August 4, 1999 (7:45 p.m.)
Amendments Submitted to H.R. 417, Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1999
(in alphabetical order) Bereuter #6 Prohibits foreign individual campaign contributions.
Calvert #20 Limits amount of congressional candidate contributions from individuals not residing in the district or state involved.
Davis (FL)/Wamp/Hoyer/Roukema/Farr/Maloney #28 Closes the foreign soft money loophole. Writes into law regulations allowing domestic subsidiaries to make contributions. Reaffirms rights of eligible voters to make contributions. Requires electronic filing by all political committees Requires all state disclosure documents to also be filed with the FEC. Requires reporting of secondary payments by major entities. Requires cumulative totals be reported in post-election reports. Requires reporting within 24 hours of all contributions over $200 and Independent Expenditures over $10,000 in 90 days prior to the election. Eliminates unintended violations of the individual $25,000 annual contribution limit by counting all contributions in the year they are made. Requires that cumulative reporting totals be for the election cycle rather than the calendar year. Requires cumulative reporting of each contributors contributions per cycle. Permits last minute reports to be faxed and e-mailed. Creates an administrative fine system for minor reporting violations. Changes threshold for investigation from "reason to believe a violation has occurred" to "reason to seek additional information." Broadens candidates ability to receive commercially reasonable loans and advances from credit card and brokerage account lines of credit. Writes into law regulations on prohibited threats of force and reprisals in connection with PAC fundraising. Removes language authorizing Ex Officio Members. Repeals requirement that Commerce report unnecessary population figures. Deletes references to honoraria that FEC no longer has jurisdiction over. Bans acceptance of cash contributions over $100. Creates new system for written questions and answers to FEC. Requires transfer of suspect contributions to an FEC account rather than returning to the contributor.
Davis (VA) Increases the aggregate annual individual contribution level from $30,000 to $75,000.
Davis (VA) Increases the individual contribution limit from $1,000 to $3,000
DeLay #27 Exempts regulations in the bill from applying to Internet communication.
Doolittle #25 Amendment in the nature of a substitute. Repeals limits on how much individuals and political action committees may contribute to candidates or parties; repeals limits on how much parties can contribute to candidates; terminates taxpayer financing of presidential election campaigns; requires political parties to distinguish between federal and non-federal funds; requires each state party to file with the FEC a copy of the same disclosure form as filed with the state; requires electronic filing of campaign reports; requires reports to be filed every 24 hours during the first 3 months preceding an election; requires the FEC to post all campaign reports on the Internet and bars acceptance of campaign contributions unless specific disclosure requirements are met.
Doolittle #26 Exempts voter guides from the "express advocacy" as defined by the bill.
Ewing #18 Strikes Section 1601 and replaces it with a non-severability clause that if any provision of H.R. 417 is declared invalid then the entire Act shall be treated as invalid.
Faleomavaega #1 Clarifies the right of Nationals of the United States to make political contributions.
Goodlatte #8 Requires sponsors of telephone polls conducted of more than 1,200 household and within 10 days of a federal election to identify themselves and disclose for whom the telephone calls are made.
Goodlatte #9 Repeals parts of the Motor Voter Act by: (1) requiring proof of citizenship and a Social Security number to register for federal elections; (2) allowing for the removal of certain registrants from voter lists; (3) permitting states to require individuals to produce a photo ID in order to vote in a federal election; (4) repealing mandated vote registration by mail; (5) requiring a registrant's signature at the time of voting; and (6) repealing provisions that allow individuals who have recently moved to vote at the voting location of either the new or former address.
Goodlatte #10 Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit personal staff employees of House Members from holding paid positions on the campaigns of their employing members at the same time that they are being paid by the House.
Goodlatte #11 Prohibits fund-raising in the White House or other official residences or retreats of the President or Vice President.
Goodlatte #12 Amendment to H.R. 2668. Requires sponsors of telephone polls conducted of more than 1,200 households and within 10 days of a federal election to identify themselves and disclose for whom the telephone calls are made.
Goodlatte #13 Amendment to H.R. 2668. Prohibits fund-raising in the White House or other official residences or retreats of the President or Vice President.
Goodlatte #14 Amendment to H.R. 2668. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit personal staff employees of House Members from holding paid positions on the campaigns of their employing members at the same time that they are being paid by the House.
Goodling #15 Strikes Section 501 of the bill as reported which does not correctly implement the Supreme Court's 1988 Beck Decision, or adequately protect working Americans from having dues money taken from their paychecks without their permission, and inserts the language of H.R. 2434, the "Worker Paycheck Fairness Act".
