‘‘(C) Notwithstanding paragraph (5), the time at
which a notification or report under this paragraph is re-
ceived by the Secretary, the Commission, or any other re-
cipient to whom the notification is required to be sent shall
be considered the time of filing of the notification or report
with the recipient.’’.
(B) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
304(a)(5) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(5)) is
amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)(A)(i) or
(4)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2)(A)(i),
(4)(A)(ii), or (6))’’.
(b) REQUIRING RECEIPT OF INDEPENDENT EXPEND-
ITURE REPORTS WITHIN 24 HOURS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 304(c)(2) of such
Act (2 U.S.C. 434(c)(2)) is amended in the matter
following subparagraph (C)—
(A) by striking ‘‘shall be reported’’ and in-
serting ‘‘shall be filed’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ‘‘Notwithstanding subsection (a)(5),
the time at which the statement under this sub-
section is received by the Secretary, the Com-
mission, or any other recipient to whom the no-
tification is required to be sent shall be consid-
ered the time of filing of the statement with the
recipient.’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
304(a)(5) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(5)), as
amended by subsection (a)(2)(B), is further amend-
ed by striking ‘‘or (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (6), or
subsection (c)(2)’’.
(c) REQUIRING RECORD KEEPING AND REPORT OF
SECONDARY PAYMENTS BY CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES.—
(1) REPORTING.—Section 304(b)(5)(A) of such
Act (2 U.S.C. 434(b)(5)(A)) is amended by striking
the semicolon at the end and inserting the following:
‘‘, and, if such person in turn makes expenditures
which aggregate $500 or more in an election cycle
to other persons (not including employees) who pro-
vide goods or services to the candidate or the can-
didate’s authorized committees, the name and ad-
dress of such other persons, together with the date,
amount, and purpose of such expenditures;’’.
(2) RECORD
KEEPING.—Section 302 of such
Act (2 U.S.C. 432) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
‘‘(j) A person described in section 304(b)(5)(A) who
makes expenditures which aggregate $500 or more in an
election cycle to other persons (not including employees)
who provide goods or services to a candidate or a can-
didate’s authorized committees shall provide to a political
committee the information necessary to enable the com-
mittee to report the information described in such sec-
tion.’’.
(3) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REPORTS.—Nothing
in the amendments made by this subsection may be
construed to affect the terms of any other record-
keeping or reporting requirements applicable to can-
didates or political committees under title III of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
(d) INCLUDING REPORT ON CUMULATIVE CONTRIBU-
TIONS
AND EXPENDITURES
IN POST ELECTION RE-
PORTS.—Section 304(a)(7) of such Act (2 U.S.C.
434(a)(7)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘(7)(A)’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(B) In the case of any report required to be filed
by this subsection which is the first report required to be
filed after the date of an election, the report shall include
a statement of the total contributions received and expend-
itures made as of the date of the election.’’.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply with respect to elections occurring
after January 1999.
SEC. 106. WAIVER OF ‘‘BEST EFFORTS’’ EXCEPTION FOR IN-
FORMATION ON IDENTIFICATION OF CON-
TRIBUTORS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302(i) of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(i)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(i) When the treasurer’’ and
inserting ‘‘(i)(1) Except as provided in paragraph
(2), when the treasurer’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to
information regarding the identification of any person who
makes a contribution or contributions aggregating more
than $200 during a calendar year (as required to be pro-
vided under subsection (c)(3)).’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to persons making
contributions for elections occurring after January 1999.
SEC. 107. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN NON-FEDERAL FINAN-
CIAL ACTIVITIES OF NATIONAL POLITICAL
PARTIES.
Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 101(a),
section 102(a), section 103(a), and section 104(b)(1), is
further amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub-
section (h); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (f) the follow-
ing new subsection:
‘‘(g)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
title, any person who provides any funds to a political com-
mittee of a national political party in an aggregate amount
of not less than $250,000 during a calendar year shall
file a statement with the Commission in accordance with
subsection (a)(2) and shall include in the statement all
information which would be required to be provided under
this section if the entire amount provided were treated as
a contribution for purposes of the limitations, prohibitions,
and reporting requirements of this title.
