To extend through 2013 the authority of the Federal Election Commission to impose civil money penalties on the basis of a schedule of penalties established and published by the Commission.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to support H.R. 6296, which would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to extend through 2013 the authority of the Federal Election Commission to impose civil monetary penalties on political committees that file reports late or not at all rather than going through the traditional enforcement process. This bill is necessary because that authority, which they currently have, expires at the end of this year.

This bill is not a glamorous one. It will not capture the attention of voters who look to Congress to lower the price at the pump, even though we would all like to do that. Nonetheless, it is an important program designed to protect our Nation's campaign process from being thwarted by insisting upon the utmost transparency if an individual chooses to seek public office.

The administrative fine program, which was established in 2000, permits the FEC to assess fines if a candidate is found to be in violation of mandatory Federal campaign finance reporting requirements. Since its inception, the administrative fine program has proven successful in its two objectives:

First, the program frees up commission resources for more complex and higher profile enforcement matters. This is especially important now that the commission has formed and its important work can continue in a bipartisan fashion. Second, it reduces the number of financial reports filed late or not at all, which furthers the goals of the commission as a whole.

As of March 2008, the FEC had collected over $2.1 million in civil penalties for over 1,600 cases processed under the program. The fines collected are turned over to the U.S. Treasury, ensuring that there is no monetary gain to the FEC for applying such penalties. By implementing such a structure, there can be no calls of falsely using the fine program as a way for the agency to line its own coffers, thereby increasing confidence in the FEC's enforcement actions.

Without this bill, as I mentioned earlier, this successful program is scheduled to end on December 31, 2008. I am pleased to be able to join with my colleague in the House Administration Committee, Chairman Brady, as a cosponsor of this bipartisan measure. I

urge my colleagues to join us in supporting H.R. 6296 so that we may continue to monitor the success of this important program for the next 5 years.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I just will simply say it's a good bill. Let's support it. Let's vote for it.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6296) to extend through 2013 the authority of the Federal Election Commission to impose civil money penalties on the basis of a schedule of penalties established and published by the Commission.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous matter in the Record on H.R. 6296.

Mr. Speaker, I fully support H.R. 6296, which will extend the Federal Election Commission's administrative fines programs through 2013.

The administrative fines program permits the FEC to impose civil fines on political committees that file late or not at all. The fines program allows the FEC to quickly resolve minor violations of the act and concentrate its resources on more complex enforcement matters. The fines program also assures political and candidate committees that they can resolve minor errors by paying a fixed monetary penalty, avoiding a long and potentially complicated enforcement process.

There has been a significant decrease in the number of late and nonfiled reports since the start of this program. At the FEC the fines program also enjoys the unanimous bipartisan support of all of the commissioners. The fines program is due to expire at the end of this year without congressional intervention. The program should be extended to allow the agency to concentrate on more complex issues once it has a full slate of members.

H.R. 6296 will amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to extend the fines program until December 13, 2013. I urge all Members to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I concur this bill is a sensible one. It's bipartisan. It focuses the commission on the things that are important and complicated, and I urge all Members to support its passage.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Rules Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 6296, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.