Goodling #16 Strikes Section 501 of the bill as reported which does not correctly implement the Supreme Court's 1988 Beck Decision, or adequately protect working Americans from having dues money taken from their paychecks without their permission.
Hutchinson/Brady/Moran/Hill #2 Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute. Prohibits national political parties from accepting soft money, raising it on behalf of state parties, or directing it to state parties. Federal office holders are prohibited from raising soft money on behalf of state parties; however, they may attend state political party fundraisers in their home state. Interstate transfers of soft money are prohibited; individual contribution limit to parties is increased from $20,000 to $25,000 a year and is allowed in addition to an aggregate contribution limit of $25,000 a year to non-party political committees; removes party/candidate coordination limits; increases PAC contributions to the parties from $15,000 to $20,000 a year; indexes all contribution limits to inflation; requires electronic filing with the FEC once a candidate raises $50,000; requires monthly FEC filings for political committees during election years; requires the reporting of a donor's occupation and employer for all donations over $200; and requires third party groups who spend $25,000 in a single district or $100,000 nationally on television or radio advertisements that bear the name or likeness of a candidate to report to the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate the amount spent, the name of the group, the name of the principal officer, and the organization's address and phone number.
Levin #29 Amendment to H.R. 2668. Adds titles to H.R. 2668 to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) with respect to soft money to prohibit a national committee of a political party from soliciting, receiving, or directing to another person a contribution, donation, or transfer of funds, or from spending any funds not subject to the FECA limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements; amend FECA to redefine the term "independent expenditure" to mean an expenditure by a person for a communication that is express advocacy and is not coordinated activity or is not provided in coordination with a candidate or a candidate's agent, or a person who is coordinating with a candidate or a candidate's agent; and, define the term "express advocacy."
Petri #19 Amendment to H.R. 2668. Provides that any poll that contacts more than 1200 people must disclose, at the end of each call, who paid for the poll. In addition, any organization conducting such a poll for private use must report to the FEC the cost of the poll, the source of the funding used, the number of people contacted, and must provide a transcript of the questions asked.
Shaw #5 Requires candidates running for office of Representative to Congress to accept no less than 50 percent of the total contributions accepted from all sources from within the state in which the candidate is running for office.
Sweeney #21 Requires the principal campaign committee of candidates for election to federal officers that use government vehicles for campaign purposes to reimburse in full the federal government for costs associated with providing transportation; and prohibits other campaign committees from making such reimbursements on another candidate's behalf.
Thomas #17 Amendment in the nature of a substitute. Extends ban on foreign contributions to all campaign related disbursements including soft money contributions to State parties and candidates; requires PAC funds to come from U.S. sources and protects the rights of all eligible voters to participate equally in PACs; requires electronic filing of contributions by committees raising or spending over $50,000 which must be posted on the Internet within 24 hours; within 90 days of an election, requires electronic reporting within 24 hours for contributions of $200 or more; requires committees to report secondary payments by major sub contributors; requires disclosure to the FEC of transfers of funds by national parties and information reported by State and local parties under state laws; bans acceptance of cash contributions over $100; requires committees to return illegal contributions they have held for more than 90 days to the FEC for holding in an escrow account; establishes procedures for written responses to questions on election law by FEC; changes FEC standards for initiation of actions from "reason to believe " to "reason to seek additional information"; gives signature authority to any Commissioner for documents or subpoenas authorized by the Commission (currently only Chair or Vice-Chair can sign); broadens prohibition against PACs using force and reprisals to obtain contributions; changes reporting from a calendar year basis to an election cycle basis; treats lines of credit obtained by candidates as commercially reasonable loans (example: credit card advances, home equity loans).
Walden #22 Establishes criteria for receiving the discounted rates broadcasters must provide candidates 45 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election; requires candidates who wish to receive the Lowest Unit Rate for an ad in which they mention their opponent to mention the opponent themselves, and appear in at least 75% of the ad.
Whitfield #3 Provides that if a federal court ruling of H.R. 417 is unconstitutional, it would apply to the entire Act.
Whitfield #4 Provides that if a federal court ruling of H.R. 417 is unconstitutional, it would apply to the entire Act with the exception of the independent commission.
Wicker #7 Prohibits non-citizens from making contributions to candidates for public office.
* Summaries derived from information submitted by the amendment sponsors.
