Presidential Inaugural Committee Oversight Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 210 To amend title 36, United States Code, to require Presidential Inaugural Committees to file disbursement reports with the Federal Election Com- mission, to prohibit such Committees from disbursing funds for purposes unrelated to the inauguration of the President, to require such Commit- tees to donate any Committee funds which remain available at the time the Committee terminates, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. SCHRADER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To amend title 36, United States Code, to require Presi- dential Inaugural Committees to file disbursement re- ports with the Federal Election Commission, to prohibit such Committees from disbursing funds for purposes un- related to the inauguration of the President, to require such Committees to donate any Committee funds which remain available at the time the Committee terminates, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H210.IH H210 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 210 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Inaugural 2 Committee Oversight Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS 4 RELATING TO DISBURSEMENTS BY PRESI- 5 DENTIAL INAUGURAL COMMITTEES. 6 (a) DISCLOSURE REPORTS BY COMMITTEES.— 7 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Chapter 5 of title 36, 8 United States Code, is amended— 9 (A) by redesignating section 511 as section 10 512; and 11 (B) by inserting after section 510 the fol- 12 lowing new section: 13 ‘‘§ 511. Disclosure of and prohibition against certain 14 disbursements 15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A committee shall not be consid- 16 ered to be the Inaugural Committee for purposes of this 17 chapter unless the committee agrees to, and meets, the 18 requirements of this section. 19 ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE OF DISBURSEMENTS.— 20 ‘‘(1) INITIAL DISBURSEMENT REPORT.—Not 21 later than the date that is 90 days after the date of 22 the Presidential inaugural ceremony, the Committee 23 shall file an initial disbursement report with the 24 Federal Election Commission under this subsection. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H210.IH H210 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 210 IH ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT DISBURSEMENT REPORTS.— 1 After filing the initial disbursement report described 2 in paragraph (1), the Committee shall file subse- 3 quent disbursement reports with the Federal Elec- 4 tion Commission under this subsection not later 5 than 60 days after each date by which the Com- 6 mittee makes additional disbursements in an aggre- 7 gate amount or value equal to or greater than 8 $100,000. 9 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—In each disburse- 10 ment report filed under this subsection, the Com- 11 mittee shall disclose each disbursement of money or 12 anything of value made by the Committee to any 13 person in an aggregate amount or value equal to or 14 greater than $200 since the most recent report filed 15 by the Committee under this subsection, and shall 16 include the following information with respect to 17 each such disbursement: 18 ‘‘(A) The amount, purpose, and date of the 19 disbursement. 20 ‘‘(B) The name and address of the recipi- 21 ent of the disbursement. 22 ‘‘(C) If the disbursement is made to repay 23 a loan, the amount of the loan and the amount 24 of any remaining balance on the loan. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H210.IH H210 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 210 IH ‘‘(D) If the disbursement is made to re- 1 fund a donation or to offset a portion of a do- 2 nation, the name of the donor and the amount 3 of the donation. 4 ‘‘(E) Whether or not the disbursement is 5 made with surplus funds of the committee, and 6 if so, the amount of any remaining surplus 7 funds of the committee. 8 ‘‘(c) FORMAT OF REPORTS.—The Committee shall 9 ensure that each report filed under this section is in a 10 searchable and sortable format. 11 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITING DISBURSEMENTS FOR PURPOSES 12 UNRELATED TO INAUGURATION.—The Committee may 13 make disbursements only to cover the reasonable oper- 14 ating expenses of the Committee, and may not make any 15 disbursement for any purpose which is unrelated to the 16 Presidential inaugural ceremony and functions and activi- 17 ties connected with the ceremony except as provided under 18 subsection (e). 19 ‘‘(e) REQUIRING DONATION OF FUNDS REMAINING 20 UPON TERMINATION.—If any funds of the Committee re- 21 main available at the time of the termination of the Com- 22 mittee, the Committee shall donate such funds to an orga- 23 nization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H210.IH H210 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 210 IH Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 1 section 501(a) of such Code.’’. 2 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 3 tions of chapter 5 of such title is amended— 4 (A) by redesignating the item relating to 5 section 511 as relating to section 512; and 6 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 7 section 510 the following new item: 8 ‘‘511. Disclosure of and prohibition against certain disbursements.’’. (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO PUB- 9 LIC AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Section 304(h) of the 10 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 11 30104(h)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 510’’ and in- 12 serting ‘‘section 510 or section 511’’. 13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 14 this Act shall apply with respect to Presidential Inaugural 15 Committees established under chapter 5 of title 36, United 16 States Code, for inaugurations held in 2021 and any suc- 17 ceeding year. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H210.IH H210 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS