[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1905 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1905

To establish an independent commission to recommend reforms in the laws 
               relating to elections for Federal office.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 25, 1996

   Mr. Kohl introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish an independent commission to recommend reforms in the laws 
               relating to elections for Federal 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 ``Campaign Finance Reform Commission 
Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a Commission to be known 
as the ``Federal Election Law Reform Commission'' (referred to in this 
Act as the ``Commission'').
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Appointments.--The Commission shall be comprised of 8 
        qualified members, who shall be appointed not later than 30 
        days after the date of enactment of this Act as follows:
                    (A) Appointments by majority leader and speaker.--
                The Majority Leader of the Senate and the Speaker of 
                the House of Representatives shall jointly appoint to 
                the Commission--
                            (i) 1 member who is a retired Federal judge 
                        as of the date on which the appointment is 
                        made;
                            (ii) 1 member who is a former Member of 
                        Congress as of the date on which the 
                        appointment is made; and
                            (iii) 1 member who is from the academic 
                        community.
                    (B) Appointments by minority leaders.--The Minority 
                Leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the 
                House of Representatives shall jointly appoint to the 
                Commission--
                            (i) 1 member who is a retired Federal judge 
                        as of the date on which the appointment is 
                        made; and
                            (ii) 1 member who is a former Member of 
                        Congress as of the date on which the 
                        appointment is made.
                    (C) Appointment by president.--The President shall 
                appoint to the Commission 1 member who is from the 
                academic community.
                    (D) Appointments by commission members.--The 
                members appointed under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) 
                shall jointly appoint 2 members to the Commission, 
                neither of whom shall have held any elected or 
                appointed public or political party office, including 
                any position with an election campaign for Federal 
                office, during the 10 years preceding the date on which 
                the appointment is made.
            (2) Qualifications.--
                    (A) In general.--A person shall not be qualified 
                for an appointment under this subsection if that 
                person, during the 10-year period preceding the date on 
                which the appointment is made--
                            (i) held a position under schedule C of 
                        subpart C of part 213 of title 5 of the Code of 
                        Federal Regulations;
                            (ii) was an employee of the legislative 
                        branch of the Federal Government, not including 
                        any service as a Member of Congress; or
                            (iii) was required to register under the 
                        Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 
                        et seq.) or derived a significant income from 
                        influencing, or attempting to influence, 
                        members or employees of the executive or 
                        legislative branches of the Federal Government.
                    (B) Party affiliations.--Not more than 3 members of 
                the Commission shall be members of, or associated with, 
                the same political party (as that term is defined in 
                section 301(16) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
                1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(16)).
            (3) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The members of the 
        Commission shall designate a chairperson and a vice chairperson 
        from among the membership of the Commission. The chairperson 
        shall be from a political party other than the political party 
        of the vice chairperson.
            (4) Financial disclosure.--Not later than 60 days after 
        appointment to the Commission, each member of the Commission 
        shall file with the Secretary of the Senate, the Office of the 
        Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the Federal Election 
        Commission a report containing the information contained in 
        section 102 of title 5, United States Code.
            (5) Period of appointment; vacancies.--Members of the 
        Commission shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. 
        Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but 
        shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
            (6) Termination of commission.--The Commission shall 
        terminate 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Powers.--
            (1) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit 
        and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and 
        receive such evidence as the Commission considers advisable to 
        carry out the purposes of this Act.
            (2) Information from federal agencies.--The Commission may 
        secure directly from any Federal department or agency such 
        information as the Commission considers necessary to carry out 
        this Act. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Commission, 
        the head of such department or agency shall furnish such 
        information to the Commission.
            (3) Postal services.--The Commission may use the United 
        States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions 
        as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
    (d) Pay and Travel Expenses.--
            (1) Members.--Each member of the Commission, other than the 
        Chairperson, shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily 
        equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for level IV 
        of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
        States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which 
        the member is engaged in the actual performance of duties 
        vested in the Commission.
            (2) Chairperson.--The Chairperson shall be paid for each 
        day referred to in paragraph (1) at a rate equal to the daily 
        equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for level 
        III of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 
        United States Code.
    (e) Staff.--
            (1) Executive director.--The Chairperson of the Commission 
        may, without regard to the civil service laws and regulations, 
        appoint and terminate an executive director of the Commission, 
        who shall be paid at the rate of basic payable for level IV of 
        the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (2) Other personnel.--(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
        executive director may, without regard to the civil service 
        laws and regulations, appoint and fix the pay of such other 
        additional personnel as may be necessary to enable the 
        Commission to perform its duties.
            (B) The pay of any individual appointed under this 
        paragraph shall be not more than the maximum annual rate of 
        basic pay payable for grade GS-15 of the General Schedule under 
        section 5332 of title 5, United States Code.
            (3) Detail of federal employees.--Any Federal Government 
        employee may be detailed to the Commission without 
        reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption or 
        loss of civil service status or privilege.
    (f) Procurement of Temporary and Intermittent Services.--The 
Chairperson of the Commission may procure temporary and intermittent 
services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates 
for individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual 
rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule 
under section 5316 of such title.

SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

    (a) In General.--The Commission shall--
            (1) identify the appropriate goals and values for Federal 
        campaign finance laws;
            (2) evaluate the extent to which the Federal Election 
        Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) has promoted or 
        hindered the attainment of the goals identified under paragraph 
        (1); and
            (3) make recommendations to the Congress for the 
        achievement of those goals, taking into consideration the 
        impact of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
    (b) Considerations.--In making recommendations under subsection 
(a)(3), the Commission shall consider with respect to Federal election 
campaigns--
            (1) whether campaign spending levels should be limited, 
        and, if so, to what extent;
            (2) the role of interest groups and whether that role 
        should be limited or regulated;
            (3) the role of other funding sources, including political 
        parties, candidates, individuals from inside and outside the 
        State in which the contribution is made;
            (4) public financing and benefits; and
            (5) problems in existing campaign finance law, such as soft 
        money, bundling, and independent expenditures.
    (c) Report and Recommendations.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the 
Congress--
            (1) a report on the activities of the Commission; and
            (2) a draft of legislation (including technical and 
        conforming provisions) recommended by the Commission to amend 
        the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et 
        seq.) and any other law relating to elections for Federal 
        office.

SEC. 4. FAST-TRACK PROCEDURES.

    (a) Rules of House of Representatives and Senate.--This section is 
enacted by the Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of 
        Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and as such it 
        shall be considered as part of the rules of each House, 
        respectively, or of that House to which it specifically 
        applies, and such rules shall supersede other rules only to the 
        extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to such 
        House) at any time, in the same manner and to the same extent 
        as in the case of any other rule of that House.
    (b) Definitions.--As used in this section, the term ``Federal 
election bill'' means only a bill of either House of the Congress which 
is introduced as provided in subsection (c) to carry out the 
recommendations of the Commission as set forth in the draft legislation 
referred to in section 5.
    (c) Introduction and Referral.--Not later than 3 days after the 
Commission submits its draft legislation under section 5, a Federal 
election bill shall be introduced (by request) in the House of 
Representatives by the Majority Leader of the House and shall be 
introduced (by request) in the Senate by the Majority Leader of the 
Senate. Such bills shall be referred to the appropriate committees.
    (d) Amendments Prohibited.--No amendment to a Federal election bill 
shall be in order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate; 
and no motion to suspend the application of this subsection shall be in 
order in either House; nor shall it be in order in either House to 
entertain a request to suspend the application of this subsection by 
unanimous consent.
    (e) Period for Committee and Floor Consideration.--(1) If the 
committee of either House to which a Federal election bill has been 
referred has not reported it at the close of the 30th day after its 
introduction, such committee shall be automatically discharged from 
further consideration of the bill and it shall be placed on the 
appropriate calendar. If prior to the passage by one House of a Federal 
election bill of that House, that House receives the same Federal 
election bill from the other House, then--
            (A) the procedure in that House shall be the same as if no 
        Federal election bill had been received from the other House; 
        but
            (B) the vote on final passage shall be on the Federal 
        election bill of the other House.
    (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), in computing a number of days in 
either House, there shall be excluded the days on which that House is 
not in session because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day 
certain or an adjournment of the Congress sine die.
    (f) Floor Consideration in the House.--(1) A motion in the House of 
Representatives to proceed to the consideration of a Federal election 
bill shall be highly privileged except that a motion to proceed to 
consider may only be made on the second legislative day after the 
calendar day on which the Member making the motion announces to the 
House his intention to do so. The motion to proceed to consider is not 
debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, nor shall 
it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion is 
agreed to or disagreed to.
    (2) Consideration of a Federal election bill in the House of 
Representatives shall be in the House with debate limited to not more 
than 10 hours, which shall be divided equally between those favoring 
and those opposing the bill. The previous question on the Federal 
election bill shall be considered as ordered to final passage without 
intervening motion. It shall not be in order to move to reconsider the 
vote by which a Federal election bill is agreed to or disagreed to.
    (3) All appeals from the decisions of the Chairperson relating to 
the application of the Rules of the House of Representatives to the 
procedure relating to a Federal election bill shall be decided without 
debate.
    (g) Floor Consideration in the Senate.--(1) A motion in the Senate 
to proceed to the consideration of a Federal election bill shall be 
privileged and not debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be 
in order, nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by 
which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
    (2) Debate in the Senate on a Federal election bill, and all 
debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited 
to not more than 10 hours. The time shall be equally divided between, 
and controlled by, the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader or their 
designees.
    (3) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion or appeal in 
connection with a Federal election bill shall be limited to not more 
than 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the 
mover and the manager of the bill, except that in the event the manager 
of the bill is in favor of any such motion or appeal, the time in 
opposition thereto, shall be controlled by the Minority Leader or a 
designee of the Minority Leader. Such leaders, or either of them, may, 
from time under their control on the passage of a Federal election 
bill, allot additional time to any Senator during the consideration of 
any debatable motion or appeal.
    (4) A motion in the Senate to further limit debate is not 
debatable. A motion to recommit a Federal election bill is not in 
order.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission such sums 
as are necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission under this 
Act.
                                 <all>