567 
Subtitle D—Stand By Every Ad 
SEC. 4301. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Stand By Every 
Ad Act’’. 
SEC. 4302. STAND BY EVERY AD. 
(a) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS
FOR 
CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318 of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120), as 
amended by section 4207(b)(1), is further amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(e) EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR 
COMMUNICATIONS NOT AUTHORIZED BY CANDIDATES OR 
COMMITTEES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (6), any communication described in para-
graph (3) of subsection (a) which is transmitted in 
an audio or video format (including an Internet or 
digital communication), or which is an Internet or 
digital communication transmitted in a text or 
graphic format, shall include, in addition to the re-
quirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (a), the 
following:
568 
‘‘(A) The individual disclosure statement 
described in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 
paying for the communication is an individual) 
or the organizational disclosure statement de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(B) (if the person pay-
ing for the communication is not an individual). 
‘‘(B) If the communication is transmitted 
in a video format, or is an Internet or digital 
communication which is transmitted in a text or 
graphic format, and is paid for in whole or in 
part with a payment which is treated as a cam-
paign-related disbursement under section 324— 
‘‘(i) the Top Five Funders list (if ap-
plicable); or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 
which, as determined on the basis of cri-
teria established in regulations issued by 
the Commission, is of such short duration 
that including the Top Five Funders list in 
the communication would constitute a 
hardship to the person paying for the com-
munication by requiring a disproportionate 
amount of the content of the communica-
tion to consist of the Top Five Funders 
list, the name of a website which contains
569 
the Top Five Funders list (if applicable) 
or, in the case of an Internet or digital 
communication, 
a 
hyperlink 
to 
such 
website. 
‘‘(C) If the communication is transmitted 
in an audio format and is paid for in whole or 
in part with a payment which is treated as a 
campaign-related disbursement under section 
324— 
‘‘(i) the Top Two Funders list (if ap-
plicable); or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a communication 
which, as determined on the basis of cri-
teria established in regulations issued by 
the Commission, is of such short duration 
that including the Top Two Funders list in 
the communication would constitute a 
hardship to the person paying for the com-
munication by requiring a disproportionate 
amount of the content of the communica-
tion to consist of the Top Two Funders 
list, the name of a website which contains 
the Top Two Funders list (if applicable). 
‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS DESCRIBED.—
570 
‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL
DISCLOSURE
STATE-
MENTS.—The individual disclosure statement 
described in this subparagraph is the following: 
‘I am llllllll, and I approve this 
message.’, with the blank filled in with the 
name of the applicable individual. 
‘‘(B) 
ORGANIZATIONAL
DISCLOSURE 
STATEMENTS.—The organizational disclosure 
statement described in this subparagraph is the 
following: 
‘I 
am 
llllllll, 
the 
llllllll of llllllll, and 
llllllll approves this message.’, 
with— 
‘‘(i) the first blank to be filled in with 
the name of the applicable individual; 
‘‘(ii) the second blank to be filled in 
with the title of the applicable individual; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the third and fourth blank each 
to be filled in with the name of the organi-
zation or other person paying for the com-
munication. 
‘‘(3) METHOD
OF
CONVEYANCE
OF
STATE-
MENT.—
571 
‘‘(A) 
COMMUNICATIONS
IN
TEXT
OR 
GRAPHIC FORMAT.—In the case of a commu-
nication to which this subsection applies which 
is transmitted in a text or graphic format, the 
disclosure statements required under paragraph 
(1) shall appear in letters at least as large as 
the majority of the text in the communication. 
‘‘(B) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN 
AUDIO FORMAT.—In the case of a communica-
tion to which this subsection applies which is 
transmitted in an audio format, the disclosure 
statements required under paragraph (1) shall 
be made by audio by the applicable individual 
in a clear and conspicuous manner. 
‘‘(C) COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED IN 
VIDEO FORMAT.—In the case of a communica-
tion to which this subsection applies which is 
transmitted in a video format, the information 
required under paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(i) shall appear in writing at the end 
of the communication or in a crawl along 
the bottom of the communication in a clear 
and conspicuous manner, with a reasonable 
degree of color contrast between the back-
572 
ground and the printed statement, for a 
period of at least 6 seconds; and 
‘‘(ii) shall also be conveyed by an 
unobscured, full-screen view of the applica-
ble individual or by the applicable indi-
vidual making the statement in voice-over 
accompanied by a clearly identifiable pho-
tograph or similar image of the individual, 
except in the case of a Top Five Funders 
list. 
‘‘(4) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—The 
term ‘applicable individual’ means, with respect to a 
communication to which this subsection applies— 
‘‘(A) if the communication is paid for by 
an individual, the individual involved; 
‘‘(B) if the communication is paid for by a 
corporation, the chief executive officer of the 
corporation (or, if the corporation does not have 
a chief executive officer, the highest ranking of-
ficial of the corporation); 
‘‘(C) if the communication is paid for by a 
labor organization, the highest ranking officer 
of the labor organization; and
573 
‘‘(D) if the communication is paid for by 
any other person, the highest ranking official of 
such person. 
‘‘(5) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST AND TOP TWO 
FUNDERS LIST DEFINED.— 
‘‘(A) TOP FIVE FUNDERS LIST.—The term 
‘Top Five Funders list’ means, with respect to 
a communication which is paid for in whole or 
in part with a campaign-related disbursement 
(as defined in section 324), a list of the five 
persons who, during the 12-month period end-
ing on the date of the disbursement, provided 
the largest payments of any type in an aggre-
gate amount equal to or exceeding $10,000 to 
the person who is paying for the communication 
and the amount of the payments each such per-
son provided. If two or more people provided 
the fifth largest of such payments, the person 
paying for the communication shall select one of 
those persons to be included on the Top Five 
Funders list. 
‘‘(B) TOP TWO FUNDERS LIST.—The term 
‘Top Two Funders list’ means, with respect to 
a communication which is paid for in whole or 
in part with a campaign-related disbursement
574 
(as defined in section 324), a list of the persons 
who, during the 12-month period ending on the 
date of the disbursement, provided the largest 
and the second largest payments of any type in 
an aggregate amount equal to or exceeding 
$10,000 to the person who is paying for the 
communication and the amount of the pay-
ments each such person provided. If two or 
more persons provided the second largest of 
such payments, the person paying for the com-
munication shall select one of those persons to 
be included on the Top Two Funders list. 
‘‘(C) 
EXCLUSION
OF
CERTAIN
PAY-
MENTS.—For purposes of subparagraphs (A) 
and (B), in determining the amount of pay-
ments made by a person to a person paying for 
a communication, there shall be excluded the 
following: 
‘‘(i) Any amounts provided in the or-
dinary course of any trade or business con-
ducted by the person paying for the com-
munication or in the form of investments 
in the person paying for the communica-
tion.
575 
‘‘(ii) Any payment which the person 
prohibited, in writing, from being used for 
campaign-related disbursements, but only 
if the person paying for the communication 
agreed to follow the prohibition and depos-
ited the payment in an account which is 
segregated from any account used to make 
campaign-related disbursements. 
‘‘(6) SPECIAL
RULES
FOR
CERTAIN
COMMU-
NICATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) EXCEPTION
FOR
COMMUNICATIONS 
PAID FOR BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN 
POLITICAL COMMITTEES.—This subsection does 
not apply to any communication to which sub-
section (d)(2) applies. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF VIDEO COMMUNICA-
TIONS LASTING 10 SECONDS OR LESS.—In the 
case of a communication to which this sub-
section applies which is transmitted in a video 
format, or is an Internet or digital communica-
tion which is transmitted in a text or graphic 
format, the communication shall meet the fol-
lowing requirements: 
‘‘(i) The communication shall include 
the individual disclosure statement de-
576 
scribed in paragraph (2)(A) (if the person 
paying for the communication is an indi-
vidual) or the organizational disclosure 
statement described in paragraph (2)(B) 
(if the person paying for the communica-
tion is not an individual). 
‘‘(ii) The statement described in 
clause (i) shall appear in writing at the 
end of the communication, or in a crawl 
along the bottom of the communication, in 
a clear and conspicuous manner, with a 
reasonable degree of color contrast between 
the background and the printed statement, 
for a period of at least 4 seconds. 
‘‘(iii) The communication shall in-
clude, in a clear and conspicuous manner, 
a website address with a landing page 
which will provide all of the information 
described in paragraph (1) with respect to 
the communication. Such address shall ap-
pear for the full duration of the commu-
nication. 
‘‘(iv) To the extent that the format in 
which the communication is made permits 
the use of a hyperlink, the communication
577 
shall include a hyperlink to the website ad-
dress described in clause (iii).’’. 
(b) APPLICATION OF EXPANDED REQUIREMENTS TO 
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CONSISTING
OF CAMPAIGN- 
RELATED DISBURSEMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 318(a) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 30120(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘for 
the purpose of financing communications expressly 
advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identi-
fied candidate’’ and inserting ‘‘for a campaign-re-
lated disbursement, as defined in section 324, con-
sisting of a public communication’’. 
(2) CLARIFICATION OF EXEMPTION FROM IN-
CLUSION OF CANDIDATE DISCLAIMER STATEMENT IN 
FEDERAL
JUDICIAL
NOMINATION
COMMUNICA-
TIONS.—Section 318(a)(3) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
30120(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘shall state’’ 
and inserting ‘‘shall (except in the case of a Federal 
judicial nomination communication, as defined in 
section 324(d)(2)) state’’. 
(c) EXCEPTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS PAID FOR BY 
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMIT-
TEES.—Section 318(d)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
30120(d)(2)) is amended—
578 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OTHERS’’ and 
inserting ‘‘CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘Any communication’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(A) Any communication’’; 
(3) by inserting ‘‘which (except to the extent 
provided in subparagraph (B)) is paid for by a polit-
ical committee (including a political committee of a 
political party) and’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 
(4) by striking ‘‘or other person’’ each place it 
appears; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(B)(i) This paragraph does not apply to a 
communication paid for in whole or in part during 
a calendar year with a campaign-related disburse-
ment, but only if the covered organization making 
the campaign-related disbursement made campaign- 
related disbursements (as defined in section 324) ag-
gregating more than $10,000 during such calendar 
year. 
‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i), in determining 
the amount of campaign-related disbursements made 
by a covered organization during a year, there shall 
be excluded the following:
579 
‘‘(I) Any amounts received by the covered 
organization in the ordinary course of any trade 
or business conducted by the covered organiza-
tion or in the form of investments in the cov-
ered organization. 
‘‘(II) Any amounts received by the covered 
organization from a person who prohibited, in 
writing, the organization from using such 
amounts for campaign-related disbursements, 
but only if the covered organization agreed to 
follow the prohibition and deposited the 
amounts in an account which is segregated 
from any account used to make campaign-re-
lated disbursements.’’. 
SEC. 4303. DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMUNICA-
TIONS MADE THROUGH PRERECORDED TELE-
PHONE CALLS. 
(a) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 318(a) of the Fed-
eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
30120(a)), as amended by section 4205(c), is 
amended by striking ‘‘public communication’’ each 
place it appears and inserting the following: ‘‘public 
communication (including a telephone call consisting
580 
in substantial part of a prerecorded audio mes-
sage)’’. 
(2) APPLICATION
TO
COMMUNICATIONS
SUB-
JECT TO EXPANDED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.— 
Section 
318(e)(1) 
of 
such 
Act 
(52 
U.S.C. 
30120(e)(1)), as added by section 4302(a), is 
amended in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 
by striking ‘‘which is transmitted in an audio or 
video format’’ and inserting ‘‘which is transmitted in 
an audio or video format or which consists of a tele-
phone call consisting in substantial part of a 
prerecorded audio message’’. 
(b) TREATMENT AS COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED 
IN AUDIO FORMAT.— 
(1) COMMUNICATIONS BY CANDIDATES OR AU-
THORIZED PERSONS.—Section 318(d) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 30120(d)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) PRERECORDED TELEPHONE CALLS.—Any 
communication described in paragraph (1), (2), or 
(3) of subsection (a) (other than a communication 
which is subject to subsection (e)) which is a tele-
phone call consisting in substantial part of a 
prerecorded audio message shall include, in addition 
to the requirements of such paragraph, the audio
581 
statement required under subparagraph (A) of para-
graph (1) or the audio statement required under 
paragraph (2) (whichever is applicable), except that 
the statement shall be made at the beginning of the 
telephone call.’’. 
(2) COMMUNICATIONS SUBJECT TO EXPANDED 
DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTS.—Section 318(e)(3) of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(3)), as added by sec-
tion 4302(a), is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) 
PRERECORDED
TELEPHONE 
CALLS.—In the case of a communication to 
which this subsection applies which is a tele-
phone call consisting in substantial part of a 
prerecorded audio message, the communication 
shall be considered to be transmitted in an 
audio format.’’. 
SEC. 4304. NO EXPANSION OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO DIS-
CLAIMER 
REQUIREMENTS 
ON 
INTERNET 
COMMUNICATIONS. 
Nothing in this subtitle or the amendments made by 
this subtitle may be construed to require any person who 
is not required under section 318 of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 to include a disclaimer on commu-
582 
nications made by the person through the internet to in-
clude any disclaimer on any such communications. 
SEC. 4305. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by this subtitle shall apply 
with respect to communications made on or after January 
1, 2022, and shall take effect without regard to whether 
or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 
regulations to carry out such amendments. 
Subtitle E—Deterring Foreign 
Interference in Elections 
PART 1—DETERRENCE UNDER FEDERAL 
ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971 
SEC. 4401. RESTRICTIONS ON EXCHANGE OF CAMPAIGN IN-
FORMATION 
BETWEEN 
CANDIDATES 
AND 
FOREIGN POWERS. 
Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121), as amended by section 
4101(b) and section 4209, is further amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(e) RESTRICTIONS ON EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION 
BETWEEN CANDIDATES AND FOREIGN POWERS.— 
‘‘(1) TREATMENT OF OFFER TO SHARE NON-
PUBLIC CAMPAIGN MATERIAL AS SOLICITATION OF 
CONTRIBUTION
FROM
FOREIGN
NATIONAL.—If a 
candidate or an individual affiliated with the cam-
583 
paign of a candidate, or if a political committee or 
an individual affiliated with a political committee, 
provides or offers to provide nonpublic campaign 
material to a covered foreign national or to another 
person whom the candidate, committee, or individual 
knows or has reason to know will provide the mate-
rial to a covered foreign national, the candidate, 
committee, or individual (as the case may be) shall 
be considered for purposes of this section to have so-
licited a contribution or donation described in sub-
section (a)(1)(A) from a foreign national. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol-
lowing definitions apply: 
‘‘(A) The term ‘candidate’ means an indi-
vidual who seeks nomination for, or election to, 
any Federal, State, or local public office. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘covered foreign national’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 
304(j)(3)(C). 
‘‘(C) The term ‘individual affiliated with a 
campaign’ means, with respect to a candidate, 
an employee of any organization legally author-
ized under Federal, State, or local law to sup-
port the candidate’s campaign for nomination 
for, or election to, any Federal, State, or local
584 
public office, as well as any independent con-
tractor of such an organization and any indi-
vidual who performs services on behalf of the 
organization, whether paid or unpaid. 
‘‘(D) The term ‘individual affiliated with a 
political committee’ means, with respect to a 
political committee, an employee of the com-
mittee as well as any independent contractor of 
the committee and any individual who performs 
services on behalf of the committee, whether 
paid or unpaid. 
‘‘(E) The term ‘nonpublic campaign mate-
rial’ means, with respect to a candidate or a po-
litical committee, campaign material that is 
produced by the candidate or the committee or 
produced at the candidate or committee’s ex-
pense or request which is not distributed or 
made available to the general public or other-
wise in the public domain, including polling and 
focus group data and opposition research, ex-
cept that such term does not include material 
produced for purposes of consultations relating 
solely to the candidate’s or committee’s position 
on a legislative or policy matter.’’.
585 
SEC. 4402. CLARIFICATION OF STANDARD FOR DETER-
MINING EXISTENCE OF COORDINATION BE-
TWEEN CAMPAIGNS AND OUTSIDE INTER-
ESTS. 
Section 315(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(10) For purposes of paragraph (7), an expenditure 
or disbursement may be considered to have been made in 
cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or coordinated 
with, a person without regard to whether or not the co-
operation, consultation, or coordination is carried out pur-
suant to agreement or formal collaboration.’’. 
SEC. 4403. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF SUBSTANTIAL 
ASSISTANCE RELATING TO CONTRIBUTION 
OR DONATION BY FOREIGN NATIONALS. 
Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121), as amended by section 
4101(a), section 4101(b), section 4209, and section 4401, 
is further amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para-
graph (2); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following:
586 
‘‘(4) a person to knowingly provide substantial 
assistance to another person in carrying out an ac-
tivity described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3).’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(f) KNOWINGLY DESCRIBED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 
(a)(4), the term ‘knowingly’ means actual knowl-
edge, constructive knowledge, awareness of pertinent 
facts that would lead a reasonable person to con-
clude there is a substantial probability, or awareness 
of pertinent facts that would lead a reasonable per-
son to conduct a reasonable inquiry to establish— 
‘‘(A) with respect to an activity described 
in subsection (a)(1), that the contribution, do-
nation, expenditure, independent expenditure, 
or disbursement is from a foreign national; 
‘‘(B) with respect to an activity described 
in subsection (a)(2), that the contribution or 
donation solicited, accepted, or received is from 
a foreign national; and 
‘‘(C) with respect to an activity described 
in subsection (a)(3), that the person directing, 
dictating, controlling, or directly or indirectly
587 
participating in the decisionmaking process is a 
foreign national. 
‘‘(2) PERTINENT
FACTS.—For purposes of 
paragraph (1), pertinent facts include, but are not 
limited to, that the person making the contribution, 
donation, expenditure, independent expenditure, or 
disbursement, or that the person from whom the 
contribution or donation is solicited, accepted, or re-
ceived, or that the person directing, dictating, con-
trolling, or directly or indirectly participating in the 
decisionmaking process— 
‘‘(A) uses a foreign passport or passport 
number for identification purposes; 
‘‘(B) provides a foreign address; 
‘‘(C) uses a check or other written instru-
ment drawn on a foreign bank, or by a wire 
transfer from a foreign bank, in carrying out 
the activity; or 
‘‘(D) resides abroad. 
‘‘(g) SUBSTANTIAL ASSISTANCE DEFINED.—As used 
in this section, the term ‘substantial assistance’ means, 
with respect to an activity prohibited by paragraph (1), 
(2), or (3) of subsection (a), involvement with an intent 
to facilitate successful completion of the activity.’’.
588 
SEC. 4404. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN 
MONEY BAN. 
(a) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF PROVISION 
OF CERTAIN INFORMATION AS CONTRIBUTION OR DONA-
TION OF A THING OF VALUE.—Section 319 of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121), as 
amended by section 4101(a), section 4101(b), section 
4209, section 4401, and section 4403, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(h) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF PROVISION 
OF CERTAIN INFORMATION AS CONTRIBUTION OR DONA-
TION OF A THING OF VALUE.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, a ‘contribution or donation of money or other thing 
of value’ includes the provision of opposition research, 
polling, or other non-public information relating to a can-
didate for election for a Federal, State, or local office for 
the purpose of influencing the election, regardless of 
whether such research, polling, or information has mone-
tary value, except that nothing in this subsection shall be 
construed to treat the mere provision of an opinion about 
a candidate as a thing of value for purposes of this sec-
tion.’’. 
(b) CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN 
MONEY BAN TO ALL CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONATIONS 
OF THINGS OF VALUE AND TO ALL SOLICITATIONS OF 
CONTRIBUTIONS
AND
DONATIONS
OF
THINGS
OF
590 
disinformation campaign targeted at an election for public 
office held in a State, the Commission shall notify the 
State involved of the determination not later than 30 days 
after making the determination. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the term ‘‘foreign 
national’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
319(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30121(b)). 
PART 3—PROHIBITING USE OF DEEPFAKES IN 
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS 
SEC. 4421. PROHIBITION ON DISTRIBUTION OF MATERI-
ALLY DECEPTIVE AUDIO OR VISUAL MEDIA 
PRIOR TO ELECTION. 
(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 section: 
‘‘SEC. 325. PROHIBITION ON DISTRIBUTION OF MATERI-
ALLY DECEPTIVE MEDIA PRIOR TO ELEC-
TION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
sections (b) and (c), a person, political committee, or other 
entity shall not, within 60 days of an election for Federal 
office at which a candidate for elective office will appear 
on the ballot, distribute, with actual malice, materially de-
ceptive audio or visual media of the candidate with the
591 
intent to injure the candidate’s reputation or to deceive 
a voter into voting for or against the candidate. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIRED
LANGUAGE.—The prohibition 
in subsection (a) does not apply if the audio or vis-
ual media includes— 
‘‘(A) 
a 
disclosure 
stating: 
‘‘This 
lllll has been manipulated.’’; and 
‘‘(B) filled in the blank in the disclosure 
under subparagraph (A), the term ‘image’, 
‘video’, or ‘audio’, as most accurately describes 
the media. 
‘‘(2) VISUAL
MEDIA.—For visual media, the 
text of the disclosure shall appear in a size that is 
easily readable by the average viewer and no smaller 
than the largest font size of other text appearing in 
the visual media. If the visual media does not in-
clude any other text, the disclosure shall appear in 
a size that is easily readable by the average viewer. 
For visual media that is video, the disclosure shall 
appear for the duration of the video. 
‘‘(3) AUDIO-ONLY MEDIA.—If the media con-
sists of audio only, the disclosure shall be read in a 
clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be 
easily heard by the average listener, at the beginning
592 
of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the 
audio is greater than 2 minutes in length, inter-
spersed within the audio at intervals of not greater 
than 2 minutes each. 
‘‘(c) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN ENTITIES.—This 
section does not apply to the following: 
‘‘(1) A radio or television broadcasting station, 
including a cable or satellite television operator, pro-
grammer, or producer, that broadcasts materially 
deceptive audio or visual media prohibited by this 
section as part of a bona fide newscast, news inter-
view, news documentary, or on-the-spot coverage of 
bona fide news events, if the broadcast clearly ac-
knowledges through content or a disclosure, in a 
manner that can be easily heard or read by the aver-
age listener or viewer, that there are questions about 
the authenticity of the materially deceptive audio or 
visual media. 
‘‘(2) A radio or television broadcasting station, 
including a cable or satellite television operator, pro-
grammer, or producer, when it is paid to broadcast 
materially deceptive audio or visual media. 
‘‘(3) An internet website, or a regularly pub-
lished newspaper, magazine, or other periodical of 
general circulation, including an internet or elec-
593 
tronic publication, that routinely carries news and 
commentary of general interest, and that publishes 
materially deceptive audio or visual media prohibited 
by this section, if the publication clearly states that 
the materially deceptive audio or visual media does 
not accurately represent the speech or conduct of the 
candidate. 
‘‘(4) Materially deceptive audio or visual media 
that constitutes satire or parody. 
‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTION.— 
‘‘(1) INJUNCTIVE
OR
OTHER
EQUITABLE
RE-
LIEF.—A candidate for elective office whose voice or 
likeness appears in a materially deceptive audio or 
visual media distributed in violation of this section 
may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohib-
iting the distribution of audio or visual media in vio-
lation of this section. An action under this para-
graph shall be entitled to precedence in accordance 
with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 
‘‘(2) DAMAGES.—A candidate for elective office 
whose voice or likeness appears in a materially de-
ceptive audio or visual media distributed in violation 
of this section may bring an action for general or 
special damages against the person, committee, or 
other entity that distributed the materially deceptive
594 
audio or visual media. The court may also award a 
prevailing party reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. 
This paragraph shall not be construed to limit or 
preclude a plaintiff from securing or recovering any 
other available remedy. 
‘‘(3) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In any civil action 
alleging a violation of this section, the plaintiff shall 
bear the burden of establishing the violation through 
clear and convincing evidence. 
‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall 
not be construed to alter or negate any rights, obligations, 
or immunities of an interactive service provider under sec-
tion 230 of title 47, United States Code. 
‘‘(f) MATERIALLY DECEPTIVE AUDIO
OR VISUAL 
MEDIA DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘materially 
deceptive audio or visual media’ means an image or an 
audio or video recording of a candidate’s appearance, 
speech, or conduct that has been intentionally manipulated 
in a manner such that both of the following conditions 
are met: 
‘‘(1) The image or audio or video recording 
would falsely appear to a reasonable person to be 
authentic. 
‘‘(2) The image or audio or video recording 
would cause a reasonable person to have a fun-
595 
damentally different understanding or impression of 
the expressive content of the image or audio or video 
recording than that person would have if the person 
were hearing or seeing the unaltered, original 
version of the image or audio or video recording.’’. 
(b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 309(d)(1) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
30109(d)(1)), as amended by section 4004, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(G) Any person who knowingly and will-
fully commits a violation of section 325 shall be 
fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned not 
more than 5 years, or both.’’. 
(c) EFFECT
ON DEFAMATION ACTION.—For pur-
poses of an action for defamation, a violation of section 
325 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as 
added by subsection (a), shall constitute defamation per 
se.
596 
PART 4—ASSESSMENT OF EXEMPTION OF REG-
ISTRATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER FARA 
FOR REGISTERED LOBBYISTS 
SEC. 4431. ASSESSMENT OF EXEMPTION OF REGISTRATION 
REQUIREMENTS 
UNDER 
FARA 
FOR 
REG-
ISTERED LOBBYISTS. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct and submit to Congress an assess-
ment of the implications of the exemption provided under 
the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended 
(22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) for agents of foreign principals 
who are also registered lobbyists under the Lobbying Dis-
closure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and shall 
include in the assessment an analysis of the extent to 
which revisions in such Acts might mitigate the risk of 
foreign government money influencing elections or political 
processes in the United States.
597 
Subtitle F—Secret Money 
Transparency 
SEC. 4501. REPEAL OF RESTRICTION OF USE OF FUNDS BY 
INTERNAL 
REVENUE 
SERVICE 
TO 
BRING 
TRANSPARENCY TO POLITICAL ACTIVITY OF 
CERTAIN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. 
Section 122 of the Financial Services and General 
Government Appropriations Act, 2021 (division E of Pub-
lic Law 116–260) is hereby repealed. 
SEC. 4502. REPEAL OF REGULATIONS. 
The final regulations of the Department of the Treas-
ury relating to guidance under section 6033 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 regarding the reporting require-
ments of exempt organizations (published at 85 Fed. Reg. 
31959 (May 28, 2020)) shall have no force and effect. 
Subtitle G—Shareholder Right-to- 
Know 
SEC. 4601. REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS BY 
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION TO 
ENSURE SHAREHOLDERS OF CORPORATIONS 
HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF CORPORATION POLIT-
ICAL ACTIVITY. 
Section 631 of the Financial Services and General 
Government Appropriations Act, 2021 (division E of Pub-
lic Law 116–260) is hereby repealed.
598 
SEC. 4602. ASSESSMENT OF SHAREHOLDER PREFERENCES 
FOR DISBURSEMENTS FOR POLITICAL PUR-
POSES. 
(a) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—The Securities Ex-
change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) is amended 
by inserting after section 10D the following: 
‘‘SEC. 10E. ASSESSMENT OF SHAREHOLDER PREFERENCES 
FOR DISBURSEMENTS FOR POLITICAL PUR-
POSES. 
‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED BEFORE MAKING A 
DISBURSEMENT FOR A POLITICAL PURPOSE.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—An issuer with an equity 
security listed on a national securities exchange may 
not make a disbursement for a political purpose un-
less— 
‘‘(A) the issuer has in place procedures to 
assess the preferences of the shareholders of the 
issuer with respect to making such disburse-
ments; and 
‘‘(B) such an assessment has been made 
within the 1-year period ending on the date of 
such disbursement. 
‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF ISSUERS WHOSE SHARE-
HOLDERS
ARE
PROHIBITED
FROM
EXPRESSING 
PREFERENCES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an 
issuer described under such paragraph with proce-
599 
dures in place to assess the preferences of its share-
holders with respect to making disbursements for 
political purposes shall not be subject to the require-
ments of such paragraph if a majority of the number 
of the outstanding equity securities of the issuer are 
held by persons who are prohibited from expressing 
partisan or political preferences by law, contract, or 
the requirement to meet a fiduciary duty. 
‘‘(3) NO
ASSESSMENT
OF
PREFERENCES
OF 
FOREIGN
NATIONALS.—Notwithstanding paragraph 
(1), an issuer described in such paragraph shall not 
use the procedures described in such paragraph to 
assess the preferences of any shareholder who is a 
foreign national, as defined in section 319 of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
30121). 
‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT
REQUIREMENTS.—The assess-
ment described under subsection (a) shall assess— 
‘‘(1) which types of disbursements for a polit-
ical purpose the shareholder believes the issuer 
should make; 
‘‘(2) whether the shareholder believes that such 
disbursements should be made in support of, or in 
opposition to, Republican, Democratic, Independent,
600 
or other political party candidates and political com-
mittees; 
‘‘(3) whether the shareholder believes that such 
disbursements should be made with respect to elec-
tions for Federal, State, or local office; and 
‘‘(4) such other information as the Commission 
may specify, by rule. 
‘‘(c) DISBURSEMENT FOR A POLITICAL PURPOSE DE-
FINED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘disbursement for a political purpose’ 
means any of the following: 
‘‘(A) A disbursement for an independent 
expenditure, as defined in section 301(17) of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30101(17)). 
‘‘(B) A disbursement for an electioneering 
communication, as defined in section 304(f) of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30104(f)). 
‘‘(C) A disbursement for any public com-
munication, as defined in section 301(22) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30101(22))—
601 
‘‘(i) which expressly advocates the 
election or defeat of a clearly identified 
candidate for election for Federal office, or 
is the functional equivalent of express ad-
vocacy because, when taken as a whole, it 
can be interpreted by a reasonable person 
only as advocating the election or defeat of 
a candidate for election for Federal office; 
or 
‘‘(ii) which refers to a clearly identi-
fied candidate for election for Federal of-
fice and which promotes or supports a can-
didate for that office, or attacks or opposes 
a candidate for that office, without regard 
to whether the communication expressly 
advocates a vote for or against a candidate 
for that office. 
‘‘(D) Any other disbursement which is 
made for the purpose of influencing the out-
come of an election for a public office. 
‘‘(E) Any transfer of funds to another per-
son which is made with the intent that such 
person will use the funds to make a disburse-
ment described in subparagraphs (A) through
602 
(D), or with the knowledge that the person will 
use the funds to make such a disbursement. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘disbursement 
for a political purpose’ does not include any of the 
following: 
‘‘(A) Any disbursement made from a sepa-
rate segregated fund of the corporation under 
section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30118). 
‘‘(B) Any transfer of funds to another per-
son which is made in a commercial transaction 
in the ordinary course of any trade or business 
conducted by the corporation or in the form of 
investments made by the corporation. 
‘‘(C) Any transfer of funds to another per-
son which is subject to a written prohibition 
against the use of the funds for a disbursement 
for a political purpose. 
‘‘(d) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this section, each of 
the terms ‘candidate’, ‘election’, ‘political committee’, and 
‘political party’ has the meaning given such term under 
section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
(52 U.S.C. 30101).’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL ELEC-
TION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971 TO PROHIBIT DISBURSE-
603 
MENTS BY CORPORATIONS FAILING TO ASSESS PREF-
ERENCES.—Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30118) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) PROHIBITING DISBURSEMENTS BY CORPORA-
TIONS
FAILING
TO
ASSESS
SHAREHOLDER
PREF-
ERENCES.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for a 
corporation to make a disbursement for a political 
purpose unless the corporation has in place proce-
dures to assess the preferences of its shareholders 
with respect to making such disbursements, as pro-
vided in section 10E of the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 
‘disbursement for a political purpose’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 10E(c) of the Securi-
ties Exchange Act of 1934.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to disbursements 
made on or after December 31, 2021. 
SEC. 4603. GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONS OF CORPORATE 
PACS. 
(a) ASSESSMENT OF GOVERNANCE.—Section 316 of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C.
604 
30118) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(d) ASSESSMENT OF GOVERNANCE.—The Commis-
sion shall, on an ongoing basis, collect information on the 
governance of the separate segregated funds of corpora-
tions under this section, using the most recent statements 
of organization provided by such funds under section 
303(a), including information on the following: 
‘‘(1) The extent to which such funds have by- 
laws which govern their operations. 
‘‘(2) The extent to which those funds which 
have by-laws which govern their operations use a 
board of directors to oversee the operation of the 
fund. 
‘‘(3) The characteristics of those individuals 
who serve on boards of directors which oversee the 
operations of such funds, including the relation of 
such individuals to the corporation.’’. 
(b) ANALYSIS OF DONORS.— 
(1) ANALYSIS.—The Federal Election Commis-
sion shall conduct an analysis of the composition of 
the base of donors to separate segregated funds of 
corporations under section 316 of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30118).
