I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5507
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to promote the disclo-
sure of information on the financing of campaigns for Federal elections,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 19, 2000
Mr. KASICH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Com-
merce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to
promote the disclosure of information on the financing
of campaigns for Federal elections, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Informed Voter Act
of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows:
(1) No aspect of the regulation of the financing
of political campaigns has engendered such wide-
spread support as the public disclosure of the money
raised and spent to influence Federal elections.
(2) The timely disclosure of all monies raised
and spent to influence Federal elections is the least
restrictive means of furthering the substantial gov-
ernment interest of informing the electorate and pre-
venting corruption and the appearance of corruption.
(3) During 1996 and subsequent election years,
hundreds of millions of dollars which were never re-
quired to be disclosed are estimated to have been
spent to influence Federal elections.
(4) The growing popularity of methods to influ-
ence Federal elections outside of the framework of
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 has in-
creasingly threatened to undermine the Act’s pre-
eminent goal of ensuring that the public is able to
track the flow of money raised and spent in the po-
litical process.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to bring
into the openness of public visibility in a full and timely
manner all financial activities carried out by interest
groups, political parties, candidates, and elected officials
books and accounts of the person making the
disbursement.
‘‘(B) The State of incorporation and the
principal place of business of the person making
the disbursement.
‘‘(C) The elections to which the election-
eering communications pertain and the names
(if known) of the candidates identified or to be
identified.
‘‘(D) The amount of each disbursement
equal to or greater than $500 made during the
period covered by the statement and the identi-
fication of the person to whom the disburse-
ment was made.
‘‘(E) If the disbursements were paid out of
a segregated account to which only individuals
could contribute, the names and addresses of all
contributors who contributed an aggregate
amount of $500 or more to that account during
the period beginning on the first day of the pre-
ceding calendar year and ending on the disclo-
sure date.
‘‘(F) If the disbursements were paid out of
funds not described in subparagraph (E), the
names and addresses of all contributors who
contributed an aggregate amount of $1,000 or
more to the organization or any related entity
(other than any amount paid for bona fide dues
charged for membership with the organization
or entity) during the period beginning on the
first day of the preceding calendar year and
ending on the disclosure date.
‘‘(G) Whether or not any of the election-
eering communications involved is made in co-
ordination, cooperation, consultation, or concert
with, or at the request or suggestion of, any
candidate or any authorized committee, any po-
litical party or committee, or any agent of the
candidate, political party, or committee and if
so, the identification of any candidate, party,
committee, or agent involved.
‘‘(H) The text of each of the electioneering
communications involved.
‘‘(3) ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION.—For
purposes of this subsection—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘election-
eering communication’ means any public com-
munication disseminated through mass media
which—
‘‘(i) refers to a clearly identified can-
didate for Federal office (including an indi-
vidual who has formed an exploratory com-
mittee for such an election) by name,
image, or likeness, or which refers to the
political party of such candidate or indi-
vidual;
‘‘(ii) is made (or scheduled to be
made) within—
‘‘(I) 90 days before a general,
special, or runoff election for such
Federal office, or
‘‘(II) 60 days before a primary or
preference election, or a convention or
caucus of a political party that has
authority to nominate a candidate, for
such Federal office, and
‘‘(iii) is disseminated to an audience
which includes the electorate for such elec-
tion, convention, or caucus (or any portion
thereof).
‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—Such term does not
include any of the following communications:
‘‘(i) Any communication appearing in
a news story, commentary, or editorial dis-
tributed through the facilities of any
broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine,
or other periodical publication, unless such
facilities are owned or controlled by any
political party, political committee, or can-
didate.
‘‘(ii) Any communication designed to
encourage individuals to register to vote.
‘‘(iii) Any voter guide presenting the
views or voting record of a candidate in a
manner which does not refer to or provide
any linkage with the sponsor’s views.
‘‘(C) MASS
MEDIA
DEFINED.—In this
paragraph, the term ‘mass media’ means radio,
television, newspapers or other periodicals of
general circulation, billboards or other general
public advertisements, direct mailing or phone
bank to an audience of 500 or more, or the
Internet.
