About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (May 17, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedig0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Infrmin the eiltv eaesne11 0 Updated May 17, 2021 H.R. 1 and S. 1: Overview and Related CRS Products Brief Overview H.R. 1 and S. 1, the For the People Act, propose major amendments to federal law governing campaign finance and elections. The bills' provisions, unless otherwise noted, would affect federal elections, although states would be responsible for implementing some provisions. The legislation also proposes amendments to federal ethics and lobbying statutes. It generally proposes additional disclosure requirements, regulation, or both in each policy area it addresses. It would authorize federal funding for some activities. This CRS In Focus highlights major provisions in the bills and lists selected CRS products that provide related information. It does not address legal or constitutional issues. Recent Congressional Activity The House passed an amended version of H.R. 1 on March 3, 2021. In the Senate, the Rules and Administration Committee held a hearing on S. 1 on March 24, 2021. On May 11, 2021, the Senate Rules and Administration Committee held a markup of S. 1. Although the committee adopted some proposed amendments, it declined, via 9-9 votes, to approve most. On the final vote to report S. 1 with amendments, the committee again tied 9-9, thus declining to recommend that the Senate take further action on the bill and the committee-approved amendments. Additional legislative activity is possible. This CRS product summarizes the introduced version of S. 1 and House- passed version of H.R. 1. Notable changes in the 117th Congress versions of H.R. 1 (as passed and as introduced) and S. 1 compared with the 116th Congress version of H.R. 1 (and companion measure S. 949) include additional provisions addressing (1) congressional findings justifying the legislation and its constitutionality; (2) early and mail voting, polling place operations, and emergency contingency planning; and (3) foreign interference in U.S. campaigns and elections. H.R. 1 and S. 1 are among the broadest legislative proposals addressing campaign finance, elections, ethics, and lobbying introduced in recent decades. The bills are both similar to and different from other recent legislation on these topics. Specifically, several titles or subtitles in H.R. 1 and S. 1 were introduced as stand-alone bills in previous Congresses or the current one. The 117th Congress legislation contains three divisions concerning elections and voting (A); campaign finance (B); and ethics and lobbying (C). Highlights of Major Provisions If enacted, the For the People Act could substantially affect campaigns, elections, ethics, and lobbying in the United States. In each of those areas, some parts of the bills would create new federal requirements or roles. In others, the bills propose to amend existing ones. A brief discussion of major provisions appears below. Campaign Finance Campaign finance provisions in the legislation would substantially amend the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and related statutes. Major provisions would (1) require additional disclosure of campaign-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 system for U.S. House and Senate campaigns (addressed separately in H.R. 1 and S. 1, respectively); (3) substantially revise the current presidential public financing system; (4) require additional disclaimers surrounding certain political advertising, and restrict coordination between campaigns and other organizations; and (5) restructure the FEC. The bills 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 from the 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. If enacted, the proposed House and Senate public financing programs would be the first of their kind at the federal level. FEC membership and enforcement procedures would be substantially altered. Congressional Redistricting H.R. 1 and S. 1 would require states to establish independent redistricting commissions that meet specified requirements regarding commission membership, procedures, and criteria for redistricting plans for U.S. House elections. The federal requirements the bills propose would mark a major change in 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 legislation were enacted, states would retain responsibility for the redistricting process, but federal law would substantially 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-excuse mail voting, accepting sworn written statements to satisfy voter identification requirements, and establishing contingency plans for conducting elections during certain emergencies; and (2) ittps://Crsreports.congress.gt

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most