[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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