‘‘BAN ON FEDERAL ELECTION ACTIVITIES BY POLITICAL
ACTION COMMITTEES
‘‘SEC. 323. (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of this Act, no political action committee
may make contributions, solicit or receive contributions,
or make expenditures for the purpose of influencing an
election for Federal office.
‘‘(b) POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE DEFINED.—In
this section, the term ‘political action committee’ means
any political committee which is not—
‘‘(1) the principal campaign committee of a
candidate; or
‘‘(2) a national, State, district, or local political
party committee (including any subordinate commit-
tee thereof).’’.
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—(1) 
Section
301(4)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(4)(A)) is amended
by inserting after ‘‘persons’’ the following: ‘‘(but not in-
cluding a partnership for purposes of section 323(b))’’.
(2) Section 316(b)(2) of such Act (2 U.S.C.
441b(b)(2)) is amended—
(A) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (A);
(B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (B) and inserting a period; and
(C) by striking subparagraph (C).
SEC. 4. LIMIT ON CONTRIBUTIONS OF PERSONAL FUNDS
OF CANDIDATE.
Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by section 2, is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(j) A candidate for the office of Representative in,
or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress
may not accept contributions or loans of the candidate’s
personal funds (including funds of members of the can-
didate’s immediate family) during a calendar year which
in the aggregate exceed $50,000.’’.
SEC. 5. BAN ON USE OF SOFT MONEY.
Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of
1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), as amended by section 3,
is further amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
‘‘LIMITATIONS AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR
AMOUNTS PAID FOR MIXED POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
‘‘SEC. 324. (a) IN GENERAL.—Any payment by the
national, State, or local committee of a political party (in-
cluding any subordinate committee thereof) 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) MIXED POLITICAL ACTIVITY DEFINED.—As
used in this section, the term ‘mixed political activity’
means an activity which is both for the purpose of influ-
encing an election for Federal office and for any purpose
unrelated to influencing an election for Federal office, in-
cluding voter registration, absentee ballot programs, and
get-out-the-vote programs.’’.
SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF FREE BROADCAST TIME FOR CAN-
DIDATES ADOPTING VOLUNTARY SPENDING
LIMITS.
(a) VOLUNTARY LIMITS DESCRIBED.—Title III of
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431
et seq.), as amended by sections 3 and 5, is further
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘ELIGIBILITY FOR REDUCED BROADCAST RATES FOR
CANDIDATES LIMITING EXPENDITURES
‘‘SEC. 325. (a) ELIGIBILITY.—At the request of a
candidate for election as a Member of, or Resident Com-
missioner or Delegate to, the House of Representatives,
the Commission shall issue a certification that the can-
didate is eligible with respect to an election cycle for re-
duced broadcast rates under section 315(c) of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 if the candidate certifies that the
total amount of expenditures made in support of the can-
didate’s election during the cycle will not exceed $600,000.
‘‘(b) PROCESS FOR CERTIFICATION.—
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION OF BENEFITS.—
‘‘(A) DEADLINE
FOR
RESPONSE
TO
RE-
QUESTS.—The Commission shall respond to a
candidate’s request for certification under this
subsection not later than 5 days after the can-
didate submits the request.
‘‘(B) REQUESTS.—Any request for certifi-
cation submitted by a candidate shall contain—
‘‘(i) such information and be made in
accordance with such procedures as the
Commission may provide by regulation;
and
‘‘(ii) a verification signed by the can-
didate and the treasurer of the principal
campaign committee of such candidate
stating that the information furnished in
support of the request, to the best of their
knowledge, is correct and fully satisfies the
requirement of this title.
‘‘(2) GROUNDS
FOR
DETERMINATION.—The
Commission shall make an initial determination of a
candidate’s eligibility for certification under this sec-
tion based on the candidate’s filings under this title.
Any subsequent determination shall be based on rel-
evant additional information submitted in such form
and manner as the Commission may require.
‘‘(3) WITHDRAWAL OF CERTIFICATION.—If the
Commission determines that a candidate for whom
a certification has been issued under this section no
longer meets the requirements for such certification,
the Commission shall revoke the candidate’s certifi-
cation.
‘‘(c) PENALTY
FOR
SPENDING
IN
EXCESS
OF
LIMIT.—Any candidate for whom a certification has been
issued under this section with respect to an election cycle
who makes expenditures during the cycle in an amount
greater than the amount of the limit described in sub-
section (a) shall pay to the Commission an amount equal
to twice the difference between the total amount of ex-
penditures made in support of the candidate’s election
during the cycle and the amount of the limit.’’.
(b) FREE BROADCAST TIME.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315) is amended—
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘within
the meaning of this subsection’’ and inserting
‘‘within the meaning of this subsection and sub-
section (c)’’;
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The
charges’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in
subsection (c), the charges’’;
(C) by redesignating subsections (c) and
(d) as subsections (d) and (e); and
(D) by inserting after subsection (b) the
following new subsection:
‘‘(c)(1) A candidate for election as a Member of, or
Resident Commissioner or Delegate to, the House of Rep-
resentatives for whom a certification is in effect under sec-
tion 325 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
shall be entitled to receive a total of 30 minutes of free
broadcast time from broadcasting stations within the
State or an adjacent State, of which at least 20 minutes
shall be made available between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
on any day that falls on Monday through Friday. A can-
didate may not request that more than 15 minutes of free
broadcast time be aired pursuant to this subsection by any
one broadcasting station.
‘‘(2) In the case of an election where only 1 candidate
qualifies to be on the ballot, no time shall be required to
be provided by a licensee pursuant to this subsection.
‘‘(3)(A) The amount of broadcast time that shall be
provided pursuant to this subsection to the candidate of
a minor party shall be equal to the number of minutes
allocable to the House district involved multiplied by the
percentage of the number of popular votes received by the
candidate of that party in the preceding general election
for the House of Representatives in the district.
‘‘(B) In subparagraph (A), the term ‘minor party’
means, with respect to an election for Member of, or Resi-
dent Commissioner or Delegate to, the House of Rep-
resentatives, a political party—
‘‘(i) whose candidate for such office in the pre-
ceding general election in the district involved re-
ceived 5 percent or more but less than 25 percent
of the number of popular votes received by all can-
didates for the office; or
‘‘(ii) whose candidate for such office in the cur-
rent general election in the district involved has ob-
tained the signatures of at least 5 percent of the dis-
trict’s registered voters, as determined by the chief
voter registration official of the State, in support of
a petition for an allocation of free broadcast time
under this subsection.
‘‘(4) The Commission shall by regulation exempt
from the requirements of this subsection—
‘‘(A) a licensee whose signal is broadcast sub-
stantially nationwide; and
‘‘(B) a licensee for whom the Commission de-
termines that meeting the requirements will impose
a significant financial hardship.’’.
(2) MEETING REQUIREMENT AS CONDITION OF
GRANTING OR RENEWAL OF LICENSE.—Section 307
of such Act (47 U.S.C. 307) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(f) The continuation of an existing license, the re-
newal of an expiring license, and the issuance of a new
license shall be expressly conditioned on the agreement by
the licensee or the applicant to meet the requirements of
section 315(c).’’.
SEC. 7. PROHIBITING CONTRIBUTIONS BY NONCITIZEN IN-
DIVIDUALS.
Section 319(b)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign
Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e(b)(2)) is amended by striking
‘‘and who is not lawfully admitted’’ and all that follows
and inserting a period.
SEC. 8. BAN ON CASH CONTRIBUTIONS.
Section 321 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441g) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘BAN ON CONTRIBUTION OF CURRENCY
‘‘SEC. 321. No person may make any contribution of
currency of the United States or currency of any foreign
country to any candidate or political committee with re-
spect to any campaign for election to Federal office.’’.
SEC. 9. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO MASS MAILINGS SENT
BY MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT-
ATIVES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3210(a)(6) of title 39,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(G) Effective with respect to mailings made during
sessions of Congress beginning after December 31, 1999,
for purposes of applying any provision of law with respect
to a Member of, or Member-elect to, the House—
‘‘(i) ‘90 days’ shall be substituted for ‘60 days’
each place it appears in subparagraph (A); and
‘‘(ii) ‘100 pieces’ shall be substituted for ‘500
pieces’ in subparagraph (E).’’.
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—Section
3210(a)(6) of title 39, United States Code, as amended
by subsection (a), is further amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘It’’ and
inserting ‘‘Subject to subparagraph (G), it’’; and
(2) in subparagraph (E) by striking ‘‘As’’ and
inserting ‘‘Subject to subparagraph (G), as’’.
SEC. 10. REPORT ON EFFECTS OF CHANGES.
Not later than 3 months after the first general elec-
tions for the House of Representatives which are held
after December 31, 1998, the Committee on House Over-
sight of the House of Representatives shall submit a re-
port to the President and to Congress analyzing the effects
on such elections of this Act and the amendments made
by this Act.
SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply with
respect to elections held after December 31, 1998.
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