXCEPTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS PAID FOR BY 
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMIT-
TEES.—Section 318(d)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
30120(d)(2)) is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OTHERS’’ and 
inserting ‘‘CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘Any communication’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(A) Any communication’’; 
(3) by inserting ‘‘which (except to the extent 
provided in subparagraph (B)) is paid for by a polit-
ical committee (including a political committee of a 
political party) and’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 
(4) by striking ‘‘or other person’’ each place it 
appears; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00495
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
496 
‘‘(B)(i) This paragraph does not apply to a 
communication paid for in whole or in part during 
a calendar year with a campaign-related disburse-
ment, but only if the covered organization making 
the campaign-related disbursement made campaign- 
related disbursements (as defined in section 324) ag-
gregating more than $10,000 during such calendar 
year. 
‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i), in determining 
the amount of campaign-related disbursements made 
by a covered organization during a year, there shall 
be excluded the following: 
‘‘(I) Any amounts received by the covered 
organization in the ordinary course of any trade 
or business conducted by the covered organiza-
tion or in the form of investments in the cov-
ered organization. 
‘‘(II) Any amounts received by the covered 
organization from a person who prohibited, in 
writing, the organization from using such 
amounts for campaign-related disbursements, 
but only if the covered organization agreed to 
follow the prohibition and deposited the 
amounts in an account which is segregated 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00496
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
497 
from any account used to make campaign-re-
lated disbursements.’’. 
SEC. 4303. DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMUNICA-
TIONS MADE THROUGH PRERECORDED TELE-
PHONE CALLS. 
(a) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 318(a) of the Fed-
eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
30120(a)), as amended by section 4205(c), is 
amended by striking ‘‘public communication’’ each 
place it appears and inserting the following: ‘‘public 
communication (including a telephone call consisting 
in substantial part of a prerecorded audio mes-
sage)’’. 
(2) APPLICATION
TO
COMMUNICATIONS
SUB-
JECT TO EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.— 
Section 
318(e)(1) 
of 
such 
Act 
(52 
U.S.C. 
30120(e)(1)), as added by section 4302(a), is 
amended in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 
by striking ‘‘which is transmitted in an audio or 
video format’’ and inserting ‘‘which is transmitted in 
an audio or video format or which consists of a tele-
phone call consisting in substantial part of a 
prerecorded audio message’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00497
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
498 
(b) TREATMENT AS COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED 
IN AUDIO FORMAT.— 
(1) COMMUNICATIONS BY CANDIDATES OR AU-
THORIZED PERSONS.—Section 318(d) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 30120(d)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) PRERECORDED TELEPHONE CALLS.—Any 
communication described in paragraph (1), (2), or 
(3) of subsection (a) (other than a communication 
which is subject to subsection (e)) which is a tele-
phone call consisting in substantial part of a 
prerecorded audio message shall include, in addition 
to the requirements of such paragraph, the audio 
statement required under subparagraph (A) of para-
graph (1) or the audio statement required under 
paragraph (2) (whichever is applicable), except that 
the statement shall be made at the beginning of the 
telephone call.’’. 
(2) COMMUNICATIONS SUBJECT TO EXPANDED 
DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.—Section 318(e)(3) of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(3)), as added by sec-
tion 4302(a), is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) 
PRERECORDED
TELEPHONE 
CALLS.—In the case of a communication to 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00498
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
499 
which this subsection applies which is a tele-
phone call consisting in substantial part of a 
prerecorded audio message, the communication 
shall be considered to be transmitted in an 
audio format.’’. 
SEC. 4304. NO EXPANSION OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO DIS-
CLAIMER 
REQUIREMENTS 
ON 
INTERNET 
COMMUNICATIONS. 
Nothing in this subtitle or the amendments made by 
this subtitle may be construed to require any person who 
is not required under section 318 of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 to include a disclaimer on commu-
nications made by the person through the internet to in-
clude any disclaimer on any such communications. 
SEC. 4305. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by this subtitle shall apply 
with respect to communications made on or after January 
1, 2022, and shall take effect without regard to whether 
or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 
regulations to carry out such amendments. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00499
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
500 
Subtitle E—Deterring Foreign 
Interference in Elections 
PART 1—DETERRENCE UNDER FEDERAL 
ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971 
SEC. 4401. RESTRICTIONS ON EXCHANGE OF CAMPAIGN IN-
FORMATION 
BETWEEN 
CANDIDATES 
AND 
FOREIGN POWERS. 
Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121), as amended by section 
4101(b) and section 4209, is further amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(e) RESTRICTIONS ON EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION 
BETWEEN CANDIDATES AND FOREIGN POWERS.— 
‘‘(1) TREATMENT OF OFFER TO SHARE NON-
PUBLIC CAMPAIGN MATERIAL AS SOLICITATION OF 
CONTRIBUTION
FROM
FOREIGN
NATIONAL.—If a 
candidate or an individual affiliated with the cam-
paign of a candidate, or if a political committee or 
an individual affiliated with a political committee, 
provides or offers to provide nonpublic campaign 
material to a covered foreign national or to another 
person whom the candidate, committee, or individual 
knows or has reason to know will provide the mate-
rial to a covered foreign national, the candidate, 
committee, or individual (as the case may be) shall 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00500
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
501 
be considered for purposes of this section to have so-
licited a contribution or donation described in sub-
section (a)(1)(A) from a foreign national. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol-
lowing definitions apply: 
‘‘(A) The term ‘candidate’ means an indi-
vidual who seeks nomination for, or election to, 
any Federal, State, or local public office. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘covered foreign national’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 
304(j)(3)(C). 
‘‘(C) The term ‘individual affiliated with a 
campaign’ means, with respect to a candidate, 
an employee of any organization legally author-
ized under Federal, State, or local law to sup-
port the candidate’s campaign for nomination 
for, or election to, any Federal, State, or local 
public office, as well as any independent con-
tractor of such an organization and any indi-
vidual who performs services on behalf of the 
organization, whether paid or unpaid. 
‘‘(D) The term ‘individual affiliated with a 
political committee’ means, with respect to a 
political committee, an employee of the com-
mittee as well as any independent contractor of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00501
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
502 
the committee and any individual who performs 
services on behalf of the committee, whether 
paid or unpaid. 
‘‘(E) The term ‘nonpublic campaign mate-
rial’ means, with respect to a candidate or a po-
litical committee, campaign material that is 
produced by the candidate or the committee or 
produced at the candidate or committee’s ex-
pense or request which is not distributed or 
made available to the general public or other-
wise in the public domain, including polling and 
focus group data and opposition research, ex-
cept that such term does not include material 
produced for purposes of consultations relating 
solely to the candidate’s or committee’s position 
on a legislative or policy matter.’’. 
SEC. 4402. CLARIFICATION OF STANDARD FOR DETER-
MINING EXISTENCE OF COORDINATION BE-
TWEEN CAMPAIGNS AND OUTSIDE INTER-
ESTS. 
Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(10) For purposes of paragraph (7), an expenditure 
or disbursement may be considered to have been made in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00502
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
503 
cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or coordinated 
with, a person without regard to whether or not the co-
operation, consultation, or coordination is carried out pur-
suant to agreement or formal collaboration.’’. 