605 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion shall submit to Congress a report on the anal-
ysis conducted under paragraph (1), and shall ini-
tiate the promulgation of a regulation to establish a 
new designation and classification of such separate 
segregated funds. 
Subtitle H—Disclosure of Political 
Spending by Government Con-
tractors 
SEC. 4701. REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS TO 
REQUIRE DISCLOSURE OF POLITICAL SPEND-
ING BY GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS. 
Section 735 of the Financial Services and General 
Government Appropriations Act, 2021 (division E of Pub-
lic Law 116–260) is hereby repealed. 
Subtitle I—Limitation and Disclo-
sure Requirements for Presi-
dential Inaugural Committees 
SEC. 4801. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Inau-
gural Committee Oversight Act’’.
606 
SEC. 4802. LIMITATIONS AND DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN DO-
NATIONS TO, AND DISBURSEMENTS BY, INAU-
GURAL COMMITTEES. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
INAUGURAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), as amended by section 
4421, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 326. INAUGURAL COMMITTEES. 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITED DONATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful— 
‘‘(A) for an Inaugural Committee— 
‘‘(i) to solicit, accept, or receive a do-
nation from a person that is not an indi-
vidual; or 
‘‘(ii) to solicit, accept, or receive a do-
nation from a foreign national; 
‘‘(B) for a person— 
‘‘(i) to make a donation to an Inau-
gural Committee in the name of another 
person, or to knowingly authorize his or 
her name to be used to effect such a dona-
tion; 
‘‘(ii) to knowingly accept a donation 
to an Inaugural Committee made by a per-
son in the name of another person; or
607 
‘‘(iii) to convert a donation to an In-
augural Committee to personal use as de-
scribed in paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(C) for a foreign national to, directly or 
indirectly, make a donation, or make an express 
or implied promise to make a donation, to an 
Inaugural Committee. 
‘‘(2) CONVERSION OF DONATION TO PERSONAL 
USE.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(iii), a do-
nation shall be considered to be converted to per-
sonal use if any part of the donated amount is used 
to fulfill a commitment, obligation, or expense of a 
person that would exist irrespective of the respon-
sibilities of the Inaugural Committee under chapter 
5 of title 36, United States Code. 
‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON DISBURSEMENT OF UN-
USED
FUNDS
TO
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS.— 
Nothing in this subsection may be construed to pro-
hibit an Inaugural Committee from disbursing un-
used funds to an organization which is described in 
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 
501(a) of such Code. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON DONATIONS.—
608 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for an 
individual to make donations to an Inaugural Com-
mittee which, in the aggregate, exceed $50,000. 
‘‘(2) INDEXING.—At the beginning of each 
Presidential election year (beginning with 2028), the 
amount described in paragraph (1) shall be in-
creased by the cumulative percent difference deter-
mined in section 315(c)(1)(A) since the previous 
Presidential election year. If any amount after such 
increase is not a multiple of $1,000, such amount 
shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $1,000. 
‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN DONATIONS AND DIS-
BURSEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) DONATIONS OVER $1,000.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An Inaugural Com-
mittee shall file with the Commission a report 
disclosing any donation by an individual to the 
committee in an amount of $1,000 or more not 
later than 24 hours after the receipt of such do-
nation. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS
OF
REPORT.—A report 
filed under subparagraph (A) shall contain— 
‘‘(i) the amount of the donation; 
‘‘(ii) the date the donation is received; 
and
609 
‘‘(iii) the name and address of the in-
dividual making the donation. 
‘‘(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than the date 
that is 90 days after the date of the Presidential in-
augural ceremony, the Inaugural Committee shall 
file with the Commission a report containing the fol-
lowing information: 
‘‘(A) For each donation of money or any-
thing of value made to the committee in an ag-
gregate amount equal to or greater than 
$200— 
‘‘(i) the amount of the donation; 
‘‘(ii) the date the donation is received; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the name and address of the in-
dividual making the donation. 
‘‘(B) The total amount of all disburse-
ments, and all disbursements in the following 
categories: 
‘‘(i) Disbursements made to meet 
committee operating expenses. 
‘‘(ii) Repayment of all loans. 
‘‘(iii) Donation refunds and other off-
sets to donations. 
‘‘(iv) Any other disbursements.
610 
‘‘(C) The name and address of each per-
son— 
‘‘(i) to whom a disbursement in an ag-
gregate amount or value in excess of $200 
is made by the committee to meet a com-
mittee operating expense, together with 
date, amount, and purpose of such oper-
ating expense; 
‘‘(ii) who receives a loan repayment 
from the committee, together with the date 
and amount of such loan repayment; 
‘‘(iii) who receives a donation refund 
or other offset to donations from the com-
mittee, together with the date and amount 
of such disbursement; and 
‘‘(iv) to whom any other disbursement 
in an aggregate amount or value in excess 
of $200 is made by the committee, to-
gether with the date and amount of such 
disbursement. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1)(A) The term ‘donation’ includes— 
‘‘(i) any gift, subscription, loan, advance, 
or deposit of money or anything of value made 
by any person to the committee; or
611 
‘‘(ii) the payment by any person of com-
pensation for the personal services of another 
person which are rendered to the committee 
without charge for any purpose. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘donation’ does not include the 
value of services provided without compensation by 
any individual who volunteers on behalf of the com-
mittee. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘foreign national’ has the mean-
ing given that term by section 319(b). 
‘‘(3) The term ‘Inaugural Committee’ has the 
meaning given that term by section 501 of title 36, 
United States Code.’’. 
(b) CONFIRMING AMENDMENT RELATED
TO RE-
PORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304 of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (h); and 
(2) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 
(h). 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATED TO STATUS 
OF COMMITTEE.—Section 510 of title 36, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows:
612 
‘‘§ 510. Disclosure of and prohibition on certain dona-
tions 
‘‘A committee shall not be considered to be the Inau-
gural Committee for purposes of this chapter unless the 
committee agrees to, and meets, the requirements of sec-
tion 326 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this Act shall apply with respect to Inaugural Committees 
established under chapter 5 of title 36, United States 
Code, for inaugurations held in 2025 and any succeeding 
year. 
Subtitle J—Miscellaneous 
Provisions 
SEC. 4901. EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROVISIONS. 
Each provision of this title and each amendment 
made by a provision of this title shall take effect on the 
effective date provided under this title for such provision 
or such amendment without regard to whether or not the 
Federal Election Commission, the Attorney General, or 
any other person has promulgated regulations to carry out 
such provision or such amendment. 
SEC. 4902. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this title or amendment made by 
this title, or the application of a provision or amendment 
to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu-
tional, the remainder of this title and amendments made
613 
by this title, and the application of the provisions and 
amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 
affected by the holding. 
TITLE V—CAMPAIGN FINANCE 
EMPOWERMENT 
Subtitle A—Findings Relating to Citizens United Decision 
Sec. 5001. Findings relating to Citizens United decision. 
Subtitle B—Congressional Elections 
Sec. 5100. Short title. 
PART 1—MY VOICE VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM 
Sec. 5101. Establishment of pilot program. 
Sec. 5102. Voucher program described. 
Sec. 5103. Reports. 
Sec. 5104. Definitions. 
PART 2—SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION 
CAMPAIGNS 
Sec. 5111. Benefits and eligibility requirements for candidates. 
‘‘TITLE V—SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF CONGRESSIONAL 
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS 
‘‘Subtitle A—Benefits 
‘‘Sec. 501. Benefits for participating candidates. 
‘‘Sec. 502. Procedures for making payments. 
‘‘Sec. 503. Use of funds. 
‘‘Sec. 504. Qualified small dollar contributions described. 
‘‘Subtitle B—Eligibility and Certification 
‘‘Sec. 511. Eligibility. 
‘‘Sec. 512. Qualifying requirements. 
‘‘Sec. 513. Certification. 
‘‘Subtitle C—Requirements for Candidates Certified as Participating 
Candidates 
‘‘Sec. 521. Contribution and expenditure requirements. 
‘‘Sec. 522. Administration of campaign. 
‘‘Sec. 523. Preventing unnecessary spending of public funds. 
‘‘Sec. 524. Remitting unspent funds after election. 
‘‘Subtitle D—Enhanced Match Support 
‘‘Sec. 531. Enhanced support for general election. 
‘‘Sec. 532. Eligibility.
614 
‘‘Sec. 533. Amount. 
‘‘Sec. 534. Waiver of authority to retain portion of unspent funds after 
election. 
‘‘Subtitle E—Administrative Provisions 
‘‘Sec. 541. Freedom From Influence Fund. 
‘‘Sec. 542. Reviews and reports by Government Accountability Office. 
‘‘Sec. 543. Administration by Commission. 
‘‘Sec. 544. Violations and penalties. 
‘‘Sec. 545. Appeals process. 
‘‘Sec. 546. Indexing of amounts. 
‘‘Sec. 547. Election cycle defined. 
Sec. 5112. Contributions and expenditures by multicandidate and political 
party committees on behalf of participating candidates. 
Sec. 5113. Prohibiting use of contributions by participating candidates for pur-
poses other than campaign for election. 
Sec. 5114. Assessments against fines and penalties. 
Sec. 5115. Study and report on small dollar financing program. 
Sec. 5116. Effective date. 
Subtitle C—Presidential Elections 
Sec. 5200. Short title. 
PART 1—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 
Sec. 5201. Increase in and modifications to matching payments. 
Sec. 5202. Eligibility requirements for matching payments. 
Sec. 5203. Repeal of expenditure limitations. 
Sec. 5204. Period of availability of matching payments. 
Sec. 5205. Examination and audits of matchable contributions. 
Sec. 5206. Modification to limitation on contributions for Presidential primary 
candidates. 
Sec. 5207. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments. 
PART 2—GENERAL ELECTIONS 
Sec. 5211. Modification of eligibility requirements for public financing. 
Sec. 5212. Repeal of expenditure limitations and use of qualified campaign con-
tributions. 
Sec. 5213. Matching payments and other modifications to payment amounts. 
Sec. 5214. Increase in limit on coordinated party expenditures. 
Sec. 5215. Establishment of uniform date for release of payments. 
Sec. 5216. Amounts in Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 
Sec. 5217. Use of general election payments for general election legal and ac-
counting compliance. 
Sec. 5218. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments. 
PART 3—EFFECTIVE DATE 
Sec. 5221. Effective date. 
Subtitle D—Personal Use Services as Authorized Campaign Expenditures 
Sec. 5301. Short title; findings; purpose. 
Sec. 5302. Treatment of payments for child care and other personal use serv-
ices as authorized campaign expenditure.
615 
Subtitle E—Empowering Small Dollar Donations 
Sec. 5401. Permitting political party committees to provide enhanced support 
for candidates through use of separate small dollar accounts. 
Subtitle F—Severability 
Sec. 5501. Severability. 
Subtitle A—Findings Relating to 
Citizens United Decision 
SEC. 5001. FINDINGS RELATING TO CITIZENS UNITED DECI-
SION. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The American Republic was founded on the 
principle that all people are created equal, with 
rights and responsibilities as citizens to vote, be rep-
resented, speak, debate, and participate in self-gov-
ernment on equal terms regardless of wealth. To se-
cure these rights and responsibilities, our Constitu-
tion not only protects the equal rights of all Ameri-
cans but also provides checks and balances to pre-
vent corruption and prevent concentrated power and 
wealth from undermining effective self-government. 
(2) The Founders designed the First Amend-
ment to help prevent tyranny by ensuring that the 
people have the tools they need to ensure self-gov-
ernment and to keep their elected leaders responsive 
to the public. The Amendment thus guarantees the 
right of everyone to speak, to petition the govern-
ment for redress, to assemble together, and for a
616 
free press. If only the wealthiest individuals can par-
ticipate meaningfully in our democracy, then these 
First Amendment principles become an illusion. 
(3) Campaign finance laws promote these First 
Amendment interests. They increase robust debate 
from diverse voices, enhance the responsiveness of 
elected officeholders, and help prevent corruption. 
They do not censor anyone’s speech but simply en-
sure that no one’s speech is drowned out. The Su-
preme Court has failed to recognize that these laws 
are essential, proactive rules that help guarantee 
true democratic self-government. 
(4) The Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens 
United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 
310 (2010) and McCutcheon v. FEC, 572 U.S. 185 
(2014), as well as other court decisions, erroneously 
invalidated even-handed rules about the spending of 
money in local, State, and Federal elections. These 
rules do not prevent anyone from speaking their 
mind, much less pick winners and losers of political 
debates. Although the Court has upheld other con-
tent-neutral laws like these, it has failed to apply to 
same logic to campaign finance laws. These flawed 
decisions have empowered large corporations, ex-
tremely wealthy individuals, and special interests to
617 
dominate election spending, corrupt our politics, and 
degrade our democracy through tidal waves of un-
limited and anonymous spending. These decisions 
also stand in contrast to a long history of efforts by 
Congress and the States to regulate money in poli-
tics to protect democracy, and they illustrate a trou-
bling deregulatory trend in campaign finance-related 
court decisions. Additionally, an unknown amount of 
foreign money continues to be spent in our political 
system as subsidiaries of foreign-based corporations 
and hostile foreign actors sometimes connected to 
nation-states work to influence our elections. 
(5) The Supreme Court’s misinterpretation of 
the Constitution to empower monied interests at the 
expense of the American people in elections has seri-
ously eroded over 100 years of congressional action 
to promote fairness and protect elections from the 
toxic influence of money. 
(6) In 1907, Congress passed the Tillman Act 
in response to the concentration of corporate power 
in the post-Civil War Gilded Age. The Act prohibited 
corporations from making contributions in connec-
tion with Federal elections, aiming ‘‘not merely to 
prevent the subversion of the integrity of the elec-
toral process [but] * * * to sustain the active, alert
618 
responsibility of the individual citizen in a democ-
racy for the wise conduct of government’’. 
(7) By 1910, Congress began passing disclosure 
requirements and campaign expenditure limits, and 
dozens of States passed corrupt practices Acts to 
prohibit corporate spending in elections. States also 
enacted campaign spending limits, and some States 
limited the amount that people could contribute to 
campaigns. 
(8) In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act prohibited 
corporations and unions from making campaign con-
tributions or other expenditures to influence elec-
tions. In 1962, a Presidential commission on election 
spending recommended spending limits and incen-
tives to increase small contributions from more peo-
ple. 
(9) The Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (FECA), as amended in 1974, required disclo-
sure of contributions and expenditures, imposed con-
tribution and expenditure limits for individuals and 
groups, set spending limits for campaigns, can-
didates, and groups, implemented a public funding 
system for Presidential campaigns, and created the 
Federal Election Commission to oversee and enforce 
the new rules.
619 
(10) In the wake of Citizens United and other 
damaging Federal court decisions, Americans have 
witnessed an explosion of outside spending in elec-
tions. Outside spending increased more than 700 
percent between the 2008 and 2020 Presidential 
election years. Spending by outside groups nearly 
doubled again from 2016 to 2020 with super PACs, 
tax-exempt groups, and others spending more than 
$3,000,000,000. And as political entities adapt to a 
post-Citizens United, post-McCutcheon landscape, 
these trends are getting worse, as evidenced by the 
record-setting 2020 elections which cost more than 
$14,000,000,000 in total. 
(11) Since the landmark Citizens United deci-
sion, 21 States and more than 800 municipalities, 
including large cities like New York, Los Angeles, 
Chicago, and Philadelphia, have gone on record sup-
porting a constitutional amendment. Transcending 
political leanings and geographic location, voters in 
States and municipalities across the country that 
have placed amendment questions on the ballot have 
routinely supported these initiatives by considerably 
large margins. 
(12) The Court has tied the hands of Congress 
and the States, severely restricting them from set-
620 
ting reasonable limits on campaign spending. For 
example, the Court has held that only the Govern-
ment’s interest in preventing quid pro quo corrup-
tion, like bribery, or the appearance of such corrup-
tion, can justify limits on campaign contributions. 
More broadly, the Court has severely curtailed at-
tempts to reduce the ability of the Nation’s wealthi-
est and most powerful to skew our democracy in 
their favor by buying outsized influence in our elec-
tions. Because this distortion of the Constitution has 
prevented other critical regulation or reform of the 
way we finance elections in America, a constitutional 
amendment is needed to achieve a democracy for all 
the people. 
(13) The torrent of money flowing into our po-
litical system has a profound effect on the demo-
cratic process for everyday Americans, whose voices 
and policy preferences are increasingly being 
drowned out by those of wealthy special interests. 
