H.R. 8399 Text - Reported in House - 118th Congress (2023-2024)

Union Calendar No. 559

118th CONGRESS
2d Session

H. R. 8399

[Report No. 118–663, Part I]

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to further restrict contributions of foreign nationals, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 14, 2024

Mr. Steil (for himself and Mrs. Bice) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

September 12, 2024

Additional sponsor: Ms. Lee of Florida

September 12, 2024

Reported from the Committee on House Administration with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

September 12, 2024

Committee on Oversight and Accountability discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 14, 2024]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to further restrict contributions of foreign nationals, 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.

This Act may be cited as the “Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act”.

SEC. 2. Modifications to foreign money ban.

(a) Additional restrictions.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 319(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)) is amended—

(A) by striking “or” at the end of subparagraph (B); and

(B) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(D) a donation for the purpose of—

“(i) voter registration activity;

“(ii) ballot collection;

“(iii) voter identification;

“(iv) get-out-the-vote activity;

“(v) any public communication that refers to a clearly identified Federal, State, or local political party; or

“(vi) the administration of a Federal, State, or local election; or”.

(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 319(a)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(2)) is amended by striking “subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1)” and inserting “subparagraph (A), (B), or (D) of paragraph (1)”.

(b) Prohibition on aiding or facilitating violations.—Section 319(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)), as amended by subsection (a), is amended—

(1) by striking “or” at the end of paragraph (1)(D);

(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and inserting “; or”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(3) a person to knowingly aid or facilitate a violation of paragraph (1) or (2).”.

(c) Indirect contributions.—Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(c) Indirect contributions.—For purposes of this section, a person shall be treated as having indirectly made a contribution, donation, expenditure, or disbursement described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), or (D) of subsection (a)(1) if such person has made a contribution or donation to a person with a designation, instruction, or encumbrance (whether direct or indirect, express or implied, oral or written, or involving intermediaries or conduits) which results in any part of such contribution, donation, expenditure, or disbursement being used for an activity described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), or (D) of subsection (a)(1).”.

(d) Enforcement provisions.—Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121), as amended by subsection (c), is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(d) Enforcement.—

“(1) USE OF CERTIFICATION AS A DEFENSE.—

“(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any allegation that a person has violated subsection (a), any person alleged in the complaint may, in connection with a response to such allegation under section 309(a)(1), submit, under penalty of perjury, a certification that no such violation has occurred.

“(B) EFFECT OF SUBMISSION.—The Commission shall take into consideration any certification submitted under subparagraph (A) in making a determination under section 309(a)(2) whether there is reason to believe such violation has occurred.

“(2) LIMITATION ON INVESTIGATIONS.—

“(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission makes a determination under section 309(a)(2) that there is reason to believe a violation of subsection (a) has occurred or is about to occur, any investigation of such alleged violation shall be limited in scope to the factual matter necessary to determine whether such alleged violation occurred.

“(B) PETITION TO QUASH SUBPOENA OR ORDER ON BASIS NOT LIMITED IN SCOPE TO NECESSARY FACTUAL MATTER.—

“(i) IN GENERAL.—A person subject to an investigation by the Commission following a determination of the Commission that there is reason to believe a violation of subsection (a) has occurred or is about to occur may file a petition in any United States district court with jurisdiction to quash any subpoena or order of the Commission issued under paragraph (3) or (4), respectively, of section 307(a) on the basis that the subpoena or order is not limited in scope to the factual matter necessary to determine whether such alleged violation occurred as required under subparagraph (A).

“(ii) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in clause (i) shall be construed to alter the right of any person to otherwise challenge the power of the Commission to issue a subpoena under section 307(a)(3) or an order under section 307(a)(4).”.

(e) Reporting.—

(1) CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES OF POLITICAL COMMITTEES AND POLITICAL PARTIES.—Section 304(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(b)) is amended—

(A) by striking “and” at the end of paragraph (7);

(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (8) and inserting “; and”; and

(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(9) under penalty of perjury, a certification that the committee has complied with the requirements of section 319(a).”.

(2) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.—

(A) COMMITTEE REPORTS.—Section 304(b)(6)(B)(iii) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104(b)(6)(B)(iii)) is amended—

(i) by striking “and a certification” and inserting “a certification”; and

(ii) by inserting “, and a certification, under penalty of perjury that the independent expenditure does not violate section 319(a)” before the semicolon at the end.

(B) OTHER PERSONS.—Section 304(c)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104(c)(2)) is amended—

(i) by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (B);

(ii) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D); and

(iii) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new subparagraph:

“(C) under penalty of perjury, a certification that the independent expenditure does not violate section 319(a); and”.

(3) ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 304(f)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(G) A certification, under penalty of perjury, that the disbursement does not violate section 319(a).”.

SEC. 3. Protecting privacy of donors to tax-exempt organizations.

(a) Restrictions on collection of donor information.—

(1) RESTRICTIONS.—An entity of the Federal government may not collect or require the submission of information on the identification of any donor to a tax-exempt organization.

(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to the following:

(A) The Internal Revenue Service, acting lawfully pursuant to section 6033 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor provision.

(B) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, acting lawfully pursuant to section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604).

(C) The Federal Election Commission, acting lawfully pursuant to—

(i) section 510 of title 36, United States Code; or

(ii) any provision of title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.).

(D) An entity acting pursuant to a lawful order of a court or administrative body which has the authority under law to direct the entity to collect or require the submission of the information, but only to the extent permitted by the lawful order of such court or administrative body.

(b) Restrictions on release of donor information.—

(1) RESTRICTIONS.—An entity of the Federal government may not disclose to the public information revealing the identification of any donor to a tax-exempt organization.

(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to the following:

(A) The Internal Revenue Service, acting lawfully pursuant to section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor provision.

(B) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, acting lawfully pursuant to section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604).

(C) The Federal Election Commission, acting lawfully pursuant to—

(i) section 510 of title 36, United States Code; or

(ii) any provision of title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.).

(D) An entity acting pursuant to a lawful order of a court or administrative body which has the authority under law to direct the entity to disclose the information, but only to the extent permitted by the lawful order of such court or administrative body.

(E) An entity which discloses the information as authorized by the organization.

(c) Tax-Exempt organization defined.—In this section, a “tax-exempt organization” means an organization which is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to treat a political organization under section 527 of such Code as a tax-exempt organization for purposes of this section.

(d) Penalties.—It shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the United States, or any former officer or employee, willfully to disclose to any person, except as authorized in this section, any information revealing the identification of any donor to a tax-exempt organization. Any violation of this section shall be a felony punishable upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $250,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution, and if such offense is committed by any officer or employee of the United States, he shall, in addition to any other punishment, be dismissed from office or discharged from employment upon conviction for such offense.

SEC. 4. Effective date.

(a) Modifications to foreign money ban.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), section 2 and the amendments made by section 2 shall apply with respect to donations or other amounts provided on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(2) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection (e) of section 2 and the amendments made by such subsection shall apply with respect to reports filed under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) Protecting privacy of donors.—Section 3 shall apply with respect to donations made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Union Calendar No. 559

118th CONGRESS
2d Session

H. R. 8399

[Report No. 118–663, Part I]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to further restrict contributions of foreign nationals, and for other purposes.

September 12, 2024

Reported from the Committee on House Administration with an amendment

September 12, 2024

Committee on Oversight and Accountability discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed