,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bceb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #bf1 #bjbe,ms4 ,lee of ,pennsylvania 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,khanna1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,mr4 ,deluzio1 and ,mrs4 ,ramirez7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,house ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga to place reasonable limits on contributions to ,super ,p,a,cs which make independent expenditures1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,abolish ,super ,p,a,cs ,act4 #b4 ,findings2 purpose 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,contribution limits to political action committees 7,p,a,cs71 including those that make independent expenditures1 help secure elections by limiting both the risk of corruption and the risk that significant contributions will create the appearance of corruption4 7#b7 ,since contribution limits on super ,p,a,cs were lifted in #bjaj1 the number1 influence1 and wealth of super ,p,a,cs have exploded4 ,obtaining millions or billions of dollars in contributions to super ,p,a,cs is now critical to the success of ,federal candidates' campaigns4 7#c7 ,as the influence of super ,p,a,cs grows1 so does the likelihood that they will serve as a conduit for corrupt agreements between contributor and candidate1 whose communications are not subject to coordination limitations4 7#d7 ,between #bjjh and #bjbj1 the amount of independent expenditures increased more than #gjj percent1 and in #bjbd1 more than #d4dh billion in independent expenditures were spent on ,united ,states elections4 ,the money for these expenditures largely came from contributions to #b1dei registered super ,p,a,cs4 7#e7 ,in #bjab1 the first modern elections for ,federal office held without contribution limits to super ,p,a,cs1 the top #a percent of all individual super ,,pac contributors contributed #gf4gf percent of all individual super ,,pac contributions1 and that percentage rose to #if4id percent in #bjbd4 ,recent elections have been influenced by individual contributors who gave more than #ajj million to super ,p,a,cs4 7#f7 ,as bribery laws have long recognized1 unlawful quid pro quo exchanges can occur where the bribe is funneled into a third party1 such as a super ,,pac4 ,see1 e4g41 section #bja of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code2 ,u4,s4 v4 ,menendez1 #bia ,f4 ,supp4 #fjf1 #fba-bc 7,d4 ,n4,j4 #bjah74 ,law enforcement in several ,states have prosecuted cases that involve bribes directed to super ,p,a,cs4 ,however1 bribery is notoriously difficult to prosecute1 and these laws do not adequately protect ,american voters from corruption4 7#g7 ,without reasonable limitations on contributions1 super ,p,a,cs create an appearance of corruption4 ,a bipartisan majority of ,americans believe that large super ,,pac contributions are made in exchange for political favors1 and that corruption is pervasive in the ,federal ,government4 ,this is1 as the ,supreme ,court recognized in ,buckley v4 ,valeo1 disastrous to confidence in the system of representative government #dbd ,u4,s4 #a1 #bg 7#aigf74 7#h7 ,placing limits on super ,,pac contributions will also lessen the risk of foreign interference in ,united ,states elections1 making it more difficult for foreign entities to funnel contributions to super ,p,a,cs via third-party contributors4 7#i7 ,speech,now4org v4 ,,fec1 #eii ,f4#c;d #fhf 7,d4,c4 ,cir4 #bjaj71 the appellate court case that voided existing contribution limits to super ,p,a,cs1 wrongly treated contributions as expenditures and wrongly assumed that because uncoordinated independent expenditures cannot give rise to quid pro quo corruption1 that contributions to independent expenditure committees similarly cannot give rise to corruption4 ,but they can and do4 7#aj7 ,in the #ad years since ,speech,now unleashed billions of dollars in unregulated contributions1 super ,p,a,cs have obtained unprecedented wealth and value to candidate campaigns and can facilitate vast1 nearly untraceable corrupt transactions4 7#aa7 ,because ,super ,p,a,cs have become uniquely important to candidate campaigns and can accept millions and even hundreds of millions of dollars from single entities1 candidates and contributors have reason and opportunity to guide corrupt contributions into super ,p,a,cs1 establishing a significant risk of corruption and creating an appearance of corruption that undermines the public's faith in their representatives and our political system4 7#ab7 ,reasonable limits on contributions to super ,p,a,cs are lawful and necessary to protect ,american democracy and ,american voters4 7b7 ,purpose ,it is the purpose of this ,act-- 7#a7 to limit the risk of corrupt agreements between candidates and contributors by placing reasonable limits on contributions to political action committees that make independent expenditures2 7#b7 to limit the appearance of corruption created by uncapped contributions to political action committees that make independent expenditures2 and 7#c7 to restore the public's faith in our elections4 #c4 ,limitation on contributions to independent expenditure committees 7a7 ,limitations ,section #cae7;a77#a77;,c7 of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjaaf7;a77#a77;,c77 is amended by striking to any other political committee and inserting to an independent expenditure committee or any other political committee4 7b7 ,definition ,section #cja of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjaja7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#bg7 ,independent expenditure committee 7,a7 ,in general ,the term independent expenditure committee means a political committee which-- 7i7 makes independent expenditures aggregating #e1jjj or more during a calendar year2 or 7ii7 makes contributions to other independent expenditure committees aggregating #e1jjj or more during a calendar year4 7,b7 ,treatment of separate accounts ,the term independent expenditure committee includes an account of a political committee which is established for the purpose of making independent expenditures or contributions to other committees making independent expenditures4 4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to contributions and independent expenditures made during the first calendar year which begins after the date of the enactment of this ,act and each succeeding calendar year4