The more campaign cash from wealthy special inter-
ests can flood our elections, the more policies that 
favor those interests are reflected in the national po-
litical agenda. When it comes to policy preferences, 
our Nation’s wealthiest tend to have fundamentally 
different views than do average Americans when it
621 
comes to issues ranging from unemployment benefits 
to the minimum wage to health care coverage. 
(14) At the same time millions of Americans 
have signed petitions, marched, called their Members 
of Congress, written letters to the editor, and other-
wise demonstrated their public support for a con-
stitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United 
that will allow Congress to reign in the outsized in-
fluence of unchecked money in politics. Dozens of 
organizations, representing tens of millions of indi-
viduals, have come together in a shared strategy of 
supporting such an amendment. 
(15) In order to protect the integrity of democ-
racy and the electoral process and to ensure political 
equality for all, the Constitution should be amended 
so that Congress and the States may regulate and 
set limits on the raising and spending of money to 
influence elections and may distinguish between nat-
ural persons and artificial entities, like corporations, 
that are created by law, including by prohibiting 
such artificial entities from spending money to influ-
ence elections.
622 
Subtitle B—Congressional 
Elections 
SEC. 5100. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Government By 
the People Act of 2021’’. 
PART 1—MY VOICE VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM 
SEC. 5101. ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Federal Election Com-
mission (hereafter in this part referred to as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’) shall establish a pilot program under which the 
Commission shall select 3 eligible States to operate a 
voucher pilot program which is described in section 5102 
during the program operation period. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES.—A State is eligible to 
be selected to operate a voucher pilot program under this 
part if, not later than 180 days after the beginning of the 
program application period, the State submits to the Com-
mission an application containing— 
(1) information and assurances that the State 
will operate a voucher program which contains the 
elements described in section 5102(a); 
(2) information and assurances that the State 
will establish fraud prevention mechanisms described 
in section 5102(b);
623 
(3) information and assurances that the State 
will establish a commission to oversee and implement 
the program as described in section 5102(c); 
(4) information and assurances that the State 
will carry out a public information campaign as de-
scribed in section 5102(d); 
(5) information and assurances that the State 
will submit reports as required under section 5103; 
and 
(6) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require. 
(c) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING STATES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the beginning of the program application period, the 
Commission shall select the 3 States which will oper-
ate voucher pilot programs under this part. 
(2) CRITERIA.—In selecting States for the oper-
ation of the voucher pilot programs under this part, 
the Commission shall apply such criteria and metrics 
as the Commission considers appropriate to deter-
mine the ability of a State to operate the program 
successfully, and shall attempt to select States in a 
variety of geographic regions and with a variety of 
political party preferences.
624 
(3) NO SUPERMAJORITY REQUIRED FOR SELEC-
TION.—The selection of States by the Commission 
under this subsection shall require the approval of 
only half of the Members of the Commission. 
(d) DUTIES OF STATES DURING PROGRAM PREPARA-
TION PERIOD.—During the program preparation period, 
each State selected to operate a voucher pilot program 
under this part shall take such actions as may be nec-
essary to ensure that the State will be ready to operate 
the program during the program operation period, and 
shall complete such actions not later than 90 days before 
the beginning of the program operation period. 
(e) TERMINATION.—Each voucher pilot program 
under this part shall terminate as of the first day after 
the program operation period. 
(f) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.— 
(1) REIMBURSEMENT.—Upon receiving the re-
port submitted by a State under section 5103(a) 
with respect to an election cycle, the Commission 
shall transmit a payment to the State in an amount 
equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the State 
in operating the voucher pilot program under this 
part during the cycle. 
(2) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Payments to States 
under the program shall be made using amounts in
625 
the Freedom From Influence Fund under section 
541 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
(as added by section 5111), hereafter referred to as 
the ‘‘Fund’’. 
(3) MANDATORY REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS IN 
CASE
OF
INSUFFICIENT
AMOUNTS
IN
FREEDOM 
FROM INFLUENCE FUND.— 
(A) ADVANCE AUDITS BY COMMISSION.— 
Not later than 90 days before the first day of 
each program operation period, the Commission 
shall— 
(i) audit the Fund to determine 
whether, after first making payments to 
participating candidates under title V of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (as added by section 5111), the 
amounts remaining in the Fund will be 
sufficient to make payments to States 
under this part in the amounts provided 
under this subsection; and 
(ii) submit a report to Congress de-
scribing the results of the audit. 
(B) REDUCTIONS
IN
AMOUNT
OF
PAY-
MENTS.—
626 
(i) AUTOMATIC
REDUCTION
ON
PRO 
RATA BASIS.—If, on the basis of the audit 
described in subparagraph (A), the Com-
mission determines that the amount antici-
pated to be available in the Fund with re-
spect to an election cycle involved is not, or 
may not be, sufficient to make payments to 
States under this part in the full amount 
provided under this subsection, the Com-
mission shall reduce each amount which 
would otherwise be paid to a State under 
this subsection by such pro rata amount as 
may be necessary to ensure that the aggre-
gate amount of payments anticipated to be 
made with respect to the cycle will not ex-
ceed the amount anticipated to be available 
for such payments in the Fund with re-
spect to such cycle. 
(ii) RESTORATION OF REDUCTIONS IN 
CASE
OF
AVAILABILITY
OF
SUFFICIENT 
FUNDS
DURING
ELECTION
CYCLE.—If, 
after reducing the amounts paid to States 
with respect to an election cycle under 
clause (i), the Commission determines that 
there are sufficient amounts in the Fund
627 
to restore the amount by which such pay-
ments were reduced (or any portion there-
of), to the extent that such amounts are 
available, the Commission may make a 
payment on a pro rata basis to each such 
State with respect to the cycle in the 
amount by which such State’s payments 
were reduced under clause (i) (or any por-
tion thereof, as the case may be). 
(iii) NO
USE
OF
AMOUNTS
FROM 
OTHER SOURCES.—In any case in which 
the Commission determines that there are 
insufficient moneys in the Fund to make 
payments to States under this part, mon-
eys shall not be made available from any 
other source for the purpose of making 
such payments. 
(4) CAP ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The aggre-
gate amount of payments made to any State with re-
spect to any program operation period may not ex-
ceed $10,000,000. If the State determines that the 
maximum payment amount under this paragraph 
with respect to the program operation period in-
volved is not, or may not be, sufficient to cover the 
reasonable costs incurred by the State in operating
628 
the program under this part for such period, the 
State shall reduce the amount of the voucher pro-
vided to each qualified individual by such pro rata 
amount as may be necessary to ensure that the rea-
sonable costs incurred by the State in operating the 
program will not exceed the amount paid to the 
State with respect to such period. 
SEC. 5102. VOUCHER PROGRAM DESCRIBED. 
(a) GENERAL ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.— 
(1) ELEMENTS DESCRIBED.—The elements of a 
voucher pilot program operated by a State under 
this part are as follows: 
(A) The State shall provide each qualified 
individual upon the individual’s request with a 
voucher worth $25 to be known as a ‘‘My Voice 
Voucher’’ during the election cycle which will be 
assigned a routing number and which at the op-
tion of the individual will be provided in either 
paper or electronic form. 
(B) Using the routing number assigned to 
the My Voice Voucher, the individual may sub-
mit the My Voice Voucher in either electronic 
or paper form to qualified candidates for elec-
tion for the office of Representative in, or Dele-
gate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress
629 
and allocate such portion of the value of the My 
Voice Voucher in increments of $5 as the indi-
vidual may select to any such candidate. 
(C) If the candidate transmits the My 
Voice Voucher to the Commission, the Commis-
sion shall pay the candidate the portion of the 
value of the My Voice Voucher that the indi-
vidual allocated to the candidate, which shall be 
considered a contribution by the individual to 
the candidate for purposes of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971. 
(2) DESIGNATION
OF
QUALIFIED
INDIVID-
UALS.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), a ‘‘quali-
fied individual’’ with respect to a State means an in-
dividual— 
(A) who is a resident of the State; 
(B) who will be of voting age as of the 
date of the election for the candidate to whom 
the individual submits a My Voice Voucher; and 
(C) who is not prohibited under Federal 
law from making contributions to candidates 
for election for Federal office. 
(3) TREATMENT
AS
CONTRIBUTION
TO
CAN-
DIDATE.—For purposes of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971, the submission of a My
630 
Voice Voucher to a candidate by an individual shall 
be treated as a contribution to the candidate by the 
individual in the amount of the portion of the value 
of the Voucher that the individual allocated to the 
candidate. 
(b) FRAUD PREVENTION MECHANISM.—In addition 
to the elements described in subsection (a), a State oper-
ating a voucher pilot program under this part shall permit 
an individual to revoke a My Voice Voucher not later than 
2 days after submitting the My Voice Voucher to a can-
didate. 
(c) OVERSIGHT COMMISSION.—In addition to the ele-
ments described in subsection (a), a State operating a 
voucher pilot program under this part shall establish a 
commission or designate an existing entity to oversee and 
implement the program in the State, except that no such 
commission or entity may be comprised of elected officials. 
(d) PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN.—In addition 
to the elements described in subsection (a), a State oper-
ating a voucher pilot program under this part shall carry 
out a public information campaign to disseminate aware-
ness of the program among qualified individuals. 
SEC. 5103. REPORTS. 
(a) PRELIMINARY
REPORT.—Not later than 6 
months after the first election cycle of the program oper-
631 
ation period, a State which operates a voucher pilot pro-
gram under this part shall submit a report to the Commis-
sion analyzing the operation and effectiveness of the pro-
gram during the cycle and including such other informa-
tion as the Commission may require. 
(b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 
the end of the program operation period, the State shall 
submit a final report to the Commission analyzing the op-
eration and effectiveness of the program and including 
such other information as the Commission may require. 
(c) STUDY AND REPORT ON IMPACT AND EFFEC-
TIVENESS OF VOUCHER PROGRAMS.— 
(1) STUDY.—The Federal Election Commission 
shall conduct a study on the efficacy of political 
voucher programs, including the program under this 
part and other similar programs, in expanding and 
diversifying the pool of individuals who participate in 
the electoral process, including those who participate 
as donors and those who participate as candidates. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
shall publish and submit to Congress a report on the 
study conducted under subsection (a), and shall in-
clude in the report such recommendations as the 
Commission considers appropriate which would en-
632 
able political voucher programs to be implemented 
on a national scale. 
SEC. 5104. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) ELECTION CYCLE.—In this part, the term ‘‘elec-
tion cycle’’ means the period beginning on the day after 
the date of the most recent regularly scheduled general 
election for Federal office and ending on the date of the 
next regularly scheduled general election for Federal of-
fice. 
(b) DEFINITIONS RELATING TO PERIODS.—In this 
part, the following definitions apply: 
(1) PROGRAM APPLICATION PERIOD.—The term 
‘‘program application period’’ means the first elec-
tion cycle which begins after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
(2) PROGRAM
PREPARATION
PERIOD.—The 
term ‘‘program preparation period’’ means the first 
election cycle which begins after the program appli-
cation period. 
(3) PROGRAM OPERATION PERIOD.—The term 
‘‘program operation period’’ means the first 2 elec-
tion cycles which begin after the program prepara-
tion period.
633 
PART 2—SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF 
CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS 
SEC. 5111. BENEFITS AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 
FOR CANDIDATES. 
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘TITLE V—SMALL DOLLAR FI-
NANCING 
OF 
CONGRES-
SIONAL 
ELECTION 
CAM-
PAIGNS 
‘‘Subtitle A—Benefits 
‘‘SEC. 501. BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a candidate for election to the 
office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-
missioner to, the Congress is certified as a participating 
candidate under this title with respect to an election for 
such office, the candidate shall be entitled to payments 
as provided under this title. 
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a pay-
ment made under this title shall be equal to 600 percent 
of the amount of qualified small dollar contributions re-
ceived by the candidate since the most recent payment 
made to the candidate under this title during the election 
cycle, without regard to whether or not the candidate re-
ceived any of the contributions before, during, or after the
634 
Small Dollar Democracy qualifying period applicable to 
the candidate under section 511(c). 
‘‘(c) LIMIT
ON
AGGREGATE
AMOUNT
OF
PAY-
MENTS.—The aggregate amount of payments made to a 
participating candidate with respect to an election cycle 
under this title may not exceed 50 percent of the average 
of the 20 greatest amounts of disbursements made by the 
authorized committees of any winning candidate for the 
office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-
missioner to, the Congress during the most recent election 
cycle, rounded to the nearest $100,000. 
‘‘SEC. 502. PROCEDURES FOR MAKING PAYMENTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make a 
payment under section 501 to a candidate who is certified 
as a participating candidate upon receipt from the can-
didate of a request for a payment which includes— 
‘‘(1) a statement of the number and amount of 
qualified small dollar contributions received by the 
candidate since the most recent payment made to 
the candidate under this title during the election 
cycle; 
‘‘(2) a statement of the amount of the payment 
the candidate anticipates receiving with respect to 
the request;
635 
‘‘(3) a statement of the total amount of pay-
ments the candidate has received under this title as 
of the date of the statement; and 
‘‘(4) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require. 
‘‘(b) RESTRICTIONS
ON
SUBMISSION
OF
RE-
QUESTS.—A candidate may not submit a request under 
subsection (a) unless each of the following applies: 
‘‘(1) The amount of the qualified small dollar 
contributions in the statement referred to in sub-
section (a)(1) is equal to or greater than $5,000, un-
less the request is submitted during the 30-day pe-
riod which ends on the date of a general election. 
‘‘(2) The candidate did not receive a payment 
under this title during the 7-day period which ends 
on the date the candidate submits the request. 
‘‘(c) TIME OF PAYMENT.—The Commission shall, in 
coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, take such 
steps as may be necessary to ensure that the Secretary 
is able to make payments under this section from the 
Treasury not later than 2 business days after the receipt 
of a request submitted under subsection (a). 
‘‘SEC. 503. USE OF FUNDS. 
‘‘(a) USE OF FUNDS FOR AUTHORIZED CAMPAIGN 
EXPENDITURES.—A candidate shall use payments made
636 
under this title, including payments provided with respect 
to a previous election cycle which are withheld from remit-
tance to the Commission in accordance with section 
524(a)(2), only for making direct payments for the receipt 
of goods and services which constitute authorized expendi-
tures (as determined in accordance with title III) in con-
nection with the election cycle involved. 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITING USE OF FUNDS FOR LEGAL EX-
PENSES, FINES, OR PENALTIES.—Notwithstanding title 
III, a candidate may not use payments made under this 
title for the payment of expenses incurred in connection 
with any action, claim, or other matter before the Commis-
sion or before any court, hearing officer, arbitrator, or 
other dispute resolution entity, or for the payment of any 
fine or civil monetary penalty. 
‘‘SEC. 504. QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CONTRIBUTIONS DE-
SCRIBED. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this title, the term ‘qualified 
small dollar contribution’ means, with respect to a can-
didate and the authorized committees of a candidate, a 
contribution that meets the following requirements: 
‘‘(1) The contribution is in an amount that is— 
‘‘(A) not less than $1; and 
‘‘(B) not more than $200.
638 
under such Act, or an organization which re-
tains or employs a registered lobbyist under 
such Act; and 
‘‘(ii) a contribution is not ‘made at the re-
quest, suggestion, or recommendation of an-
other person’ solely on the grounds that the 
contribution is made in response to information 
provided to the individual making the contribu-
tion by any person, so long as the candidate or 
authorized committee does not know the iden-
tity of the person who provided the information 
to such individual. 
‘‘(3) The individual who makes the contribution 
does not make contributions to the candidate or the 
authorized committees of the candidate with respect 
to the election involved in an aggregate amount that 
exceeds the amount described in paragraph (1)(B), 
or any contribution to the candidate or the author-
ized committees of the candidate with respect to the 
election involved that otherwise is not a qualified 
small dollar contribution. 
‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF MY VOICE VOUCHERS.—Any 
payment received by a candidate and the authorized com-
mittees of a candidate which consists of a My Voice 
Voucher under the Government By the People Act of 2021
639 
shall be considered a qualified small dollar contribution 
for purposes of this title, so long as the individual making 
the payment meets the requirements of paragraphs (2) 
and (3) of subsection (a). 
