Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act
This bill amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to ban campaign contributions and expenditures by corporations that are controlled, influenced, or owned by foreign nationals.
Foreign nationals and such corporations may not make disbursements to political committees that accept donations or contributions that do not comply with the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of FECA.
Corporate political action committees may make contributions and expenditures only if they comply with limitations on the involvement of foreign nationals and such corporations.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1615 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1615
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to apply the ban on
contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals under such Act to
foreign-controlled, foreign-influenced, and foreign-owned domestic
corporations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 17, 2017
Mr. Raskin (for himself, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Ms. Clark
of Massachusetts, Mr. Clay, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Cooper, Mr.
Doggett, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Evans, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Michelle Lujan
Grisham of New Mexico, Mr. Higgins of New York, Ms. Jayapal, Mr.
Jeffries, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Kihuen, Ms. Lee, Ms.
Lofgren, Mr. McNerney, Ms. Norton, Mr. O'Rourke, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr.
Soto, and Mr. Welch) 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 apply the ban on
contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals under such Act to
foreign-controlled, foreign-influenced, and foreign-owned domestic
corporations, 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 ``Get Foreign Money Out of U.S.
Elections Act''.
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF BAN ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FOREIGN
NATIONALS TO DOMESTIC CORPORATIONS THAT ARE FOREIGN-
CONTROLLED, FOREIGN-INFLUENCED, AND FOREIGN-OWNED.
(a) Application of Ban.--Section 319(b) of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (1);
(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) any corporation which is not a foreign national
described in paragraph (1) and--
``(A) in which a foreign national described in
paragraph (1) or (2) directly or indirectly owns or
controls--
``(i) 5 percent or more of the voting
shares, if the foreign national is a foreign
country, a foreign government official, or a
corporation principally owned or controlled by
a foreign country or foreign government
official; or
``(ii) 20 percent or more of the voting
shares, if the foreign national is not
described in clause (i);
``(B) in which two or more foreign nationals
described in paragraph (1) or (2), each of whom owns or
controls at least 5 percent of the voting shares,
directly or indirectly own or control 50 percent or
more of the voting shares;
``(C) over which one or more foreign nationals
described in paragraph (1) or (2) has the power to
direct, dictate, or control the decisionmaking process
of the corporation with respect to its interests in the
United States; or
``(D) over which one or more foreign nationals
described in paragraph (1) or (2) has the power to
direct, dictate, or control the decisionmaking process
of the corporation with respect to activities in
connection with a Federal, State, or local election,
including--
``(i) the making of a contribution,
donation, expenditure, independent expenditure,
or disbursement for an electioneering
communication (within the meaning of section
304(f)(3)); or
``(ii) the administration of a political
committee established or maintained by the
corporation.''.
(b) Certification of Compliance.--Section 319 of such Act (52
U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(c) Certification of Compliance Required Prior to Carrying Out
Activity.--Prior to the making in connection with an election for
Federal office of any contribution, donation, expenditure, independent
expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication by a
corporation during a year, the chief executive officer of the
corporation (or, if the corporation does not have a chief executive
officer, the highest ranking official of the corporation), shall file a
certification with the Commission, under penalty of perjury, that the
corporation is not prohibited from carrying out such activity under
subsection (b)(3), unless the chief executive officer has previously
filed such a certification during the year.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect upon the expiration of the period which begins on the date of
the enactment of this Act, and shall take effect without regard to
whether or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated
regulations to carry out such amendments.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN MONEY BAN TO CERTAIN
DISBURSEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES.
(a) Application to Disbursements to Super PACs.--Section
319(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C.
30121(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking the semicolon and inserting the
following: ``, including any disbursement to a political committee
which accepts donations or contributions that do not comply with the
limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act (or
any disbursement to or on behalf of any account of a political
committee which is established for the purpose of accepting such
donations or contributions);''.
(b) Conditions Under Which Corporate PACs May Make Contributions
and Expenditures.--Section 316(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30118(b)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(8) A separate segregated fund established by a corporation may
not make a contribution or expenditure during a year unless the year
the fund has certified to the Commission the following during the year:
``(A) Each individual who manages the fund, and who is
responsible for exercising the decisionmaking authority of the
fund, is a citizen of the United States or is lawfully admitted
for permanent residence in the United States.
``(B) No foreign national under section 319 participates in
any way in the decisionmaking processes of the fund with regard
to contributions or expenditures under this Act.
``(C) The fund does not solicit or accept recommendations
from any foreign national under section 319 with respect to the
contributions or expenditures made by the fund.
``(D) Any member of the board of directors of the
corporation who is a foreign national under section 319
abstains from voting on matters concerning the fund or its
activities.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
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