[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4819 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4819

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit nonparty 
   multicandidate political committees from making contributions in 
  support of campaigns for election for Federal office, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 28, 2006

  Mr. Leach 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 prohibit nonparty 
   multicandidate political committees from making contributions in 
  support of campaigns for election for Federal office, 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; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``PAC Elimination 
Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Congress now faces a crisis of public confidence about 
        its ability to conduct the people's business.
            (2) Members of Congress, their relatives, lobbyists, 
        insider-controlled nonprofit organizations, and interest groups 
        have been accused of acting surreptitiously and in concert to 
        enrich themselves at the expense of the public.
            (3) A government of the people, by the people, and for the 
        people cannot be a government where influence is purchasable.
            (4) Political action committees in particular represent a 
        narrow fraction of the public viewpoint and generally have few 
        ties, if any, to the State or district from which the member of 
        Congress is elected.
            (5) The primary recipients of PAC contributions are 
        incumbents, particularly the most powerful members of Congress.
            (6) The public objects to the establishment of a new 
        political class, a privileged group with perks, amenities, and 
        job security unavailable to average Americans. The public also 
        objects to tilting the electoral landscape to the advantage of 
        a few.
            (7) If Congress fails to respond appropriately to limit the 
        costs of elections and the perks of power, it will become a 
        legislative body in which the small businessman, the farmer, 
        the day laborer, and the stay-at-home parent are only 
        secondarily represented.
            (8) Campaign finance reform is the unfinished business of a 
        Congress in disrepute.

SEC. 2. BAN ON ACTIVITIES OF POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES IN FEDERAL 
              ELECTIONS.

    (a) Ban on PACs.--
            (1) In general.--Title III of the Federal Election Campaign 
        Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
        end the following new section:

           ``ban on activities of political action committees

    ``Sec. 325. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no 
person other than an individual or a political committee may make 
contributions, solicit or receive contributions, or make expenditures 
for the purpose of influencing an election for Federal office.''.
    (2) Revision of Definition of Political Committee.--Section 301(4) 
of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431(4)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(4) The term `political committee' means--
            ``(A) the principal campaign committee of a candidate;
            ``(B) any national, State, or district committee of a 
        political party, including any subordinate committee thereof;
            ``(C) any local committee of a political party which--
                    ``(i) receives contributions aggregating in excess 
                of $5,000 during a calendar year,
                    ``(ii) makes payments exempted from the definition 
                of contribution or expenditure under paragraph (8) or 
                (9) aggregating in excess of $5,000 during a calendar 
                year, or
                    ``(iii) makes contributions or expenditures 
                aggregating in excess of $1,000 during a calendar year; 
                and
            ``(D) any committee jointly established by a principal 
        campaign committee and any committee described in subparagraph 
        (B) or (C) for the purpose of conducting joint fundraising 
        activities.''.
    (b) Rules Applicable When Ban not in Effect.--For purposes of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, during any period after the 
effective date of this Act in which the limitation on making 
contributions under section 325 of that Act (as added by subsection 
(a)) is not in effect--
            (1) the amendments made by subsection (a) shall not be in 
        effect; and
            (2) the limitation amount under section 315(a)(2)(A) of 
        such Act shall be $1,000.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS BY POLITICAL ACTION 
              COMMITTEES.

    (a) Alternative Limitation on Aggregate Amount of Contributions 
Made by Multicandidate Committee to Any Candidate.--
            (1) In general.--Section 315(a)(2)(A) of the Federal 
        Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(2)(A)) is 
        amended by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting the 
        following: ``, or an amount equal to 10 percent of the 
        aggregate amount of contributions received by the candidate and 
        the committees from all sources, whichever is lesser;''.
            (2) Return of excess contributions by candidates.--Section 
        315(f) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(f)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``(f)'' and inserting ``(f)(1)''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
    ``(2) A candidate (or the authorized committees of a candidate) who 
receives a contribution from a multicandidate political committee in 
excess of the amount allowed under subsection (a)(2)(A) shall return 
the amount of such excess contribution to the contributor.''.
    (b) Limitation on Aggregate Amount of Contributions Made by 
Multicandidate Committee to All Candidates.--Section 315(a) of such Act 
(2 U.S.C. 441a(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, during each 
two-year period beginning on January 1 of an odd-numbered year, the 
total amount of contributions of a nonparty multicandidate political 
committee to all candidates for Federal office and their authorized 
political committees shall not exceed $500,000.''.

SEC. 4. REQUIRING NOT LESS THAN 80 PERCENT OF CANDIDATE FUNDS TO COME 
              FROM IN-STATE INDIVIDUALS.

    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:
    ``(k) Percentage of Candidate Contributions Required to Come From 
in-State Individuals.--With respect to each reporting period for an 
election, not less than 80 percent of the total of contributions 
accepted by a candidate shall be from individuals--
            ``(1) who are residents of the State involved or the State 
        in which the Congressional district involved is located, in the 
        case of a candidate for the office of Senator or Representative 
        in the Congress; or
            ``(2) who are residents of the jurisdiction the candidate 
        seeks to represent, in the case of a candidate for the office 
        of Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to 
elections occurring after December 2006.
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