‘‘(c) RESTRICTION
ON
SUBSEQUENT
CONTRIBU-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITING DONOR FROM MAKING SUB-
SEQUENT
NONQUALIFIED
CONTRIBUTIONS
DURING 
ELECTION CYCLE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An individual who 
makes a qualified small dollar contribution to a 
candidate or the authorized committees of a 
candidate with respect to an election may not 
make any subsequent contribution to such can-
didate or the authorized committees of such 
candidate with respect to the election cycle 
which is not a qualified small dollar contribu-
tion. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO 
CANDIDATES
WHO
VOLUNTARILY
WITHDRAW 
FROM PARTICIPATION DURING QUALIFYING PE-
RIOD.—Subparagraph (A) does not apply with 
respect to a contribution made to a candidate 
who, during the Small Dollar Democracy quali-
fying period described in section 511(c), sub-
640 
mits a statement to the Commission under sec-
tion 513(c) to voluntarily withdraw from par-
ticipating in the program under this title. 
‘‘(2) 
TREATMENT
OF
SUBSEQUENT
NON-
QUALIFIED
CONTRIBUTIONS.—If, notwithstanding 
the prohibition described in paragraph (1), an indi-
vidual who makes a qualified small dollar contribu-
tion to a candidate or the authorized committees of 
a candidate with respect to an election makes a sub-
sequent contribution to such candidate or the au-
thorized committees of such candidate with respect 
to the election which is prohibited under paragraph 
(1) because it is not a qualified small dollar con-
tribution, the candidate may take one of the fol-
lowing actions: 
‘‘(A) Not later than 2 weeks after receiving 
the contribution, the candidate may return the 
subsequent contribution to the individual. In 
the case of a subsequent contribution which is 
not a qualified small dollar contribution because 
the contribution fails to meet the requirements 
of paragraph (3) of subsection (a) (relating to 
the aggregate amount of contributions made to 
the candidate or the authorized committees of 
the candidate by the individual making the con-
641 
tribution), the candidate may return an amount 
equal to the difference between the amount of 
the subsequent contribution and the amount de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(B) of subsection (a). 
‘‘(B) The candidate may retain the subse-
quent contribution, so long as not later than 2 
weeks after receiving the subsequent contribu-
tion, the candidate remits to the Commission 
for deposit in the Freedom From Influence 
Fund under section 541 an amount equal to 
any payments received by the candidate under 
this title which are attributable to the qualified 
small dollar contribution made by the individual 
involved. 
‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON ABILITY TO MAKE MUL-
TIPLE
CONTRIBUTIONS.—Nothing in this section 
may be construed to prohibit an individual from 
making multiple qualified small dollar contributions 
to any candidate or any number of candidates, so 
long as each contribution meets each of the require-
ments of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection 
(a). 
‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
CAN-
DIDATES.—
642 
‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.—Each authorized com-
mittee of a candidate who seeks to be a participating 
candidate under this title shall provide the following 
information in any materials for the solicitation of 
contributions, including any internet site through 
which individuals may make contributions to the 
committee: 
‘‘(A) A statement that if the candidate is 
certified as a participating candidate under this 
title, the candidate will receive matching pay-
ments in an amount which is based on the total 
amount of qualified small dollar contributions 
received. 
‘‘(B) A statement that a contribution 
which meets the requirements set forth in sub-
section (a) shall be treated as a qualified small 
dollar contribution under this title. 
‘‘(C) A statement that if a contribution is 
treated as qualified small dollar contribution 
under this title, the individual who makes the 
contribution may not make any contribution to 
the candidate or the authorized committees of 
the candidate during the election cycle which is 
not a qualified small dollar contribution.
643 
‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF MEETING RE-
QUIREMENTS.—An authorized committee may meet 
the requirements of paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(A) by including the information de-
scribed in paragraph (1) in the receipt provided 
under section 512(b)(3) to a person making a 
qualified small dollar contribution; or 
‘‘(B) by modifying the information it pro-
vides to persons making contributions which is 
otherwise required under title III (including in-
formation it provides through the internet). 
‘‘Subtitle B—Eligibility and 
Certification 
‘‘SEC. 511. ELIGIBILITY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A candidate for the office of 
Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner 
to, the Congress is eligible to be certified as a participating 
candidate under this title with respect to an election if 
the candidate meets the following requirements: 
‘‘(1) The candidate files with the Commission a 
statement of intent to seek certification as a partici-
pating candidate. 
‘‘(2) The candidate meets the qualifying re-
quirements of section 512.
644 
‘‘(3) The candidate files with the Commission a 
statement certifying that the authorized committees 
of the candidate meet the requirements of section 
504(d). 
‘‘(4) Not later than the last day of the Small 
Dollar Democracy qualifying period, the candidate 
files with the Commission an affidavit signed by the 
candidate and the treasurer of the candidate’s prin-
cipal campaign committee declaring that the can-
didate— 
‘‘(A) has complied and, if certified, will 
comply with the contribution and expenditure 
requirements of section 521; 
‘‘(B) if certified, will run only as a partici-
pating candidate for all elections for the office 
that such candidate is seeking during that elec-
tion cycle; and 
‘‘(C) has either qualified or will take steps 
to qualify under State law to be on the ballot. 
‘‘(b) GENERAL ELECTION.—Notwithstanding sub-
section (a), a candidate shall not be eligible to be certified 
as a participating candidate under this title for a general 
election or a general runoff election unless the candidate’s 
party nominated the candidate to be placed on the ballot
645 
for the general election or the candidate is otherwise quali-
fied to be on the ballot under State law. 
‘‘(c) SMALL DOLLAR DEMOCRACY QUALIFYING PE-
RIOD DEFINED.—The term ‘Small Dollar Democracy 
qualifying period’ means, with respect to any candidate 
for an office, the 180-day period (during the election cycle 
for such office) which begins on the date on which the 
candidate files a statement of intent under section 
511(a)(1), except that such period may not continue after 
the date that is 30 days before the date of the general 
election for the office. 
‘‘SEC. 512. QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS. 
‘‘(a) RECEIPT OF QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CON-
TRIBUTIONS.—A candidate for the office of Representative 
in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress 
meets the requirement of this section if, during the Small 
Dollar Democracy qualifying period described in section 
511(c), each of the following occurs: 
‘‘(1) Not fewer than 1,000 individuals make a 
qualified small dollar contribution to the candidate. 
‘‘(2) The candidate obtains a total dollar 
amount of qualified small dollar contributions which 
is equal to or greater than $50,000.
646 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING
TO RECEIPT
OF 
QUALIFIED
SMALL
DOLLAR
CONTRIBUTION.—Each 
qualified small dollar contribution— 
‘‘(1) may be made by means of a personal 
check, money order, debit card, credit card, elec-
tronic payment account, or any other method 
deemed appropriate by the Commission; 
‘‘(2) shall be accompanied by a signed state-
ment (or, in the case of a contribution made online 
or through other electronic means, an electronic 
equivalent) containing the contributor’s name and 
address; and 
‘‘(3) shall be acknowledged by a receipt that is 
sent to the contributor with a copy (in paper or elec-
tronic form) kept by the candidate for the Commis-
sion. 
‘‘(c) VERIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Com-
mission shall establish procedures for the auditing and 
verification of the contributions received and expenditures 
made by participating candidates under this title, includ-
ing procedures for random audits, to ensure that such con-
tributions and expenditures meet the requirements of this 
title. 
‘‘SEC. 513. CERTIFICATION. 
‘‘(a) DEADLINE AND NOTIFICATION.—
647 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 business 
days after a candidate files an affidavit under sec-
tion 511(a)(4), the Commission shall— 
‘‘(A) determine whether or not the can-
didate meets the requirements for certification 
as a participating candidate; 
‘‘(B) if the Commission determines that 
the candidate meets such requirements, certify 
the candidate as a participating candidate; and 
‘‘(C) notify the candidate of the Commis-
sion’s determination. 
‘‘(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 Commission shall be deemed to have cer-
tified the candidate as a participating candidate with 
respect to all subsequent elections of the election 
cycle. 
‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 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
648 
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); 
‘‘(B) a candidate ceases to be a candidate 
for the office involved, as determined on the 
basis of an official announcement by an author-
ized committee of the candidate or on the basis 
of a reasonable determination by the Commis-
sion; or 
‘‘(C) a candidate otherwise fails to comply 
with the requirements of this title, including 
any regulatory requirements prescribed by the 
Commission. 
‘‘(2) EXISTENCE OF CRIMINAL SANCTION.—The 
Commission shall revoke a certification under sub-
section (a) if a penalty is assessed against the can-
didate under section 309(d) with respect to the elec-
tion. 
‘‘(3) EFFECT
OF
REVOCATION.—If a can-
didate’s certification is revoked under this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) the candidate may not receive pay-
ments under this title during the remainder of 
the election cycle involved; and
650 
‘‘(c) VOLUNTARY
WITHDRAWAL
FROM
PARTICI-
PATING DURING QUALIFYING PERIOD.—At any time dur-
ing the Small Dollar Democracy qualifying period de-
scribed in section 511(c), a candidate may withdraw from 
participation in the program under this title by submitting 
to the Commission a statement of withdrawal (without re-
gard to whether or not the Commission has certified the 
candidate as a participating candidate under this title as 
of the time the candidate submits such statement), so long 
as the candidate has not submitted a request for payment 
under section 502. 
‘‘(d) 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 AND EXPENDITURE REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
‘‘(a) PERMITTED SOURCES OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND 
EXPENDITURES.—Except as provided in subsection (c), a 
participating candidate with respect to an election shall, 
with respect to all elections occurring during the election
651 
cycle for the office involved, accept no contributions from 
any source and make no expenditures from any amounts, 
other than the following: 
‘‘(1) Qualified small dollar contributions. 
‘‘(2) Payments under this title. 
‘‘(3) Contributions from political committees es-
tablished and maintained by a national or State po-
litical party, subject to the applicable limitations of 
section 315. 
‘‘(4) Subject to subsection (b), personal funds 
of the candidate or of any immediate family member 
of the candidate (other than funds received through 
qualified small dollar contributions). 
‘‘(5) Contributions from individuals who are 
otherwise permitted to make contributions under 
this Act, subject to the applicable limitations of sec-
tion 315, except that the aggregate amount of con-
tributions a participating candidate may accept from 
any individual with respect to any election during 
the election cycle may not exceed $1,000. 
‘‘(6) Contributions from multicandidate political 
committees, subject to the applicable limitations of 
section 315. 
‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES FOR PERSONAL FUNDS.—
652 
‘‘(1) LIMIT ON AMOUNT.—A candidate who is 
certified as a participating candidate may use per-
sonal funds (including personal funds of any imme-
diate family member of the candidate) so long as— 
‘‘(A) the aggregate amount used with re-
spect to the election cycle (including any period 
of the cycle occurring prior to the candidate’s 
certification as a participating candidate) does 
not exceed $50,000; and 
‘‘(B) the funds are used only for making 
direct payments for the receipt of goods and 
services which constitute authorized expendi-
tures in connection with the election cycle in-
volved. 
‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.— 
In this subsection, the term ‘immediate family mem-
ber’ 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 
‘‘(C) the spouse of any person described in 
subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—
653 
‘‘(1) EXCEPTION
FOR
CONTRIBUTIONS
RE-
CEIVED PRIOR TO FILING OF STATEMENT OF IN-
TENT.—A candidate who has accepted contributions 
that are not described in subsection (a) is not in vio-
lation of subsection (a), but only if all such contribu-
tions are— 
‘‘(A) returned to the contributor; 
‘‘(B) submitted to the Commission for de-
posit in the Freedom From Influence Fund es-
tablished under section 541; 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 (a) or subsection (b), the 
candidate is not in violation of such subsection if the 
aggregate amount of the prohibited expenditures is 
less than the amount referred to in section 
512(a)(2) (relating to the total dollar amount of 
qualified small dollar contributions which the can-
didate is required to obtain) which is applicable to 
the candidate.
654 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION
FOR
CAMPAIGN
SURPLUSES 
FROM
A
PREVIOUS
ELECTION.—Notwithstanding 
paragraph (1), unexpended contributions received by 
the candidate or 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 
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.
655 
‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT-
TEES.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—An authorized committee 
of a candidate who is certified as a participating 
candidate under this title with respect to an election 
may not establish a joint fundraising committee with 
a political committee other than another authorized 
committee of the candidate. 
‘‘(2) STATUS OF EXISTING COMMITTEES FOR 
PRIOR
ELECTIONS.—If a candidate established a 
joint fundraising committee described in paragraph 
(1) with respect to a prior election for which the 
candidate was not certified as a participating can-
didate under this title and the candidate does not 
terminate the committee, the candidate shall not be 
considered to be in violation of paragraph (1) so 
long as that joint fundraising committee does not re-
ceive any contributions or make any disbursements 
during the election cycle for which the candidate is 
certified as a participating candidate under this title. 
‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON LEADERSHIP PACS.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A candidate who is cer-
tified as a participating candidate under this title 
with respect to an election may not associate with,
656 
establish, finance, maintain, or control a leadership 
PAC. 
‘‘(2) 
STATUS
OF
EXISTING
LEADERSHIP 
PACS.—If a candidate established, financed, main-
tained, or controlled a leadership PAC prior to being 
certified as a participating candidate under this title 
and the candidate does not terminate the leadership 
PAC, the candidate shall not be considered to be in 
violation of paragraph (1) so long as the leadership 
PAC does not receive any contributions or make any 
disbursements during the election cycle for which the 
candidate is certified as a participating candidate 
under this title. 
‘‘(3) LEADERSHIP PAC DEFINED.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘leadership PAC’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 304(i)(8)(B). 
‘‘SEC. 522. ADMINISTRATION OF CAMPAIGN. 
‘‘(a) SEPARATE ACCOUNTING
FOR VARIOUS PER-
MITTED CONTRIBUTIONS.—Each authorized committee of 
a candidate certified as a participating candidate under 
this title— 
‘‘(1) shall provide for separate accounting of 
each type of contribution described in section 521(a) 
which is received by the committee; and
657 
‘‘(2) shall provide for separate accounting for 
the payments received under this title. 
‘‘(b) ENHANCED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON 
DONORS.— 
‘‘(1) MANDATORY IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVID-
UALS
MAKING
QUALIFIED
SMALL
DOLLAR
CON-
TRIBUTIONS.—Each authorized committee of a par-
ticipating candidate under this title shall, in accord-
ance with section 304(b)(3)(A), include in the re-
ports the committee submits under section 304 the 
identification of each person who makes a qualified 
small dollar contribution to the committee. 
‘‘(2) 
MANDATORY
DISCLOSURE
THROUGH 
INTERNET.—Each authorized committee of a partici-
pating candidate under this title shall ensure that all 
information reported to the Commission under this 
Act with respect to contributions and expenditures 
of the committee is available to the public on the 
internet (whether through a site established for pur-
poses of this subsection, a hyperlink on another pub-
lic site of the committee, or a hyperlink on a report 
filed electronically with the Commission) in a search-
able, sortable, and downloadable manner.
658 
‘‘SEC. 523. PREVENTING UNNECESSARY SPENDING OF PUB-
LIC FUNDS. 
‘‘(a) MANDATORY SPENDING
OF AVAILABLE PRI-
VATE FUNDS.—An authorized committee of a candidate 
certified as a participating candidate under this title may 
not make any expenditure of any payments received under 
this title in any amount unless the committee has made 
an expenditure in an equivalent amount of funds received 
by the committee which are described in paragraphs (1), 
(3), (4), (5), and (6) of section 521(a). 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a) applies to an au-
thorized committee only to the extent that the funds re-
ferred to in such subsection are available to the committee 
at the time the committee makes an expenditure of a pay-
ment received under this title. 
‘‘SEC. 524. REMITTING UNSPENT FUNDS AFTER ELECTION. 
‘‘(a) REMITTANCE REQUIRED.—Not later than the 
date that is 180 days after the last election for which a 
candidate certified 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 Freedom From Influence Fund established 
under section 541 an amount equal to the balance of the 
payments received under this title by the authorized com-
mittees of the candidate which remain unexpended as of 
such date.
659 
‘‘(b) PERMITTING CANDIDATES PARTICIPATING IN 
NEXT
ELECTION
CYCLE
TO
RETAIN
PORTION
OF 
UNSPENT FUNDS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 
participating candidate may withhold not more than 
$100,000 from the amount required to be remitted under 
subsection (a) if the candidate files a signed affidavit with 
the Commission that the candidate will seek certification 
as a participating candidate with respect to the next elec-
tion cycle, except that the candidate may not use any por-
tion of the amount withheld until the candidate is certified 
as a participating candidate with respect to that next elec-
tion cycle. If the candidate fails to seek certification as 
a participating candidate prior to the last day of the Small 
Dollar Democracy qualifying period for the next election 
cycle (as described in section 511), or if the Commission 
notifies the candidate of the Commission’s determination 
does not meet the requirements for certification as a par-
ticipating candidate with respect to such cycle, the can-
didate shall immediately remit to the Commission the 
amount withheld. 