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title,
each political committee of a national political party shall
include in the statements filed with the Commission under
this section information on all disbursements made by the
committee in an aggregate amount of not less than
$250,000 during a calendar year, without regard to
whether any portion of the disbursements are otherwise
treated as expenditures for purposes of the limitations,
prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this title.’’.
TITLE II—ENCOURAGING
PARTICIPATION IN CAMPAIGNS
SEC. 201. INDEXING LIMITS ON CONTRIBUTIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(c) of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(c)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(3)(A) The amount of each limitation established
under subsection (a) shall be adjusted as follows:
‘‘(i) For calendar year 1999, each such amount
shall be equal to the amount described in such sub-
section, increased (in a compounded manner) by the
percentage increase in the price index (as defined in
subsection (c)(2)) for each year after 1976 and be-
fore 1999.
‘‘(ii) For calendar year 2001 and each second
subsequent year, each such amount shall be equal to
the amount for the second previous year (as ad-
justed under this subparagraph), increased (in a
compounded manner) by the percentage increase in
the price index for the previous year and the second
previous year.
‘‘(B) In the case of any amount adjusted under this
subparagraph which is not a multiple of $500, the amount
shall be rounded to the nearest highest multiple of $500.’’.
(b) APPLICATION
OF INDEXING
TO SUPPORT
OF
CANDIDATE’S
COMMITTEES.—Section 302(e)(3)(B) of
such Act (2 U.S.C. 432(e)(3)(B)) is amended by adding
at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The amount de-
scribed in the previous sentence shall be adjusted (for
years beginning with 1999) in the same manner as the
amounts of limitations on contributions under section
315(a) are adjusted under section 315(c)(3).’’.
SEC. 202. PERMITTING CORPORATE MEMBERS OF TRADE
ASSOCIATION TO APPROVE SOLICITATIONS
BY MORE THAN ONE TRADE ASSOCIATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 316(b)(4)(D) of the Fed-
eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.
441b(b)(4)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘, and such mem-
ber corporation’’ and all that follows and inserting a pe-
riod.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections occur-
ring after January 1999.
SEC. 203. TAX CREDITS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS BY INDIVID-
UALS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is
amended by inserting after section 23 the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 24. POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—In the case of an individual,
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed
by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to
one-half of all political contributions payment of which is
made by the taxpayer within the taxable year.
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF CREDIT.—The credit allowed
by subsection (a) for a taxable year shall not exceed
$200 ($400 in the case of a joint return).
‘‘(2) VERIFICATION.—The credit allowed by
subsection (a) shall be allowed, with respect to any
political contribution, only if such contribution is
verified in such manner as the Secretary shall pre-
scribe by regulations.
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) FEDERAL
CANDIDATE.—The term ‘Fed-
eral candidate’ means, with respect to any Federal
elective public office, an individual who—
‘‘(A) publicly announces before the close of
the calendar year following the calendar year in
which the contribution or gift is made that he
is a candidate for nomination or election to
such office, and
‘‘(B) meets the qualifications prescribed by
law to hold such office.
‘‘(2) POLITICAL
CONTRIBUTION.—The term
‘political contribution’ means a contribution or gift
of money to—
‘‘(A) an individual who is a Federal can-
didate for use by such individual to further the
candidacy of such individual for nomination or
election to such office,
‘‘(B) any committee, association, or organi-
zation (whether or not incorporated) organized
and operated exclusively for the purposes of in-
fluencing, or attempting to influence, the nomi-
nation or election of one or more individuals
who are Federal candidates, for use by such
committee, association, or organization to fur-
ther the candidacy of such individual or individ-
uals for nomination or election to such office, or
‘‘(C) the national committee of a national
political party, the State committee of such a
party (as designated by such national commit-
tee), or a local committee of such a party (as
designated by such State committee).
