I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3274
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
APRIL 18, 1996
Mr. GOSS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, for
a period to subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the commit-
tee concerned
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.
Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
‘‘(i) 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—
‘‘(1) from persons other than individual resi-
dents of the congressional district involved in excess
of 50 percent of the total of contributions accepted;
or
‘‘(2) 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. 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-