‘‘Subtitle D—Enhanced Match 
Support 
‘‘SEC. 531. ENHANCED SUPPORT FOR GENERAL ELECTION. 
‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY
OF ENHANCED SUPPORT.—In 
addition to the payments made under subtitle A, the Com-
660 
mission shall make an additional payment to an eligible 
candidate under this subtitle. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A candidate shall use the ad-
ditional payment under this subtitle only for authorized 
expenditures in connection with the election involved. 
‘‘SEC. 532. ELIGIBILITY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A candidate is eligible to receive 
an additional payment under this subtitle if the candidate 
meets each of the following requirements: 
‘‘(1) The candidate is on the ballot for the gen-
eral election for the office the candidate seeks. 
‘‘(2) The candidate is certified as a partici-
pating candidate under this title with respect to the 
election. 
‘‘(3) During the enhanced support qualifying 
period, the candidate receives qualified small dollar 
contributions in a total amount of not less than 
$50,000. 
‘‘(4) During the enhanced support qualifying 
period, the candidate submits to the Commission a 
request for the payment which includes— 
‘‘(A) a statement of the number and 
amount of qualified small dollar contributions 
received by the candidate during the enhanced 
support qualifying period;
662 
qualifying period (as included in the request sub-
mitted by the candidate under section 532(a)(4)); or 
‘‘(2) in the case of a candidate who is not eligi-
ble to receive a payment under section 501(b) with 
respect to such qualified small dollar contributions 
because the candidate has reached the limit on the 
aggregate amount of payments under subtitle A for 
the election cycle under section 501(c), the amount 
of the payment which would have been made to the 
candidate under section 501(b) with respect to such 
qualified small dollar contributions if the candidate 
had not reached such limit. 
‘‘(b) LIMIT.—The amount of the additional payment 
determined under subsection (a) with respect to a can-
didate may not exceed $500,000. 
‘‘(c) NO
EFFECT
ON
AGGREGATE
LIMIT.—The 
amount of the additional payment made to a candidate 
under this subtitle shall not be included in determining 
the aggregate amount of payments made to a participating 
candidate with respect to an election cycle under section 
501(c). 
‘‘SEC. 534. WAIVER OF AUTHORITY TO RETAIN PORTION OF 
UNSPENT FUNDS AFTER ELECTION. 
‘‘Notwithstanding section 524(a)(2), a candidate who 
receives an additional payment under this subtitle with re-
663 
spect to an election is not permitted to withhold any por-
tion from the amount of unspent funds the candidate is 
required to remit to the Commission under section 
524(a)(1). 
‘‘Subtitle E—Administrative 
Provisions 
‘‘SEC. 541. FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘Freedom From Influ-
ence Fund’. 
‘‘(b) AMOUNTS HELD BY FUND.—The Fund shall 
consist of the following amounts: 
‘‘(1) ASSESSMENTS
AGAINST
FINES, SETTLE-
MENTS, 
AND
PENALTIES.—Amounts transferred 
under section 3015 of title 18, United States Code, 
section 9706 of title 31, United States Code, and 
section 6761 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—Amounts deposited into the 
Fund under— 
‘‘(A) section 521(c)(1)(B) (relating to ex-
ceptions to contribution requirements); 
‘‘(B) section 523 (relating to remittance of 
unused payments from the Fund); and 
‘‘(C) section 544 (relating to violations).
664 
‘‘(c) USE OF FUND TO MAKE PAYMENTS TO PAR-
TICIPATING CANDIDATES.— 
‘‘(1) 
PAYMENTS
TO
PARTICIPATING
CAN-
DIDATES.—Amounts in the Fund shall be available 
without further appropriation or fiscal year limita-
tion to make payments to participating candidates 
as provided in this title. 
‘‘(2) MANDATORY REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS IN 
CASE OF INSUFFICIENT AMOUNTS IN FUND.— 
‘‘(A) ADVANCE AUDITS BY COMMISSION.— 
Not later than 90 days before the first day of 
each election cycle (beginning with the first 
election cycle that begins after the date of the 
enactment of this title), the Commission shall— 
‘‘(i) audit the Fund to determine 
whether the amounts in the Fund will be 
sufficient to make payments to partici-
pating candidates in the amounts provided 
in this title during such election cycle; and 
‘‘(ii) submit a report to Congress de-
scribing the results of the audit. 
‘‘(B) REDUCTIONS
IN
AMOUNT
OF
PAY-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(i) AUTOMATIC REDUCTION ON PRO 
RATA BASIS.—If, on the basis of the audit
665 
described in subparagraph (A), the Com-
mission determines that the amount antici-
pated to be available in the Fund with re-
spect to the election cycle involved is not, 
or may not be, sufficient to satisfy the full 
entitlements of participating candidates to 
payments under this title for such election 
cycle, the Commission shall reduce each 
amount which would otherwise be paid to 
a participating candidate under this title 
by such pro rata amount as may be nec-
essary to ensure that the aggregate 
amount of payments anticipated to be 
made with respect to the election cycle will 
not exceed the amount anticipated to be 
available for such payments in the Fund 
with respect to such election cycle. 
‘‘(ii) RESTORATION
OF
REDUCTIONS 
IN CASE OF AVAILABILITY OF SUFFICIENT 
FUNDS
DURING
ELECTION
CYCLE.—If, 
after reducing the amounts paid to partici-
pating candidates with respect to an elec-
tion cycle under clause (i), the Commission 
determines 
that 
there 
are 
sufficient 
amounts in the Fund to restore the
666 
amount by which such payments were re-
duced (or any portion thereof), to the ex-
tent that such amounts are available, the 
Commission may make a payment on a pro 
rata basis to each such participating can-
didate with respect to the election cycle in 
the amount by which such candidate’s pay-
ments were reduced under clause (i) (or 
any portion thereof, as the case may be). 
‘‘(iii) NO
USE
OF
AMOUNTS
FROM 
OTHER SOURCES.—In any case in which 
the Commission determines that there are 
insufficient moneys in the Fund to make 
payments to participating candidates under 
this title, moneys shall not be made avail-
able from any other source for the purpose 
of making such payments. 
‘‘(d) USE OF FUND TO MAKE OTHER PAYMENTS.— 
In addition to the use described in subsection (d), amounts 
in the Fund shall be available without further appropria-
tion or fiscal year limitation— 
‘‘(1) to make payments to States under the My 
Voice Voucher Program under the Government By 
the People Act of 2021, subject to reductions under 
section 5101(f)(3) of such Act;
667 
‘‘(2) to make payments to candidates under 
chapter 95 of subtitle H of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986, subject to reductions under section 
9013(b) of such Code; and 
‘‘(3) to make payments to candidates under 
chapter 96 of subtitle H of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986, subject to reductions under section 
9043(b) of such Code. 
‘‘(e) NO TAXPAYER FUNDS PERMITTED.—No tax-
payer funds may be deposited into the Fund. 
‘‘(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef-
fect on the date of the enactment of this title. 
‘‘SEC. 542. REVIEWS AND REPORTS BY GOVERNMENT AC-
COUNTABILITY OFFICE. 
‘‘(a) REVIEW OF SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After each regularly sched-
uled general election for Federal office, the Comp-
troller General of the United States shall conduct a 
comprehensive review of the Small Dollar financing 
program under this title, including— 
‘‘(A) the maximum and minimum dollar 
amounts of qualified small dollar contributions 
under section 504; 
‘‘(B) the number and value of qualified 
small dollar contributions a candidate is re-
668 
quired to obtain under section 512(a) to be eli-
gible for certification as a participating can-
didate; 
‘‘(C) the maximum amount of payments a 
candidate may receive under this title; 
‘‘(D) the overall satisfaction of partici-
pating candidates and the American public with 
the program; 
‘‘(E) the extent to which the program in-
creased opportunities for participation by can-
didates of diverse racial, gender, and socio-eco-
nomic backgrounds; and 
‘‘(F) such other matters relating to financ-
ing of campaigns as the Comptroller General 
determines are appropriate. 
‘‘(2) CRITERIA
FOR
REVIEW.—In conducting 
the review under subparagraph (A), the Comptroller 
General shall consider the following: 
‘‘(A) QUALIFIED
SMALL
DOLLAR
CON-
TRIBUTIONS.—Whether the number and dollar 
amounts of qualified small dollar contributions 
required strikes an appropriate balance regard-
ing the importance of voter involvement, the 
need to assure adequate incentives for partici-
pating, and fiscal responsibility, taking into
669 
consideration the number of primary and gen-
eral election participating candidates, the elec-
toral performance of those candidates, program 
cost, and any other information the Comptroller 
General determines is appropriate. 
‘‘(B) REVIEW
OF
PAYMENT
LEVELS.— 
Whether the totality of the amount of funds al-
lowed to be raised by participating candidates 
(including through qualified small dollar con-
tributions) and payments under this title are 
sufficient for voters in each State to learn about 
the candidates to cast an informed vote, taking 
into account the historic amount of spending by 
winning candidates, media costs, primary elec-
tion dates, and any other information the 
Comptroller General determines is appropriate. 
‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF 
AMOUNTS.—Based on the review conducted under 
subparagraph (A), the Comptroller General may rec-
ommend to Congress adjustments of the following 
amounts: 
‘‘(A) The number and value of qualified 
small dollar contributions a candidate is re-
quired to obtain under section 512(a) to be eli-
670 
gible for certification as a participating can-
didate. 
‘‘(B) The maximum amount of payments a 
candidate may receive under this title. 
‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Not later than each June 1 which 
follows a regularly scheduled general election for Federal 
office for which payments were made under this title, the 
Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on 
House Administration of the House of Representatives a 
report— 
‘‘(1) containing an analysis of the review con-
ducted under subsection (a), including a detailed 
statement of Comptroller General’s findings, conclu-
sions, and recommendations based on such review, 
including any recommendations for adjustments of 
amounts described in subsection (a)(3); and 
‘‘(2) documenting, evaluating, and making rec-
ommendations relating to the administrative imple-
mentation and enforcement of the provisions of this 
title. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
essary to carry out the purposes of this section.
671 
‘‘SEC. 543. ADMINISTRATION BY COMMISSION. 
‘‘The Commission shall prescribe regulations to carry 
out the purposes of this title, including regulations to es-
tablish procedures for— 
‘‘(1) verifying the amount of qualified small dol-
lar contributions with respect to a candidate; 
‘‘(2) effectively and efficiently monitoring and 
enforcing the limits on the raising of qualified small 
dollar contributions; 
‘‘(3) effectively and efficiently monitoring and 
enforcing the limits on the use of personal funds by 
participating candidates; and 
‘‘(4) monitoring the use of allocations from the 
Freedom From Influence Fund established under 
section 541 and matching contributions under this 
title through audits of not fewer than 1⁄10 (or, in the 
case of the first 3 election cycles during which the 
program under this title is in effect, not fewer than 
1⁄3) of all participating candidates or other mecha-
nisms. 
‘‘SEC. 544. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES. 
‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF CONTRIBU-
TION
AND EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.—If a can-
didate who has been certified as a participating candidate 
accepts a contribution or makes an expenditure that is 
prohibited under section 521, the Commission may assess
672 
a civil penalty against the candidate in an amount that 
is not more than 3 times the amount of the contribution 
or expenditure. Any amounts collected under this sub-
section shall be deposited into the Freedom From Influ-
ence Fund established under section 541. 
‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR IMPROPER USE OF FREEDOM 
FROM INFLUENCE FUND.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission deter-
mines that any payment made to a participating 
candidate was not used as provided for in this title 
or that a participating candidate has violated any of 
the dates for remission of funds contained in this 
title, the Commission shall so notify the candidate 
and the candidate shall pay to the Fund an amount 
equal to— 
‘‘(A) the amount of payments so used or 
not remitted, as appropriate; and 
‘‘(B) interest on any such amounts (at a 
rate determined by the Commission). 
‘‘(2) OTHER
ACTION
NOT
PRECLUDED.—Any 
action by the Commission in accordance with this 
subsection shall not preclude enforcement pro-
ceedings by the Commission in accordance with sec-
tion 309(a), including a referral by the Commission
673 
to the Attorney General in the case of an apparent 
knowing and willful violation of this title. 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITING
CERTAIN
CANDIDATES
FROM 
QUALIFYING AS PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES.— 
‘‘(1) CANDIDATES WITH MULTIPLE CIVIL PEN-
ALTIES.—If the Commission assesses 3 or more civil 
penalties under subsection (a) against a candidate 
(with respect to either a single election or multiple 
elections), the Commission may refuse to certify the 
candidate as a participating candidate under this 
title with respect to any subsequent election, except 
that if each of the penalties were assessed as the re-
sult of a knowing and willful violation of any provi-
sion of this Act, the candidate is not eligible to be 
certified as a participating candidate under this title 
with respect to any subsequent election. 
‘‘(2) CANDIDATES SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PEN-
ALTY.—A candidate is not eligible to be certified as 
a participating candidate under this title with re-
spect to an election if a penalty has been assessed 
against the candidate under section 309(d) with re-
spect to any previous election. 
‘‘(d) IMPOSITION
OF CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—For 
criminal penalties for the failure of a participating can-
674 
didate to comply with the requirements of this title, see 
section 309(d). 
‘‘SEC. 545. APPEALS PROCESS. 
‘‘(a) REVIEW OF ACTIONS.—Any action by the Com-
mission in carrying out this title shall be subject to review 
by the United States Court of Appeals for the District 
of Columbia upon petition filed in the Court not later than 
30 days after the Commission takes the action for which 
the review is sought. 
‘‘(b) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of chapter 7 of 
title 5, United States Code, apply to judicial review under 
this section. 
‘‘SEC. 546. INDEXING OF AMOUNTS. 
‘‘(a) INDEXING.—In any calendar year after 2026, 
section 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to each amount described 
in subsection (b) in the same manner as such section ap-
plies to the limitations established under subsections 
(a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(3), and (h) of such section, ex-
cept that for purposes of applying such section to the 
amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base period’ 
shall be 2026. 
‘‘(b) AMOUNTS DESCRIBED.—The amounts described 
in this subsection are as follows: 
‘‘(1) The amount referred to in section 
502(b)(1) (relating to the minimum amount of quali-
675 
fied small dollar contributions included in a request 
for payment). 
‘‘(2) The amounts referred to in section 
504(a)(1) (relating to the amount of a qualified 
small dollar contribution). 
‘‘(3) The amount referred to in section 
512(a)(2) (relating to the total dollar amount of 
qualified small dollar contributions). 
‘‘(4) The amount referred to in section 
521(a)(5) (relating to the aggregate amount of con-
tributions a participating candidate may accept from 
any individual with respect to an election). 
‘‘(5) The amount referred to in section 
521(b)(1)(A) (relating to the amount of personal 
funds that may be used by a candidate who is cer-
tified as a participating candidate). 
‘‘(6) The amounts referred to in section 
524(a)(2) (relating to the amount of unspent funds 
a candidate may retain for use in the next election 
cycle). 
‘‘(7) The amount referred to in section 
532(a)(3) (relating to the total dollar amount of 
qualified small dollar contributions for a candidate 
seeking an additional payment under subtitle D).
676 
‘‘(8) The amount referred to in section 533(b) 
(relating to the limit on the amount of an additional 
payment made to a candidate under subtitle D). 
‘‘SEC. 547. ELECTION CYCLE DEFINED. 
‘‘In this title, the term ‘election cycle’ means, with 
respect to an election for an office, the period beginning 
on the day after the date of the most recent general elec-
tion for that office (or, if the general election resulted in 
a runoff election, the date of the runoff election) and end-
ing on the date of the next general election for that office 
(or, if the general election resulted in a runoff election, 
the date of the runoff election).’’. 
SEC. 5112. CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY MULTI-
CANDIDATE AND POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT-
TEES ON BEHALF OF PARTICIPATING CAN-
DIDATES. 
(a) AUTHORIZING CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY FROM SEP-
ARATE ACCOUNTS CONSISTING
OF QUALIFIED SMALL 
DOLLAR CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 315(a) of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(10) In the case of a multicandidate political com-
mittee or any political committee of a political party, the 
committee may make a contribution to a candidate who
677 
is a participating candidate under title V with respect to 
an election only if the contribution is paid from a separate, 
segregated account of the committee which consists solely 
of contributions which meet the following requirements: 
‘‘(A) Each such contribution is in an amount 
which meets the requirements for the amount of a 
qualified small dollar contribution under section 
504(a)(1) with respect to the election involved. 
‘‘(B) Each such contribution is made by an in-
dividual who is not otherwise prohibited from mak-
ing a contribution under this Act. 
