Government By the People Act of 2017
Latest action · Jan 24, 2017 Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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.
- IntroducedJan 24, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
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.
Cosponsors 163
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 24, 2017 to Dec 19, 2018, with 148 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-TX | Al Green | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-IN | André Carson | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-MD | Anthony G. Brown | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-TX | Beto O'Rourke | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| D-NJ | Bill Pascrell, Jr. | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 24, 2017Introduced in House
- Jan 24, 2017Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 7067 | Clean Money Act of 2018 | Related bill | Oct 16, 2018 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Accounting and auditing
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Computers and information technology
- Congressional elections
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Federal Election Commission (FEC)
- Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government trust funds
- House of Representatives
- Income tax credits
- Inflation and prices
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Judicial review and appeals
- Licensing and registrations
- Political advertising
- Public participation and lobbying
- Supreme Court
- Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
- Telecommunication rates and fees
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 24, 2017Introduced in House
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.