Government By the People Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to establish a program for small individual donations to campaigns for public office and make other changes to campaign finance law.
The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) individual taxpayers a refundable tax credit of 50% of qualified congressional House campaign contributions (i.e., cash contributions by an individual to a candidate for the House of Representatives or a political committee established and maintained by a national political party, to be known as "My Voice Federal" contributions); and (2) individual taxpayers to designate a portion of any overpayment of tax as a contribution to the Freedom From Influence Fund.
The Government by the People Oversight Commission, established by this bill, shall establish a voucher pilot program to provide voters with a $50 "My Voice Voucher" for making campaign contributions.
The bill amends the FECA to establish a 6-1 matching program for small dollar contributions (up to $150) to a candidate for public office and sets forth eligibility, certification, and expenditure requirements for candidates.
The bill permits unlimited coordinated party expenditures from small donor sources on behalf of publicly financed House candidates.
The bill requires disclosure by all bundlers of bundled contributions (i.e., the practice of combining several small campaign contributions into one large contribution to avoid exceeding the limit on contributions), not just registered lobbyists.
The bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to expand the access of candidates for public office to broadcasting.