SEC. 4403. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF SUBSTANTIAL 
ASSISTANCE RELATING TO CONTRIBUTION 
OR DONATION BY FOREIGN NATIONALS. 
Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121), as amended by section 
4101(a), section 4101(b), section 4209, and section 4401, 
is further amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para-
graph (2); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) a person to knowingly provide substantial 
assistance to another person in carrying out an ac-
tivity described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3).’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(f) KNOWINGLY DESCRIBED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 
(a)(4), the term ‘knowingly’ means actual knowl-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00503
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
504 
edge, constructive knowledge, awareness of pertinent 
facts that would lead a reasonable person to con-
clude there is a substantial probability, or awareness 
of pertinent facts that would lead a reasonable per-
son to conduct a reasonable inquiry to establish— 
‘‘(A) with respect to an activity described 
in subsection (a)(1), that the contribution, do-
nation, expenditure, independent expenditure, 
or disbursement is from a foreign national; 
‘‘(B) with respect to an activity described 
in subsection (a)(2), that the contribution or 
donation solicited, accepted, or received is from 
a foreign national; and 
‘‘(C) with respect to an activity described 
in subsection (a)(3), that the person directing, 
dictating, controlling, or directly or indirectly 
participating in the decisionmaking process is a 
foreign national. 
‘‘(2) PERTINENT
FACTS.—For purposes of 
paragraph (1), pertinent facts include, but are not 
limited to, that the person making the contribution, 
donation, expenditure, independent expenditure, or 
disbursement, or that the person from whom the 
contribution or donation is solicited, accepted, or re-
ceived, or that the person directing, dictating, con-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00504
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
505 
trolling, or directly or indirectly participating in the 
decisionmaking process— 
‘‘(A) uses a foreign passport or passport 
number for identification purposes; 
‘‘(B) provides a foreign address; 
‘‘(C) uses a check or other written instru-
ment drawn on a foreign bank, or by a wire 
transfer from a foreign bank, in carrying out 
the activity; or 
‘‘(D) resides abroad. 
‘‘(g) SUBSTANTIAL ASSISTANCE DEFINED.—As used 
in this section, the term ‘substantial assistance’ means, 
with respect to an activity prohibited by paragraph (1), 
(2), or (3) of subsection (a), involvement with an intent 
to facilitate successful completion of the activity.’’. 
PART 2—INADMISSIBILITY AND DEPORTABILITY 
OF ALIENS ENGAGING IN IMPROPER ELEC-
TION INTERFERENCE 
SEC. 4411. INADMISSIBILITY AND DEPORTABILITY OF 
ALIENS 
ENGAGING 
IN 
IMPROPER 
INTER-
FERENCE IN UNITED STATES ELECTIONS. 
(a) INADMISSIBILITY.—Section 212(a)(3) of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00505
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
507 
‘‘(A)(i) violates Federal criminal, voting 
rights, or campaign finance law; or 
‘‘(ii) is performed by any person acting as 
an agent of or on behalf of a foreign govern-
ment or criminal enterprise; and 
‘‘(B) includes any covert, fraudulent, de-
ceptive, or unlawful act or attempted act, un-
dertaken with the purpose or effect of under-
mining public confidence in election processes 
or institutions, or influencing, undermining con-
fidence in, or altering the result or reported re-
sult of, a general or primary Federal, State, or 
local election or caucus, including— 
‘‘(i) the campaign of a candidate; or 
‘‘(ii) a ballot measure, including an 
amendment, a bond issue, an initiative, a 
recall, a referral, or a referendum.’’. 
PART 
3—NOTIFYING 
STATES 
OF 
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS BY FOREIGN 
NATIONALS 
SEC. 4421. NOTIFYING STATES OF DISINFORMATION CAM-
PAIGNS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS. 
(a) REQUIRING DISCLOSURE.—If the Federal Elec-
tion Commission makes a determination that a foreign na-
tional has initiated or has attempted to initiate a 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00507
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
508 
disinformation campaign targeted at an election for public 
office held in a State, the Commission shall notify the 
State involved of the determination not later than 30 days 
after making the determination. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the term ‘‘foreign 
national’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
319(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30121(b)). 
PART 4—PROHIBITING USE OF DEEPFAKES IN 
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS 
SEC. 4431. PROHIBITION ON DISTRIBUTION OF MATERI-
ALLY DECEPTIVE AUDIO OR VISUAL MEDIA 
PRIOR TO ELECTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 325. PROHIBITION ON DISTRIBUTION OF MATERI-
ALLY DECEPTIVE MEDIA PRIOR TO ELEC-
TION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
sections (b) and (c), a person, political committee, or other 
entity shall not, within 60 days of an election for Federal 
office at which a candidate for elective office will appear 
on the ballot, distribute, with actual malice, materially de-
ceptive audio or visual media of the candidate with the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00508
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
509 
intent to injure the candidate’s reputation or to deceive 
a voter into voting for or against the candidate. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIRED
LANGUAGE.—The prohibition 
in subsection (a) does not apply if the audio or vis-
ual media includes— 
‘‘(A) 
a 
disclosure 
stating: 
‘‘This 
lllll has been manipulated.’’; and 
‘‘(B) filled in the blank in the disclosure 
under subparagraph (A), the term ‘image’, 
‘video’, or ‘audio’, as most accurately describes 
the media. 
‘‘(2) VISUAL
MEDIA.—For visual media, the 
text of the disclosure shall appear in a size that is 
easily readable by the average viewer and no smaller 
than the largest font size of other text appearing in 
the visual media. If the visual media does not in-
clude any other text, the disclosure shall appear in 
a size that is easily readable by the average viewer. 
For visual media that is video, the disclosure shall 
appear for the duration of the video. 
‘‘(3) AUDIO-ONLY MEDIA.—If the media con-
sists of audio only, the disclosure shall be read in a 
clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be 
easily heard by the average listener, at the beginning 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00509
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
510 
of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the 
audio is greater than 2 minutes in length, inter-
spersed within the audio at intervals of not greater 
than 2 minutes each. 
‘‘(c) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN ENTITIES.—This 
section does not apply to the following: 
‘‘(1) A radio or television broadcasting station, 
including a cable or satellite television operator, pro-
grammer, or producer, that broadcasts materially 
deceptive audio or visual media prohibited by this 
section as part of a bona fide newscast, news inter-
view, news documentary, or on-the-spot coverage of 
bona fide news events, if the broadcast clearly ac-
knowledges through content or a disclosure, in a 
manner that can be easily heard or read by the aver-
age listener or viewer, that there are questions about 
the authenticity of the materially deceptive audio or 
visual media. 
‘‘(2) A radio or television broadcasting station, 
including a cable or satellite television operator, pro-
grammer, or producer, when it is paid to broadcast 
materially deceptive audio or visual media. 
‘‘(3) An internet website, or a regularly pub-
lished newspaper, magazine, or other periodical of 
general circulation, including an internet or elec-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00510
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
511 
tronic publication, that routinely carries news and 
commentary of general interest, and that publishes 
materially deceptive audio or visual media prohibited 
by this section, if the publication clearly states that 
the materially deceptive audio or visual media does 
not accurately represent the speech or conduct of the 
candidate. 
