‘‘(d) REPORT
OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—The
Commission shall submit to the House of Representatives
a report containing a detailed explanation and justification
of each rule, regulation, and form of the Commission
under this title. No such rule, regulation, or form may
take effect until a period of 30 legislative days has elapsed
after the report is received. As used in this subsection—
‘‘(1) the term ‘legislative day’ means any cal-
endar day on which the House of Representatives is
in session; and
‘‘(2) the terms ‘rule’ and ‘regulation’ mean a
provision or series of interrelated provisions stating
a single, separable rule of law.
‘‘SEC. 609. CLOSED CAPTIONING REQUIREMENT FOR TELE-
VISION COMMERCIALS OF ELIGIBLE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES.
‘‘No eligible House of Representatives candidate may
receive amounts under section 604 unless such candidate
has certified that any television commercial prepared or
distributed by the candidate will be prepared in a manner
that contains, is accompanied by, or otherwise readily per-
mits closed captioning of the oral content of the commer-
cial to be broadcast by way of line 21 of the vertical blank-
ing interval, or by way of comparable successor tech-
nologies.’’.
(b) EFFECT OF INVALIDITY ON OTHER PROVISIONS
OF ACT.—If title VI of FECA (as added by this section),
or any part thereof, is held to be invalid, all provisions
of, and amendments made by, this Act, shall be treated
as invalid.
SEC. 122. LIMITATIONS ON POLITICAL COMMITTEE AND
LARGE DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS THAT MAY
BE ACCEPTED BY HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIVES CANDIDATES.
Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a), as amended by section 102, is
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(j)(1) A candidate for the office of Representative
in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress
may not, with respect to an election cycle, accept contribu-
tions from political committees aggregating in excess of
$200,000.
‘‘(2) A candidate for the office of Representative in,
or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress
may not, with respect to an election cycle, accept contribu-
tions aggregating in excess of $200,000 from persons
other than political committees whose contributions total
more than $250.
‘‘(3) In addition to the contributions under para-
graphs (1) and (2), a House of Representatives candidate
who is a candidate in a runoff election may accept con-
tributions aggregating not more than $100,000 with re-
spect to the runoff election. Of such contributions, one-
half may be from political committees and one-half may
be from persons referred to in paragraph (2).
‘‘(4) Any amount—
‘‘(A) accepted by a candidate for the office of
Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis-
sioner to the Congress; and
‘‘(B) used for legal and accounting compliance
costs, Federal, State, and local taxes,
shall not be considered in the computation of amounts
subject to limitation under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3),
but shall be subject to the other limitations of this Act.
‘‘(5) In addition to any other contributions under this
subsection, if, as determined by the Commission, an eligi-
ble House of Representatives candidate in a contested pri-
mary election wins that primary election by a margin of
10 percentage points or less, the candidate may, in the
general election period, accept contributions of not more
than $150,000, consisting of—
‘‘(A) not more than $50,000 from political com-
mittees; and
‘‘(B) not more than $50,000 from persons re-
ferred to in paragraph (2).
‘‘(6) The dollar amounts specified in paragraphs (1),
(2), (3), and (5) (other than the amounts in paragraphs
(2) and (5) relating to contribution totals) shall be ad-
justed in the manner provided in section 315(c), except
that, for the purposes of such adjustment, the base period
shall be calendar year 1993.’’.
SEC. 123. EXCESS FUNDS OF INCUMBENTS WHO ARE CAN-
DIDATES FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIVES.
An individual who—
(1) is a candidate for the office of Representa-
tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to,
the Congress in an election cycle to which title VI
of FECA (as enacted by section 121 of this Act) ap-
plies;
(2) is an incumbent of that office; and
(3) as of the date of the first statement of par-
ticipation submitted by the individual under section
502 of FECA, has campaign accounts containing in
excess of $600,000;
shall deposit such excess in a separate account subject to
the provision of section 304 of FECA. The amount so de-
posited shall be available for any lawful purpose other
than use, with respect to the individual, for an election
for the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident
Commissioner to, the Congress.
Subtitle C—General Provisions
SEC. 131. BROADCAST RATES AND PREEMPTION.
