[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8988 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8988
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to apply the ban on
contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals under such Act to
foreign-controlled, foreign-influenced, and foreign-owned domestic
business entities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2024
Mr. Raskin (for himself, Mr. Allred, Mr. Carson, Mr. Crow, Mr.
DeSaulnier, Ms. Perez, Mr. Golden of Maine, Mr. Goldman of New York,
Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr.
Levin, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Scanlon, Ms.
Schakowsky, Ms. Slotkin, Ms. Tlaib, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Trone, and Ms.
Wild) 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 apply the ban on
contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals under such Act to
foreign-controlled, foreign-influenced, and foreign-owned domestic
business entities, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Get Foreign Money Out of U.S.
Elections Act''.
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF BAN ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FOREIGN
NATIONALS TO DOMESTIC BUSINESS ENTITIES THAT ARE FOREIGN-
CONTROLLED, FOREIGN-INFLUENCED, AND FOREIGN-OWNED.
(a) Application of Ban.--Section 319(b) of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (1);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(3) any business entity in which a foreign national which
is outside of the United States and is described in paragraph
(1) or (2) directly or indirectly owns or controls or otherwise
holds direct or indirect beneficial ownership of 50 percent or
more of the voting shares, total equity, membership units, or
other applicable ownership interests of the entity; or
``(4) any business entity which is not a foreign national
described in paragraph (1), and--
``(A) in which a foreign national which is outside
of the United States and is described in paragraph (1),
(2), or (3) directly or indirectly owns or controls or
otherwise holds direct or indirect beneficial ownership
of 1 percent or more of the voting shares, total
equity, membership units, or other applicable ownership
units of the entity;
``(B) in which two or more foreign nationals which
are outside of the United States and are described in
paragraph (1), (2), or (3), in the aggregate, directly
or indirectly own or control or otherwise hold direct
or indirect beneficial ownership of 5 percent or more
of the voting shares, total equity, membership units,
or other applicable ownership interests of the entity;
``(C) over which one or more foreign nationals
which are outside of the United States and are
described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) have the power
to direct, dictate, or control the decisionmaking
process of the entity with respect to its interests in
the United States; or
``(D) over which one or more foreign nationals
which are outside of the United States and are
described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) have the power
to direct, dictate, or control the decision-making
process of the entity with respect to activities in
connection with a Federal, State, or local election,
including--
``(i) the making of a contribution,
donation, expenditure, independent expenditure,
or disbursement for an electioneering
communication (within the meaning of section
304(f)(3)); or
``(ii) the administration of a political
committee established or maintained by the
entity.''.
(b) Certification of Compliance.--Section 319 of such Act (52
U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(c) Certification of Compliance Required for Carrying Out
Election Activity by Business Entity.--
``(1) Certification required.--Not later than 7 days after
a business entity makes any contribution, donation,
expenditure, independent expenditure, disbursement for an
electioneering communication, or any disbursement in connection
with an election for Federal, State, or local office or with
any State or local ballot measure, the chief executive officer
of the entity (or, if the entity does not have a chief
executive officer, the highest ranking official of the entity),
shall file a certification with the Commission, under penalty
of perjury, avowing that after due inquiry, the entity was not
a foreign national on the date the entity made the
contribution, donation, expenditure, independent expenditure,
or disbursement.
``(2) Determination of beneficial ownership.--A business
entity shall determine beneficial ownership for purposes of
this section in a manner consistent with applicable State law,
except that if the entity is registered pursuant to section
12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l),
the entity shall determine beneficial ownership in accordance
with section 13(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 78m(d)).
``(3) Provision to recipients.--The business entity shall
provide a copy of the certification filed under paragraph (1)
to each political committee to which it makes a contribution,
and, upon the request of the recipient, to each recipient of a
contribution, donation, expenditure, independent expenditure,
or disbursement with respect to which the certification under
paragraph (1) is filed.''.
(c) Prevention of Circumvention.--Section 319 of such Act (52
U.S.C. 30121), as amended by subsection (b), is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Prohibiting Use of Funds From Business Entities Without
Certification.--
``(1) Prohibition.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), it
shall be unlawful for any person that receives from a business
entity a contribution, donation, expenditure, independent
expenditure, or disbursement with respect to which the business
entity is required to file a certification of compliance under
subsection (c) to use that contribution, donation, expenditure,
independent expenditure, or disbursement, directly or
indirectly, to--
``(A) make such a contribution, donation,
expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement;
or
``(B) contribute, donate, transfer, or otherwise
convey such a contribution, donation, expenditure,
independent expenditure, or disbursement to another
person for use as such a contribution, donation,
expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement.
``(2) Exception for funds accompanied by certification.--
Paragraph (1) does not apply to a person that receives from a
business entity a contribution, donation, expenditure,
independent expenditure, or disbursement described in such
paragraph if--
``(A) the person receives from the business entity
a copy of the certification of compliance under
subsection (c) with respect to such contribution,
donation, expenditure, independent expenditure, or
disbursement;
``(B) the use by the person of the contribution,
donation, expenditure, independent expenditure, or
disbursement is otherwise lawful; and
``(C) the person separately designates, records,
and accounts for the contribution, donation,
expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement,
and ensures that disbursements by the person for a
contribution, donation, expenditure, independent
expenditure, disbursement for an electioneering
communication, or any disbursement in connection with
an election for Federal, State, or local office are
only made from funds that comply with the requirements
of this section.
``(3) Good faith reliance on certification of compliance.--
For purposes of this subsection, a person may rely in good
faith on a certification of compliance provided to the person
under subsection (c)(3).''.
(d) Business Entity Defined.--Section 319 of such Act (52 U.S.C.
30121), as amended by subsection (b) and subsection (c), is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e) Business Entity Defined.--For purposes of this section, the
term `business entity' means a for-profit corporation, limited
liability corporation, partnership, company, limited partnership,
business trust, business association, or other similar for-profit
entity.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect upon the expiration of the 180-day period which begins on the
date of the enactment of this Act, and shall take effect without regard
to whether or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated
regulations to carry out such amendments.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN MONEY BAN TO CERTAIN
DISBURSEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES.
(a) Application to Disbursements in Connection With State and Local
Ballot Initiatives and Disbursements to Super PACs.--Section
319(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C.
30121(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``election;'' inserting the
following: ``election (including a State or local ballot initiative or
referendum), including any disbursement to a political committee which
accepts donations or contributions that do not comply with the
limitations, prohibitions, or reporting requirements of this Act (or
any disbursement to or on behalf of any account of a political
committee which is established for the purpose of accepting such
donations or contributions);''.
(b) Conditions Under Which Corporate PACs May Make Contributions
and Expenditures.--Section 316(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30118(b)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(8) A separate segregated fund established by a corporation may
not make a contribution or expenditure during a year unless the fund
has certified to the Commission each of the following during the year:
``(A) Each individual who manages the fund, and who is
responsible for exercising decision-making authority for the
fund, is a citizen of the United States or is lawfully admitted
for permanent residence in the United States.
``(B) No foreign national under section 319 participates in
any way in the decision-making processes of the fund with
regard to contributions or expenditures under this Act.
``(C) The fund does not solicit or accept recommendations
from any foreign national under section 319 with respect to the
contributions or expenditures made by the fund.
``(D) Any member of the board of directors of the
corporation who is a foreign national under section 319
abstains from voting on matters concerning the fund or its
activities.''.
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