I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4703 
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit certain 
foreign nationals from making disbursements to compensate persons en-
gaging in internet activity promoting, supporting, attacking, or opposing 
the election of a candidate for public office. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 16, 2019 
Mr. LAMB introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on House Administration 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 
prohibit certain foreign nationals from making disburse-
ments to compensate persons engaging in internet activ-
ity promoting, supporting, attacking, or opposing the 
election of a candidate for public office. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defending Elections 
From Foreign Efforts to Negate Democracy Act’’ or the 
‘‘DEFEND Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROHIBITING DISBURSEMENTS BY CERTAIN FOR-
EIGN NATIONALS TO COMPENSATE PERSONS 
ENGAGING 
IN 
INTERNET 
ACTIVITY 
PRO-
MOTING, SUPPORTING, ATTACKING, OR OP-
POSING THE ELECTION OF A CANDIDATE FOR 
PUBLIC OFFICE. 
(a) 
DISBURSEMENTS
DESCRIBED.—Section 
319(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
(52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 
(B); and 
(2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(C) an expenditure; 
‘‘(D) an independent expenditure; 
‘‘(E) a disbursement for an electioneering 
communication (within the meaning of section 
304(f)(3)); or 
‘‘(F) a disbursement by a covered foreign 
national (as defined in subsection (c)) to com-
pensate any person for internet activity that 
promotes, supports, attacks or opposes the elec-
tion of a clearly identified candidate for Fed-
eral, State, or local office (regardless of whether 
the activity communication contains express ad-
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vocacy or the functional equivalent of express 
advocacy); or’’. 
(b) DEFINITION.—Section 319 of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(c) COVERED FOREIGN NATIONAL DEFINED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the term 
‘covered foreign national’ means— 
‘‘(A) a foreign principal (as defined in sec-
tion 1(b) of the Foreign Agents Registration 
Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611(b)) that is a gov-
ernment of a foreign country or a foreign polit-
ical party; 
‘‘(B) any person who acts as an agent, 
representative, employee, or servant, or any per-
son who acts in any other capacity at the order, 
request, or under the direction or control, of a 
foreign principal described in subparagraph (A) 
or of a person any of whose activities are di-
rectly or indirectly supervised, directed, con-
trolled, financed, or subsidized in whole or in 
major part by a foreign principal described in 
subparagraph (A); or 
‘‘(C) any person included in the list of spe-
cially designated nationals and blocked persons 
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maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets 
Control of the Department of the Treasury pur-
suant to authorities relating to the imposition 
of sanctions relating to the conduct of a foreign 
principal described in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION REGARDING APPLICATION 
TO CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES.—In the case 
of a citizen of the United States, subparagraph (B) 
of paragraph (1) applies only to the extent that the 
person involved acts within the scope of that per-
son’s status as the agent of a foreign principal de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to disbursements 
made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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