We the People Act of 2016
Latest action · Jun 16, 2016 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 16, 2016
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
We the People Act of 2016
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2016 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2016
This bill amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to:
- redefine "independent expenditure" to expand the meaning of express advocacy for the election or defeat of a candidate;
- expand the period for treating communications as electioneering communications;
- repeal the prohibition against contributions by minors; and
- prescribe disclosure requirements for campaign-related disbursements by corporations, labor organizations, and certain other entities, including super political action committees (PACs).
Stop Super PAC-Candidate Coordination Act
The bill amends FECA to treat payments for coordinated expenditures as contributions to candidates under certain conditions, and set forth rules for coordinated expenditures.
The bill also prohibits candidates, individual federal officeholders, agents of a candidate or an individual federal officeholder, or certain related entities from soliciting, receiving, directing, or transferring funds to or on behalf of any political committee that accepts donations or contributions that do not comply with FECA limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements, or to or on behalf of any political organization that accepts such donations or contributions.
Real Time Transparency Act
The bill amends FECA to require 48-hour notification to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by all political committees receiving cumulative contributions (instead of single contributions) of $1,000 or more during a year from any contributor.
Federal Election Administration Act of 2016
The FECA is also amended to replace the FEC with the Federal Election Administration (FEA).
The Government Accountability Office shall: (1) examine the enforcement of the criminal provisions of FECA and prohibitions regarding the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account, and (2) study the adequate level of resources for the FEA to execute competently the responsibilities imposed by this bill.
The federal criminal code is amended to prohibit former Members of Congress from ever lobbying a current Member in connection with any matter on which such former Member seeks action.
The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 is amended to revise the definition of lobbyist to mean any individual who is employed or retained by a client for financial or other compensation for services that include more than one lobbying contact over a two-year (currently three-month) period.
Financial Services Conflict of Interest Act
The federal criminal code is also amended regarding application of certain conflict-of-interest restrictions to a private sector employer that makes payment of compensation contingent on accepting a position in the federal government.
The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is amended to prohibit a covered financial services regulator from making, participating in making, or in any way attempting to use his or her official position to influence a particular matter that provides a direct and substantial pecuniary benefit for a former employer or former client.
The Office of Government Ethics must discharge certain recordkeeping duties to implement this bill.
Violators of this bill shall be subject to specified criminal and civil penalties.
The bill revises and extends certain restrictions on subsequent employment on current and former procurement officers.
The federal criminal code is amended to place specified time restrictions on subsequent employment for financial service regulators.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Act is amended to revise restrictions on federal examiners and supervisors of financial institutions.
Cosponsors 31
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 16, 2016 to Sep 7, 2016; 25 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Al Franken | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| I-ME | Angus S. King Jr. | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-ND | Heidi Heitkamp | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Original | Jun 16, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Rules and Administration Committee | Referred Jun 16, 2016 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 16, 2016Introduced in Senate
- Jun 16, 2016Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4527–S4529Summaries S4528 | Jeff Merkley D-OR, Tom Udall D-NM | Jun 23, 2016 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4402 | Sheldon Whitehouse D-RI | Jun 21, 2016 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3936 | Tom Udall D-NM | Jun 15, 2016 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R42042 | Super PACs in Federal Elections: Overview and Issues for Congress Archived | Report | Sep 16, 2016 |
Related bills 11
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 229 | DISCLOSE Act of 2015 | Related bill | Jan 21, 2015 |
| HR 425 | Stop Super PAC-Candidate Coordination Act | Related bill | Jan 21, 2015 |
| HR 430 | DISCLOSE 2015 Act | Related bill | Feb 5, 2015 |
| S 1779 | Financial Services Conflict of Interest Act | Related bill | Jul 15, 2015 |
| S 1838 | Stop Super PAC-Candidate Coordination Act | Related bill | Jul 22, 2015 |
Titles 8
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to reform our government, reduce the grip of special interest, and return our democracy to the American people through increased transparency and oversight of our elections and government.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- We the People Act of 2016
- Short Titles as Introduced for portions of this bill
- Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2016
- Financial Services Conflict of Interest Act
- Stop Super PAC-Candidate Coordination Act
- Real Time Transparency Act
- Federal Election Administration Act of 2016
- DISCLOSE Act of 2016
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Banking and financial institutions regulation
- Business records
- Civil actions and liability
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Congressional elections
- Congressional oversight
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Corporate finance and management
- Department of the Treasury
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Employee hiring
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
- Federal Election Commission (FEC)
- Federal Housing Finance Agency
- Federal officials
- Federal Reserve System
- Financial services and investments
- Fraud offenses and financial crimes
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government studies and investigations
- Labor-management relations
- National Credit Union Administration
- Personnel records
- Political advertising
- Political parties and affiliation
- Public contracts and procurement
- Public participation and lobbying
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Senate
- Tax-exempt organizations
- Wages and earnings
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 16, 2016Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
