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1 1 (February 26, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveckb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Hesetrn~h Updated February 26, 2021 H.R.1: Overview and Related CRS Products Brief Overview H.R. 1 proposes major amendments to federal law governing campaign finance and elections. The bill's provisions, unless otherwise noted, would affect federal elections, although states would be responsible for implementing some provisions. H.R. 1 also proposes amendments to federal ethics and lobbying statutes. The bill generally proposes additional disclosure requirements, regulation, orboth in each policy area it addresses. It would authorize federal funding for some activities. This CRS In Focus highlights major provis ions in the bill and lists selected CRS products thatproviderelated information. It does notaddress legalor constitutional issues. H.R. i and Recent Congressional Activity Representative Sarbanes introduced H.R. 1 on January 4, 2021. The 116th Congress considered a previous version of H.R. 1. The House passed the 116thCongress versionofthe bill (234-193) on March 8, 2019. Senate companion measure S. 949 (Udall) did not advance beyond committee referral. The version of the billintroduced in the 117th Congres s generally is similar to the one the House passed during the 116th Congress. Notable changes in the 117thCongress version of the billinclude additionalprovisions addressing (1) congressionalfmdingsjustifying the legislation andits constitutionality; (2) early and mail voting, polling place operations, and emergency contingency planning; and (3) foreign interference in U.S. campaigns andelections. H.R. 1 is one of the broadestlegislative proposals addressing campaign finance, elections, ethics, and lobbying introducedin recent decades. The billis both similar to and different fromotherrecent legislationon these topics. Specifically, several titles or subtitles in H.R. 1 were introduced as stand-alone bills in previous Congresses or the current one. In those cases, H.R. 1 text typically is the same as in other legis lation or is slightly altered. H.R 1 is, however, broader than most such legis lation. The bill as introduced is 791 pages long andcontains three divisions concerning elections and voting (A); campaignfmance (B); and ethics and lobbying (C). H.R. 1 was referred to 11 House committees. The Committee on House Administration is the primary committee ofjuris diction. The bill also was referred to Armed Services; Education and Labor; Ethics; Financial Services; Homeland Security; Intelligence; Judiciary; Oversight and Reform; Science, Space, and Technology; and Ways andMeans. Highlights of Major Provisions If enacted, H.R. 1 could substantially affect campaigns, elections, ethics, and lobbying in the United States. In each of those areas, some parts of the bill would create new federal requirements or roles. In others, the billproposes to amend existing ones. A brief discussion ofthe bill's major provisions appears below. Campaign Finance Campaign finance provisions in H.R 1 would substantially amend the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and related statutes. Majorprovisions would (1) require additional dis closure ofcamp aign-related fundraising and spending, including by some entities that do not currently typically report to the Federal Election Commission (FEC); (2) establish a voluntary public financing systemfor U.S. House campaigns; (3) substantially revise thecurrent presidential public financing system; (4) require additional dis claimers surrounding certain political advertising, and restrict coordinationbetweencampaigns and other organizations; and (5) restructure the FEC. The bill also would clarify and extend existing FECA prohibitions on foreign interference in U.S. campaigns and elections, and require related reporting. Many of the disclosure provisions are adapted fromthe DISCLOSE Act proposal, introduced regularly since the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling, which permitted corporate and union independent spending to elect or defeat electoral candidates. Ifenacted, theproposed House public financing programwould be the first ofits kind at the federallevel. FEC membership and enforcement procedures would be substantially altered. Congressional Redistricting H.R. 1 would require states to establish independent redistricting commissions that meet specified requirements regarding commis sion membership, procedures, and criteria for redistricting plans for U.S. House elections. The federal requirements that H.R. 1 proposes would mark a major changein U.S. House redistricting. Currently, the federal government plays a limited role in congressional redistricting, primarily by, for example, enforcing relevant portions of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). If the bill were enacted, states would retain responsibility for the redistricting process, but federallaw would s ubstantially affect how they do so. Election Administration and Security Major election administration provisions would (1) require states to adopt certain policies, such as using paper ballots, offering early and no-excusemail voting, accepting sworn written statements to satisfy voter identification (ID) https://crs rept

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