I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3953 
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to replace the Federal 
Election Commission with the Federal Election Administration, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 4, 2017 
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on House Administration 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 
replace the Federal Election Commission with the Fed-
eral Election Administration, 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. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Federal Election Administration Act of 2017’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—FEDERAL ELECTION ADMINISTRATION 
Sec. 101. Establishment of the Federal Election Administration. 
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Sec. 102. Executive Schedule positions. 
Sec. 103. GAO examination of enforcement of campaign finance laws by the 
Department of Justice. 
Sec. 104. GAO study and report on appropriate funding levels. 
Sec. 105. Conforming amendments. 
TITLE II—TRANSITION PROVISIONS 
Sec. 201. Transfer of functions of Federal Election Commission. 
Sec. 202. Transfer of property, records, and personnel. 
Sec. 203. Repeals. 
Sec. 204. Conforming amendments. 
Sec. 205. Treatment of certain regulations. 
Sec. 206. Effective date. 
TITLE I—FEDERAL ELECTION 
ADMINISTRATION 
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION AD-
MINISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 
‘‘Subtitle B—Administrative 
Provisions 
‘‘CHAPTER 1—ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 
FEDERAL ELECTION ADMINISTRATION 
‘‘SEC. 351. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION 
ADMINISTRATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Federal 
Election Administration (in this Act referred to as the 
‘Administration’). 
‘‘(b) INDEPENDENT ESTABLISHMENT.—The Admin-
istration shall be an independent establishment (as defined 
in section 104 of title 5, United States Code). 
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‘‘(c) PURPOSE.—The Administration shall admin-
ister, seek to obtain compliance with, enforce, and formu-
late policy in a manner that is consistent with the lan-
guage and intent of Congress with respect to the following 
statutes: 
‘‘(1) This Act. 
‘‘(2) The Presidential Election Campaign Fund 
Act under chapter 95 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986. 
‘‘(3) The Presidential Primary Matching Pay-
ment Account Act under chapter 96 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(d) EXCLUSIVE CIVIL JURISDICTION.—The Admin-
istration shall have exclusive jurisdiction with respect to 
the civil enforcement of the statutes identified in sub-
section (c). 
‘‘(e) VOTING REQUIREMENT.—All decisions of the 
Administration with respect to the exercise of its duties 
and powers under this Act, except those expressly reserved 
for decision by the Chair, shall be made by a majority vote 
of its members. 
‘‘(f) MEETINGS AND QUORUM.— 
‘‘(1) MEETINGS.—The Administration shall 
meet— 
‘‘(A) at least once each month; and 
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‘‘(B) at the call of the Chair. 
‘‘(2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 
the Administration shall constitute a quorum. 
‘‘(g) SEAL.—The Administration shall procure a 
proper seal, with such suitable inscriptions and devices as 
the President shall approve. This seal, to be known as the 
official seal of the Federal Election Administration, shall 
be kept and used to verify official documents, under such 
rules and regulations as the Administration may prescribe. 
Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal. 
‘‘(h) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The principal office of the 
Administration shall be in or near the District of Colum-
bia, but the Administration may meet or exercise any of 
its powers anywhere in the United States. 
‘‘SEC. 352. COMPOSITION OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION AD-
MINISTRATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall be 
composed of 5 members, 1 of whom shall serve as the 
Chair of the Administration. Not more than 2 members 
of the Administration shall be affiliated with the same po-
litical party while serving as a member of the Administra-
tion. For purposes of the preceding sentence, a member 
shall be treated as affiliated with a political party if such 
member was affiliated with such political party at any time 
during the 5-year period ending on the date on which such 
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individual is nominated to be a member of the Administra-
tion. 
‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Ad-
ministration shall be appointed by the President, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
‘‘(2) CHAIR.—The President shall, at the time 
of nomination of the first 5 members of the Admin-
istration, designate 1 of the 5 to serve as the Chair. 
Any individual appointed to succeed, or to fill the 
unexpired term of, that member (or any member 
succeeding that member) shall serve as the Chair. 
‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The President may 
select an individual for service as a Member of 
the Commission if the individual has experience 
in election law and has a demonstrated record 
of integrity, impartiality, and good judgment. 
‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE OF BLUE RIBBON ADVI-
SORY PANEL.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the regu-
larly scheduled expiration of the term of a 
member of the Commission and upon the 
occurrence of a vacancy in the membership 
of the Commission prior to the expiration 
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