(a) BROADCAST RATES.—Section 315(b) of the Com-
munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘forty-five’’ and insert-
ing in lieu thereof ‘‘30’’;
(B) by striking out ‘‘sixty’’ and inserting
in lieu thereof ‘‘45’’; and
(C) by striking out ‘‘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 on the same date’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sen-
tence:
‘‘In the case of an eligible Senate candidate (as defined
in section 301(19) of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971), the charges during the general election period
(as defined in section 301(21) of such Act) shall not ex-
ceed 50 percent of the lowest charge described in para-
graph (1).’’.
(b) PREEMPTION; ACCESS.—Section 315 of such Act
(47 U.S.C. 315) is amended by redesignating subsections
(c) and (d) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively, and
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.
‘‘(d) In the case of a legally qualified candidate for
the United States Senate, a licensee shall provide broad-
cast time without regard to the rates charged for the
time.’’.
SEC. 132. EXTENSION OF REDUCED THIRD-CLASS MAILING
RATES TO ELIGIBLE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIVES AND SENATE CANDIDATES.
Section 3626(e) of title 39, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)(A)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘and the National’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the National’’;
and
(B) by striking out ‘‘Committee;’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘Committee, and, subject
to paragraph (3), the principal campaign com-
mittee of an eligible House of Representatives
or Senate candidate;’’;
(2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking out ‘‘and’’
after the semicolon;
(3) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking out the pe-
riod and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’;
(4) by adding after paragraph (2)(C) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(D) the terms ‘eligible House of Representa-
tives candidate’, ‘eligible Senate candidate’, and
‘principal campaign committee’ have the meanings
given those terms in section 301 of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’; and
(5) by adding after paragraph (2) the following
new paragraph:
‘‘(3) The rate made available under this subsection
with respect to an eligible House of Representatives or
Senate candidate shall apply only to—
‘‘(A) the general election period (as defined in
section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of
1971); and
‘‘(B) that number of pieces of mail equal to the
number of individuals in the voting age population
(as certified under section 315(e) of such Act) of the
congressional district or State, whichever is applica-
ble.’’.
SEC. 133. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN INDE-
PENDENT EXPENDITURES.
Section 304(c) of FECA (2 U.S.C. 434(c)) is amend-
ed—
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking out the undes-
ignated matter after subparagraph (C);
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (5); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2), as amend-
ed by paragraph (1), the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(3)(A) Any independent expenditure (including
those described in subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii) of this section)
aggregating $1,000 or more made after the 20th day, but
more than 24 hours, before any election shall be reported
within 24 hours after such independent expenditure is
made.
‘‘(B) Any independent expenditure aggregating
$10,000 or more made at any time up to and including
the 20th day before any election shall be reported within
48 hours after such independent expenditure is made. An
additional statement shall be filed each time independent
expenditures aggregating $10,000 are made with respect
to the same election as the initial statement filed under
this section.
‘‘(C) Such statement shall be filed with the Clerk of
the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Sen-
ate, whichever is applicable, and the Secretary of State
of the State involved and shall contain the information re-
quired by subsection (b)(6)(B)(iii) of this section, includ-
ing whether the independent expenditure is in support of,
or in opposition to, the candidate involved. The Clerk of
the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the
Senate shall as soon as possible (but not later than 4
working hours of the Commission) after receipt of a state-
ment transmit it to the Commission. Not later than 48
hours after the Commission receives a report, the Commis-
sion shall transmit a copy of the report to each candidate
seeking nomination or election to that office.
‘‘(D) For purposes of this section, the term ‘made’
includes any action taken to incur an obligation for pay-
ment.
‘‘(4)(A) If any person intends to make independent
expenditures totaling $5,000 during the 20 days before
an election, such person shall file a statement no later
than the 20th day before the election.
‘‘(B) Such statement shall be filed with the Clerk of
the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Sen-
ate, whichever is applicable, and the Secretary of State
of the State involved, and shall identify each candidate
whom the expenditure will support or oppose. The Clerk
of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the
Senate shall as soon as possible (but not later than 4
working hours of the Commission) after receipt of a state-
ment transmit it to the Commission. Not later than 48
hours after the Commission receives a statement under
this paragraph, the Commission shall transmit a copy of
the statement to each candidate identified.
‘‘(5) The Commission may make its own determina-
tion that a person has made, or has incurred obligations
to make, independent expenditures with respect to any
Federal election which in the aggregate exceed the applica-
ble amounts under paragraph (3) or (4). The Commission
shall notify each candidate in such election of such deter-
mination within 24 hours of making it.
‘‘(6) At the same time as a candidate is notified
under paragraph (3), (4), or (5) with respect to expendi-
tures during a general election period, the Commission
shall certify eligibility to receive benefits under section
504(a) or section 604(b).
‘‘(7) The Clerk of the House of Representatives and
the Secretary of the Senate shall make any statement re-
ceived under this subsection available for public inspection
and copying in the same manner as the Commission under
section 311(a)(4), and shall preserve such statements in
the same manner as the Commission under section
311(a)(5).’’.
SEC. 134. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING AMENDMENTS.
Section 318 of FECA (2 U.S.C. 441d) is amended—
(1) in the matter before paragraph (1) of sub-
section (a), by striking ‘‘an expenditure’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘a disbursement’’;
(2) in the matter before paragraph (1) of sub-
section (a), by striking ‘‘direct’’;
(3) in paragraph (3) of subsection (a), by in-
serting after ‘‘name’’ the following ‘‘and permanent
street address’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections:
‘‘(c) Any printed communication described in sub-
section (a) shall be—
‘‘(1) of sufficient type size to be clearly read-
able by the recipient of the communication;
‘‘(2) contained in a printed box set apart from
the other contents of the communication; and
‘‘(3) consist of a reasonable degree of color con-
trast between the background and the printed state-
ment.
‘‘(d)(1) Any broadcast or cablecast communication
described in subsection (a)(1) or subsection (a)(2) shall
include, in addition to the requirements of those sub-
sections an audio statement by the candidate that identi-
fies the candidate and states that the candidate has ap-
proved the communication.
‘‘(2) If a broadcast or cablecast communication de-
scribed in paragraph (1) is broadcast or cablecast by
means of television, the statement required by paragraph
(1) shall—
‘‘(A) appear in a clearly readable manner
with a reasonable degree of color contrast be-
tween the background and the printed state-
ment, for a period of at least 4 seconds; and
‘‘(B) be accompanied by a clearly identifi-
able photographic or similar image of the can-
didate.
‘‘(e) Any broadcast or cablecast communication de-
scribed in subsection (a)(3) shall include, in addition to
the requirements of those subsections, in a clearly spoken
manner, the following statement—
‘
is responsible for the content of
this advertisement.’
with the blank to be filled in with the name of the political
committee or other person paying for the communication
and the name of any connected organization of the payor;
and, if broadcast or cablecast by means of television, shall
also appear in a clearly readable manner with a reasonable
degree of color contrast between the background and the
printed statement, for a period of at least 4 seconds.’’.
SEC. 135. DEFINITIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301 of FECA (2 U.S.C.
431) is amended by striking paragraph (19) and inserting
the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(19) The term ‘eligible Senate candidate’ means a
candidate who is eligible under section 502 to receive bene-
fits under title V.
‘‘(20) The term ‘general election’ means any election
which will directly result in the election of a person to a
Federal office, but does not include an open primary elec-
tion.
‘‘(21) The term ‘general election period’ means, with
respect to any candidate, the period beginning on the day
after the date of the primary or runoff election for the
specific office the candidate is seeking, whichever is later,
and ending on the earlier of—
‘‘(A) the date of such general election; or
‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate withdraws
from the campaign or otherwise ceases actively to
seek election.
‘‘(22) The term ‘immediate family’ means—
‘‘(A) a candidate’s spouse;
‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grandparent,
brother, half-brother, sister or half-sister of the can-
didate or the candidate’s spouse; and
‘‘(C) the spouse of any person described in sub-
paragraph (B).
‘‘(23) The term ‘major party’ has the meaning given
such term in section 9002(6) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, except that if a candidate qualified under State
law for the ballot in a general election in an open primary
in which all the candidates for the office participated and
which resulted in the candidate and at least one other can-
didate qualifying for the ballot in the general election,
such candidate shall be treated as a candidate of a major
party for purposes of title V.
‘‘(24) The term ‘primary election’ means an election
which may result in the selection of a candidate for the
ballot in a general election for a Federal office.
‘‘(25) The term ‘primary election period’ means, with
respect to any candidate, the period beginning on the day
following the date of the last election for the specific office
the candidate is seeking and ending on the earlier of—
‘‘(A) the date of the first primary election for
that office following the last general election for that
office; or
‘‘(B) the date on which the candidate withdraws
from the election or otherwise ceases actively to seek
election.
‘‘(26) The term ‘runoff election’ means an election
held after a primary election which is prescribed by appli-
cable State law as the means for deciding which candidate
will be on the ballot in the general election for a Federal
office.
‘‘(27) The term ‘runoff election period’ means, with
respect to any candidate, the period beginning on the day
following the date of the last primary election for the spe-
cific office such candidate is seeking and ending on the
date of the runoff election for such office.
‘‘(28) The term ‘voting age population’ means the
resident population, 18 years of age or older, as certified
pursuant to section 315(e).
‘‘(29) The term ‘eligible House of Representatives
candidate’ means a candidate for election to the office of
Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner
to, the Congress, who, as determined by the Commission
under section 602, is eligible to receive matching payments
and other benefits under title VI by reason of filing a
statement of participation and complying with the con-
tinuing eligibility requirements under section 602.
‘‘(30) The term ‘election cycle’ means—
‘‘(A) in the case of a candidate or the author-
ized committees of a candidate, the term beginning
on the day after the date of the most recent general
election for the specific office or seat which such
candidate seeks and ending on the date of the next
general election for such office or seat; or
‘‘(B) for all other persons, the term beginning
on the first day following the date of the last general
election and ending on the date of the next general
election.’’.
(b) IDENTIFICATION.—Section 301(13) of FECA (2
U.S.C. 431(13)) is amended by striking ‘‘mailing address’’
and inserting ‘‘permanent residence address’’.
SEC. 136. PROVISIONS RELATING TO FRANKED MASS
MAILINGS.
(a) 
MASS
MAILINGS
OF
SENATORS.—Section
3210(a)(6) of title 39, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘It is the
intent of Congress that a Member of, or a Member-
elect to, Congress’’ and inserting ‘‘A Member of, or
Member-elect to, the House’’; and
(2) in subparagraph (C)—
(A) by striking ‘‘if such mass mailing is
postmarked fewer than 60 days immediately be-
fore the date’’ and inserting ‘‘if such mass mail-
ing is postmarked during the calendar year’’;
and
(B) by inserting ‘‘or reelection’’ imme-
diately before the period.
(b) MASS MAILINGS OF HOUSE MEMBERS.—Section
3210 of title 39, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(7), by striking ‘‘, except
that—’’ and all that follows through the end of sub-
paragraph (B) and inserting a period; and
(2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘de-
livery—’’ and all that follows through the end of
subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘delivery within
that area constituting the congressional district or
State from which the Member was elected.’’.
(c) PROHIBITION ON USE OF OFFICIAL FUNDS.—
The Committee on House Administration of the House of
Representatives may not approve any payment, nor may
a Member of the House of Representatives make any ex-
penditure from, any allowance of the House of Represent-
atives or any other official funds if any portion of the pay-
ment or expenditure is for any cost related to a mass mail-
ing by a Member of the House of Representatives outside
the congressional district of the Member.
TITLE II—INDEPENDENT
EXPENDITURES
SEC. 201. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITIONS RELATING TO
INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.
(a) 
INDEPENDENT
EXPENDITURE
DEFINITION
AMENDMENT.—Section 301 of FECA (2 U.S.C. 431) is
amended by striking paragraphs (17) and (18) and insert-
ing the following:
‘‘(17)(A) The term ‘independent expenditure’ means
an expenditure for an advertisement or other communica-
tion that—
‘‘(i) contains express advocacy; and
‘‘(ii) is made without the participation or co-
operation of a candidate or a candidate’s representa-
tive.