No Foreign Election Interference Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8314) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose penalties with respect to contributions to political committees from certain tax exempt organizations that receive contributions from foreign nationals, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, as the world's leading democracy, America is an example for other nations to follow. Unfortunately, we are also a target for foreign actors seeking to influence and undermine our elections.

Over the last year, as the Ways and Means Committee has been investigating concerns about the dangerous influence of foreign money in our elections, it has become clear that loopholes exist in our tax code that foreign donors are able to take advantage of so they can influence the American electoral process.

Under current law, foreign nationals are prohibited from making contributions directly to election campaigns, but there is nothing that prohibits overseas cash flowing from foreign nationals, including from adversaries of the United States such as China, through tax-exempt organizations and then into the hands of super-PACs.

The committee's investigation discovered a particularly disturbing example: A foreign national from Switzerland has given over $100 million through his tax-exempt organization to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a 501(c)(4), which subsequently distributed $63 million to super-PACs to try to persuade the American voter. According to The New York Times, the Sixteen Thirty Fund is a leading vehicle for dark money on the left.

The American people shouldn't be subjected to TV and digital ads financed by the Chinese Communist Party or other nations seeking to influence the vote or undermine our elections. I think we can all agree that our election should be free of foreign interference.

For my colleagues on the left who spent years talking about foreign election interference, this should be a no-brainer. If they care about our electoral process and making sure it is open and fair, then we need to make sure foreign money can't drown out the voices of American voters.

The legislation before us today, sponsored by Representative Malliotakis, the No Foreign Election Interference Act, was approved in May by the Ways and Means Committee 39-1. Her bill closes this loophole in the tax code by restricting tax-exempt organizations from donating to super-PACs after receiving foreign gifts or contributions, and it revokes the tax-exempt status for organizations that repeatedly violate this law.

This bill is not aimed at program service revenue or member dues but clearly focuses on contributions and gifts made to tax-exempt organizations that then make donations to super-PACs.

When it comes to our elections, the American people, not wealthy foreign donors, should decide the future direction of our country.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Malliotakis for her leadership on this issue, and I encourage all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill so that we can maintain the integrity of our election system.

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

Wow, Mr. Speaker. This is about as swampy as you can get in Washington. This bill passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee 39-1, including the gentlewoman from California who voted ``yes.''

The only difference between when it passed out of the committee to where we are today is that some outside interest groups, who apparently control the voting cards and the opinions of a lot of people, said this is a bad bill, so now we are a ``no.'' That is very, very unfortunate.

I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is noteworthy to know that whenever we did the markup on this bill in committee, the other side did not present one amendment to protect what they are suggesting now that they should have done in amendment. Guess what? They voted 39-1 for this bill.

Those penalties that the gentlewoman from California was pointing out that she didn't like, that hasn't changed. That was in the bill, and they passed it. She voted for it.

This bill is about making sure American elections are decided by American voters, not foreign nationals who want to tip the scales in favor of their preferred candidate or policy.

The 2020 elections were the most expensive elections in history with election spending totaling more than $14 billion, an amount surely to be surpassed in 2024.

The American people deserve to know that the commercials and ads that are being pumped through their TVs and phones are free from foreign influence.

Representative Malliotakis' bill will close a loophole that allows wealthy foreigners to exercise outsized influence in our U.S. elections through donations to tax-exempt organizations who then flood our airwaves through super-PAC spending, emboldened with foreign dollars-- not American dollars, foreign dollars.

I urge my colleagues to stand with American voters who shouldn't have their voices silenced by billionaires from overseas. I ask and encourage this body to support this legislation.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 8314, the No Foreign Election Interference Act.

While the title and the intent of the bill sound reasonable, in its current form, the bill ultimately fails in its goal to defend democracy. Instead, this bill would unfairly hurt American workers and the unions that represent them.

This bill has many unintended and harmful consequences. Although the intent and the spirit of the bill are good, in the current form, it falls very short of its intention.

It imposes penalties on organizations that make contributions to political committees and receive contributions or gifts from foreign nationals during an 8-year lookback period. However, it does not define a contribution or gift for this purpose or contain any reasonable cause exception. The penalty equals twice the amount of the contribution made to the political committee. If a tax-exempt organization makes more than two political contributions described in this bill, the organization loses its exempt status as of the third contribution.

I am particularly concerned about the severe penalties the bill would impose on organizations that have international members and make political contributions. This bill is opposed by unions, including the AFL-CIO, which represents 60 affiliate unions and 12.5 million workers.

Labor unions are obligated to represent all workers in a bargaining unit, but they have no role in who is hired.

An employer may hire a citizen, a permanent resident who holds a legal green card, or an immigrant holding a temporary visa.

Accordingly, if union dues are considered a contribution or gift and the dues are received from a foreign national, that is, a noncitizen, this would restrict the union's right to give to a political committee.