‘‘(4) DISCLOSURE DATE.—For purposes of this
subsection, the term ‘disclosure date’ means—
‘‘(A) the first date during any calendar
year by which a person has made disbursements
for electioneering communications aggregating
in excess of $10,000; and
‘‘(B) any other date during such calendar
year by which a person has made disbursements
for electioneering communications aggregating
in excess of $10,000 since the most recent dis-
closure date for such calendar year.
‘‘(5) CONTRACTS TO DISBURSE.—For purposes
of this subsection, a person shall be treated as hav-
ing made a disbursement if the person has con-
tracted to make the disbursement.
‘‘(6) COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Any requirement to report under this sub-
section shall be in addition to any other reporting
requirement under this Act.’’
SEC. 4. REQUIRING BROADCASTERS TO RETAIN AND MAKE
AVAILABLE INFORMATION ON SPONSORS OF
CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 317) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘radio station’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘broadcast station’’; and
(2) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(3)(A) Each person who provides a broadcast sta-
tion with any communication described in subparagraph
(E) for broadcast shall provide the station with the fol-
lowing information:
‘‘(i) If the person is an entity with officers or
directors, the name, address, and daytime telephone
number of such officers or directors.
‘‘(ii) If the person is an entity without officers
or directors, the name, address, and daytime tele-
phone number of any person responsible for the
communication involved.
‘‘(iii) The identification of each person who pro-
vided funds to the person during the calendar year
in an amount equal to or greater than $1,000, to-
gether with the amount the person provided.
‘‘(B) In addition to any other records required to be
kept under this subsection, each broadcast station which
broadcasts any communication described in subparagraph
(E) shall—
‘‘(i) retain the information provided to the sta-
tion pursuant to subparagraph (A);
‘‘(ii) if the station has a site on the Internet,
post such information on the site;
‘‘(iii) provide the information described in
clause (i) or clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) upon re-
quest to any person by telephone, electronic mail, or
facsimile device; and
‘‘(iv) in addition to the methods described in
clauses (ii) and (iii), make the information provided
to the station pursuant to subparagraph (A) avail-
able for public inspection through such other meth-
ods as the station considers appropriate.
‘‘(C)(i) In addition to any other announcements re-
quired to be made under this subsection, each communica-
tion described in subparagraph (E) shall include, in a
clearly 
spoken 
manner, 
the 
following 
statement:
‘llllllll is responsible for the content of this
advertisement.’ (with the blank to be filled in with the
name of each person responsible for the communication).
If transmitted through television, the statement shall also
appear in a clearly readable manner with a reasonable de-
gree of color contrast between the background and the
printed statement, for a period of at least 4 seconds.
‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i)—
‘‘(I) the person who provides the broadcast sta-
tion with the communication shall be deemed to be
a person responsible for the communication; and
‘‘(II) if 3 or fewer persons provided a portion
of the funds used for the communication equal to or
greater than 90 percent of the total amount used,
each such person shall be deemed to be a person re-
sponsible for the communication.
‘‘(D)(i) Any person who violates subparagraph (A) or
subparagraph (C) shall be subject to a civil money penalty
of not more than $5,000 or the aggregate amount spent
on the communication involved (whichever is greater) for
each such violation.
‘‘(ii) Any person who knowingly and willfully violates
subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (C) shall be subject
to a civil money penalty of not more than $10,000 or 200
percent of the aggregate amount spent on the communica-
tion involved (whichever is greater) for each such violation.
‘‘(iii) The Commission may refer a knowing and will-
ful violation of subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (C) to
the Attorney General, who may bring a criminal action
against the person involved. If the person is convicted in
any such action, the person shall be fined not more than
$25,000 or 300 percent of the aggregate amount spent
on the communication involved (whichever is greater) for
each such violation, imprisoned for not more than one
year, or both.
‘‘(E)(i) A communication described in this subpara-
graph is any communication which mentions a clearly
identified candidate for election for Federal office (includ-
ing any individual who has formed an exploratory com-
mittee for such election) or the political party of such a
candidate, or which contains the likeness of such a can-
didate, (other than a payment which would be described
in clause (i), (iii), or (v) of section 301(9)(B) of the Fed-
eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 if the payment were
an expenditure under such section).