‘‘(4) Materially deceptive audio or visual media 
that constitutes satire or parody. 
‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTION.— 
‘‘(1) INJUNCTIVE
OR
OTHER
EQUITABLE
RE-
LIEF.—A candidate for elective office whose voice or 
likeness appears in a materially deceptive audio or 
visual media distributed in violation of this section 
may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohib-
iting the distribution of audio or visual media in vio-
lation of this section. An action under this para-
graph shall be entitled to precedence in accordance 
with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 
‘‘(2) DAMAGES.—A candidate for elective office 
whose voice or likeness appears in a materially de-
ceptive audio or visual media distributed in violation 
of this section may bring an action for general or 
special damages against the person, committee, or 
other entity that distributed the materially deceptive 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00511
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
512 
audio or visual media. The court may also award a 
prevailing party reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. 
This paragraph shall not be construed to limit or 
preclude a plaintiff from securing or recovering any 
other available remedy. 
‘‘(3) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In any civil action 
alleging a violation of this section, the plaintiff shall 
bear the burden of establishing the violation through 
clear and convincing evidence. 
‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall 
not be construed to alter or negate any rights, obligations, 
or immunities of an interactive service provider under sec-
tion 230 of title 47, United States Code. 
‘‘(f) MATERIALLY DECEPTIVE AUDIO
OR VISUAL 
MEDIA DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘materially 
deceptive audio or visual media’ means an image or an 
audio or video recording of a candidate’s appearance, 
speech, or conduct that has been intentionally manipulated 
in a manner such that both of the following conditions 
are met: 
‘‘(1) The image or audio or video recording 
would falsely appear to a reasonable person to be 
authentic. 
‘‘(2) The image or audio or video recording 
would cause a reasonable person to have a fun-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00512
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
513 
damentally different understanding or impression of 
the expressive content of the image or audio or video 
recording than that person would have if the person 
were hearing or seeing the unaltered, original 
version of the image or audio or video recording.’’. 
(b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 309(d)(1) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
30109(d)(1)), as amended by section 4004, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(G) Any person who knowingly and will-
fully commits a violation of section 325 shall be 
fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned not 
more than 5 years, or both.’’. 
(c) EFFECT
ON DEFAMATION ACTION.—For pur-
poses of an action for defamation, a violation of section 
325 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as 
added by subsection (a), shall constitute defamation per 
se. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00513
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
514 
PART 5—ASSESSMENT OF EXEMPTION OF REG-
ISTRATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER FARA 
FOR REGISTERED LOBBYISTS 
SEC. 4441. ASSESSMENT OF EXEMPTION OF REGISTRATION 
REQUIREMENTS 
UNDER 
FARA 
FOR 
REG-
ISTERED LOBBYISTS. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct and submit to Congress an assess-
ment of the implications of the exemption provided under 
the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended 
(22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) for agents of foreign principals 
who are also registered lobbyists under the Lobbying Dis-
closure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and shall 
include in the assessment an analysis of the extent to 
which revisions in such Acts might mitigate the risk of 
foreign government money influencing elections or political 
processes in the United States. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00514
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
515 
Subtitle F—Secret Money 
Transparency 
SEC. 4501. REPEAL OF RESTRICTION OF USE OF FUNDS BY 
INTERNAL 
REVENUE 
SERVICE 
TO 
BRING 
TRANSPARENCY TO POLITICAL ACTIVITY OF 
CERTAIN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. 
Section 122 of the Financial Services and General 
Government Appropriations Act, 2021 (division E of Pub-
lic Law 116–lll) is hereby repealed. 
SEC. 4502. REPEAL OF REVENUE PROCEDURE THAT ELIMI-
NATED REQUIREMENT TO REPORT INFORMA-
TION REGARDING CONTRIBUTORS TO CER-
TAIN TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS. 
Revenue Procedure 2018–38 shall have no force and 
effect. 
Subtitle G—Shareholder Right-to- 
Know 
SEC. 4601. REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS BY 
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION TO 
ENSURE SHAREHOLDERS OF CORPORATIONS 
HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF CORPORATION POLIT-
ICAL ACTIVITY. 
Section 631 of the Financial Services and General 
Government Appropriations Act, 2021 (division E of Pub-
lic Law 116–lll) is hereby repealed. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00515
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
516 
SEC. 4602. ASSESSMENT OF SHAREHOLDER PREFERENCES 
FOR DISBURSEMENTS FOR POLITICAL PUR-
POSES. 
(a) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—The Securities Ex-
change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) is amended 
by inserting after section 10D the following: 
‘‘SEC. 10E. ASSESSMENT OF SHAREHOLDER PREFERENCES 
FOR DISBURSEMENTS FOR POLITICAL PUR-
POSES. 
‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED BEFORE MAKING A 
DISBURSEMENT FOR A POLITICAL PURPOSE.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—An issuer with an equity 
security listed on a national securities exchange may 
not make a disbursement for a political purpose un-
less— 
‘‘(A) the issuer has in place procedures to 
assess the preferences of the shareholders of the 
issuer with respect to making such disburse-
ments; and 
‘‘(B) such an assessment has been made 
within the 1-year period ending on the date of 
such disbursement. 
‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF ISSUERS WHOSE SHARE-
HOLDERS
ARE
PROHIBITED
FROM
EXPRESSING 
PREFERENCES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an 
issuer described under such paragraph with proce-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00516
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
517 
dures in place to assess the preferences of its share-
holders with respect to making disbursements for 
political purposes shall not be considered to meet the 
requirements of such paragraph if a majority of the 
number of the outstanding equity securities of the 
issuer are held by persons who are prohibited from 
expressing partisan or political preferences by law, 
contract, or the requirement to meet a fiduciary 
duty. 
‘‘(3) NO
ASSESSMENT
OF
PREFERENCES
OF 
FOREIGN
NATIONALS.—Notwithstanding paragraph 
(1), an issuer described in such paragraph shall not 
use the procedures described in such paragraph to 
assess the preferences of any shareholder who is a 
foreign national, as defined in section 319 of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
30121). 
‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT
REQUIREMENTS.—The assess-
ment described under subsection (a) shall assess— 
‘‘(1) which types of disbursements for a polit-
ical purpose the shareholder believes the issuer 
should make; 
‘‘(2) whether the shareholder believes that such 
disbursements should be made in support of, or in 
opposition to, Republican, Democratic, Independent, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00517
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
518 
or other political party candidates and political com-
mittees; 
‘‘(3) whether the shareholder believes that such 
disbursements should be made with respect to elec-
tions for Federal, State, or local office; and 
‘‘(4) such other information as the Commission 
may specify, by rule. 
‘‘(c) DISBURSEMENT FOR A POLITICAL PURPOSE DE-
FINED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘disbursement for a political purpose’ 
means any of the following: 
‘‘(A) A disbursement for an independent 
expenditure, as defined in section 301(17) of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30101(17)). 
‘‘(B) A disbursement for an electioneering 
communication, as defined in section 304(f) of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30104(f)). 
‘‘(C) A disbursement for any public com-
munication, as defined in section 301(22) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30101(22))— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00518
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
520 
(D), or with the knowledge that the person will 
use the funds to make such a disbursement. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘disbursement 
for a political purpose’ does not include any of the 
following: 
‘‘(A) Any disbursement made from a sepa-
rate segregated fund of the corporation under 
section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30118). 