‘‘(C) The individual who makes the contribution 
does not make contributions to the committee during 
the year in an aggregate amount that exceeds the 
limit described in section 504(a)(1).’’. 
(b) PERMITTING UNLIMITED COORDINATED EX-
PENDITURES FROM SMALL DOLLAR SOURCES BY POLIT-
ICAL PARTIES.—Section 315(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
30116(d)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘The national 
committee’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 
paragraph (6), the national committee’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
678 
‘‘(6) The limits described in paragraph (3) do not 
apply in the case of expenditures in connection with the 
general election campaign of a candidate for the office of 
Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner 
to, the Congress who is a participating candidate under 
title V with respect to the election, but only if— 
‘‘(A) the expenditures are paid from a separate, 
segregated account of the committee which is de-
scribed in subsection (a)(10); and 
‘‘(B) the expenditures are the sole source of 
funding provided by the committee to the can-
didate.’’. 
SEC. 5113. PROHIBITING USE OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY PAR-
TICIPATING 
CANDIDATES 
FOR 
PURPOSES 
OTHER THAN CAMPAIGN FOR ELECTION. 
Section 313 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) RESTRICTIONS ON PERMITTED USES OF FUNDS 
BY CANDIDATES RECEIVING SMALL DOLLAR FINANC-
ING.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of sub-
section (a), if a candidate for election for the office of Rep-
resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 
the Congress is certified as a participating candidate 
under title V with respect to the election, any contribution
679 
which the candidate is permitted to accept under such title 
may be used only for authorized expenditures in connec-
tion with the candidate’s campaign for such office, subject 
to section 503(b).’’. 
SEC. 5114. ASSESSMENTS AGAINST FINES AND PENALTIES. 
(a) ASSESSMENTS RELATING
TO CRIMINAL OF-
FENSES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 201 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 3015. Special assessments for Freedom From Influ-
ence Fund 
‘‘(a) ASSESSMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) CONVICTIONS OF CRIMES.—In addition to 
any assessment imposed under this chapter, the 
court shall assess on any organizational defendant or 
any defendant who is a corporate officer or person 
with equivalent authority in any other organization 
who is convicted of a criminal offense under Federal 
law an amount equal to 4.75 percent of any fine im-
posed on that defendant in the sentence imposed for 
that conviction. 
‘‘(2) SETTLEMENTS.—The court shall assess on 
any organizational defendant or defendant who is a 
corporate officer or person with equivalent authority
680 
in any other organization who has entered into a 
settlement agreement or consent decree with the 
United States in satisfaction of any allegation that 
the defendant committed a criminal offense under 
Federal law an amount equal to 4.75 percent of the 
amount of the settlement. 
‘‘(b) MANNER
OF COLLECTION.—An amount as-
sessed under subsection (a) shall be collected in the man-
ner in which fines are collected in criminal cases. 
‘‘(c) TRANSFERS.—In a manner consistent with sec-
tion 3302(b) of title 31, there shall be transferred from 
the General Fund of the Treasury to the Freedom From 
Influence Fund under section 541 of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 an amount equal to the amount 
of the assessments collected under this section.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions of chapter 201 of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘3015. Special assessments for Freedom From Influence Fund.’’. 
(b) ASSESSMENTS
RELATING
TO
CIVIL
PEN-
ALTIES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 97 of title 31, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section:
681 
‘‘§ 9706. Special assessments for Freedom From Influ-
ence Fund 
‘‘(a) ASSESSMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Any entity of the Fed-
eral Government which is authorized under any law, 
rule, or regulation to impose a civil penalty shall as-
sess on each person, other than a natural person 
who is not a corporate officer or person with equiva-
lent authority in any other organization, on whom 
such a penalty is imposed an amount equal to 4.75 
percent of the amount of the penalty. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES.—Any entity 
of the Federal Government which is authorized 
under any law, rule, or regulation to impose an ad-
ministrative penalty shall assess on each person, 
other than a natural person who is not a corporate 
officer or person with equivalent authority in any 
other organization, on whom such a penalty is im-
posed an amount equal to 4.75 percent of the 
amount of the penalty. 
‘‘(3) SETTLEMENTS.—Any entity of the Federal 
Government which is authorized under any law, rule, 
or regulation to enter into a settlement agreement or 
consent decree with any person, other than a natural 
person who is not a corporate officer or person with 
equivalent authority in any other organization, in
682 
satisfaction of any allegation of an action or omis-
sion by the person which would be subject to a civil 
penalty or administrative penalty shall assess on 
such person an amount equal to 4.75 percent of the 
amount of the settlement. 
‘‘(b) MANNER
OF COLLECTION.—An amount as-
sessed under subsection (a) shall be collected— 
‘‘(1) in the case of an amount assessed under 
paragraph (1) of such subsection, in the manner in 
which civil penalties are collected by the entity of the 
Federal Government involved; 
‘‘(2) in the case of an amount assessed under 
paragraph (2) of such subsection, in the manner in 
which administrative penalties are collected by the 
entity of the Federal Government involved; and 
‘‘(3) in the case of an amount assessed under 
paragraph (3) of such subsection, in the manner in 
which amounts are collected pursuant to settlement 
agreements or consent decrees entered into by the 
entity of the Federal Government involved. 
‘‘(c) TRANSFERS.—In a manner consistent with sec-
tion 3302(b) of this title, there shall be transferred from 
the General Fund of the Treasury to the Freedom From 
Influence Fund under section 541 of the Federal Election
683 
Campaign Act of 1971 an amount equal to the amount 
of the assessments collected under this section. 
‘‘(d) EXCEPTION
FOR PENALTIES
AND SETTLE-
MENTS UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE 
CODE OF 1986.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—No assessment shall be 
made under subsection (a) with respect to any civil 
or administrative penalty imposed, or any settlement 
agreement or consent decree entered into, under the 
authority of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(2) CROSS
REFERENCE.—For application of 
special assessments for the Freedom From Influence 
Fund with respect to certain penalties under the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986, see section 6761 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions of chapter 97 of title 31, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘9706. Special assessments for Freedom From Influence Fund.’’. 
(c) ASSESSMENTS RELATING
TO CERTAIN PEN-
ALTIES UNDER
THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE
OF 
1986.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 68 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subchapter:
684 
‘‘Subchapter D—Special Assessments for 
Freedom From Influence Fund 
‘‘SEC. 6761. SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR FREEDOM FROM 
INFLUENCE FUND. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each person required to pay a 
covered penalty shall pay an additional amount equal to 
4.75 percent of the amount of such penalty. 
‘‘(b) COVERED PENALTY.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘covered penalty’ means any addition to tax, 
additional amount, penalty, or other liability provided 
under subchapter A or B. 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a taxpayer 
who is an individual, subsection (a) shall not apply 
to any covered penalty if such taxpayer is an exempt 
taxpayer for the taxable year for which such covered 
penalty is assessed. 
‘‘(2) EXEMPT TAXPAYER.—For purposes of this 
subsection, a taxpayer is an exempt taxpayer for any 
taxable year if the taxable income of such taxpayer 
for such taxable year does not exceed the dollar 
amount at which begins the highest rate bracket in 
effect under section 1 with respect to such taxpayer 
for such taxable year.
685 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN RULES.—Except as 
provided in subsection (e), the additional amount deter-
mined under subsection (a) shall be treated for purposes 
of this title in the same manner as the covered penalty 
to which such additional amount relates. 
‘‘(e) TRANSFER
TO FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE 
FUND.—The Secretary shall deposit any additional 
amount under subsection (a) in the General Fund of the 
Treasury and shall transfer from such General Fund to 
the Freedom From Influence Fund established under sec-
tion 541 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
an amount equal to the amounts so deposited (and, not-
withstanding subsection (d), such additional amount shall 
not be the basis for any deposit, transfer, credit, appro-
priation, or any other payment, to any other trust fund 
or account). Rules similar to the rules of section 9601 
shall apply for purposes of this subsection.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sub-
chapters for chapter 68 of such Code is amended by 
adding at the end the following new item: 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER D—SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE 
FUND’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the amendments made by this section 
shall apply with respect to convictions, agreements,
686 
and penalties which occur on or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(2) ASSESSMENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN PEN-
ALTIES UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 
1986.—The amendments made by subsection (c) 
shall apply to covered penalties assessed after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5115. STUDY AND REPORT ON SMALL DOLLAR FINANC-
ING PROGRAM. 
(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 
after the completion of the first election cycle in which 
the program established under title V of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971, as added by section 5111, 
is in effect, the Federal Election Commission shall— 
(1) assess— 
(A) the amount of payment referred to in 
section 501 of such Act; and 
(B) the amount of a qualified small dollar 
contribution referred to in section 504(a)(1) of 
such Act; and 
(2) submit to Congress a report that discusses 
whether such amounts are sufficient to meet the 
goals of the program.
687 
(b) UPDATE.—The Commission shall update and re-
vise the study and report required by subsection (a) on 
a biennial basis. 
(c) TERMINATION.—The requirements of this section 
shall terminate 10 years after the date on which the first 
study and report required by subsection (a) is submitted 
to Congress. 
SEC. 5116. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as may otherwise be pro-
vided in this part and in the amendments made by this 
part, this part and the amendments made by this part 
shall apply with respect to elections occurring during 2028 
or any succeeding year, without regard to whether or not 
the Federal Election Commission has promulgated the 
final regulations necessary to carry out this part and the 
amendments made by this part by the deadline set forth 
in subsection (b). 
(b) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—Not later than 
June 30, 2026, the Federal Election Commission shall 
promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry 
out this part and the amendments made by this part. 
Subtitle C—Presidential Elections 
SEC. 5200. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Empower Act of 
2021’’.
688 
PART 1—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 
SEC. 5201. INCREASE IN AND MODIFICATIONS TO MATCH-
ING PAYMENTS. 
(a) INCREASE AND MODIFICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section 
9034(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘an amount equal to the 
amount of each contribution’’ and inserting ‘‘an 
amount equal to 600 percent of the amount of 
each matchable contribution (disregarding any 
amount of contributions from any person to the 
extent that the total of the amounts contributed 
by such person for the election exceeds $200)’’; 
and 
(B) by striking ‘‘authorized committees’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘$250’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘authorized committees’’. 
(2) 
MATCHABLE
CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 
9034 of such Code is amended— 
(A) by striking the last sentence of sub-
section (a); and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(c) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION DEFINED.—For 
purposes of this section and section 9033(b)—
689 
‘‘(1) MATCHABLE
CONTRIBUTION.—The term 
‘matchable contribution’ means, with respect to the 
nomination for election to the office of President of 
the United States, a contribution by an individual to 
a candidate or an authorized committee of a can-
didate with respect to which the candidate has cer-
tified in writing that— 
‘‘(A) the individual making such contribu-
tion has not made aggregate contributions (in-
cluding such matchable contribution) to such 
candidate and the authorized committees of 
such candidate in excess of $1,000 for the elec-
tion; 
‘‘(B) such candidate and the authorized 
committees of such candidate will not accept 
contributions from such individual (including 
such matchable contribution) aggregating more 
than the amount described in subparagraph 
(A); and 
‘‘(C) such contribution was a direct con-
tribution. 
‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION.—For purposes of this 
subsection, the term ‘contribution’ means a gift of 
money made by a written instrument which identi-
fies the individual making the contribution by full
690 
name and mailing address, but does not include a 
subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money, or 
anything of value or anything described in subpara-
graph (B), (C), or (D) of section 9032(4). 
‘‘(3) DIRECT CONTRIBUTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 
subsection, 
the 
term 
‘direct 
contribution’ 
means, with respect to a candidate, a contribu-
tion which is made directly by an individual to 
the candidate or an authorized committee of the 
candidate and is not— 
‘‘(i) forwarded from the individual 
making the contribution to the candidate 
or committee by another person; or 
‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com-
mittee with the knowledge that the con-
tribution was made at the request, sugges-
tion, or recommendation of another person. 
‘‘(B) OTHER
DEFINITIONS.—In subpara-
graph (A)— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘person’ does not include 
an individual (other than an individual de-
scribed in section 304(i)(7) of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971), a polit-
ical committee of a political party, or any
691 
political committee which is not a separate 
segregated 
fund 
described 
in 
section 
316(b) of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971 and which does not make con-
tributions or independent expenditures, 
does not engage in lobbying activity under 
the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and is not estab-
lished by, controlled by, or affiliated with 
a registered lobbyist under such Act, an 
agent of a registered lobbyist under such 
Act, or an organization which retains or 
employs a registered lobbyist under such 
Act; and 
‘‘(ii) a contribution is not ‘made at 
the request, suggestion, or recommendation 
of another person’ solely on the grounds 
that the contribution is made in response 
to information provided to the individual 
making the contribution by any person, so 
long as the candidate or authorized com-
mittee does not know the identity of the 
person who provided the information to 
such individual.’’. 
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
692 
(A) Section 9032(4) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘section 9034(a)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 9034’’. 
(B) Section 9033(b)(3) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘matching contributions’’ 
and inserting ‘‘matchable contributions’’. 
(b) MODIFICATION OF PAYMENT LIMITATION.—Sec-
tion 9034(b) of such Code is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The total’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The total’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘shall not exceed’’ and all that 
follows 
and 
inserting 
‘‘shall 
not 
exceed 
$250,000,000.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any ap-
plicable period beginning after 2029, the dollar 
amount in paragraph (1) shall be increased by 
an amount equal to— 
‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 
‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de-
termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal-
endar year following the year which such
693 
applicable period begins, determined by 
substituting ‘calendar year 2028’ for ‘cal-
endar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 
thereof. 
‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes 
of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable period’ 
means the 4-year period beginning with the 
first day following the date of the general elec-
tion for the office of President and ending on 
the date of the next such general election. 
‘‘(C) ROUNDING.—If any amount as ad-
justed under subparagraph (1) is not a multiple 
of $10,000, such amount shall be rounded to 
the nearest multiple of $10,000.’’. 
SEC. 5202. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING 
PAYMENTS. 
(a) AMOUNT OF AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTIONS PER 
STATE; DISREGARDING OF AMOUNTS CONTRIBUTED IN 
EXCESS OF $200.—Section 9033(b)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 
(1) 
by 
striking 
‘‘$5,000’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘$25,000’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘20 States’’ and inserting the 
following: ‘‘20 States (disregarding any amount of 
contributions from any such resident to the extent
694 
that the total of the amounts contributed by such 
resident for the election exceeds $200)’’. 
(b) CONTRIBUTION LIMIT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 
9033(b) of such Code is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(4) the candidate and the authorized commit-
tees of the candidate will not accept aggregate con-
tributions from any person with respect to the nomi-
nation for election to the office of President of the 
United States in excess of $1,000 for the election.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Section 9033(b) of such Code is 
amended by adding at the end the following 
new flush sentence: 
‘‘For purposes of paragraph (4), the term ‘contribution’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 301(8) of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 
(B) Section 9032(4) of such Code, as 
amended by section 5201(a)(3)(A), is amended 
by striking ‘‘section 9034’’ and inserting ‘‘sec-
tion 9033(b) or 9034’’. 
(c) PARTICIPATION IN SYSTEM FOR PAYMENTS FOR 
GENERAL ELECTION.—Section 9033(b) of such Code is 
amended—
695 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(3); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (4) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) if the candidate is nominated by a political 
party for election to the office of President, the can-
didate will apply for and accept payments with re-
spect to the general election for such office in ac-
cordance with chapter 95.’’. 
(d) PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT-
TEES.—Section 9033(b) of such Code, as amended by sub-
section (c), is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(4); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(6) the candidate will not establish a joint 
fundraising committee with a political committee 
other than another authorized committee of the can-
didate, except that candidate established a joint 
fundraising committee with respect to a prior elec-
696 
tion for which the candidate was not eligible to re-
ceive payments under section 9037 and the can-
didate does not terminate the committee, the can-
didate shall not be considered to be in violation of 
this paragraph so long as that joint fundraising 
committee does not receive any contributions or 
make any disbursements during the election cycle for 
which the candidate is eligible to receive payments 
under such section.’’. 
SEC. 5203. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 9035 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(a) PERSONAL EXPENDITURE LIMITATION.—No 
candidate shall knowingly make expenditures from his per-
sonal funds, or the personal funds of his immediate family, 
in connection with his campaign for nomination for elec-
tion to the office of President in excess of, in the aggre-
gate, $50,000.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 
section 9033(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) the candidate will comply with the per-
sonal expenditure limitation under section 9035,’’.
697 
SEC. 5204. PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF MATCHING PAY-
MENTS. 
