Duty To Report Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1247 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require reporting to the Federal Election Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investiga- tion of offers by foreign nationals to make prohibited contributions, donations, expenditures, or disbursements, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 30, 2019 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration A BILL To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require reporting to the Federal Election Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation of offers by foreign nationals to make prohibited contributions, dona- tions, expenditures, or disbursements, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Duty To Report Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1247.IS S1247 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1247 IS (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 1 ings: 2 (1) Political contributions and express-advocacy 3 expenditures are an integral aspect of the process by 4 which Americans elect officials to Federal, State, 5 and local government offices. 6 (2) It is fundamental to the definition of a na- 7 tional political community that foreign citizens do 8 not have a constitutional right to participate in, and 9 thus may be excluded from, activities of democratic 10 self-governance. 11 (3) The United States has a compelling interest 12 in limiting the participation of foreign citizens in ac- 13 tivities of democratic self-government, and in there- 14 by preventing foreign influence over the United 15 States political process. 16 (4) Foreign donations and expenditures have a 17 corrupting influence on the campaign process and 18 limiting the activities of foreign citizens in our elec- 19 tions is necessary to preserve the basic conception of 20 a political community and democratic self-govern- 21 ance. 22 SEC. 2. REPORTING TO THE FEC. 23 (a) REPORTING OFFERS OF PROHIBITED CONTRIBU- 24 TIONS, DONATIONS, EXPENDITURES, OR DISBURSEMENTS 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1247.IS S1247 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1247 IS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS.—Section 304 of the Federal 1 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104) is 2 amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 3 section: 4 ‘‘(j) DISCLOSURE OF OFFERS OF PROHIBITED CON- 5 TRIBUTIONS, DONATIONS, EXPENDITURES, OR DISBURSE- 6 MENTS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS.—If a political com- 7 mittee, an agent of the committee, or in the case of an 8 authorized committee of a candidate for Federal office, a 9 candidate, receives an offer (orally, in writing, or other- 10 wise) of a prohibited contribution, donation, expenditure, 11 or disbursement (as defined in section 3(c) of the Duty 12 To Report Act), the committee shall, within 24 hours of 13 receiving the offer, report to the Commission— 14 ‘‘(1) to the extent known, the name, address, 15 and nationality of the foreign national (as defined in 16 section 319(b)) making the offer; and 17 ‘‘(2) the amount and type of contribution, dona- 18 tion, expenditure, or disbursement offered.’’. 19 (b) REPORTING MEETINGS WITH FOREIGN GOVERN- 20 MENTS OR THEIR AGENTS.—Section 304 of the Federal 21 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104), as 22 amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the 23 end the following new subsection: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1247.IS S1247 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1247 IS ‘‘(k) DISCLOSURE OF MEETINGS WITH FOREIGN 1 GOVERNMENTS OR THEIR AGENTS.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 3 graph (2), if a political committee, an agent of the 4 committee, or in the case of an authorized com- 5 mittee of a candidate for Federal office, a candidate, 6 meets with a foreign government or an agent of a 7 foreign principal, as defined in section 1 of the For- 8 eign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 9 611), the committee shall, within 24 hours of meet- 10 ing, report to the Commission— 11 ‘‘(A) to the extent known, the identity of 12 each individual at the meeting and the foreign 13 government involved; and 14 ‘‘(B) the purpose of the meeting. 15 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR MEETINGS IN OFFICIAL 16 CAPACITY.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply with re- 17 spect to a meeting with a foreign government or an 18 agent of a foreign principal by an elected official or 19 as an employee of an elected official in their official 20 capacity as such an official or employee.’’. 21 (c) PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—Not later 22 than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 23 Federal Election Commission shall promulgate regulations 24 providing additional indicators beyond the pertinent facts 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1247.IS S1247 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1247 IS described in section 110.20(a)(5) of title 11, Code of Fed- 1 eral Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment 2 of this Act) that may lead a reasonable person to conclude 3 that there is a substantial probability that the source of 4 the funds solicited, accepted, or received is a foreign na- 5 tional, as defined in section 319(b) of the Federal Election 6 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)), or to inquire whether 7 the source of the funds solicited, accepted, or received is 8 a foreign national, as so defined. Regulations promulgated 9 under the proceeding sentence shall also provide guidance 10 to political committees and campaigns to not engage in 11 racial or ethnic profiling in making such a conclusion or 12 inquiry. 