‘‘(2) DEEMED CERTIFICATION FOR ALL ELEC-
TIONS IN ELECTION CYCLE.—If the Commission cer-
tifies a candidate as a participating candidate with 
respect to the first election of the election cycle in-
volved, the Commissioner shall be deemed to have 
certified the candidate as a participating candidate 
with respect to all subsequent elections of the elec-
tion cycle. 
‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may re-
voke a certification under subsection (a) if— 
‘‘(A) a candidate fails to qualify to appear 
on the ballot at any time after the date of cer-
tification (other than a candidate certified as a 
participating candidate with respect to a pri-
mary election who fails to qualify to appear on 
the ballot for a subsequent election in that elec-
tion cycle); or 
‘‘(B) a candidate otherwise fails to comply 
with the requirements of this title, including 
any regulatory requirements prescribed by the 
Commission. 
‘‘(2) REPAYMENT
OF
BENEFITS.—If certifi-
cation is revoked under paragraph (1), the candidate 
shall repay to the Fair Elections Fund established 
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under section 531 an amount equal to the value of 
benefits received under this title with respect to the 
election cycle involved plus interest (at a rate deter-
mined by the Commission) on any such amount re-
ceived. 
‘‘(c) PARTICIPATING CANDIDATE DEFINED.—In this 
title, a ‘participating candidate’ means a candidate for the 
office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-
missioner to, the Congress who is certified under this sec-
tion as eligible to receive benefits under this title. 
‘‘Subtitle C—Requirements for Can-
didates 
Certified 
as 
Partici-
pating Candidates 
‘‘SEC. 521. CONTRIBUTION, EXPENDITURE, AND FUND-
RAISING REQUIREMENTS. 
‘‘(a) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PERMITTED
SOURCES
OF
CONTRIBU-
TIONS.—Except as provided in subsection (c), a can-
didate who is certified as a participating candidate 
with respect to an election shall, with respect to all 
elections occurring during the election cycle for the 
office involved, accept no contributions from any 
source (including an unexpended contribution re-
ceived by the candidate with respect to a previous 
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election or a contribution made by any political com-
mittee or multicandidate committee) other than— 
‘‘(A) qualifying contributions described in 
section 512; 
‘‘(B) qualified small dollar contributions 
described in section 503; 
‘‘(C) allocations under section 502; and 
‘‘(D) payments under section 503. 
‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTIONS
FOR
LEADERSHIP
AND 
RELATED PACS.—A political committee of a partici-
pating candidate which is not an authorized com-
mittee of such candidate may accept contributions 
other than contributions described in paragraph (1) 
from any person if— 
‘‘(A) the aggregate amount of the con-
tributions from such person for any election 
during the election cycle does not exceed $100; 
and 
‘‘(B) no portion of such contributions is 
disbursed in connection with the campaign of 
the participating candidate. 
‘‘(b) EXPENDITURES.— 
‘‘(1) PERMITTED
SOURCES
FOR
EXPENDI-
TURES.—Except as provided in subsection (c), a 
candidate who is certified as a participating can-
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didate with respect to an election shall, with respect 
to all elections occurring during the election cycle for 
the office involved— 
‘‘(A) make no expenditures from any 
amounts other than— 
‘‘(i) qualifying contributions described 
in section 512; 
‘‘(ii) qualified small dollar contribu-
tions described in section 503; 
‘‘(iii) allocations under section 502; 
and 
‘‘(iv) payments under section 503; and 
‘‘(B) make no expenditures from personal 
funds or the funds of any immediate family 
member of the candidate (other than funds re-
ceived through qualified small dollar contribu-
tions and qualifying contributions). 
‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.— 
In paragraph (1)(B), the term ‘immediate family’ 
means, with respect to a candidate— 
‘‘(A) the candidate’s spouse; 
‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grand-
parent, brother, half-brother, sister, or half-sis-
ter of the candidate or the candidate’s spouse; 
and 
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‘‘(C) the spouse of any person described in 
subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) EXCEPTION
FOR
CONTRIBUTIONS
RE-
CEIVED PRIOR TO FILING OF STATEMENT OF IN-
TENT.—A candidate who has accepted contributions 
that are not qualified small dollar contributions, 
qualifying contributions, or contributions described 
in paragraph (a)(2) prior to the date the candidate 
files a statement of intent under section 511(a)(1) 
is not in violation of subsection (a), but only if all 
such contributions are— 
‘‘(A) returned to the contributor; 
‘‘(B) submitted to the Commission for de-
posit in the Fair Elections Fund established 
under section 531; or 
‘‘(C) spent in accordance with paragraph 
(2). 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION
FOR
EXPENDITURES
MADE 
PRIOR TO FILING OF STATEMENT OF INTENT.—If a 
candidate has made expenditures prior to the date 
the candidate files a statement of intent under sec-
tion 511(a)(1) that the candidate is prohibited from 
making under subsection (b), the candidate is not in 
violation of such subsection if the aggregate amount 
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of the prohibited expenditures is less than 20 per-
cent of the amount of an initial allocation to a can-
didate under section 502(a)(1). 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION
FOR
CAMPAIGN
SURPLUSES 
FROM
A
PREVIOUS
ELECTION.—Notwithstanding 
paragraph (1), unexpended contributions received by 
the candidate or the an authorized committee of the 
candidate with respect to a previous election may be 
retained, but only if the candidate places the funds 
in escrow and refrains from raising additional funds 
for or spending funds from that account during the 
election cycle in which a candidate is a participating 
candidate. 
‘‘(4) EXCEPTION
FOR
CONTRIBUTIONS
RE-
CEIVED
BEFORE
THE
EFFECTIVE
DATE
OF
THIS 
TITLE.—Contributions received and expenditures 
made by the candidate or an authorized committee 
of the candidate prior to the effective date of this 
title shall not constitute a violation of subsection (a) 
or (b). Unexpended contributions shall be treated 
the same as campaign surpluses under paragraph 
(3), and expenditures made shall count against the 
limit in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR COORDINATED PARTY EX-
PENDITURES.—For purposes of this section, a payment 
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made by a political party in coordination with a partici-
pating candidate shall not be treated as a contribution to 
or as an expenditure made by the participating candidate. 
‘‘SEC. 522. DEBATE REQUIREMENT. 
‘‘A candidate who is certified as a participating can-
didate with respect to an election shall, during the election 
cycle for the office involved, participate in at least— 
‘‘(1) 1 public debate before the primary election 
with other participating candidates and other willing 
candidates from the same party and seeking the 
same nomination as such candidate; and 
‘‘(2) 2 public debates before the general election 
with other participating candidates and other willing 
candidates seeking the same office as such can-
didate. 
‘‘SEC. 523. REMITTING UNSPENT FUNDS AFTER ELECTION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date that is 
60 days after the last election for which a candidate cer-
tified as a participating candidate qualifies to be on the 
ballot during the election cycle involved, such participating 
candidate shall remit to the Commission for deposit in the 
Fair Elections Fund established under section 531 an 
amount equal to the lesser of— 
‘‘(1) the amount of money in the candidate’s 
campaign account; or 
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‘‘(2) the sum of the allocations received by the 
candidate under section 502 and the payments re-
ceived by the candidate under section 503. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION
FOR EXPENDITURES INCURRED 
BUT NOT PAID AS OF DATE OF REMITTANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (a), a 
candidate may withhold from the amount required to 
be remitted under paragraph (1) of such subsection 
the amount of any authorized expenditures which 
were incurred in connection with the candidate’s 
campaign but which remain unpaid as of the dead-
line applicable to the candidate under such sub-
section, except that any amount withheld pursuant 
to this paragraph shall be remitted to the Commis-
sion not later than 120 days after the date of the 
election to which such subsection applies. 
‘‘(2) DOCUMENTATION
REQUIRED.—A can-
didate may withhold an amount of an expenditure 
pursuant to paragraph (1) only if the candidate sub-
mits documentation of the expenditure and the 
amount to the Commission not later than the dead-
line applicable to the candidate under subsection (a). 
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‘‘Subtitle D—Administrative 
Provisions 
‘‘SEC. 531. FAIR ELECTIONS FUND. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘Fair Elections Fund’. 
‘‘(b) AMOUNTS HELD BY FUND.—The Fund shall 
consist of the following amounts: 
‘‘(1) APPROPRIATED AMOUNTS.—Amounts ap-
propriated to the Fund, including trust fund 
amounts appropriated pursuant to applicable provi-
sions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(2) VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS.—Voluntary 
contributions to the Fund. 