‘‘(B) Any transfer of funds to another per-
son which is made in a commercial transaction 
in the ordinary course of any trade or business 
conducted by the corporation or in the form of 
investments made by the corporation. 
‘‘(C) Any transfer of funds to another per-
son which is subject to a written prohibition 
against the use of the funds for a disbursement 
for a political purpose. 
‘‘(d) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this section, each of 
the terms ‘candidate’, ‘election’, ‘political committee’, and 
‘political party’ has the meaning given such term under 
section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
(52 U.S.C. 30101).’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL ELEC-
TION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971 TO PROHIBIT DISBURSE-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00520
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
521 
MENTS BY CORPORATIONS FAILING TO ASSESS PREF-
ERENCES.—Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30118) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) PROHIBITING DISBURSEMENTS BY CORPORA-
TIONS
FAILING
TO
ASSESS
SHAREHOLDER
PREF-
ERENCES.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for a 
corporation to make a disbursement for a political 
purpose unless the corporation has in place proce-
dures to assess the preferences of its shareholders 
with respect to making such disbursements, as pro-
vided in section 10E of the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 
‘disbursement for a political purpose’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 10E(c) of the Securi-
ties Exchange Act of 1934.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to disbursements 
made on or after December 31, 2021. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00521
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
522 
Subtitle H—Disclosure of Political 
Spending by Government Con-
tractors 
SEC. 4701. REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS TO 
REQUIRE DISCLOSURE OF POLITICAL SPEND-
ING BY GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS. 
Section 735 of the Financial Services and General 
Government Appropriations Act, 2021 (division E of Pub-
lic Law 116–lll) is hereby repealed. 
Subtitle I—Limitation and Disclo-
sure Requirements for Presi-
dential Inaugural Committees 
SEC. 4801. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Inau-
gural Committee Oversight Act’’. 
SEC. 4802. LIMITATIONS AND DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN DO-
NATIONS TO, AND DISBURSEMENTS BY, INAU-
GURAL COMMITTEES. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
INAUGURAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), as amended by section 
4431, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 326. INAUGURAL COMMITTEES. 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITED DONATIONS.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00522
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
523 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful— 
‘‘(A) for an Inaugural Committee— 
‘‘(i) to solicit, accept, or receive a do-
nation from a person that is not an indi-
vidual; or 
‘‘(ii) to solicit, accept, or receive a do-
nation from a foreign national; 
‘‘(B) for a person— 
‘‘(i) to make a donation to an Inau-
gural Committee in the name of another 
person, or to knowingly authorize his or 
her name to be used to effect such a dona-
tion; 
‘‘(ii) to knowingly accept a donation 
to an Inaugural Committee made by a per-
son in the name of another person; or 
‘‘(iii) to convert a donation to an In-
augural Committee to personal use as de-
scribed in paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(C) for a foreign national to, directly or 
indirectly, make a donation, or make an express 
or implied promise to make a donation, to an 
Inaugural Committee. 
‘‘(2) CONVERSION OF DONATION TO PERSONAL 
USE.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(iii), a do-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00523
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
524 
nation shall be considered to be converted to per-
sonal use if any part of the donated amount is used 
to fulfill a commitment, obligation, or expense of a 
person that would exist irrespective of the respon-
sibilities of the Inaugural Committee under chapter 
5 of title 36, United States Code. 
‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON DISBURSEMENT OF UN-
USED
FUNDS
TO
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS.— 
Nothing in this subsection may be construed to pro-
hibit an Inaugural Committee from disbursing un-
used funds to an organization which is described in 
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 
501(a) of such Code. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON DONATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for an 
individual to make donations to an Inaugural Com-
mittee which, in the aggregate, exceed $50,000. 
‘‘(2) INDEXING.—At the beginning of each 
Presidential election year (beginning with 2028), the 
amount described in paragraph (1) shall be in-
creased by the cumulative percent difference deter-
mined in section 315(c)(1)(A) since the previous 
Presidential election year. If any amount after such 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00524
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
525 
increase is not a multiple of $1,000, such amount 
shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $1,000. 
‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN DONATIONS AND DIS-
BURSEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) DONATIONS OVER $1,000.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An Inaugural Com-
mittee shall file with the Commission a report 
disclosing any donation by an individual to the 
committee in an amount of $1,000 or more not 
later than 24 hours after the receipt of such do-
nation. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS
OF
REPORT.—A report 
filed under subparagraph (A) shall contain— 
‘‘(i) the amount of the donation; 
‘‘(ii) the date the donation is received; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the name and address of the in-
dividual making the donation. 
‘‘(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than the date 
that is 90 days after the date of the Presidential in-
augural ceremony, the Inaugural Committee shall 
file with the Commission a report containing the fol-
lowing information: 
‘‘(A) For each donation of money or any-
thing of value made to the committee in an ag-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00525
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
526 
gregate amount equal to or greater than 
$200— 
‘‘(i) the amount of the donation; 
‘‘(ii) the date the donation is received; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the name and address of the in-
dividual making the donation. 
‘‘(B) The total amount of all disburse-
ments, and all disbursements in the following 
categories: 
‘‘(i) Disbursements made to meet 
committee operating expenses. 
‘‘(ii) Repayment of all loans. 
‘‘(iii) Donation refunds and other off-
sets to donations. 
‘‘(iv) Any other disbursements. 
‘‘(C) The name and address of each per-
son— 
‘‘(i) to whom a disbursement in an ag-
gregate amount or value in excess of $200 
is made by the committee to meet a com-
mittee operating expense, together with 
date, amount, and purpose of such oper-
ating expense; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00526
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
527 
‘‘(ii) who receives a loan repayment 
from the committee, together with the date 
and amount of such loan repayment; 
‘‘(iii) who receives a donation refund 
or other offset to donations from the com-
mittee, together with the date and amount 
of such disbursement; and 
‘‘(iv) to whom any other disbursement 
in an aggregate amount or value in excess 
of $200 is made by the committee, to-
gether with the date and amount of such 
disbursement. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1)(A) The term ‘donation’ includes— 
‘‘(i) any gift, subscription, loan, ad-
vance, or deposit of money or anything of 
value made by any person to the com-
mittee; or 
‘‘(ii) the payment by any person of 
compensation for the personal services of 
another person which are rendered to the 
committee without charge for any purpose. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘donation’ does not include 
the value of services provided without com-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00527
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
528 
pensation by any individual who volunteers on 
behalf of the committee. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘foreign national’ has the mean-
ing given that term by section 319(b). 
‘‘(3) The term ‘Inaugural Committee’ has the 
meaning given that term by section 501 of title 36, 
United States Code.’’. 
(b) CONFIRMING AMENDMENT RELATED
TO RE-
PORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (h); and 
(2) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 
(h). 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATED TO STATUS 
OF COMMITTEE.—Section 510 of title 36, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 510. Disclosure of and prohibition on certain dona-
tions 
‘‘A committee shall not be considered to be the Inau-
gural Committee for purposes of this chapter unless the 
committee agrees to, and meets, the requirements of sec-
tion 326 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this Act shall apply with respect to Inaugural Committees 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00528
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
529 
established under chapter 5 of title 36, United States 
Code, for inaugurations held in 2025 and any succeeding 
year. 