Section 9032(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by striking ‘‘the beginning of the cal-
endar year in which a general election for the office of 
President of the United States will be held’’ and inserting 
‘‘the date that is 6 months prior to the date of the earliest 
State primary election’’. 
SEC. 5205. EXAMINATION AND AUDITS OF MATCHABLE CON-
TRIBUTIONS. 
Section 9038(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘and matchable contribu-
tions accepted by’’ after ‘‘qualified campaign expenses of’’. 
SEC. 5206. MODIFICATION TO LIMITATION ON CONTRIBU-
TIONS FOR PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY CAN-
DIDATES. 
Section 315(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(6)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘calendar year’’ and inserting ‘‘four-year election 
cycle’’. 
SEC. 5207. USE OF FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND AS 
SOURCE OF PAYMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 96 of subtitle H of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section:
698 
‘‘SEC. 9043. USE OF FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND AS 
SOURCE OF PAYMENTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of this chapter, effective with respect to the Presi-
dential election held in 2028 and each succeeding Presi-
dential election, all payments made to candidates under 
this chapter shall be made from the Freedom From Influ-
ence Fund established under section 541 of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (hereafter in this section 
referred to as the ‘Fund’). 
‘‘(b) MANDATORY REDUCTION
OF PAYMENTS
IN 
CASE OF INSUFFICIENT AMOUNTS IN FUND.— 
‘‘(1) ADVANCE AUDITS BY COMMISSION.—Not 
later than 90 days before the first day of each Presi-
dential election cycle (beginning with the cycle for 
the election held in 2028), the Commission shall— 
‘‘(A) audit the Fund to determine whether, 
after first making payments to participating 
candidates under title V of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 and then making pay-
ments to States under the My Voice Voucher 
Program under the Government By the People 
Act of 2021, the amounts remaining in the 
Fund will be sufficient to make payments to 
candidates under this chapter in the amounts
699 
provided under this chapter during such elec-
tion cycle; and 
‘‘(B) submit a report to Congress describ-
ing the results of the audit. 
‘‘(2) REDUCTIONS IN AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) AUTOMATIC
REDUCTION
ON
PRO 
RATA BASIS.—If, on the basis of the audit de-
scribed in paragraph (1), the Commission deter-
mines that the amount anticipated to be avail-
able in the Fund with respect to the Presi-
dential election cycle involved is not, or may not 
be, sufficient to satisfy the full entitlements of 
candidates to payments under this chapter for 
such cycle, the Commission shall reduce each 
amount which would otherwise be paid to a can-
didate under this chapter by such pro rata 
amount as may be necessary to ensure that the 
aggregate amount of payments anticipated to 
be made with respect to the cycle will not ex-
ceed the amount anticipated to be available for 
such payments in the Fund with respect to such 
cycle. 
‘‘(B) RESTORATION
OF
REDUCTIONS
IN 
CASE OF AVAILABILITY OF SUFFICIENT FUNDS 
DURING ELECTION CYCLE.—If, after reducing
700 
the amounts paid to candidates with respect to 
an election cycle under subparagraph (A), the 
Commission determines that there are sufficient 
amounts in the Fund to restore the amount by 
which such payments were reduced (or any por-
tion thereof), to the extent that such amounts 
are available, the Commission may make a pay-
ment on a pro rata basis to each such candidate 
with respect to the election cycle in the amount 
by which such candidate’s payments were re-
duced under subparagraph (A) (or any portion 
thereof, as the case may be). 
‘‘(C) NO USE OF AMOUNTS FROM OTHER 
SOURCES.—In any case in which the Commis-
sion determines that there are insufficient mon-
eys in the Fund to make payments to can-
didates under this chapter, moneys shall not be 
made available from any other source for the 
purpose of making such payments. 
‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED 
FOR PEDIATRIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.—This sec-
tion does not apply to the transfer of funds under 
section 9008(i). 
‘‘(4) PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION
CYCLE
DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘Presidential elec-
701 
tion cycle’ means, with respect to a Presidential elec-
tion, the period beginning on the day after the date 
of the previous Presidential general election and 
ending on the date of the Presidential election.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 96 of subtitle H of such Code is amended by 
adding at the end the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 9043. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments.’’. 
PART 2—GENERAL ELECTIONS 
SEC. 5211. MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 
FOR PUBLIC FINANCING. 
Subsection (a) of section 9003 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to receive 
any payments under section 9006, the candidates of a po-
litical party in a Presidential election shall meet the fol-
lowing requirements: 
‘‘(1) PARTICIPATION
IN
PRIMARY
PAYMENT 
SYSTEM.—The candidate for President received pay-
ments under chapter 96 for the campaign for nomi-
nation for election to be President. 
‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS
WITH
COMMISSION.—The 
candidates, in writing— 
‘‘(A) agree to obtain and furnish to the 
Commission such evidence as it may request of
702 
the qualified campaign expenses of such can-
didates, 
‘‘(B) agree to keep and furnish to the 
Commission such records, books, and other in-
formation as it may request, and 
‘‘(C) agree to an audit and examination by 
the Commission under section 9007 and to pay 
any amounts required to be paid under such 
section. 
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION
ON
JOINT
FUNDRAISING 
COMMITTEES.— 
‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—The candidates cer-
tifies in writing that the candidates will not es-
tablish a joint fundraising committee with a po-
litical committee other than another authorized 
committee of the candidate. 
‘‘(B) STATUS
OF
EXISTING
COMMITTEES 
FOR PRIOR ELECTIONS.—If a candidate estab-
lished a joint fundraising committee described 
in subparagraph (A) with respect to a prior 
election for which the candidate was not eligible 
to receive payments under section 9006 and the 
candidate does not terminate the committee, 
the candidate shall not be considered to be in 
violation of subparagraph (A) so long as that
703 
joint fundraising committee does not receive 
any contributions or make any disbursements 
with respect to the election for which the can-
didate is eligible to receive payments under sec-
tion 9006.’’. 
SEC. 5212. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS AND 
USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBU-
TIONS. 
(a) USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS 
WITHOUT EXPENDITURE LIMITS; APPLICATION OF SAME 
REQUIREMENTS FOR MAJOR, MINOR, AND NEW PAR-
TIES.—Section 9003 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by striking subsections (b) and (c) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) USE OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS 
TO DEFRAY EXPENSES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to 
receive any payments under section 9006, the can-
didates of a party in a Presidential election shall 
certify to the Commission, under penalty of perjury, 
that— 
‘‘(A) such candidates and their authorized 
committees have not and will not accept any 
contributions to defray qualified campaign ex-
penses other than—
704 
‘‘(i) qualified campaign contributions, 
and 
‘‘(ii) contributions to the extent nec-
essary to make up any deficiency payments 
received out of the fund on account of the 
application of section 9006(c), and 
‘‘(B) such candidates and their authorized 
committees have not and will not accept any 
contribution to defray expenses which would be 
qualified campaign expenses but for subpara-
graph (C) of section 9002(11). 
‘‘(2) TIMING
OF
CERTIFICATION.—The can-
didate shall make the certification required under 
this subsection at the same time the candidate 
makes the certification required under subsection 
(a)(3).’’. 
(b) DEFINITION
OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CON-
TRIBUTION.—Section 9002 of such Code is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(13) QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION.— 
The term ‘qualified campaign contribution’ means, 
with respect to any election for the office of Presi-
dent of the United States, a contribution from an in-
dividual to a candidate or an authorized committee 
of a candidate which—
705 
‘‘(A) does not exceed $1,000 for the elec-
tion; and 
‘‘(B) with respect to which the candidate 
has certified in writing that— 
‘‘(i) the individual making such con-
tribution has not made aggregate contribu-
tions (including such qualified contribu-
tion) to such candidate and the authorized 
committees of such candidate in excess of 
the amount described in subparagraph (A), 
and 
‘‘(ii) such candidate and the author-
ized committees of such candidate will not 
accept contributions from such individual 
(including such qualified contribution) ag-
gregating more than the amount described 
in subparagraph (A) with respect to such 
election.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 315 of the Fed-
eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
30116) is amended by striking subsection (b).
706 
(B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 
315(c) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)) is 
amended— 
(i) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 
‘‘, (b)’’; and 
(ii) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking 
‘‘subsections (b) and (d)’’ and inserting 
‘‘subsection (d)’’. 
(2) REPEAL OF REPAYMENT REQUIREMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 9007(b) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
striking paragraph (2) and redesignating para-
graphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), 
and (4), respectively. 
(B) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Para-
graph (2) of section 9007(b) of such Code, as 
redesignated by subparagraph (A), is amend-
ed— 
(i) by striking ‘‘a major party’’ and 
inserting ‘‘a party’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘contributions (other 
than’’ and inserting ‘‘contributions (other 
than qualified contributions’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘(other than qualified 
campaign expenses with respect to which
707 
payment is required under paragraph 
(2))’’. 
(3) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 
(A) REPEAL OF PENALTY FOR EXCESS EX-
PENSES.—Section 9012 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended by striking subsection 
(a). 
(B) PENALTY FOR ACCEPTANCE OF DIS-
ALLOWED
CONTRIBUTIONS; APPLICATION
OF 
SAME PENALTY FOR CANDIDATES OF MAJOR, 
MINOR, AND NEW PARTIES.—Subsection (b) of 
section 9012 of such Code is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) ACCEPTANCE OF DISALLOWED CONTRIBU-
TIONS.—It shall be unlawful for an eligible can-
didate of a party in a Presidential election or any of 
his authorized committees knowingly and willfully to 
accept— 
‘‘(A) any contribution other than a quali-
fied campaign contribution to defray qualified 
campaign expenses, except to the extent nec-
essary to make up any deficiency in payments 
received out of the fund on account of the ap-
plication of section 9006(c); or
708 
‘‘(B) any contribution to defray expenses 
which would be qualified campaign expenses but 
for subparagraph (C) of section 9002(11). 
‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para-
graph (1) shall be fined not more than $5,000, or 
imprisoned not more than one year, or both. In the 
case of a violation by an authorized committee, any 
officer or member of such committee who knowingly 
and willfully consents to such violation shall be fined 
not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than 
one year, or both.’’. 
SEC. 5213. MATCHING PAYMENTS AND OTHER MODIFICA-
TIONS TO PAYMENT AMOUNTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS; APPLICATION OF 
SAME AMOUNT FOR CANDIDATES OF MAJOR, MINOR, 
AND NEW PARTIES.—Subsection (a) of section 9004 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of this 
chapter, the eligible candidates of a party in a Presidential 
election shall be entitled to equal payment under section 
9006 in an amount equal to 600 percent of the amount 
of each matchable contribution received by such candidate 
or by the candidate’s authorized committees (disregarding
709 
any amount of contributions from any person to the extent 
that the total of the amounts contributed by such person 
for the election exceeds $200), except that total amount 
to which a candidate is entitled under this paragraph shall 
not exceed $250,000,000.’’. 
(2) REPEAL
OF
SEPARATE
LIMITATIONS
FOR 
CANDIDATES OF MINOR AND NEW PARTIES; INFLA-
TION ADJUSTMENT.—Subsection (b) of section 9004 
of such Code is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any applica-
ble period beginning after 2029, the $250,000,000 
dollar amount in subsection (a) shall be increased by 
an amount equal to— 
‘‘(A) such dollar amount; multiplied by 
‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter-
mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 
year following the year which such applicable 
period begins, determined by substituting ‘cal-
endar year 2028’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in 
subparagraph (B) thereof. 
‘‘(2) APPLICABLE
PERIOD.—For purposes of 
this subsection, the term ‘applicable period’ means 
the 4-year period beginning with the first day fol-
lowing the date of the general election for the office
710 
of President and ending on the date of the next such 
general election. 
‘‘(3) ROUNDING.—If any amount as adjusted 
under paragraph (1) is not a multiple of $10,000, 
such amount shall be rounded to the nearest mul-
tiple of $10,000.’’. 
(3) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
9005(a) of such Code is amended by adding at the 
end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Commission 
shall make such additional certifications as may be 
necessary to receive payments under section 9004.’’. 
(b) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION.—Section 9002 of 
such Code, as amended by section 5212(b), is amended 
by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(14) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The term 
‘matchable contribution’ means, with respect to the 
election to the office of President of the United 
States, a contribution by an individual to a can-
didate or an authorized committee of a candidate 
with respect to which the candidate has certified in 
writing that— 
‘‘(A) the individual making such contribu-
tion has not made aggregate contributions (in-
cluding such matchable contribution) to such 
candidate and the authorized committees of
711 
such candidate in excess of $1,000 for the elec-
tion; 
‘‘(B) such candidate and the authorized 
committees of such candidate will not accept 
contributions from such individual (including 
such matchable contribution) aggregating more 
than the amount described in subparagraph (A) 
with respect to such election; and 
‘‘(C) such contribution was a direct con-
tribution (as defined in section 9034(c)(3)).’’. 
SEC. 5214. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COORDINATED PARTY 
EXPENDITURES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(d)(2) of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(d)(2)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2)(A) The national committee of a political party 
may not make any expenditure in connection with the gen-
eral election campaign of any candidate for President of 
the United States who is affiliated with such party which 
exceeds $100,000,000. 
‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph— 
‘‘(i) any expenditure made by or on behalf of a 
national committee of a political party and in con-
nection with a Presidential election shall be consid-
ered to be made in connection with the general elec-
712 
tion campaign of a candidate for President of the 
United States who is affiliated with such party; and 
‘‘(ii) any communication made by or on behalf 
of such party shall be considered to be made in con-
nection with the general election campaign of a can-
didate for President of the United States who is af-
filiated with such party if any portion of the commu-
nication is in connection with such election. 
‘‘(C) Any expenditure under this paragraph shall be 
in addition to any expenditure by a national committee 
of a political party serving as the principal campaign com-
mittee of a candidate for the office of President of the 
United States.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO TIM-
ING OF COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(c)(1) of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(1)) is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(d)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(d)(2)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) In any calendar year after 2028— 
‘‘(i) the dollar amount in subsection (d)(2) shall 
be increased by the percent difference determined 
under subparagraph (A);
713 
‘‘(ii) the amount so increased shall remain in 
effect for the calendar year; and 
‘‘(iii) if the amount after adjustment under 
clause (i) is not a multiple of $100, such amount 
shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $100.’’. 
(2) BASE YEAR.—Section 315(c)(2)(B) of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(2)(B)) is amended— 
(A) in clause (i)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(d)(3)’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(iii) for purposes of subsection (d)(2), cal-
endar year 2027.’’. 
SEC. 5215. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM DATE FOR RE-
LEASE OF PAYMENTS. 
(a) DATE FOR PAYMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9006(b) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(b) PAYMENTS FROM THE FUND.—If the Secretary 
of the Treasury receives a certification from the Commis-
714 
sion under section 9005 for payment to the eligible can-
didates of a political party, the Secretary shall pay to such 
candidates out of the fund the amount certified by the 
Commission on the later of— 
‘‘(1) the last Friday occurring before the first 
Monday in September; or 
‘‘(2) 24 hours after receiving the certifications 
for the eligible candidates of all major political par-
ties. 
Amounts paid to any such candidates shall be under the 
control of such candidates.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first sen-
tence of section 9006(c) of such Code is amended by 
striking ‘‘the time of a certification by the Commis-
sion under section 9005 for payment’’ and inserting 
‘‘the time of making a payment under subsection 
(b)’’. 
(b) TIME FOR CERTIFICATION.—Section 9005(a) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
‘‘10 days’’ and inserting ‘‘24 hours’’. 
SEC. 5216. AMOUNTS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAM-
PAIGN FUND. 
Section 9006(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
sentence: ‘‘In making a determination of whether there are
715 
insufficient moneys in the fund for purposes of the pre-
vious sentence, the Secretary shall take into account in 
determining the balance of the fund for a Presidential 
election year the Secretary’s best estimate of the amount 
of moneys which will be deposited into the fund during 
the year, except that the amount of the estimate may not 
exceed the average of the annual amounts deposited in the 
fund during the previous 3 years.’’. 
SEC. 5217. USE OF GENERAL ELECTION PAYMENTS FOR 
GENERAL ELECTION LEGAL AND ACCOUNT-
ING COMPLIANCE. 
Section 9002(11) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
sentence: ‘‘For purposes of subparagraph (A), an expense 
incurred by a candidate or authorized committee for gen-
eral election legal and accounting compliance purposes 
shall be considered to be an expense to further the election 
of such candidate.’’. 
SEC. 5218. USE OF FREEDOM FROM INFLUENCE FUND AS 
SOURCE OF PAYMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 95 of subtitle H of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section: