[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 171 (Tuesday, October 29, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8576-H8580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HELP AMERICA RUN ACT

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1623) to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 
provide for the treatment of payments for child care and other personal 
use services as an authorized campaign expenditure, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1623

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Help 
     America Run Act''.
       (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Everyday Americans experience barriers to entry before 
     they can consider running for office to serve their 
     communities.
       (2) Current law states that campaign funds cannot be spent 
     on everyday expenses that would exist whether or not a 
     candidate were running for office, like rent and food. While 
     the law seems neutral, its actual effect is to privilege the 
     independently wealthy who want to run, because given the 
     demands of running for office, candidates who must work to 
     pay for childcare or to afford health insurance are 
     effectively being left out of the process, even if they have 
     sufficient support to mount a viable campaign.
       (3) Thus current practice favors those prospective 
     candidates who do not need to rely on a regular paycheck to 
     make ends meet. The consequence is that everyday Americans 
     who have firsthand knowledge of the importance of stable 
     childcare, a safety net, or great public schools are less 
     likely to get a seat at the table. This governance by the few 
     is antithetical to the democratic experiment, but most 
     importantly, when lawmakers do not share the concerns of 
     everyday Americans, their policies reflect that.
       (4) These circumstances have contributed to a Congress that 
     does not always reflect everyday Americans. The New York 
     Times reported in 2019 that fewer than 5 percent of 
     representatives cite blue-collar or service jobs in their 
     biographies. A 2015 survey by the Center for Responsive 
     Politics showed that the median net worth of lawmakers was 
     just over $1 million in 2013, or 18 times the wealth of the 
     typical American household.
       (5) These circumstances have also contributed to a 
     governing body that does not reflect the nation it serves. 
     For instance, women are 51% of the American population. Yet 
     even with a record number of women serving in the One Hundred 
     Sixteenth Congress, the Pew Research Center notes that more 
     than three out of four Members of this Congress are male. The 
     Center for American Women And Politics found that one third 
     of women legislators surveyed had been actively discouraged 
     from running for office, often by political professionals. 
     This type of discouragement, combined with the prohibitions 
     on using campaign funds for domestic needs like childcare, 
     burdens that still fall disproportionately on American women, 
     particularly disadvantages working mothers. These barriers 
     may explain why only 10 women in history have given birth 
     while serving in Congress, in spite of the prevalence of 
     working parents in other professions. Yet working mothers and 
     fathers are best positioned to create policy that reflects 
     the lived experience of most Americans.
       (6) Working mothers, those caring for their elderly 
     parents, and young professionals who rely on their jobs for 
     health insurance should have the freedom to run to serve the 
     people of the United States. Their networks and net worth are 
     simply not the best indicators of their strength as 
     prospective public servants. In fact, helping ordinary 
     Americans to run may create better policy for all Americans.
       (c) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to ensure that 
     all Americans who are otherwise qualified to serve this 
     Nation are able to run for office, regardless of their 
     economic status. By expanding permissible uses of campaign 
     funds and providing modest assurance that testing a run for 
     office will not

[[Page H8577]]

     cost one's livelihood, the Help America Run Act will 
     facilitate the candidacy of representatives who more 
     accurately reflect the experiences, challenges, and ideals of 
     everyday Americans.

     SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILD CARE AND OTHER 
                   PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AUTHORIZED CAMPAIGN 
                   EXPENDITURE.

       (a) Personal Use Services as Authorized Campaign 
     Expenditure.--Section 313 of the Federal Election Campaign 
     Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following new subsection:
       ``(d) Treatment of Payments for Child Care and Other 
     Personal Use Services as Authorized Campaign Expenditure.--
       ``(1) Authorized expenditures.--For purposes of subsection 
     (a), the payment by an authorized committee of a candidate 
     for any of the personal use services described in paragraph 
     (3) shall be treated as an authorized expenditure if the 
     services are necessary to enable the participation of the 
     candidate in campaign-connected activities.
       ``(2) Limitations.--
       ``(A) Limit on total amount of payments.--The total amount 
     of payments made by an authorized committee of a candidate 
     for personal use services described in paragraph (3) may not 
     exceed the limit which is applicable under any law, rule, or 
     regulation on the amount of payments which may be made by the 
     committee for the salary of the candidate (without regard to 
     whether or not the committee makes payments to the candidate 
     for that purpose).
       ``(B) Corresponding reduction in amount of salary paid to 
     candidate.--To the extent that an authorized committee of a 
     candidate makes payments for the salary of the candidate, any 
     limit on the amount of such payments which is applicable 
     under any law, rule, or regulation shall be reduced by the 
     amount of any payments made to or on behalf of the candidate 
     for personal use services described in paragraph (3), other 
     than personal use services described in subparagraph (D) of 
     such paragraph.
       ``(C) Exclusion of candidates who are officeholders.--
     Paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to an authorized 
     committee of a candidate who is a holder of Federal office.
       ``(3) Personal use services described.--The personal use 
     services described in this paragraph are as follows:
       ``(A) Child care services.
       ``(B) Elder care services.
       ``(C) Services similar to the services described in 
     subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) which are provided on 
     behalf of any dependent who is a qualifying relative under 
     section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
       ``(D) Health insurance premiums.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

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


                             General Leave

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 1623. This measure is important. The Help 
America Run Act will amend the Federal Election Campaign Act with 
commonsense reforms to help everyday Americans run for office.
  Current law does not directly address whether people who choose to 
run for office can use their campaign funds to cover the cost of 
childcare. This has led several individuals to have to appeal to the 
Federal Election Commission for evaluations on a case-by-case basis and 
creates a burden for candidates with school-aged children.
  This bill addresses that barrier and other family-related barriers 
for candidates who have experiences like most everyday Americans.
  The Help American Run Act makes running for office easier for working 
mothers and fathers who need sitters for their small kids. It would 
support established professionals caring for an aging parent and help 
cover children's health insurance on the campaign trail.
  I know it would help moms like Katie Porter, the sponsor of this 
bill. She is championing this cause today as the very first single 
mother of young children ever to serve in the U.S. Congress.
  These Americans caring for their kids and their parents intimately 
know the dread of opening those envelopes full of prescription drug 
bills. They know what it is like to weigh the risk of running for 
office to serve the Nation against the risk of losing their children's 
health insurance coverage.
  It is precisely those everyday Americans that I want to see join us 
at the decisionmaking table. Those who have firsthand knowledge of what 
it means to have stable childcare, good schools, and secure healthcare 
are exactly the people I want making decisions on both sides of this 
aisle. It makes our country profoundly richer to have those with the 
diversity of economic experiences in these Chambers. I know that 
firsthand.
  As the daughter of a truck driver and a cafeteria cook, I worked on 
the night shift at the Eastman Kodak plant in Palo Alto to get ready 
for college. Those experiences shaped me into the person and Member I 
am today, and I believe coming from a family like mine shouldn't 
disqualify you. In fact, it makes you a better policy maker who 
understands what our constituents are really facing.
  The fact is that diversity of experience leads to better policy. In 
2019, the New York Times reported that fewer than 5 percent of 
Representatives cite blue-collar or service jobs in their biographies.
  A 2015 survey by the Center for Responsive Politics showed that the 
median net worth for lawmakers was just over $1 million in 2013, or 18 
times the wealth of the typical American household. One could see how 
Americans feel Congress might be out of touch.
  This bill is a step to building trust in Congress as by and for the 
people. The bill would help advance economic diversity and other types 
of diversity, too.
  Even with the record number of women serving in the 116th Congress, 
only 1 in 4 Congresspeople are women. This isn't because women don't 
want to run.
  The Center for American Women and Politics found that one-third of 
women legislators surveyed had been actively discouraged from running 
for office, often by political professionals. This type of 
discouragement, combined with the existing prohibitions on using 
campaign funds for domestic needs like childcare, burdens that still 
fall disproportionately on American women, particularly disadvantages 
working parents.
  Running for office should not be limited to the wealthy or those who 
have no familial responsibilities. That is anathema to the democratic 
experiment, and it makes for bad policy.
  This bill is a simple, cost-free, commonsense measure to make 
America's representatives look more like the everyday Americans we are 
here to represent. For that reason, I am proud to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I, too, rise in support of H.R. 1623, the Help America Run Act, a 
bill drafted by my colleague across the aisle, newly-elected 
Congresswoman from the great State of California, Ms. Katie Porter.
  I want to commend Ms. Porter for this important legislation that I 
believe will allow, as Chairperson Lofgren said, more people of all 
socioeconomic strata, to be able to run for office.
  Strong candidates should not be limited by their circumstances to the 
point that it prevents them from representing their communities in 
Congress. Representatives of this body should and do come from all 
backgrounds to allow for equal representation of all who make up this 
institution and this great Nation.
  I believe this bill will make that happen by allowing the candidate 
who is not currently a Member of Congress to pay for specific necessary 
services like childcare and dependent care, that will enable a 
congressional candidate to participate in all campaign-connected 
activities.
  This is a decision between the candidates and the donors that give to 
their campaign. All we are asking to do with this piece of legislation 
is to allow candidates to publicly disclose childcare expenses on their 
FEC reports. Everyone is going to know what they paid. Everyone is 
going to know what it went for, and that is an issue

[[Page H8578]]

they can discuss with the people who are funding their campaigns.

  What this bill does not do--let me repeat, Mr. Speaker. What this 
bill does not do is put more money in the pockets of current Members of 
Congress. Instead, it allows for an equal opportunity for new 
representation, providing more Americans who aspire to represent their 
communities in Congress the chance to do just that.
  This is not a radical idea. We should absolutely want to give 
everyone an equal opportunity to run, to be able to serve, if elected, 
in this great institution; including single parents who want to run for 
Federal office but cannot afford the necessary childcare for the 
grueling campaign schedules that everyone in this institution knows 
exists.
  Again, I want to thank Congresswoman Porter for her hard work on this 
legislation. I look forward to seeing it implemented, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Porter), the author of this bill.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I am a single mom. When I ran for Congress 
last year, I spent thousands and thousands of dollars on childcare.
  Running for Federal office requires 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100-hour 
workweeks, and I worked nearly every single day, including every single 
weekend. I also worked challenging hours, often starting at 5:30 a.m. 
and ending with campaign events stretching late into the evening. I 
juggled more than a dozen childcare providers for nearly 2 years, 
without whom I would have never made it to Congress.
  I have three children. When I started my campaign, Betsy was 6, Paul 
was 9, and Luke was 11. Leaving them alone was not an option; and 
bringing them on the campaign trail was impossible or inappropriate.
  For the past two centuries, Congress has written many, many laws 
about what women may or may not do. But until this year, women's 
representation in Congress was less than 20 percent. With the election 
of the historic class of 2018, we hit 23.4 percent, 102 women, and that 
number is still egregiously low.

                              {time}  1615

  There are even fewer moms in Congress and even fewer moms of young 
kids and even fewer single moms of young kids, as in just me.
  A major barrier to women running for elected office is their 
inability to afford the amount or type of childcare needed in a 
campaign. That is why I introduced the Help America Run Act, which will 
explicitly allow candidates for Federal office to use campaign 
contributions to pay for childcare as well as other types of dependent 
care, such as eldercare.
  Right now, candidates can use campaign funds for a whole gamut of 
expenses, from pizza for exhausted staff to cybersecurity for digital 
devices. But the law does not make it clear that childcare is among 
those allowed expenses.
  Like so many laws, there is an assumption of a female caregiver 
behind every male elected official. In part because of that, moms who 
continue to shoulder the majority of childcare responsibilities also 
struggle to run for Congress.
  Until women are fully and equally present in Congress, women's 
perspectives will continue to be underrepresented. The result is a 
weaker democracy for the people.
  I am proud that this bill previously passed the House as part of H.R. 
1, the For the People Act. Now, with the support of my congressional 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle, the House is taking this 
additional step to support women and candidates with families by 
passing the Help America Run Act.
  Access to childcare services was a problem I faced like so many other 
single parents long before I decided to run for office. Every parent, 
not just those running for Congress, deserves to have access to 
quality, affordable childcare. The Help America Run Act should be only 
the beginning.
  Today isn't just about passing legislation to open up the Halls of 
Congress for single moms or single dads. It is about creating pathways 
for every parent and every American, regardless of socioeconomic 
status, to be able to achieve their goals. We all deserve a Congress 
that reflects the diversity of families and households in our country.
  This bill will help America run and, in the process, will help 
America's Congress run better.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  What an impassioned speech by our colleague.
  This isn't just a problem for one gender running for Congress. It is 
a problem for all families. It is a problem that I faced when my kids 
were younger when I first ran for office a little over 6\1/2\ years 
ago. It is what to do with young children who can't go anywhere on 
their own at that time.
  With twin boys aged 12, I don't necessarily know that I trusted them 
going somewhere on their own. I don't know if I trusted them at home 
alone, at the same time. It is, what do you do to make sure your family 
gets the supervision and the supervisory opportunities that you need?
  This is an opportunity for us to show anybody who wants to follow in 
what our forefathers of this great Nation put forth in our Constitution 
creating the House of Representatives to be able to be a House for the 
people and by the people to represent this great United States. This is 
going to be an opportunity for anyone, no matter what their path is in 
life, if they have children at home, if they are a single mom, if they 
are a single dad, if they are a family with kids, if they are wondering 
how they take on this challenge, how they get a chance to serve this 
great country, how they get a chance to join us, this is going to be 
their opportunity to say: I am going to go out and spend a lot of time 
raising money because many of these campaigns--I can tell you how much 
mine cost. It cost millions upon millions of dollars and a lot of time. 
When you are gone, you are raising more money to run because campaigns 
are too expensive. We understand that. We get that. We agree on that.
  This is a chance to say: I am going to get out there and get on the 
dance floor and take that chance. Too many people who may want to run 
for office won't do it because they are afraid to lose. I think 
everyone has to have the chance to take away any excuse to be able to 
step out and put their name on the ballot to have a chance to do what 
we do.
  If I, the son of a high school dropout and a guy who graduated high 
school who walked into a fast-food restaurant in 1959 and had a dream 
to own his own one day, if I, who had no family ever in politics or 
government, can come and stand on this floor and work with colleagues 
like Chairperson Lofgren and Congresswoman Porter to help put good 
legislation like this through, anybody in this great country can do it.
  It is a great opportunity to show the next generation that we care 
enough about them to be able to show them how to do exactly what we do.
  Let's all come together. Let's make this happen today. It is a great 
opportunity for us to stand here on the floor and show the American 
people the Republicans and Democrats do agree on issues, and we do work 
together. I mean, maybe the news will cover it, maybe they won't. We 
might be able to debate Nickelback or something and get them to cover 
it today.
  But do you know what? We know what happens here. We know we have 
opportunities. We know that we are able to put good policies like this 
together. We know that friendships do exist on both sides of the aisle 
in this institution.
  This is a great bill. This is an opportunity. I thank all of my 
colleagues who are supporting this.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Listening to my colleague, the ranking member, reminded me of when I 
ran for Congress the very first time. My children were in elementary 
school. Really, the high point of every day was going to the elementary 
school, Horace Mann Elementary in downtown San Jose, and standing with 
the other mothers while we said the Pledge of Allegiance, the flag 
outside.

  I think, for parents, being a parent gives you a viewpoint that is 
helpful when you come to the Congress of the United States. You don't 
forget what regular people are going through at home when you are a 
parent.

[[Page H8579]]