‘‘(3) NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY.—The term
‘national political party’ means—
‘‘(A) in the case of contributions made
during a taxable year of the taxpayer in which
the electors of President and Vice President are
chosen, a political party presenting Federal can-
didates or electors for such offices on the offi-
cial election ballots of 10 or more States, and
‘‘(B) in the case of contributions made
during any other taxable year of the taxpayer,
a political party which met the qualifications
described in subparagraph (A) in the last pre-
ceding election of a President or Vice President.
‘‘(d) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In the case of any
taxable year beginning in a calendar year after 2000, the
$200 and $400 amounts in subsection (b)(1) shall each
be increased by an amount equal to—
‘‘(1) such dollar amount, multiplied by
‘‘(2) the cost-of-living adjustment under section
1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which the taxable
year begins, determined by substituting ‘calendar
year 1999’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in subparagraph
(B) thereof.
If any amount as adjusted under the preceding sentence
is not a multiple of $10, such amount shall be rounded
to the nearest multiple of $10.
‘‘(e) CROSS REFERENCES.—
‘‘For transfer of appreciated property to a politi-
cal organization, see section 84.
‘‘For certain indirect contributions to political
parties, see section 276.’’
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1
of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 23 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 24. Political contributions.’’
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to contributions made after Janu-
ary 1, 1999.
TITLE III—REFORM OF FEDERAL
ELECTION COMMISSION
Subtitle A—Enforcement of Federal
Campaign Laws by Attorney
General
SEC. 301. ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.
(a) TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY TO ATTORNEY GEN-
ERAL.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall
establish an office within the Department of Justice
to enforce the provisions of title III of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971 and chapter 95 and
96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by inves-
tigating complaints, initiating civil or criminal ac-
tions for injunctive, declaratory, or other appropriate
relief, and taking such other measures as the Attor-
ney General considers appropriate consistent with
this section.
(2) ASSESSMENT OF COSTS AGAINST ATTORNEY
GENERAL FOR CERTAIN UNSUCCESSFUL APPEALS.—
If the Attorney General appeals a decision by a
court in an action brought by the office established
under paragraph (1) and the appeal is denied (in
whole or in part) on the basis of the first amend-
ment to the Constitution of the United States, the
court shall require the Attorney General to reim-
burse the opposing party for the costs incurred by
the party (including reasonable attorney’s fees) in
responding to the appeal.
(b) REVIEW OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS OF COM-
MISSION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, no rule or regulation proposed by
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(6)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and (2)(A),
effective 90 days after the Attorney General certifies to
the President and Congress pursuant to section 301(c) of
the Voter Empowerment Act of 1997 that an office has
been established in the Department of Justice to enforce
the provisions of this title and chapter 95 and 96 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Commission shall con-
sist of 2 members appointed by the President by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate. The members shall
not be affiliated with the same political party.
‘‘(B) Members of the Commission shall serve for
terms of 6 years, except that one of the first 2 members
appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall serve for a
term of 3 years. No individual appointed as a member pur-
suant to this paragraph may serve for more than 2 terms.
‘‘(C) The term of any member serving as of the date
referred to in subparagraph (A) shall expire upon the ap-
pointment of the 2 members under this paragraph.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The second sen-
tence of section 306(c) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437c(c)) is
amended by inserting after ‘‘except that’’ the following:
‘‘(with respect to actions taken prior to the appointment
of members under subsection (a)(6))’’.
Subtitle B—Facilitating
Dissemination of Information
SEC. 311. INDEX OF ADVISORY OPINIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 308 of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 437f) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(e)(1) The Commission shall compile, publish, and
regularly update a complete and detailed index of the advi-
sory opinions issued under this section through which
opinions may be found on the basis of the subjects in-
cluded in the opinions.
‘‘(2) The Commission shall make the index compiled,
published, and updated under this subsection available on
the Internet.
‘‘(3) Upon the establishment by the Attorney General
of an office within the Department of Justice to enforce
the provisions of this title and chapter 95 and 96 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 pursuant to section 301
of the Voter Empowerment Act of 1997, this subsection
shall apply only to the extent provided by the Attorney
General under the operations of such office.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Federal Election Com-
mission shall first publish the index of advisory opinions
described in section 308(e) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 (as added by subsection (a)) not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 312. WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended
by inserting after section 308 the following new section:
‘‘OTHER WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS
‘‘SEC. 308A. (a) PERMITTING RESPONSES.—In addi-
tion to issuing advisory opinions under section 308, the
Commission shall issue written responses pursuant to this
section with respect to a written request concerning the
application of this Act, chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, a rule or regulation pre-
scribed by the Commission, or an advisory opinion issued
by the Commission under section 308, with respect to a
specific transaction or activity by the person, if the Com-
mission finds the application of the Act, chapter, rule, reg-
ulation, or advisory opinion to the transaction or activity
to be clear and unambiguous.
‘‘(b) PROCEDURE FOR RESPONSE.—
‘‘(1) ANALYSIS BY STAFF.—The staff of the
Commission shall analyze each request submitted
under this section. If the staff believes that the
standard described in subsection (a) is met with re-
spect to the request, the staff shall circulate a state-
ment to that effect together with a draft response to
the request to the members of the Commission.
‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF RESPONSE.—Upon the expi-
ration of the 3-day period beginning on the date the
statement and draft response is circulated (excluding
weekends or holidays), the Commission shall issue
the response, unless during such period any member
of the Commission objects to issuing the response.
‘‘(c) EFFECT OF RESPONSE.—
‘‘(1) SAFE
HARBOR.—Notwithstanding any
other provisions of law, any person who relies upon
any provision or finding of a written response issued
under this section and who acts in good faith in ac-
cordance with the provisions and findings of such re-
sponse shall not, as a result of any such act, be sub-
ject to any sanction provided by this Act or by chap-
ter 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, or any sanction of the Attorney General
under the office established under section 301(a) of
the Voter Empowerment Act of 1997.
‘‘(2) NO RELIANCE BY OTHER PARTIES.—Any
written response issued by the Commission under
this section may only be relied upon by the person
involved in the specific transaction or activity with
respect to which such response is issued, and may
not be applied by the Commission with respect to
any other person or used by the Commission for en-
forcement or regulatory purposes.
‘‘(d) 
PUBLICATION
OF
REQUESTS
AND
RE-
SPONSES.—The Commission shall make public any re-
quest for a written response made, and the responses is-
sued, under this section. In carrying out this subsection,
the Commission may not make public the identity of any
person submitting a request for a written response unless
the person specifically authorizes to Commission to do so.
‘‘(e) COMPILATION
OF INDEX.—The Commission
shall compile, publish, and regularly update a complete
and detailed index of the responses issued under this sec-
tion through which responses may be found on the basis
of the subjects included in the responses.
‘‘(f) APPLICATION UPON ESTABLISHMENT OF EN-
FORCEMENT
AUTHORITY
BY
ATTORNEY
GENERAL.—
Upon the establishment by the Attorney General of an of-
fice within the Department of Justice to enforce the provi-
sions of this title and chapter 95 and 96 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 pursuant to section 301 of the
Voter Empowerment Act of 1997, this section shall apply
only to the extent provided by the Attorney General under
the operations of such office.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 307(a)(7)
of such Act (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)(7)) is amended by striking
‘‘of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘and other written responses
under section 308A’’.
SEC. 313. PUBLICATION OF NAMES OF CANDIDATES AC-
CEPTING PROHIBITED CONTRIBUTIONS.
Section 311(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 438(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(9);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (10) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(11) prepare and publish periodically a list of
candidates whose authorized committees have ac-
cepted contributions in violation of any provision of
this title.’’.
TITLE 
IV—TERMINATION 
OF
PRESIDENTIAL 
ELECTION
CAMPAIGN FUND
SEC. 401. TERMINATION OF TAXPAYER FINANCING OF
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS.
(a) TERMINATION OF DESIGNATION OF INCOME TAX
PAYMENTS.—Section 6096 of the Internal Revenue Code