‘‘(3) TRANSFERS RESULTING FROM PAYMENT 
OF CIVIL PENALTIES.—Amounts transferred into the 
Fund pursuant to section 309(a)(13). 
‘‘(4) PROCEEDS FROM RECOVERED SPECTRUM 
AUCTIONS.—Amounts deposited pursuant to section 
309(j)(8)(E)(ii)(II) of the Communications Act of 
1934. 
‘‘(5) OTHER
DEPOSITS.—Amounts deposited 
into the Fund under— 
‘‘(A) section 521(a)(3) (relating to excep-
tions to contribution requirements); 
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‘‘(B) section 523 (relating to remittance of 
allocations from the Fund); 
‘‘(C) section 534 (relating to violations); 
and 
‘‘(D) any other section of this Act. 
‘‘(6) INVESTMENT RETURNS.—Interest on, and 
the proceeds from, the sale or redemption of, any 
obligations held by the Fund under subsection (c). 
‘‘(c) INVESTMENT.—The Commission shall invest 
portions of the Fund in obligations of the United States 
in the same manner as provided under section 9602(b) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(d) USE OF FUND.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The sums in the Fund 
shall be used to provide benefits to participating 
candidates as provided in subtitle A. 
‘‘(2) INSUFFICIENT AMOUNTS.—Under regula-
tions established by the Commission, rules similar to 
the rules of section 9006(c) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 shall apply. 
‘‘SEC. 532. FAIR ELECTIONS OVERSIGHT BOARD. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 
the Federal Election Commission an entity to be known 
as the ‘Fair Elections Oversight Board’. 
‘‘(b) STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall be com-
posed of 5 members appointed by the President, of 
whom— 
‘‘(A) 2 shall be appointed after consulta-
tion with the Majority Leader of the House of 
Representatives; 
‘‘(B) 2 shall be appointed after consulta-
tion with the Minority Leader of the House of 
Representatives; and 
‘‘(C) 1 shall be appointed upon the rec-
ommendation of the members appointed under 
subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The members shall be 
individuals who are nonpartisan and, by reason 
of their education, experience, and attainments, 
exceptionally qualified to perform the duties of 
members of the Board. 
‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—No member of the 
Board may be— 
‘‘(i) an employee of the Federal gov-
ernment; 
‘‘(ii) a registered lobbyist or an indi-
vidual who was a registered lobbyist at any 
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time during the 2-year period preceding 
appointment to the Board; or 
‘‘(iii) an officer or employee of a polit-
ical party or political campaign. 
‘‘(3) DATE.—Members of the Board shall be 
appointed not later than 60 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
‘‘(4) TERMS.—A member of the Board shall be 
appointed for a term of 5 years. 
‘‘(5) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Board 
shall be filled not later than 30 calendar days after 
the date on which the Board is given notice of the 
vacancy, in the same manner as the original ap-
pointment. The individual appointed to fill the va-
cancy shall serve only for the unexpired portion of 
the term for which the individual’s predecessor was 
appointed. 
‘‘(6) CHAIRPERSON.—The Board shall des-
ignate a Chairperson from among the members of 
the Board. 
‘‘(c) DUTIES AND POWERS.— 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The Board shall have 
such duties and powers as the Commission may pre-
scribe, including the power to administer the provi-
sions of this title. 
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‘‘(2) REVIEW
OF
FAIR
ELECTIONS
FINANC-
ING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After each regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal office, 
the Board shall conduct a comprehensive review 
of the Fair Elections financing program under 
this title, including— 
‘‘(i) the maximum dollar amount of 
qualified small dollar contributions under 
section 503(f); 
‘‘(ii) the maximum and minimum dol-
lar amounts for qualifying contributions 
under section 512(d); 
‘‘(iii) the number and value of quali-
fying contributions a candidate is required 
to obtain under section 512(a) to be eligi-
ble for certification as a participating can-
didate; 
‘‘(iv) the amount of allocations that 
candidates may receive under section 502; 
‘‘(v) the maximum amount of pay-
ments a candidate may receive under sec-
tion 503; 
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