[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7210 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7210
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for the
treatment of payments for child care and other personal use services as
an authorized campaign expenditure, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 1, 2024
Ms. Porter (for herself, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Moore
of Wisconsin, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Scanlon, and Ms. Tokuda)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for the
treatment of payments for child care and other personal use services as
an authorized campaign expenditure, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Help America Run
Act''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Everyday Americans experience barriers to entry before
they can consider running for office to serve their
communities.
(2) Current law states that campaign funds cannot be spent
on everyday expenses that would exist whether or not a
candidate were running for office, like rent and food. While
the law seems neutral, its actual effect is to privilege the
independently wealthy who want to run, because given the
demands of running for office, candidates who must work to pay
for child care or to afford health insurance are effectively
being left out of the process, even if they have sufficient
support to mount a viable campaign.
(3) Thus current practice favors those prospective
candidates who do not need to rely on a regular paycheck to
make ends meet. The consequence is that everyday Americans who
have firsthand knowledge of the importance of stable child
care, a safety net, or great public schools are less likely to
get a seat at the table. This governance by the few is
antithetical to the democratic experiment, but most
importantly, when lawmakers do not share the concerns of
everyday Americans, their policies reflect that.
(4) These circumstances have contributed to a Congress that
does not always reflect everyday Americans. The New York Times
reported in 2019 that fewer than 5 percent of representatives
cite blue-collar or service jobs in their biographies. A 2015
survey by the Center for Responsive Politics showed that the
median net worth of lawmakers was just over $1 million in 2013,
or 18 times the wealth of the typical American household.
(5) These circumstances have also contributed to a
governing body that does not reflect the Nation it serves. For
instance, women are 51 percent of the American population. Yet
even with a record number of women serving in the One Hundred
Eighteenth Congress, the Pew Research Center notes that more
than two out of three Members of this Congress are male. The
Center for American Women And Politics found that one-third of
women legislators surveyed had been actively discouraged from
running for office, often by political professionals. This type
of discouragement, combined with the burdens of child care that
still fall disproportionately on American women, particularly
disadvantages working mothers. These barriers may explain why
only 12 women in history have given birth while serving in
Congress, in spite of the prevalence of working parents in
other professions. Yet working mothers and fathers are best
positioned to create policy that reflects the lived experience
of most Americans.
(6) Working mothers, those caring for their elderly
parents, and young professionals who rely on their jobs for
health insurance should have the freedom to run to serve the
people of the United States. Their networks and net worth are
simply not the best indicators of their strength as prospective
public servants. In fact, helping ordinary Americans to run may
create better policy for all Americans.
(c) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to ensure that all
Americans who are otherwise qualified to serve this Nation are able to
run for office, regardless of their economic status. By expanding
permissible uses of campaign funds and providing modest assurance that
testing a run for office will not cost one's livelihood, the Help
America Run Act will facilitate the candidacy of representatives who
more accurately reflect the experiences, challenges, and ideals of
everyday Americans.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILD CARE AND OTHER PERSONAL USE
SERVICES AS AUTHORIZED CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE.
(a) Personal Use Services as Authorized Campaign Expenditure.--
Section 313 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C.
30114) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Treatment of Payments for Child Care and Other Personal Use
Services as Authorized Campaign Expenditure.--
``(1) Authorized expenditures.--For purposes of subsection
(a), the payment by an authorized committee of a candidate for
any of the personal use services described in paragraph (3)
shall be treated as an authorized expenditure if the services
are necessary to enable the participation of the candidate in
campaign-connected activities.
``(2) Limitations.--
``(A) Limit on total amount of payments.--The total
amount of payments made by an authorized committee of a
candidate for personal use services described in
paragraph (3) may not exceed the limit which is
applicable under any law, rule, or regulation on the
amount of payments which may be made by the committee
for the salary of the candidate (without regard to
whether or not the committee makes payments to the
candidate for that purpose).
``(B) Corresponding reduction in amount of salary
paid to candidate.--To the extent that an authorized
committee of a candidate makes payments for the salary
of the candidate, any limit on the amount of such
payments which is applicable under any law, rule, or
regulation shall be reduced by the amount of any
payments made to or on behalf of the candidate for
personal use services described in paragraph (3), other
than personal use services described in subparagraph
(D) of such paragraph.
``(3) Personal use services described.--The personal use
services described in this paragraph are as follows:
``(A) Child care services.
``(B) Elder care services.
``(C) Services similar to the services described in
subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) which are provided
on behalf of any dependent who is a qualifying relative
under section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
``(D) Health insurance premiums.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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