Subtitle J—Miscellaneous 
Provisions 
SEC. 4901. EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROVISIONS. 
Each provision of this title and each amendment 
made by a provision of this title shall take effect on the 
effective date provided under this title for such provision 
or such amendment without regard to whether or not the 
Federal Election Commission, the Attorney General, or 
any other person has promulgated regulations to carry out 
such provision or such amendment. 
SEC. 4902. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this title or amendment made by 
this title, or the application of a provision or amendment 
to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu-
tional, the remainder of this title and amendments made 
by this title, and the application of the provisions and 
amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 
affected by the holding. 
TITLE V—CAMPAIGN FINANCE 
EMPOWERMENT 
Subtitle A—Findings Relating to Citizens United Decision 
Sec. 5001. Findings relating to Citizens United decision. 
Subtitle B—Congressional Elections 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00529
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6211
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
530 
Sec. 5100. Short title. 
PART 1—MY VOICE VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM 
Sec. 5101. Establishment of pilot program. 
Sec. 5102. Voucher program described. 
Sec. 5103. Reports. 
Sec. 5104. Definitions. 
PART 2—SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION 
CAMPAIGNS 
Sec. 5111. Benefits and eligibility requirements for candidates. 
‘‘TITLE V—SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF CONGRESSIONAL 
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS 
‘‘Subtitle A—Benefits 
‘‘Sec. 501. Benefits for participating candidates. 
‘‘Sec. 502. Procedures for making payments. 
‘‘Sec. 503. Use of funds. 
‘‘Sec. 504. Qualified small dollar contributions described. 
‘‘Subtitle B—Eligibility and Certification 
‘‘Sec. 511. Eligibility. 
‘‘Sec. 512. Qualifying requirements. 
‘‘Sec. 513. Certification. 
‘‘Subtitle C—Requirements for Candidates Certified as Participating 
Candidates 
‘‘Sec. 521. Contribution and expenditure requirements. 
‘‘Sec. 522. Administration of campaign. 
‘‘Sec. 523. Preventing unnecessary spending of public funds. 
‘‘Sec. 524. Remitting unspent funds after election. 
‘‘Subtitle D—Enhanced Match Support 
‘‘Sec. 531. Enhanced support for general election. 
‘‘Sec. 532. Eligibility. 
‘‘Sec. 533. Amount. 
‘‘Sec. 534. Waiver of authority to retain portion of unspent funds after 
election. 
‘‘Subtitle E—Administrative Provisions 
‘‘Sec. 541. Freedom From Influence Fund. 
‘‘Sec. 542. Reviews and reports by Government Accountability Office. 
‘‘Sec. 543. Administration by Commission. 
‘‘Sec. 544. Violations and penalties. 
‘‘Sec. 545. Appeals process. 
‘‘Sec. 546. Indexing of amounts. 
‘‘Sec. 547. Election cycle defined. 
Sec. 5112. Contributions and expenditures by multicandidate and political 
party committees on behalf of participating candidates. 
Sec. 5113. Prohibiting use of contributions by participating candidates for pur-
poses other than campaign for election. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00530
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6211
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
531 
Sec. 5114. Assessments against fines and penalties. 
Sec. 5115. Study and report on small dollar financing program. 
Sec. 5116. Effective date. 
Subtitle C—Presidential Elections 
Sec. 5200. Short title. 
PART 1—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 
Sec. 5201. Increase in and modifications to matching payments. 
Sec. 5202. Eligibility requirements for matching payments. 
Sec. 5203. Repeal of expenditure limitations. 
Sec. 5204. Period of availability of matching payments. 
Sec. 5205. Examination and audits of matchable contributions. 
Sec. 5206. Modification to limitation on contributions for Presidential primary 
candidates. 
Sec. 5207. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments. 
PART 2—GENERAL ELECTIONS 
Sec. 5211. Modification of eligibility requirements for public financing. 
Sec. 5212. Repeal of expenditure limitations and use of qualified campaign con-
tributions. 
Sec. 5213. Matching payments and other modifications to payment amounts. 
Sec. 5214. Increase in limit on coordinated party expenditures. 
Sec. 5215. Establishment of uniform date for release of payments. 
Sec. 5216. Amounts in Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 
Sec. 5217. Use of general election payments for general election legal and ac-
counting compliance. 
Sec. 5218. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments. 
PART 3—EFFECTIVE DATE 
Sec. 5221. Effective date. 
Subtitle D—Personal Use Services as Authorized Campaign Expenditures 
Sec. 5301. Short title; findings; purpose. 
Sec. 5302. Treatment of payments for child care and other personal use serv-
ices as authorized campaign expenditure. 
Subtitle E—Empowering Small Dollar Donations 
Sec. 5401. Permitting political party committees to provide enhanced support 
for candidates through use of separate small dollar accounts. 
Subtitle F—Severability 
Sec. 5501. Severability. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00531
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6211
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
532 
Subtitle A—Findings Relating to 
Citizens United Decision 
SEC. 5001. FINDINGS RELATING TO CITIZENS UNITED DECI-
SION. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The American Republic was founded on the 
principle that all people are created equal, with 
rights and responsibilities as citizens to vote, be rep-
resented, speak, debate, and participate in self-gov-
ernment on equal terms regardless of wealth. To se-
cure these rights and responsibilities, our Constitu-
tion not only protects the equal rights of all Ameri-
cans but also provides checks and balances to pre-
vent corruption and prevent concentrated power and 
wealth from undermining effective self-government. 
(2) The Founders designed the First Amend-
ment to help prevent tyranny by ensuring that the 
people have the tools they need to ensure self-gov-
ernment and to keep their elected leaders responsive 
to the public. The Amendment thus guarantees the 
right of everyone to speak, to petition the govern-
ment for redress, to assemble together, and for a 
free press. If only the wealthiest individuals can par-
ticipate meaningfully in our democracy, then these 
First Amendment principles become an illusion. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00532
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
533 
(3) Campaign finance laws promote these First 
Amendment interests. They increase robust debate 
from diverse voices, enhance the responsiveness of 
elected officeholders, and help prevent corruption. 
They do not censor anyone’s speech but simply en-
sure that no one’s speech is drowned out. The Su-
preme Court has failed to recognize that these laws 
are essential, proactive rules that help guarantee 
true democratic self-government. 
(4) The Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens 
United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 
310 (2010) and McCutcheon v. FEC, 572 U.S. 185 
(2014), as well as other court decisions, erroneously 
invalidated even-handed rules about the spending of 
money in local, State, and Federal elections. These 
rules do not prevent anyone from speaking their 
mind, much less pick winners and losers of political 
debates. Although the Court has upheld other con-
tent-neutral laws like these, it has failed to apply to 
same logic to campaign finance laws. These flawed 
decisions have empowered large corporations, ex-
tremely wealthy individuals, and special interests to 
dominate election spending, corrupt our politics, and 
degrade our democracy through tidal waves of un-
limited and anonymous spending. These decisions 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00533
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
534 
also stand in contrast to a long history of efforts by 
Congress and the States to regulate money in poli-
tics to protect democracy, and they illustrate a trou-
bling deregulatory trend in campaign finance-related 
court decisions. Additionally, an unknown amount of 
foreign money continues to be spent in our political 
system as subsidiaries of foreign-based corporations 
and hostile foreign actors sometimes connected to 
nation-states work to influence our elections. 
