[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 116 (Tuesday, July 15, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H6535-H6536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1700
       FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION FINES AUTHORIZATION EXTENSION

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6296) to extend through 2013 the 
authority of the Federal Election Commission to impose civil money 
penalties on the basis of a schedule of penalties established and 
published by the Commission.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6296

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

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY AUTHORITY OF 
                   FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION THROUGH 2013.

       (a) Extension of Authority.--Section 309(a)(4)(C) of the 
     Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
     437g(a)(4)(C)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new clause:
       ``(iv) This subparagraph shall apply with respect to 
     violations that relate to reporting periods that begin on or 
     after January 1, 2000, and that end on or before December 31, 
     2013.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 640 of the Treasury and 
     General Government Appropriations Act, 2000 (Public Law 106-
     58; 2 U.S.C. 437g note) is amended by striking subsection 
     (c).
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the 
     Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Ehlers) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous matter in the Record on H.R. 6296.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I fully support H.R. 
6296, which will extend the Federal Election Commission's 
administrative fines programs through 2013.
  The administrative fines program permits the FEC to impose civil 
fines on political committees that file late or not at all. The fines 
program allows the FEC to quickly resolve minor violations of the act 
and concentrate its resources on more complex enforcement matters. The 
fines program also assures political and candidate committees that they 
can resolve minor errors by paying a fixed monetary penalty, avoiding a 
long and potentially complicated enforcement process.
  There has been a significant decrease in the number of late and 
nonfiled reports since the start of this program. At the FEC the fines 
program also enjoys the unanimous bipartisan support of all of the 
commissioners. The fines program is due to expire at the end of this 
year without congressional intervention. The program should be extended 
to allow the agency to concentrate on more complex issues once it has a 
full slate of members.
  H.R. 6296 will amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to extend the 
fines program until December 13, 2013. I urge all Members to support 
this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today to support H.R. 6296, which would amend the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 to extend through 2013 the authority of 
the Federal Election Commission to impose civil monetary penalties on 
political committees that file reports late or not at all rather than 
going through the traditional enforcement process. This bill is 
necessary because that authority, which they currently have, expires at 
the end of this year.
  This bill is not a glamorous one. It will not capture the attention 
of voters who look to Congress to lower the price at the pump, even 
though we would all like to do that. Nonetheless, it is an important 
program designed to protect our Nation's campaign process from being 
thwarted by insisting upon the utmost transparency if an individual 
chooses to seek public office.
  The administrative fine program, which was established in 2000, 
permits the FEC to assess fines if a candidate is found to be in 
violation of mandatory Federal campaign finance reporting requirements. 
Since its inception, the administrative fine program has proven 
successful in its two objectives:
  First, the program frees up commission resources for more complex and 
higher profile enforcement matters. This is especially important now 
that the commission has formed and its important work can continue in a 
bipartisan fashion. Second, it reduces the number of financial reports 
filed late or not at all, which furthers the goals of the commission as 
a whole.
  As of March 2008, the FEC had collected over $2.1 million in civil 
penalties for over 1,600 cases processed under the program. The fines 
collected are turned over to the U.S. Treasury, ensuring that there is 
no monetary gain to the FEC for applying such penalties. By 
implementing such a structure, there can be no calls of falsely using 
the fine program as a way for the agency to line its own coffers, 
thereby increasing confidence in the FEC's enforcement actions.
  Without this bill, as I mentioned earlier, this successful program is 
scheduled to end on December 31, 2008. I am pleased to be able to join 
with my colleague in the House Administration Committee, Chairman 
Brady, as a cosponsor of this bipartisan measure. I

[[Page H6536]]

urge my colleagues to join us in supporting H.R. 6296 so that we may 
continue to monitor the success of this important program for the next 
5 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further 
requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I just will simply say it's a good bill. 
Let's support it. Let's vote for it.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I concur this bill is a 
sensible one. It's bipartisan. It focuses the commission on the things 
that are important and complicated, and I urge all Members to support 
its passage.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6296.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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