It is imperative that they be able to advocate on behalf of workers and fully engage in the political process. Since this bill only applies to nonprofits, for-profit corporations don't face this same danger.

Finally, the bill is also redundant because foreign nationals are already prohibited from donating to political candidates in any Federal, State, or local election under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

If Republicans were serious about removing dark money from politics, the bill under consideration today would be the DISCLOSE Act.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this antiworker bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, the intent of this bill is noble and even reasonable, but as it is written, it is fundamentally flawed.

While it is true that the bill passed out of committee on a nearly unanimous vote, and in that iteration, I did vote for it. Upon further scrutiny of the bill, we noticed that there were some very troubling aspects of this bill, which make it not fulfill the solution to the problem that it is seeking to do.

If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle were correct in saying that it doesn't unfairly target unions, they could tighten up the definition of what contributions are in this bill, or they could amend it to specifically exclude labor unions from the provisions of this bill that are so punitive.

My question to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is I can understand wanting to remove foreign influence from our elections, but why do they want to silence the voices of working families in the United States, because that is what this bill does.

I support removing dark money from politics, but this bill is not the right bill, and it is certainly not the right approach.

Its significant penalties on tax-exempt organizations unfairly target workers and the unions that represent them, and there is nothing swampy about wanting to defend those workers.

This bill does not fail to meaningfully reduce foreign election interference, so I must urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' in opposition of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for advocating for this bill, working to bring it to the floor, and making sure that we do not have foreign election interference.

Mr. Speaker, my legislation, H.R. 8314, the No Foreign Election Interference Act, closes a loophole in our tax code that foreign citizens and potentially foreign adversaries have used to influence and derail the will of the United States people.

Under current law, foreign nationals are prohibited from donating to political committees, as my colleague on the other side pointed out.

However, what my colleague on the other side of the aisle failed to mention is that there are no restrictions on foreign nationals flowing money through tax-exempt organizations and then moving that money into super-PAC issue advocacy organizations that get involved in American elections with the intention to influence our elections. This is a major loophole.

Public reporting suggests that foreign nationals who are barred from directly contributing to candidate campaigns by the FEC are exploiting tax-exempt organizations as a pass-through, something that as current law stands is permissible.

For example, a Swiss billionaire has used a network of nonprofits to steer tens of millions of dollars to influence our elections and undermine our democracy.

According to The New York Times, the same individual between 2016 and 2020 donated significant sums of money to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which subsequently sent over $60 million to super-PACs that supported exclusively Democrats. Perhaps that is why we all of a sudden see this opposition to this legislation after it passed committee almost unanimously.

We should all be uncomfortable with any noncitizen having so much sway over our electoral decisions and public discourse. Our elections are our elections. They do not belong to individuals who cannot even cast a ballot in the United States.

This bill would prohibit any tax-exempt organization that receives foreign national contributions from subsequently making contributions to political committees, such as super-PACs, for 8 years. Failure to comply would result in significant fines and eventually revocation of tax-exempt status.

Let me be abundantly clear: To address the concern brought up by my colleague on the other side of the aisle, this legislation does not include any dues-paying trade organizations or labor unions. The sole intent of this bill is to keep foreign mega-donor money out of our elections.

Again, I thank Chairman Jason Smith of Ways and Means for working with me on this legislation, and I hope that my colleagues will support this legislation today and that it will pass with bipartisan support as it did out of the committee.

Mr. Speaker, due to a previously scheduled medical procedure, I was unable to be in D.C. on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, and on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: YEA on Roll Call No. 418, H.R. 8314, the No Foreign Election Interference Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 420, H. Res. 1455, On ordering the previous question; YEA on Roll Call No. 421, H. Res. 1455, Providing for consideration of the bills H.R. 3724; H.R. 4790, H.R. 5179, H.R. 5339, H.R. 5717, and H.R. 7909, and the Joint resolution H.J. Res. 136; YEA on Roll Call No. 422, S. 1146, the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 423, H.R. 9076, the Supporting America's Children and Families Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 424, H.R. 7213, the Autism CARES Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 425, H.R. 1513, the FUTURE Networks Act; NAY on Roll Call No. 426, H.R. 5339, on Motion to Recommit; YEA on Roll Call No. 427, H.R. 5339, the RETIRE Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 428, H.R. 5179, the Anti-BDS Labeling Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 429, H.R. 7909, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act; NAY on Roll Call No. 430, H.R. 9494, on Motion to Recommit; and YEA on Roll Call No. 431, H.R. 9494, the Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2025.

Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen events, I was unfortunately unable to cast my vote for legislation considered on the House floor today. Had I been able to be present, I would have voted according to the following: NAY on Roll Call No. 418--H.R. 8314, No Foreign Election Interference Act and YEA on Roll Call No. 419--S. 2861, Billie Jean King Congressional Gold Medal Act.