‘‘(ii) In clause (i), the term ‘Federal office’ has the
meaning given such term in section 301(3) of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971.
‘‘(F) This paragraph does not apply with respect to
a communication if (prior to spending funds on the com-
munication) the person providing the communication to
the broadcast station has not spent an aggregate amount
or value of $10,000 or more on all such communications
during the calendar year involved.
‘‘(G) This paragraph shall apply with respect to a
video programmer and a multi-channel video program dis-
tributor in the same manner as it applies to a broadcast
station.’’.
SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN EXEMPT ACTIVITY BY
CORPORATIONS 
AND 
LABOR 
ORGANIZA-
TIONS.
(a) STATEMENTS OF DISBURSEMENTS FOR EXEMPT
ACTIVITIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 316 of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is
amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(c)(1) Each corporation and labor organization
which makes an aggregate amount of disbursements in ex-
cess of $50,000 during a calendar year for activities de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of subsection
(b)(2) (except as provided in paragraph (3)) shall file a
statement with the Commission containing the following
information with respect to the reporting period involved:
‘‘(A) The aggregate amount of disburse-
ments made.
‘‘(B) The name and address of the person
or entity to whom a disbursement is made in an
aggregate amount in excess of $200.
‘‘(C) The date made, amount, and purpose
of the disbursement.
‘‘(D) If applicable, whether the disburse-
ment was in support of, or in opposition to, a
candidate or a political party, and the name of
the candidate or the political party.
‘‘(E) Such other information regarding the
disbursements as the Commission may pre-
scribe.
‘‘(2) The statements required to be filed under this
subsection shall be filed—
‘‘(A) on a monthly basis as described in
section 304(a)(4)(B); or
‘‘(B) in the case of disbursements which
are made within 20 days of an election, within
48 hours after the disbursements are made.
‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the activities
described in subparagraph (A) do not include any activity
with respect to a communication which does not contain
an expression of support for or opposition to a candidate
for Federal office or a political party.’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
301(9)(B)(iii) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(B)(iii))
is amended by striking ‘‘, except that’’ and all that
follows through ‘‘general election’’.
(b) DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL POLITICAL ACTIVITY
TO MEMBERS AND SHAREHOLDERS.—Section 316 of such
Act (2 U.S.C. 441b), as amended by subsection (a), is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(d)(1) Not later than 60 days after the end of each
calendar year, each labor organization described in this
section shall provide each of its members and each other
person who pays dues to the organization with a notice
containing the aggregate amount of disbursements made
by the organization for Federal political activities during
the year.
‘‘(2) Not later than 60 days after the end of each
calendar year, each corporation described in this section
shall provide each of its shareholders with a notice con-
taining the aggregate amount of disbursements made by
the corporation for Federal political activities during the
year.
‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘Federal political ac-
tivity’ means any activity carried out for the purpose of
influencing (in whole or in part) any election for Federal
office, influencing the consideration or outcome of any
Federal legislation or the issuance or outcome of any Fed-
eral regulations, or educating individuals about candidates
for election for Federal office or any Federal legislation,
law, or regulations.’’.
SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE BY STATE PARTIES OF INFORMATION
REPORTED UNDER STATE OR LOCAL LAW.
Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434), as amended by section 3, is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(e) If a political committee of a State political party
is required under a State or local law, rule, or regulation
to submit a report on its disbursements to an entity of
the State or local government, the committee shall file a
copy of the report with the Commission at the time it sub-
mits the report to such an entity.’’.
SEC. 7. DISCLOSURE OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS
FROM NONFEDERAL ACCOUNTS OF FEDERAL
COMMITTEES AND CANDIDATES.
(a) REPORTING OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS
FOR NONFEDERAL ACTIVITIES.—Section 304(b) of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b))
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(7);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (8) and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(9) in the case of a political committee other
than an authorized committee, for both the reporting
period and the calendar year, the receipts and dis-
bursements of any account of the committee whose
funds are used for purposes which are not otherwise
subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting
requirements of this Act; and
‘‘(10) in the case of an authorized committee of
a candidate for Federal office, for both the reporting
period and the election cycle—
‘‘(A) the receipts and disbursements of any
accounts of the committee whose funds are used
for purposes which are not otherwise subject to
the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re-
quirements of this Act, and
‘‘(B) the receipts and disbursements of any
organization under the direction or control of
the committee or of the candidate or office-
holder the committee supports which provides
financial or other support for any Federal,
State, or local political party, for any candidate
for election for State or local office, or for the
dissemination of any electioneering communica-
tion (as defined in section 304(d)(3)).’’.
