[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1422 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1422

    To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to encourage 
     compliance with spending limits on elections for the House of 
Representatives and enhance the importance of individual contributions 
     and contributions originating within congressional districts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 23, 1997

  Mr. Porter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on House Oversight

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to encourage 
     compliance with spending limits on elections for the House of 
Representatives and enhance the importance of individual contributions 
     and contributions originating within congressional districts.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. VOLUNTARY LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES IN HOUSE OF 
              REPRESENTATIVES ELECTIONS.

    Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
441a), is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i)(1)(A) Each candidate for the office of Representative in, or 
Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress may, in such form 
and manner as the Commission may prescribe, agree to be subject to a 
voluntary limitation on expenditures under subparagraph (B).
    ``(B) The limitation on expenditures referred to in subparagraph 
(A) shall be $300,000 for a candidate with respect to each election, 
but not more than a total of $600,000 with respect to a general 
election and any primary election related to such general election.
    ``(2) If a candidate for the office of Representative in, or 
Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress--
            ``(A) agrees to a limitation on expenditures under 
        paragraph (1); and
            ``(B) has an opponent who does not so agree;
the candidate shall be eligible to receive direct financial 
compensation in an amount equal to the amount by which the expenditures 
of the opponent exceed the applicable limitation.''.

SEC. 2. DECREASE IN CONTRIBUTION LIMITATION AMOUNT APPLICABLE TO 
              CONTRIBUTIONS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES BY 
              MULTICANDIDATE POLITICAL COMMITTEES.

    Section 315(a)(2)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
(2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting after ``$5,000'' the 
following: ``, except that, in the case of an election for the office 
of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 
Congress, the limitation under this subparagraph shall be $2,500''.

SEC. 3. INCREASE IN CONTRIBUTION LIMITATION AMOUNT APPLICABLE TO 
              CONTRIBUTIONS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES BY 
              PERSONS OTHER THAN MULTICANDIDATE POLITICAL COMMITTEES.

    Section 315(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
(2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after ``$1,000'' the 
following: ``, except that, in the case of an election for the office 
of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 
Congress, the limitation under this subparagraph shall be $2,000''.

SEC. 4. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM LOCAL INDIVIDUAL RESIDENTS TO PREDOMINATE IN 
              HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTIONS.

    Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
441a), as amended by section 1, is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
    ``(j)(1) At least \2/3\ of the total amount of contributions 
accepted by a candidate for the office of Representative in, or 
Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress with respect to a 
reporting period for an election shall be from individuals, with at 
least 80 percent of such total from local individual residents.
    ``(2) As used in this subsection, the term `local individual 
resident' means an individual who resides in the congressional district 
involved.''.

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