Republicans want to make it easier for GOP candidates to collect campaign donations
GOP lawmakers want to move forward with legislation that would allow candidates to use a virtual fundraising platform, according to sources close to the legislation.
The bill is expected to be discussed Thursday in the House Rules Committee, a move expected to likely pass the chamber without any Democratic opposition.
Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Peter King (R) are leading the charge, according the sources, who said the legislation could be reintroduced in the near future.
The proposed legislation, called the Campaign Access to Campaign Finance Act, would allow campaign donations to be made on a “virtual fundraising platform” — a virtual campaign account — with the campaign, a candidate, a political action committee, a nonprofit organization or a trade association, as well as the general public, according a draft of the legislation circulated by Rep. Chris Taylor (R., N.Y.), a co-sponsor of the bill.
The legislation, which would go into effect if passed by the House, would apply to any individual, political party or political action group that collects or uses a campaign account.
Candidates and party committees could use the accounts for all of the candidate’s official duties, including fundraising and coordinating fundraising efforts.
The candidates and party organizations could choose to allow the use of their own fundraising account, but they would have to disclose who owns the account, as a condition of the fundraising activity.
Candidate committees could also use the virtual campaign accounts to collect contributions from donors, but the amount of the contributions would have no bearing on whether the contributions were considered contributions for the purposes of campaign finance laws.
The provision is part of a wider effort by House GOP lawmakers to expand campaign finance coverage.
The bill would also make it possible for campaigns to accept contributions from people who do not have an election campaign committee account.
The Republican bill would require candidates to have campaign committees that have not yet filed paperwork to the Federal Election Commission.
That filing would allow a candidate to collect the contributions of those who are not currently registered as a candidate.
The draft legislation has been referred to a subcommittee, but there are still questions about its ability to pass the House.
Reps.
Mike Bishop (R.-Utah), Trent Franks (R.
Ariz.), Jim Jordan (R.–Ohio) and Jeff Denham (R–Calif.) all said they were considering moving forward with the legislation, but others are also expected to push for changes to the proposal.
The prospect of legislation being reintroduced could be a sign that Republicans in the lower chamber are willing to move on from their 2016 campaign finance reform effort.GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R.) is a key figure in the push for change.
She has been an outspoken critic of the proposal, which has been backed by the Trump campaign and other Republican lawmakers.
Democrats in the upper chamber are expected to oppose the bill in its current form, but it could face some changes in committee markup and possibly ultimately in the Senate.
Democrats are also preparing a letter to GOP leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.), asking them to take the issue out of committee markup.
Democrats have not ruled out taking the issue up at the Democratic-led Senate Finance Committee, where the issue is likely to face intense scrutiny.