  I also remember my first day in Congress. My mother had passed away 
several years before, but my dad was still alive, a retired beer truck 
driver. He had never been on an airplane in his life. We got him on a 
plane, and we had a friend sit next to him. He was sitting in that 
gallery, watching his daughter become a Member of the United States 
Congress.
  I think for those of us who came from humble roots, we never forget 
where we came from, and it informs our perspective on where the country 
should go.
  I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Porter), the author of the bill.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his 
bipartisanship and his cooperation on this because democracy is not a 
partisan value. Democracy is about letting every voice in this country 
be heard. Those voices should reflect the diversity of this country, 
both socioeconomically and geographically, but also in terms of family 
status.
  I think everyone in America should be grateful that my children were 
well supervised during the campaign, and I am grateful that I was able 
to piece together the childcare that I needed to run. But this bill is 
not about any one of us. It is about the benefits that every one of us 
here and every American will get from having a more diverse Congress, 
from having voices heard that sometimes are not heard.
  There are millions and millions and millions of single parents, men 
and women, in this country, and there is one in the United States 
Congress. Whether that will change next year or in 10 years, I don't 
know, but I want every American who wants to serve in this body, who 
wants to come together to work for the good of the American people, to 
have the opportunity to make that happen and not to have to choose 
between being a parent and being a good parent and caring about your 
kids, and being a good American and being a good Congress Member.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Will the gentlewoman yield?
  Ms. PORTER. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask Ms. Porter this: 
Your legislation doesn't tell candidates they have to spend money on 
this, right?
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, the legislation provides an opportunity and 
a choice for each candidate to decide, in their own campaign and from 
their own donors, whether or not they want to use these funds for 
childcare.
  Many people will choose not to, just like many of us choose as 
candidates not to seek reimbursement for pizza or not to seek 
reimbursement for any number of allowable FEC expenses. But this bill 
is also going to stop the FEC from having to again and again and 
again--every time a parent of young children wants to run, from having 
to make that expensive and time-consuming appeal to the FEC and waste 
its resources when this simply should be a clear, straightforward 
policy.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  I think the gentlewoman has made a very good point that this is 
discretionary on the part of the candidate, but it is a point that we 
also need to make: This has nothing to do with taxpayers funds. This is 
no money from the government, no money from the taxpayers. This is a 
candidate, where a candidate has raised funds and how they spend their 
campaign funds.
  I know that there had been some confusion among some earlier in the 
day that was unfortunate and has now been corrected. This is only a 
matter of a campaign expenditure. Really, childcare has to be as 
important as pizza, to me, at least more important, but that is up for 
a candidate to decide.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, can I inquire how much 
time we have remaining on debate?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Illinois has 14 minutes 
remaining. The gentlewoman from California has 8\1/2\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I love debate like this. It is an opportunity for us, again, to show 
how we can work together, both sides of the aisle, and put good 
policies forward that are going to affect the ability for people to 
serve in this institution.
  Hearing the talk about kids when running for Congress, it actually 
takes me back. Many folks may see me walking around the Capitol tunnels 
with earbuds in, in the early mornings about 5:30 our time, 4:30 back 
home, because my wife is a nurse. They work on a different schedule. 
That is my time that I get to talk to her. She was a nurse and left for 
work very early in the morning when our kids were growing up. And my 
job as a congressional staffer, I had a great boss who made sure that 
he told me every day to put my kids first.
  I cannot thank our colleague   John Shimkus, who I worked for, for 16 
years, enough for telling me to put my family first. It is a guy like 
that who not only makes me a better Member of Congress being around 
him, but he helped me learn how to be a better dad.
  Until I got elected, my job each day was to get my kids ready, 
sometimes a little more labor intensive when they were a little bit 
younger than they were when they were older. Although it was kind of 
easier when I was holding twin boys in seats rather than chasing them, 
but dropping them off at childcare, before we dropped them off at 
school. During the summer, if we didn't have childcare opportunities, 
if I didn't have the opportunity to take them and drop them off, 
neither my wife nor I could have gotten to the jobs that we enjoyed 
pursuing so much.
  In today's day and age, with so many two-parent working families, 
this is only a commonsense provision that is going to be a choice, a 
choice for candidates to use if they choose. That is something that we 
ought to all come together and make happen.

  Look, there are great people on both sides of the aisle in this 
institution. I want more of them. I want more people who want to be 
able to do what we do. This is going to be an opportunity to show them, 
too, that this institution isn't nearly as dysfunctional as the news 
media says it is. Most of what we do here is actually done on a pretty 
bipartisan basis, but it doesn't make the news.
  Hopefully, today, maybe one of the folks covering us is going to talk 
about what we did together, maybe. I am going to cross my fingers. 
Maybe they will understand that this is what we need to highlight 
instead of the nonsense that happens when the two parties and the 
extremes scream at each other.
  A good bill, again, from Congresswoman Porter, and it is great to 
work with her, and a great bill from Chairperson Lofgren. I appreciate 
the opportunity to serve with each and every one of my colleagues.
  I will ask, again, for every Member to support this today loudly on 
the floor, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, one thing that we neglected to point out is that, in 
addition to a childcare option, if a candidate, and it is generally a 
female candidate, is caring for elderly parents, this could also be 
used for eldercare while going to a campaign event. That is also both 
son's and daughter's care for aging parents, but, oftentimes, it is the 
daughters who end up providing the eldercare.
  If someone is running for Congress and is providing for that 
eldercare, they obviously can't go to the campaign event with someone 
who is bedridden or in need of constant attention. This would allow for 
that very important possibility, just as childcare is.
  Unless the author wishes a further comment, I would urge adoption of 
this amendment with bipartisan support, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.

                              {time}  1630

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1623, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

[[Page H8580]]

  

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