Duty to Report Act
Bill: H.R.1266 | Sponsor: Rep. Swalwell, Eric (D-CA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Duty to Report Act
This bill requires political committees, candidates for federal office, and other individuals to report to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) any offers of prohibited contributions, including offers of nonpublic information regarding other candidates, by foreign nationals.
Specifically, political committees and candidates must report to the FEC within 24 hours any (1) offers of prohibited contributions from foreign nationals, and (2) meetings with foreign governments or their agents.
In addition, the bill requires political committees, candidates, immediate family members of candidates, and individuals affiliated with a campaign (e.g., employees and independent contractors) to report to the FBI within 24 hours any offers of prohibited contributions from foreign nationals. Further, the bill establishes a new criminal offense for knowingly and willfully failing to comply with this reporting requirement. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to two years, or both.
Such reported information may not be used to enforce certain immigration provisions related to the removal of undocumented aliens.

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require reporting 
     to the Federal Election Commission and the Federal Bureau of 
    Investigation of offers by foreign nationals to make prohibited 
contributions, donations, expenditures, or disbursements, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Duty to Report 
Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Political contributions and express-advocacy 
        expenditures are an integral aspect of the process by which 
        Americans elect officials to Federal, State, and local 
        government offices.
            (2) It is fundamental to the definition of a national 
        political community that foreign citizens do not have a 
        constitutional right to participate in, and thus may be 
        excluded from, activities of democratic self-governance.
            (3) The United States has a compelling interest in limiting 
        the participation of foreign citizens in activities of 
        democratic self-government, and in thereby preventing foreign 
        influence over the United States political process.
            (4) Foreign donations and expenditures have a corrupting 
        influence on the campaign process and limiting the activities 
        of foreign citizens in our elections is necessary to preserve 
        the basic conception of a political community and democratic 
        self-governance.

SEC. 2. REPORTING TO THE FEC.

    (a) Reporting Offers of Prohibited Contributions, Donations, 
Expenditures, or Disbursements by Foreign Nationals.--Section 304 of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(j) Disclosure of Offers of Prohibited Contributions, Donations, 
Expenditures, or Disbursements by Foreign Nationals.--If a political 
committee, an agent of the committee, or in the case of an authorized 
committee of a candidate for Federal office, a candidate, receives an 
offer (orally, in writing, or otherwise) of a prohibited contribution, 
donation, expenditure, or disbursement (as defined in section 3(c) of 
the Duty to Report Act), the committee shall, within 24 hours of 
receiving the offer, report to the Commission--
            ``(1) to the extent known, the name, address, and 
        nationality of the foreign national (as defined in section 
        319(b)) making the offer; and
            ``(2) the amount and type of contribution, donation, 
        expenditure, or disbursement offered.''.
    (b) Reporting Meetings With Foreign Governments or Their Agents.--
Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
30104), as amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
    ``(k) Disclosure of Meetings With Foreign Governments or Their 
Agents.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), if 
        a political committee, an agent of the committee, or in the 
        case of an authorized committee of a candidate for Federal 
        office, a candidate, meets with a foreign government or an 
        agent of a foreign principal, as defined in section 1 of the 
        Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611), the 
        committee shall, within 24 hours of meeting, report to the 
        Commission--
                    ``(A) to the extent known, the identity of each 
                individual at the meeting and the foreign government 
                involved; and
                    ``(B) the purpose of the meeting.
            ``(2) Exception for meetings in official capacity.--
        Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to a meeting with a 
        foreign government or an agent of a foreign principal by an 
        elected official or as an employee of an elected official in 
        their official capacity as such an official or employee.''.
    (c) Promulgation of Regulations.--Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Election Commission shall 
promulgate regulations providing additional indicators beyond the 
pertinent facts described in section 110.20(a)(5) of title 11, Code of 
Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act) 
that may lead a reasonable person to conclude that there is a 
substantial probability that the source of the funds solicited, 
accepted, or received is a foreign national, as defined in section 
319(b) of the Federal Election Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)), or to 
inquire whether the source of the funds solicited, accepted, or 
received is a foreign national, as so defined. Regulations promulgated 
under the proceeding sentence shall also provide guidance to political 
committees and campaigns to not engage in racial or ethnic profiling in 
making such a conclusion or inquiry.

SEC. 3. REPORTING OFFERS OF PROHIBITED CONTRIBUTIONS, DONATIONS, 
              EXPENDITURES, OR DISBURSEMENTS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS TO 
              THE FBI.

    (a) In General.--If a political committee or an applicable 
individual (as defined in subsection (c)) receives an offer (orally, in 
writing, or otherwise) of a prohibited contribution, donation, 
expenditure, or disbursement, the committee or applicable individual 
shall, within 24 hours of receiving the offer, report to the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation--
            (1) to the extent known, the name, address, and nationality 
        of the foreign national making the offer; and
            (2) the amount and type of contribution, donation, 
        expenditure, or disbursement offered.
    (b) Offense.--
            (1) In general.--It shall be unlawful to knowingly and 
        willfully fail to comply with subsection (a).
            (2) Penalty.--Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall 
        be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not 
        more than 2 years, or both.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Applicable individual.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``applicable individual'' 
                means--
                            (i) an agent of a political committee;
                            (ii) a candidate;
                            (iii) an individual who is an immediate 
                        family member of a candidate; or
                            (iv) any individual affiliated with a 
                        campaign of a candidate.
                    (B) Immediate family member; individual affiliated 
                with a campaign.--For purposes of subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) the term ``immediate family member'' 
                        means, with respect to a candidate, a parent, 
                        parent-in-law, spouse, adult child, or sibling; 
                        and
                            (ii) the term ``individual affiliated with 
                        a campaign'' means, with respect to a 
                        candidate, an employee of any organization 
                        legally authorized under Federal, State, or 
                        local law to support the candidate's campaign 
                        for nomination for, or election to, any 
                        Federal, State, or local public office, as well 
                        as any independent contractor of such an 
                        organization and any individual who performs 
                        services for the organization on an unpaid 
                        basis (including an intern or volunteer).
            (2) Foreign national.--The term ``foreign national'' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 319(b) of the Federal 
        Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)).
            (3) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 110.20(a)(4) of title 11, Code of 
        Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations).
            (4) Prohibited contribution, donation, expenditure, or 
        disbursement.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``prohibited 
                contribution, donation, expenditure, or disbursement'' 
                means a contribution, donation, expenditure, or 
                disbursement prohibited under section 319(a) of the 
                Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
                30121(a)).
                    (B) Clarification.--Such term includes, with 
                respect to a candidate or election, any information--
                            (i) regarding any of the other candidates 
                        for election for that office;
                            (ii) that is not in the public domain; and
                            (iii) which could be used to the advantage 
                        of the campaign of the candidate.
            (5) Other terms.--Any term used in this section which is 
        defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
        1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101) and which is not otherwise defined in 
        this section shall have the meaning given such term under such 
        section 301.

SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION REGARDING USE OF INFORMATION REPORTED.

    Information reported under subsection (j) or (k) of section 304 of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104), as added 
by section 2, or under section 3(a), may not be used to enforce the 
provisions under chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) relating to the removal of 
undocumented aliens.
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