(b) INFORMATION ON STATEMENT OF ORGANIZA-
TION.—Section 303(b) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 433(b)) is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking the semicolon
at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, including
any organization under the direction or control of
the committee or of the candidate or officeholder the
committee supports which provides financial or other
support for any Federal, State, or local political
party, for any candidate for election for State or
local office, or for the dissemination of any election-
eering 
communication 
(as 
defined 
in 
section
304(d)(3));’’; and
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the semicolon
at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, together
with a description (including the name, address, and
position of the custodian) of any accounts of the
committee whose funds are not otherwise subject to
the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting require-
ments of this Act;’’.
SEC. 8. DISCLOSURE AND REPORTS OF PUSH POLLS AND
PHONE BANKS.
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:
‘‘DISCLOSURE AND REPORTS RELATING TO POLLING BY
TELEPHONE OR ELECTRONIC DEVICE
‘‘SEC. 323. (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who con-
ducts a Federal election poll by telephone or electronic de-
vice shall disclose to each respondent the identity of the
person paying the expenses of the poll. The disclosure
shall be made at the end of the interview involved.
‘‘(b) REPORTS.—In the case of any Federal election
poll by telephone or electronic device—
‘‘(1) if the results are not to be made public,
the person who conducts the poll shall report to the
Commission the total cost of the poll and all sources
of funds for the poll; and
‘‘(2) the person who conducts the poll shall re-
port to the Commission the total number of house-
holds contacted and include with such report a copy
of the poll questions.
‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
‘Federal election poll’ means a survey—
‘‘(1) in which the respondent is asked to state
a preference in a future election for Federal office;
and
‘‘(2) in which more than 500 households are
surveyed.’’.
SEC. 9. RECORD KEEPING AND REPORTING OF SECONDARY
PAYMENTS.
(a) REPORTING.—Section 304(b)(5)(A) of the Fed-
eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (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 $5,000 or more
in an election cycle to other persons (not including employ-
ees) who provide goods or services to the candidate or the
candidate’s authorized committees, the name and address
of such other persons, together with the date, amount, and
purpose of such expenditures;’’.
(b) 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 $5,000 or more in
an election cycle to other persons (not including employ-
ees) 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.’’.
(c) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REPORTS.—Nothing in
the amendments made by this section may be construed
to affect the terms of any other recordkeeping or reporting
requirements applicable to candidates or political commit-
tees under title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971.
SEC. 10. 48-HOUR DEADLINE FOR DISCLOSURE OF CON-
TRIBUTIONS RECEIVED DURING 90-DAY PE-
RIOD PRECEDING GENERAL ELECTION.
Section 304(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(12)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Act, each political committee which receives a contribution
in an amount equal to or greater than $500 during the
period which begins on the 90th day before a general elec-
tion for Federal office and ends at the time the polls close
for such election (determined without regard to any day
preceding the primary election, convention, or caucus for
the selection of the candidates for such general election)
shall, with respect to any information required to be filed
with the Commission under this section with respect to
such contribution, file and preserve the information using
electronic mail, the Internet, or such other method of in-
stantaneous transmission as the Commission may permit,
and shall file the information within 48 hours after the
receipt of the contribution.
‘‘(B) The Commission shall make the information
filed under this paragraph available on the Internet imme-
diately upon receipt.’’.
SEC. 11. IDENTIFICATION OF REGISTERED LOBBYISTS AND
FOREIGN AGENTS.
Section 301(13)(A) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(13)(A)) is amended by
inserting after ‘‘employer’’ the following: ‘‘and a statement
as to whether the individual is registered as a lobbyist
under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 or registered
as the agent of a foreign principal under the Foreign
Agents Registration Act of 1938’’.
SEC. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply with
respect to elections occurring after December 31, 2000.
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