(5) The Supreme Court’s misinterpretation of 
the Constitution to empower monied interests at the 
expense of the American people in elections has seri-
ously eroded over 100 years of congressional action 
to promote fairness and protect elections from the 
toxic influence of money. 
(6) In 1907, Congress passed the Tillman Act 
in response to the concentration of corporate power 
in the post-Civil War Gilded Age. The Act prohibited 
corporations from making contributions in connec-
tion with Federal elections, aiming ‘‘not merely to 
prevent the subversion of the integrity of the elec-
toral process [but] * * * to sustain the active, alert 
responsibility of the individual citizen in a democ-
racy for the wise conduct of government’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00534
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
535 
(7) By 1910, Congress began passing disclosure 
requirements and campaign expenditure limits, and 
dozens of States passed corrupt practices Acts to 
prohibit corporate spending in elections. States also 
enacted campaign spending limits, and some States 
limited the amount that people could contribute to 
campaigns. 
(8) In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act prohibited 
corporations and unions from making campaign con-
tributions or other expenditures to influence elec-
tions. In 1962, a Presidential commission on election 
spending recommended spending limits and incen-
tives to increase small contributions from more peo-
ple. 
(9) The Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (FECA), as amended in 1974, required disclo-
sure of contributions and expenditures, imposed con-
tribution and expenditure limits for individuals and 
groups, set spending limits for campaigns, can-
didates, and groups, implemented a public funding 
system for Presidential campaigns, and created the 
Federal Election Commission to oversee and enforce 
the new rules. 
(10) In the wake of Citizens United and other 
damaging Federal court decisions, Americans have 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00535
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
536 
witnessed an explosion of outside spending in elec-
tions. Outside spending increased more than 700 
percent between the 2008 and 2020 Presidential 
election years. Spending by outside groups nearly 
doubled again from 2016 to 2020 with super PACs, 
tax-exempt groups, and others spending more than 
$3,000,000,000. And as political entities adapt to a 
post-Citizens United, post-McCutcheon landscape, 
these trends are getting worse, as evidenced by the 
record-setting 2020 elections which cost more than 
$14,000,000,000 in total. 
(11) Since the landmark Citizens United deci-
sion, 21 States and more than 800 municipalities, 
including large cities like New York, Los Angeles, 
Chicago, and Philadelphia, have gone on record sup-
porting a constitutional amendment. Transcending 
political leanings and geographic location, voters in 
States and municipalities across the country that 
have placed amendment questions on the ballot have 
routinely supported these initiatives by considerably 
large margins. 
(12) The Court has tied the hands of Congress 
and the States, severely restricting them from set-
ting reasonable limits on campaign spending. For 
example, the Court has held that only the Govern-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00536
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
537 
ment’s interest in preventing quid pro quo corrup-
tion, like bribery, or the appearance of such corrup-
tion, can justify limits on campaign contributions. 
More broadly, the Court has severely curtailed at-
tempts to reduce the ability of the Nation’s wealthi-
est and most powerful to skew our democracy in 
their favor by buying outsized influence in our elec-
tions. Because this distortion of the Constitution has 
prevented other critical regulation or reform of the 
way we finance elections in America, a constitutional 
amendment is needed to achieve a democracy for all 
the people. 
(13) The torrent of money flowing into our po-
litical system has a profound effect on the demo-
cratic process for everyday Americans, whose voices 
and policy preferences are increasingly being 
drowned out by those of wealthy special interests. 
The more campaign cash from wealthy special inter-
ests can flood our elections, the more policies that 
favor those interests are reflected in the national po-
litical agenda. When it comes to policy preferences, 
our Nation’s wealthiest tend to have fundamentally 
different views than do average Americans when it 
comes to issues ranging from unemployment benefits 
to the minimum wage to health care coverage. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00537
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
538 
(14) At the same time millions of Americans 
have signed petitions, marched, called their Members 
of Congress, written letters to the editor, and other-
wise demonstrated their public support for a con-
stitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United 
that will allow Congress to reign in the outsized in-
fluence of unchecked money in politics. Dozens of 
organizations, representing tens of millions of indi-
viduals, have come together in a shared strategy of 
supporting such an amendment. 
(15) In order to protect the integrity of democ-
racy and the electoral process and to ensure political 
equality for all, the Constitution should be amended 
so that Congress and the States may regulate and 
set limits on the raising and spending of money to 
influence elections and may distinguish between nat-
ural persons and artificial entities, like corporations, 
that are created by law, including by prohibiting 
such artificial entities from spending money to influ-
ence elections. 
Subtitle B—Congressional 
Elections 
SEC. 5100. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Government By 
the People Act of 2021’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00538
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
539 
PART 1—MY VOICE VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM 
SEC. 5101. ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Federal Election Com-
mission (hereafter in this part referred to as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’) shall establish a pilot program under which the 
Commission shall select 3 eligible States to operate a 
voucher pilot program which is described in section 5102 
during the program operation period. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES.—A State is eligible to 
be selected to operate a voucher pilot program under this 
part if, not later than 180 days after the beginning of the 
program application period, the State submits to the Com-
mission an application containing— 
(1) information and assurances that the State 
will operate a voucher program which contains the 
elements described in section 5102(a); 
(2) information and assurances that the State 
will establish fraud prevention mechanisms described 
in section 5102(b); 
(3) information and assurances that the State 
will establish a commission to oversee and implement 
the program as described in section 5102(c); 
(4) information and assurances that the State 
will carry out a public information campaign as de-
scribed in section 5102(d); 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00539
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
540 
(5) information and assurances that the State 
will submit reports as required under section 5103; 
and 
(6) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require. 
(c) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING STATES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the beginning of the program application period, the 
Commission shall select the 3 States which will oper-
ate voucher pilot programs under this part. 
(2) CRITERIA.—In selecting States for the oper-
ation of the voucher pilot programs under this part, 
the Commission shall apply such criteria and metrics 
as the Commission considers appropriate to deter-
mine the ability of a State to operate the program 
successfully, and shall attempt to select States in a 
variety of geographic regions and with a variety of 
political party preferences. 
(3) NO SUPERMAJORITY REQUIRED FOR SELEC-
TION.—The selection of States by the Commission 
under this subsection shall require the approval of 
only half of the Members of the Commission. 
(d) DUTIES OF STATES DURING PROGRAM PREPARA-
TION PERIOD.—During the program preparation period, 
each State selected to operate a voucher pilot program 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00540
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
541 
under this part shall take such actions as may be nec-
essary to ensure that the State will be ready to operate 
the program during the program operation period, and 
shall complete such actions not later than 90 days before 
the beginning of the program operation period. 
(e) TERMINATION.—Each voucher pilot program 
under this part shall terminate as of the first day after 
the program operation period. 
