I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2312
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reform House
of Representatives campaign finance laws, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 27, 1993
Mr. GOSS introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Com-
mittees on House Administration, Post Office and Civil Service, Energy
and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to
reform House of Representatives campaign finance laws,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION LIMI-
TATION ON CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PERSONS
OTHER THAN LOCAL INDIVIDUAL RESIDENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(i)(1) A candidate for the office of Representative
in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress
may not, with respect to a reporting period for an election,
accept contributions—
(A) from persons other than individual resi-
dents of the congressional district involved in excess
of 40 percent of the total of contributions accepted;
or
(B) from persons other than individual resi-
dents of the State in which the congressional district
involved is located in excess of 10 percent of the
total of contributions accepted.’’.
SEC. 2. REDUCTION IN LIMITATION AMOUNT APPLICABLE
TO CONTRIBUTIONS BY A MULTICANDIDATE
POLITICAL COMMITTEE TO A HOUSE OF REP-
RESENTATIVES CANDIDATE.
Section 315(a)(2)(A) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(2)(A)) is amended
by inserting after ‘‘$5,000’’ the following: ‘‘, except that
in the case of an election for the office of Representative
in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con-
gress, the limitation shall be $1,000.’’.
SEC. 3. BAN ON SOFT MONEY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended
by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘LIMITATIONS AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR
AMOUNTS PAID FOR MIXED POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
‘‘SEC. 323. (a) Any payment by the national commit-
tee of a political party or a State committee of a political
party for a mixed political activity—
‘‘(1) shall be subject to limitation and reporting
under this Act as if such payment were an expendi-
ture; and
‘‘(2) may be paid only from an account that is
subject to the requirements of this Act.
‘‘(b) As used in this section, the term ‘mixed political
activity’ means, with respect to a payment by the national
committee of a political party or a State committee of a
political party, an activity, such as a voter registration
program, a get-out-the-vote drive, or general political ad-
vertising, that is both (1) for the purpose of influencing
an election for Federal office, and (2) for any purpose un-
related to influencing an election for Federal office.’’.
(b) REPEAL OF BUILDING FUND EXCEPTION TO THE
DEFINITION OF THE TERM ‘‘CONTRIBUTION’’.—Section
301(8)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
(2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)) is amended—
(1) by striking out clause (viii); and
(2) by redesignating clauses (ix) through (xiv)
as clauses (viii) through (xiii), respectively.
SEC. 4. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OFFICIAL MAIL AL-
LOWANCE FORMULA REDUCTION.
Section 311(e)(2)(B)(i) of the Legislative Branch Ap-
propriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 59e(e)(2)(B)(i)) is
amended by striking out ‘‘3’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘1.5’’.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF MAILING OF NEWSLETTERS
UNDER THE CONGRESSIONAL FRANK.
(a) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—Section 3210(a) of title
39, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
‘‘(8) It is the intent of Congress that a Member of
or Member-elect to Congress (other than a Senator or a
Senator-elect) may not mail a congressional newsletter as
franked mail.’’.
(b) EXCLUSION FROM LIST OF FRANKABLE MAIL.—
Section 3210(a)(3) of title 39, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ‘‘subject
to paragraph (8),’’ before ‘‘the usual and cus-
tomary’’; and
(2) in subparagraphs (I) and (J) by striking
out ‘‘newsletter or other’’.
(c) EXCLUSION RELATING TO MASS MAILINGS.—
Section 3210(a)(6)(E) of title 39, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in clause (ii) by striking out ‘‘or’’ after the
semicolon;
(2) in clause (iii) by striking out the period and
inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding after clause (iii) the following
new clause:
‘‘(iv) of congressional newsletters, to the extent
intended by Congress to be nonmailable as franked
mail under subsection (a)(8).’’.
(d) EXCLUSION RELATING TO PERMISSIBLE FORMS
OF FRANKED MAIL.—Section 3210(c) of title 39, United
States Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘subsection (a)(4)
and (5) of this section.’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘paragraph (4), (5), or (8) of subsection (a).’’.
SEC. 6. LENGTHENED NONMAILING PERIOD FOR MASS
MAILING BY MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES.
Section 3210(a)(6)(A) of title 39, United States
Code, is amended—
(1) in clause (i), by inserting after ‘‘60 days’’
the following: (180 days in the case of a Member of,
or Member-elect to, the House of Representatives)’’;
and
(2) in clause (ii)(II), by striking out ‘‘60 days’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘180 days’’.
SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.
Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 315) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)(1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘forty-five’’ and inserting
‘‘30’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘sixty’’ and inserting ‘‘45’’;
and
(C) by striking ‘‘lowest unit charge of the
station for the same class and amount of time
for the same period’’ and insert ‘‘lowest charge
of the station for the same amount of time for
the same period’’;
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as
subsections (d) and (e), respectively;
(3) by inserting immediately after subsection
(b) the following new subsection:
‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a li-
censee shall not preempt the use, during any period speci-
fied in subsection (b)(1), of a broadcasting station by a
legally qualified candidate for public office who has pur-
chased and paid for such use pursuant to the provisions
of subsection (b)(1).
‘‘(2) If a program to be broadcast by a broadcasting
station is preempted because of circumstances beyond the
control of the broadcasting station, any candidate adver-
tising spot scheduled to be broadcast during that program
may also be preempted.’’; and
(4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para-
graph (2) of this section)—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (1);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by adding at the end thereof the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(3) a station’s lowest charge for purposes of
paragraph (1)—
‘‘(A) with respect to a primary or primary
runoff election, is determined for the interval
beginning 60 days before such election and end-
ing on the date of that election; and
‘‘(B) with respect to a general or special
election, is determined for the interval begin-
ning 90 days before such election and ending on
the date of that election.’’.
SEC. 8. DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR LOBBYING EXPENSES.
(a) DISALLOWANCE OF DEDUCTION.—Section 162(e)
(relating to appearances, etc., with respect to legislation)
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(e) DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR CERTAIN LOBBY-
ING AND POLITICAL EXPENDITURES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No deduction shall be al-
lowed under subsection (a) for any amount paid or
incurred—
‘‘(A) in connection with influencing legisla-
tion,
‘‘(B) for participation in, or intervention
in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in
opposition to) any candidate for public office, or
‘‘(C) in connection with any attempt to in-
fluence the general public, or segments thereof,
with respect to elections.
‘‘(2) APPLICATION TO DUES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No deduction shall be
allowed under subsection (a) for the portion of
dues or other similar amounts (paid by the tax-
payer with respect to an organization) which is
allocable to the expenditures described in para-
graph (1).
‘‘(B) ALLOCATION.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of
subparagraph (A), expenditures described
in paragraph (1) shall be treated as paid
out of dues or other similar amounts.
‘‘(ii) CARRYOVER
OF
LOBBYING
EX-
PENDITURES
IN
EXCESS
OF
DUES.—For
purposes of this paragraph, if expenditures
described in paragraph (1) exceed the dues
or other similar amounts for any calendar
year, such excess shall be treated as ex-
penditures described in paragraph (1)
which are paid or incurred by the organi-
zation during the following calendar year.
‘‘(3) INFLUENCING
LEGISLATION.—For pur-
poses of this subsection—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘influencing
legislation’ means—
‘‘(i) any attempt to influence the gen-
eral public, or segments thereof, with re-
spect to legislation, and
‘‘(ii) any attempt to influence any leg-
islation through communication with any
‘‘(5) CROSS REFERENCE.—
‘‘For reporting requirements related to this sub-
section, see section 6050O.’’
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part III of
subchapter A of chapter 61 (relating to information
concerning transactions with other persons) is
amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 6050O. RETURNS RELATING TO LOBBYING EXPENDI-
TURES OF CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF REPORTING.—Each organi-
zation referred to in section 162(e)(2) shall make a return,
according to the forms or regulations prescribed by the
Secretary, setting forth the names and addresses of per-
sons paying dues to the organization, the amount of the
dues paid by such person, and the portion of such dues
which is nondeductible under section 162(e)(2).
‘‘(b) STATEMENTS TO BE FURNISHED TO PERSONS
WITH
RESPECT
TO
WHOM
INFORMATION
IS
FUR-
NISHED.—Any organization required to make a return
under subsection (a) shall furnish to each person whose
name is required to be set forth in such return a written
statement showing—
‘‘(1) the name and address of the organization,
and
‘‘(2) the dues paid by the person during the cal-
endar year and the portion of such dues which is
nondeductible under section 162(e)(2).
The written statement required under the preceding sen-
tence shall be furnished (either in person or in a statement
mailing by first-class mail which includes adequate notice
that the statement is enclosed) to the persons on or before
January 31 of the year following the calendar year for
which the return under subsection (a) was made and shall
be in such form as the Secretary may prescribe by regula-
tions.
‘‘(c) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the report-
ing requirements of this section with respect to any orga-
nization or class of organizations if the Secretary deter-
mines that such reporting is not necessary to carry out
the purposes of section 162(e).
‘‘(d) DUES.—For purposes of this section, the term
‘dues’ includes other similar amounts.’’
(2) PENALTIES.—
(A) RETURNS.—Subparagraph (A) of sec-
tion 6724(d)(1) (defining information return) is
amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause
(xi), by striking the period at the end of the
clause (xii) relating to section 4101(d) and in-
serting a comma, by redesignating the clause
(xii) relating to section 338(h)(10) as clause
(xiii), by striking the period at the end of clause
(xiii) (as so redesignated) and inserting ‘‘, or’’,
and by adding at the end the following new
clause:
‘‘(xiv) section 6050O(a) (relating to
information on nondeductible lobbying ex-
penditures).’’
(B) PAYEE STATEMENTS.—Paragraph (2)
of section 6724(d) (defining payee statement) is
amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (R), by striking the period at the
end of subparagraph (S) and inserting ‘‘, or’’,
and by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(T) section 6050O(b) (relating to returns
on nondeductible lobbying expenditures).’’
(C) EXCESSIVE
UNDERREPORTING.—Sec-
tion 6721 (relating to failure to file correct in-
formation returns) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
‘‘(f) 
PENALTY
IN
CASE
OF
EXCESSIVE
UNDERREPORTING ON NONDEDUCTIBLE DUES.—If the
aggregate amount of nondeductible dues which is reported
on the return required to be filed under section 6050O(a)
for any calendar year is less than 75 percent of the aggre-
gate amount required to be so reported—
‘‘(1) subsections (b), (c), and (d) shall not
apply, and
‘‘(2) the penalty imposed under subsection (a)
shall be equal to the product of—
‘‘(A) the amount required to be reported
which was not so reported, and
‘‘(B) the highest rate of tax imposed by
section 11 for taxable years beginning in such
calendar year.’’
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of
sections for subpart B of part III of subchapter A
of chapter 61 is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
‘‘Sec. 6050O. Returns relating to lobbying expenditures of certain
organizations.’’
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after
December 31, 1993.
SEC. 9. PROHIBITION OF TRAVEL BY MEMBERS, OFFICERS,
AND EMPLOYEES OF THE HOUSE OF REP-
RESENTATIVES AT LOBBYIST EXPENSE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A Member, officer, or employee
of the House of Representatives may not perform any
travel at the expense of a person who is required to reg-
ister under section 308 of the Federal Regulation of Lob-
bying Act (2 U.S.C. 267).
(b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
‘‘Member of the House of Representatives’’ means a Rep-
resentative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner
to, the Congress.
SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO LIMITATION
OF TERMS OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SEN-
ATORS.
It is the sense of Congress that the Constitution
should be amended so that no person may serve more than
4 consecutive terms as Representative or two consecutive
terms as Senator.
SEC. 11. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO APPLICATION
OF GENERALLY APPLICABLE LAWS TO THE
CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that Congress is not ex-
empt from the laws that it enacts and should govern itself
according to the laws that apply to the private sector and
the other branches of the Federal Government.
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