13 SEC. 3. REPORTING OFFERS OF PROHIBITED CONTRIBU- 14 TIONS, DONATIONS, EXPENDITURES, OR DIS- 15 BURSEMENTS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS TO 16 THE FBI. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—If a political committee or an ap- 18 plicable individual (as defined in subsection (c)) receives 19 an offer (orally, in writing, or otherwise) of a prohibited 20 contribution, donation, expenditure, or disbursement, the 21 committee or applicable individual shall, within 24 hours 22 of receiving the offer, report to the Federal Bureau of In- 23 vestigation— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1247.IS S1247 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1247 IS (1) to the extent known, the name, address, and 1 nationality of the foreign national making the offer; 2 and 3 (2) the amount and type of contribution, dona- 4 tion, expenditure, or disbursement offered. 5 (b) OFFENSE.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful to know- 7 ingly and willfully fail to comply with subsection (a). 8 (2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para- 9 graph (1) shall be fined under title 18, United 10 States Code, imprisoned not more than 2 years, or 11 both. 12 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 13 (1) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘applicable 15 individual’’ means— 16 (i) an agent of a political committee; 17 (ii) a candidate; 18 (iii) an individual who is an imme- 19 diate family member of a candidate; or 20 (iv) any individual affiliated with a 21 campaign of a candidate. 22 (B) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER; INDI- 23 VIDUAL AFFILIATED WITH A CAMPAIGN.—For 24 purposes of subparagraph (A)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1247.IS S1247 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1247 IS (i) the term ‘‘immediate family mem- 1 ber’’ means, with respect to a candidate, a 2 parent, parent in law, spouse, adult child, 3 or sibling; and 4 (ii) the term ‘‘individual affiliated 5 with a campaign’’ means, with respect to a 6 candidate, an employee of any organization 7 legally authorized under Federal, State, or 8 local law to support the candidate’s cam- 9 paign for nomination for, or election to, 10 any Federal, State, or local public office, 11 as well as any independent contractor of 12 such an organization and any individual 13 who performs services for the organization 14 on an unpaid basis (including an intern or 15 volunteer). 16 (2) FOREIGN NATIONAL.—The term ‘‘foreign 17 national’’ has the meaning given that term in section 18 319(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 19 1971(52 U.S.C. 30121(b)). 20 (3) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’ has 21 the meaning given that term in section 110.20(a)(4) 22 of title 11, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc- 23 cessor regulations). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1247.IS S1247 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1247 IS (4) PROHIBITED CONTRIBUTION, DONATION, 1 EXPENDITURE, OR DISBURSEMENT.— 2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘prohibited 3 contribution, donation, expenditure, or disburse- 4 ment’’ means a contribution, donation, expendi- 5 ture, or disbursement prohibited under section 6 319(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 7 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)). 8 (B) CLARIFICATION.—Such term includes, 9 with respect to a candidate or election, any in- 10 formation— 11 (i) regarding any of the other can- 12 didates for election for that office; 13 (ii) that is not in the public domain; 14 and 15 (iii) which could be used to the advan- 16 tage of the campaign of the candidate. 17 (5) OTHER TERMS.—Any term used in this sec- 18 tion which is defined in section 301 of the Federal 19 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101) 20 and which is not otherwise defined in this section 21 shall have the meaning given such term under such 22 section 301. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1247.IS S1247 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1247 IS SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION REGARDING USE OF INFORMATION 1 REPORTED. 2 Information reported under subsection (j) or (k) of 3 section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 4 (52 U.S.C. 30104), as added by section 2, or under section 5 3(a), may not be used to enforce the provisions under 6 chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality 7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) relating to the removal of un- 8 documented aliens. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1247.IS S1247 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS