I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2143 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform the system of 
public financing for Presidential elections, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2015 
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina (for himself and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Admin-
istration 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform 
the system of public financing for Presidential elections, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Empowering Mass Participation to Offset the Wealthy’s 
Electoral Role Act’’ or the ‘‘EMPOWER Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
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TITLE I—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 
Sec. 101. Increase in and modifications to matching payments. 
Sec. 102. Eligibility requirements for matching payments. 
Sec. 103. Inflation adjustments. 
Sec. 104. Repeal of expenditure limitations. 
Sec. 105. Period of availability of matching payments. 
Sec. 106. Examination and audits of matchable contributions. 
Sec. 107. Modification to limitation on contributions for presidential primary 
candidates. 
TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 
Sec. 201. Modification of eligibility requirements for public financing. 
Sec. 202. Repeal of expenditure limitations and use of qualified campaign con-
tributions. 
Sec. 203. Matching payments and other modifications to payment amounts. 
Sec. 204. Inflation adjustments. 
Sec. 205. Increase in limit on coordinated party expenditures. 
Sec. 206. Establishment of uniform date for release of payments. 
Sec. 207. Amounts in Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 
Sec. 208. Use of general election payments for general election legal and ac-
counting compliance. 
TITLE III—SEVERABILITY; EFFECTIVE DATE 
Sec. 301. Severability. 
Sec. 302. Effective date. 
TITLE I—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 
SEC. 101. INCREASE IN AND MODIFICATIONS TO MATCHING 
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 
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by such person for the election exceeds $250)’’; 
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 inserting after subsection (b) the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(c) MATCHABLE CONTRIBUTION DEFINED.—For 
purposes of this section and section 9033(b)— 
‘‘(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 
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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 not— 
‘‘(i) forwarded from the contributor 
from any person other than an individual, 
or 
‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com-
mittee from a contributor or contributors, 
but credited by the committee or candidate 
to another person who is not an individual 
through records, designations, or other 
means of recognizing (whether in writing 
or not in writing) that a certain amount of 
money has been raised by such person. 
‘‘(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 
name and mailing address, but does not include a 
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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) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(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 by striking ‘‘shall 
not exceed’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘shall not 
exceed $300,000,000.’’ 
SEC. 102. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING 
PAYMENTS. 
(a) AMOUNT OF AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTIONS PER 
STATE; DISREGARDING OF AMOUNTS CONTRIBUTED IN 
EXCESS OF $250.—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 
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that the total of the amounts contributed by such 
resident for the election exceeds $250)’’. 
(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 101(a)(3)(A) is amended by 
inserting ‘‘or 9033(b)’’ after ‘‘9034’’. 
(c) BAN ON ACCEPTANCE OF BUNDLED CONTRIBU-
TIONS.—Section 9033(b) of such Code, as amended by 
subsection (b), is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(3); 
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(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (4) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) the candidate and the authorized com-
mittee of the candidate will not accept any bundled 
contribution (as defined in section 304(i)(8)) for-
warded by or credited to a person described in sec-
tion 304(i)(7).’’. 
(d) PARTICIPATION IN SYSTEM FOR PAYMENTS FOR 
GENERAL ELECTION.—Section 9033(b) of such Code, as 
amended by subsection (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 adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(6) 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.’’. 
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SEC. 103. INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS. 
Section 9033 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(d) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any applica-
ble period beginning after 2015, each of the dollar 
amounts described in paragraph (4) shall be in-
creased 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 2015’ 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 last general election for the 
office 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 $100, such 
amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of 
$100. 
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‘‘(4) 
AMOUNTS
DESCRIBED.—The 
dollar 
amounts described in this paragraph are each of the 
dollar amounts in the following provisions of this 
chapter: 
‘‘(A) Subsection (b) of this section (relat-
ing to the requirements with respect to con-
tributions received and accepted by eligible can-
didates). 
‘‘(B) Section 9034(a) and 9034(c) (relat-
ing to the determinations and definition of 
‘matchable contribution’). 
‘‘(C) Section 9034(b) (relating to the limi-
tation on the total amount of payments to 
which a candidate may be entitled). 
‘‘(D) Section 9035(a) (relating to the limi-
tation on the amount of expenditures a can-
didate may make from personal funds).’’. 
SEC. 104. 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-
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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,’’. 
SEC. 105. 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. 106. 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. 107. 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-
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ing ‘‘calendar year’’ and inserting ‘‘four-year election 
cycle’’. 
TITLE II—GENERAL ELECTIONS 
SEC. 201. 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 
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 
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‘‘(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) BAN
ON
CERTAIN
CONTRIBUTIONS
AND 
SOLICITATIONS.—The candidates certify to the Com-
mission, under penalty of perjury, the following: 
‘‘(A) BUNDLED
CONTRIBUTIONS.—Such 
candidates and the authorized committees of 
such candidates will not accept any bundled 
contribution (as defined in section 304(i)(8)) 
forwarded by or credited to a person described 
in section 304(i)(7). 
‘‘(B) SOLICITATIONS
FOR
JOINT
FUND-
RAISING
COMMITTEES.—Such candidates and 
their authorized committees will not, after June 
1 of the election year, solicit any funds for any 
joint fundraising committee that includes any 
committee of a political party. 
‘‘(C) SOLICITATION FOR POLITICAL PAR-
TIES.—Such candidates and their authorized 
committees will not, after June 1 of the year in 
which the election is held, solicit any funds for 
any committee of a political party. 
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Such certification shall be made within such time 
prior to the day of the presidential election as the 
Commission shall prescribe by rules or regulations.’’. 
SEC. 202. REPEAL OF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS AND USE 
OF QUALIFIED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS. 
(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 cer-
tify 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— 
‘‘(i) qualified campaign contributions, 
and 
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‘‘(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— 
‘‘(A) is made after June 1 of the year in 
which the election is held; 
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‘‘(B) does not exceed $1,000 for the elec-
tion; and 
‘‘(C) 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 (B), 
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 (B) 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). 
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(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 inserting ‘‘qualified contribu-
tions and’’ after ‘‘contributions (other 
than’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘(other than qualified 
campaign expenses with respect to which 
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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 any contribution to defray qualified campaign 
expenses, except to the extent necessary to make up 
any deficiency in payments received out of the fund 
on account of the application of section 9006(c), or 
to defray expenses which would be qualified cam-
paign expenses but for subparagraph (C) of section 
9002(11). 
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‘‘(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. 203. 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 
any amount of contributions from any person to the extent 
that the total of the amounts contributed by such person 
for the election exceeds $250), except that total amount 
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to which a candidate is entitled under this paragraph shall 
not exceed $300,000,000.’’. 
(2) REPEAL
OF
SEPARATE
LIMITATIONS
FOR 
CANDIDATES OF MINOR AND NEW PARTIES.—Section 
9004 of such Code is amended by striking sub-
section (b). 
(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 202, is amended by add-
ing 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 
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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 not— 
‘‘(i) forwarded from the contributor 
from any person other than an individual, 
or 
‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com-
mittee from a contributor or contributors, 
but credited by the committee or candidate 
to another person who is not an individual 
through records, designations, or other 
means of recognizing (whether in writing 
or not in writing) that a certain amount of 
money has been raised by such person.’’. 
SEC. 204. INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS. 
Section 9004 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(f) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.— 
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‘‘(A) Section 9002(13) (relating to the def-
inition of ‘qualified campaign contribution’). 
‘‘(B) Section 9002(14) (relating to the def-
inition of ‘matchable contribution’). 
‘‘(C) Subsection (a) of this section (relat-
ing to the limitation on the total amount of 
payments to which a candidate may be enti-
tled).’’. 
SEC. 205. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COORDINATED PARTY EX-
PENDITURES. 
(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-
tion campaign of a candidate for President of the 
United States who is affiliated with such party; and 
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‘‘(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)), as amended by section 
202(d)(1)(B), is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(d)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(d)(3)’’; and 
(B) by inserting at the end the following 
new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) In any calendar year after 2017— 
‘‘(i) the dollar amount in subsection (d)(2) shall 
be increased by the percent difference determined 
under subparagraph (A); 
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‘‘(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)), as amended by sec-
tion 202(d)(1)(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 2016.’’. 
SEC. 206. 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: 
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‘‘(b) PAYMENTS FROM THE FUND.—If the Secretary 
of the Treasury receives a certification from the Commis-
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’’. 
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SEC. 207. AMOUNTS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAM-
PAIGN FUND. 
(a) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS IN FUND.—Sec-
tion 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 insuffi-
cient moneys in the fund for purposes of the previous sen-
tence, 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, ex-
cept that the amount of the estimate may not exceed the 
average of the annual amounts deposited in the fund dur-
ing the previous 3 years.’’. 
(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR FIRST CAMPAIGN CYCLE 
UNDER THIS ACT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9006 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL AUTHORITY TO BORROW.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 
(c), there are authorized to be appropriated to the 
fund, as repayable advances, such sums as are nec-
essary to carry out the purposes of the fund during 
the period ending on the first presidential election 
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occurring after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(2) REPAYMENT OF ADVANCES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Advances made to the 
fund shall be repaid, and interest on such ad-
vances shall be paid, to the general fund of the 
Treasury when the Secretary determines that 
moneys are available for such purposes in the 
fund. 
‘‘(B) RATE OF INTEREST.—Interest on ad-
vances made to the fund shall be at a rate de-
termined by the Secretary of the Treasury (as 
of the close of the calendar month preceding the 
month in which the advance is made) to be 
equal to the current average market yield on 
outstanding marketable obligations of the 
United States with remaining periods to matu-
rity comparable to the anticipated period during 
which the advance will be outstanding and shall 
be compounded annually.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by this subsection shall take effect January 1, 2016. 
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SEC. 208. USE OF GENERAL ELECTION PAYMENTS FOR GEN-
ERAL ELECTION LEGAL AND ACCOUNTING 
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.’’. 
TITLE III—SEVERABILITY; 
EFFECTIVE DATE 
SEC. 301. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 
this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment 
to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu-
tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 
by this Act, and the application of the provisions and 
amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 
affected by the holding. 
SEC. 302. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amend-
ments made by this Act shall apply with respect to elec-
tions occurring after January 1, 2016. 
Æ 
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