(f) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.— 
(1) REIMBURSEMENT.—Upon receiving the re-
port submitted by a State under section 5103(a) 
with respect to an election cycle, the Commission 
shall transmit a payment to the State in an amount 
equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the State 
in operating the voucher pilot program under this 
part during the cycle. 
(2) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Payments to States 
under the program shall be made using amounts in 
the Freedom From Influence Fund under section 
541 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
(as added by section 5111), hereafter referred to as 
the ‘‘Fund’’. 
(3) MANDATORY REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS IN 
CASE
OF
INSUFFICIENT
AMOUNTS
IN
FREEDOM 
FROM INFLUENCE FUND.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00541
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
542 
(A) ADVANCE AUDITS BY COMMISSION.— 
Not later than 90 days before the first day of 
each program operation period, the Commission 
shall— 
(i) audit the Fund to determine 
whether, after first making payments to 
participating candidates under title V of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (as added by section 5111), the 
amounts remaining in the Fund will be 
sufficient to make payments to States 
under this part in the amounts provided 
under this subsection; and 
(ii) submit a report to Congress de-
scribing the results of the audit. 
(B) REDUCTIONS
IN
AMOUNT
OF
PAY-
MENTS.— 
(i) AUTOMATIC
REDUCTION
ON
PRO 
RATA BASIS.—If, on the basis of the audit 
described in subparagraph (A), the Com-
mission determines that the amount antici-
pated to be available in the Fund with re-
spect to an election cycle involved is not, or 
may not be, sufficient to make payments to 
States under this part in the full amount 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00542
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
543 
provided under this subsection, the Com-
mission shall reduce each amount which 
would otherwise be paid to a State under 
this subsection by such pro rata amount as 
may be necessary to ensure that the aggre-
gate amount of payments anticipated to be 
made with respect to the cycle will not ex-
ceed the amount anticipated to be available 
for such payments in the Fund with re-
spect to such cycle. 
(ii) RESTORATION OF REDUCTIONS IN 
CASE
OF
AVAILABILITY
OF
SUFFICIENT 
FUNDS
DURING
ELECTION
CYCLE.—If, 
after reducing the amounts paid to States 
with respect to an election cycle under 
clause (i), the Commission determines that 
there are sufficient amounts in the Fund 
to restore the amount by which such pay-
ments were reduced (or any portion there-
of), to the extent that such amounts are 
available, the Commission may make a 
payment on a pro rata basis to each such 
State with respect to the cycle in the 
amount by which such State’s payments 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00543
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
544 
were reduced under clause (i) (or any por-
tion thereof, as the case may be). 
(iii) NO
USE
OF
AMOUNTS
FROM 
OTHER SOURCES.—In any case in which 
the Commission determines that there are 
insufficient moneys in the Fund to make 
payments to States under this part, mon-
eys shall not be made available from any 
other source for the purpose of making 
such payments. 
(4) CAP ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The aggre-
gate amount of payments made to any State with re-
spect to any program operation period may not ex-
ceed $10,000,000. If the State determines that the 
maximum payment amount under this paragraph 
with respect to the program operation period in-
volved is not, or may not be, sufficient to cover the 
reasonable costs incurred by the State in operating 
the program under this part for such period, the 
State shall reduce the amount of the voucher pro-
vided to each qualified individual by such pro rata 
amount as may be necessary to ensure that the rea-
sonable costs incurred by the State in operating the 
program will not exceed the amount paid to the 
State with respect to such period. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00544
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
545 
SEC. 5102. VOUCHER PROGRAM DESCRIBED. 
(a) GENERAL ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.— 
(1) ELEMENTS DESCRIBED.—The elements of a 
voucher pilot program operated by a State under 
this part are as follows: 
(A) The State shall provide each qualified 
individual upon the individual’s request with a 
voucher worth $25 to be known as a ‘‘My Voice 
Voucher’’ during the election cycle which will be 
assigned a routing number and which at the op-
tion of the individual will be provided in either 
paper or electronic form. 
(B) Using the routing number assigned to 
the My Voice Voucher, the individual may sub-
mit the My Voice Voucher in either electronic 
or paper form to qualified candidates for elec-
tion for the office of Representative in, or Dele-
gate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress 
and allocate such portion of the value of the My 
Voice Voucher in increments of $5 as the indi-
vidual may select to any such candidate. 
(C) If the candidate transmits the My 
Voice Voucher to the Commission, the Commis-
sion shall pay the candidate the portion of the 
value of the My Voice Voucher that the indi-
vidual allocated to the candidate, which shall be 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00545
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
546 
considered a contribution by the individual to 
the candidate for purposes of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971. 
(2) DESIGNATION
OF
QUALIFIED
INDIVID-
UALS.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), a ‘‘quali-
fied individual’’ with respect to a State means an in-
dividual— 
(A) who is a resident of the State; 
(B) who will be of voting age as of the 
date of the election for the candidate to whom 
the individual submits a My Voice Voucher; and 
(C) who is not prohibited under Federal 
law from making contributions to candidates 
for election for Federal office. 
(3) TREATMENT
AS
CONTRIBUTION
TO
CAN-
DIDATE.—For purposes of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971, the submission of a My 
Voice Voucher to a candidate by an individual shall 
be treated as a contribution to the candidate by the 
individual in the amount of the portion of the value 
of the Voucher that the individual allocated to the 
candidate. 
(b) FRAUD PREVENTION MECHANISM.—In addition 
to the elements described in subsection (a), a State oper-
ating a voucher pilot program under this part shall permit 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00546
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
547 
an individual to revoke a My Voice Voucher not later than 
2 days after submitting the My Voice Voucher to a can-
didate. 
(c) OVERSIGHT COMMISSION.—In addition to the ele-
ments described in subsection (a), a State operating a 
voucher pilot program under this part shall establish a 
commission or designate an existing entity to oversee and 
implement the program in the State, except that no such 
commission or entity may be comprised of elected officials. 
(d) PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN.—In addition 
to the elements described in subsection (a), a State oper-
ating a voucher pilot program under this part shall carry 
out a public information campaign to disseminate aware-
ness of the program among qualified individuals. 
SEC. 5103. REPORTS. 
(a) PRELIMINARY
REPORT.—Not later than 6 
months after the first election cycle of the program oper-
ation period, a State which operates a voucher pilot pro-
gram under this part shall submit a report to the Commis-
sion analyzing the operation and effectiveness of the pro-
gram during the cycle and including such other informa-
tion as the Commission may require. 
(b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 
the end of the program operation period, the State shall 
submit a final report to the Commission analyzing the op-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00547
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
548 
eration and effectiveness of the program and including 
such other information as the Commission may require. 
(c) REPORT BY COMMISSION.—Not later than the 
end of the first election cycle which begins after the pro-
gram operation period, the Commission shall submit a re-
port to Congress which summarizes and analyzes the re-
sults of the voucher pilot program, and shall include in 
the report such recommendations as the Commission con-
siders appropriate regarding the expansion of the pilot 
program to all States and territories, along with such 
other recommendations and other information as the Com-
mission considers appropriate. 
SEC. 5104. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) ELECTION CYCLE.—In this part, the term ‘‘elec-
tion cycle’’ means the period beginning on the day after 
the date of the most recent regularly scheduled general 
election for Federal office and ending on the date of the 
next regularly scheduled general election for Federal of-
fice. 
(b) DEFINITIONS RELATING TO PERIODS.—In this 
part, the following definitions apply: 
(1) PROGRAM APPLICATION PERIOD.—The term 
‘‘program application period’’ means the first elec-
tion cycle which begins after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00548
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
549 
(2) PROGRAM
PREPARATION
PERIOD.—The 
term ‘‘program preparation period’’ means the first 
election cycle which begins after the program appli-
cation period. 
(3) PROGRAM OPERATION PERIOD.—The term 
‘‘program operation period’’ means the first 2 elec-
tion cycles which begin after the program prepara-
tion period. 
PART 2—SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF 
CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS 
SEC. 5111. BENEFITS AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 
FOR CANDIDATES. 
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘TITLE V—SMALL DOLLAR FI-
NANCING 
OF 
CONGRES-
SIONAL 
ELECTION 
CAM-
PAIGNS 
‘‘Subtitle A—Benefits 
‘‘SEC. 501. BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a candidate for election to the 
office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-
missioner to, the Congress is certified as a participating 
candidate under this title with respect to an election for 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00549
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
550 
such office, the candidate shall be entitled to payments 
as provided under this title. 
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a pay-
ment made under this title shall be equal to 600 percent 
of the amount of qualified small dollar contributions re-
ceived by the candidate since the most recent payment 
made to the candidate under this title during the election 
cycle, without regard to whether or not the candidate re-
ceived any of the contributions before, during, or after the 
Small Dollar Democracy qualifying period applicable to 
the candidate under section 511(c). 
‘‘(c) LIMIT
ON
AGGREGATE
AMOUNT
OF
PAY-
MENTS.—The aggregate amount of payments made to a 
participating candidate with respect to an election cycle 
under this title may not exceed 50 percent of the average 
of the 20 greatest amounts of disbursements made by the 
authorized committees of any winning candidate for the 
office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-
missioner to, the Congress during the most recent election 
cycle, rounded to the nearest $100,000. 
‘‘SEC. 502. PROCEDURES FOR MAKING PAYMENTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make a 
payment under section 501 to a candidate who is certified 
as a participating candidate upon receipt from the can-
didate of a request for a payment which includes— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00550
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
551 
‘‘(1) a statement of the number and amount of 
qualified small dollar contributions received by the 
candidate since the most recent payment made to 
the candidate under this title during the election 
cycle; 
‘‘(2) a statement of the amount of the payment 
the candidate anticipates receiving with respect to 
the request; 
‘‘(3) a statement of the total amount of pay-
ments the candidate has received under this title as 
of the date of the statement; and 
‘‘(4) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require. 
‘‘(b) RESTRICTIONS
ON
SUBMISSION
OF
RE-
QUESTS.—A candidate may not submit a request under 
subsection (a) unless each of the following applies: 
‘‘(1) The amount of the qualified small dollar 
contributions in the statement referred to in sub-
section (a)(1) is equal to or greater than $5,000, un-
less the request is submitted during the 30-day pe-
riod which ends on the date of a general election. 
‘‘(2) The candidate did not receive a payment 
under this title during the 7-day period which ends 
on the date the candidate submits the request. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00551
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
552 
‘‘(c) TIME OF PAYMENT.—The Commission shall, in 
coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, take such 
steps as may be necessary to ensure that the Secretary 
is able to make payments under this section from the 
Treasury not later than 2 business days after the receipt 
of a request submitted under subsection (a). 
‘‘SEC. 503. USE OF FUNDS. 
‘‘(a) USE OF FUNDS FOR AUTHORIZED CAMPAIGN 
EXPENDITURES.—A candidate shall use payments made 
under this title, including payments provided with respect 
to a previous election cycle which are withheld from remit-
tance to the Commission in accordance with section 
524(a)(2), only for making direct payments for the receipt 
of goods and services which constitute authorized expendi-
tures (as determined in accordance with title III) in con-
nection with the election cycle involved. 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITING USE OF FUNDS FOR LEGAL EX-
PENSES, FINES, OR PENALTIES.—Notwithstanding title 
III, a candidate may not use payments made under this 
title for the payment of expenses incurred in connection 
with any action, claim, or other matter before the Commis-
sion or before any court, hearing officer, arbitrator, or 
other dispute resolution entity, or for the payment of any 
fine or civil monetary penalty. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00552
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
553 
‘‘SEC. 504. QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CONTRIBUTIONS DE-
SCRIBED. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this title, the term ‘qualified 
small dollar contribution’ means, with respect to a can-
didate and the authorized committees of a candidate, a 
contribution that meets the following requirements: 
‘‘(1) The contribution is in an amount that is— 
‘‘(A) not less than $1; and 
‘‘(B) not more than $200. 
‘‘(2)(A) The contribution is made directly by an 
individual to the candidate or an authorized com-
mittee of the candidate and is not— 
‘‘(i) forwarded from the individual making 
the contribution to the candidate or committee 
by another person; or 
‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com-
mittee with the knowledge that the contribution 
was made at the request, suggestion, or rec-
ommendation of another person. 
‘‘(B) In this paragraph— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘person’ does not include an 
individual (other than an individual described in 
section 304(i)(7) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971), a political committee of a 
political party, or any political committee which 
is not a separate segregated fund described in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00553
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
554 
section 316(b) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 and which does not make 
contributions or independent expenditures, does 
not engage in lobbying activity under the Lob-
bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et 
seq.), and is not established by, controlled by, 
or affiliated with a registered lobbyist under 
such Act, an agent of a registered lobbyist 
under such Act, or an organization which re-
tains or employs a registered lobbyist under 
such Act; and 
‘‘(ii) a contribution is not ‘made at the re-
quest, suggestion, or recommendation of an-
other person’ solely on the grounds that the 
contribution is made in response to information 
provided to the individual making the contribu-
tion by any person, so long as the candidate or 
authorized committee does not know the iden-
tity of the person who provided the information 
to such individual. 
‘‘(3) The individual who makes the contribution 
does not make contributions to the candidate or the 
authorized committees of the candidate with respect 
to the election involved in an aggregate amount that 
exceeds the amount described in paragraph (1)(B), 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00554
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
555 
or any contribution to the candidate or the author-
ized committees of the candidate with respect to the 
election involved that otherwise is not a qualified 
small dollar contribution. 
‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF MY VOICE VOUCHERS.—Any 
payment received by a candidate and the authorized com-
mittees of a candidate which consists of a My Voice 
Voucher under the Government By the People Act of 2021 
shall be considered a qualified small dollar contribution 
for purposes of this title, so long as the individual making 
the payment meets the requirements of paragraphs (2) 
and (3) of subsection (a). 
‘‘(c) RESTRICTION
ON
SUBSEQUENT
CONTRIBU-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITING DONOR FROM MAKING SUB-
SEQUENT
NONQUALIFIED
CONTRIBUTIONS
DURING 
ELECTION CYCLE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An individual who 
makes a qualified small dollar contribution to a 
candidate or the authorized committees of a 
candidate with respect to an election may not 
make any subsequent contribution to such can-
didate or the authorized committees of such 
candidate with respect to the election cycle 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
18:47 Jan 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00555
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1.IH
H1
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS