Title: DEFEND Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Defending Elections From Foreign Efforts to Negate Democracy Act or the DEFEND Act
This bill prohibits foreign nationals from making disbursements for internet activity promoting, supporting, attacking, or opposing the election of a candidate for public office.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4703 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 
  engaging 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 disbursements to compensate persons 
  engaging in internet activity promoting, supporting, attacking, or 
        opposing the election of a candidate for public office.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITING DISBURSEMENTS BY CERTAIN FOREIGN NATIONALS TO 
              COMPENSATE PERSONS ENGAGING IN INTERNET ACTIVITY 
              PROMOTING, SUPPORTING, ATTACKING, OR OPPOSING 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 compensate any person 
                for internet activity that promotes, supports, attacks 
                or opposes the election of a clearly identified 
                candidate for Federal, State, or local office 
                (regardless of whether the activity communication 
                contains express advocacy 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 following 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 section 
                1(b) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 
                U.S.C. 611(b)) that is a government of a foreign 
                country or a foreign political party;
                    ``(B) any person who acts as an agent, 
                representative, employee, or servant, or any person 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 directly or indirectly supervised, 
                directed, controlled, 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 specially 
                designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by 
                the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department 
                of the Treasury pursuant 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 
        person's status as the agent of a foreign principal described 
        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.
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