The Independent View: Restoring Integrity to America’s Elections Act

In a rare Unanimous Ruling, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has handed down one of its Largest Fines in its 45-year History, $940,000. But it take years for the Commission to Issue its Ruling.

The Issue was an Illegal $1.3 Million Foreign Contribution to a Jeb Bush Supporting super PAC in the Spring of 2015. Foreign Contributions are Illegal under Federal Law. A Complaint was filed in August 2016, and Four years after the Violation, the FEC issued its Ruling.

The Amount of time that it took for the FEC to Act underscores the Agency’s Inability to Enforce our Laws in a timely fashion, Wasting Taxpayer Dollars, Allowing Violations to go Unchecked, and making America’s Elections Less Safe in the face of Unprecedented Foreign Interference.

Now, there’s a Bill that would Fix the FEC and finally begin to Address Campaign Finance Abuse.

The Restoring Integrity to America’s Elections Act (H.R.2014), introduced by Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA, 6th District) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA, 1st District), would Empower the FEC to do its job.

This Bill would:

- Reduce the Number of FEC Commissioners from 6 to 5 and Permit no more than 2 Members to be Affiliated with the Same Party, Eliminating Gridlock so the FEC can make Enforcement Decisions.

- Create a Panel that Recommends Future Commissioners to ensure the President Nominates Highly Qualified Appointees.

- Strengthen the Role of the FEC Chair, allowing the President to Nominate the Chair, subject to Confirmation by the Senate, and providing the Chair with Increased Powers to Order Reports, Handle Witnesses and Evidence, and other Duties.

- Eliminate never-ending Holdovers. Limiting Commissioners’ Terms to 6 years and Not Allowing them to Remain as a Holdover for more than 1 Additional Year.

- Improve Enforcement, allowing the FEC to be Represented by Agency Attorneys before the Supreme Court.

The Enforcement of Federal Accountability and Transparency Laws in our Campaigns is Not a Partisan Issue. And like all Laws, it needs an Effective Watchdog that responds in Real-Time, without Gridlock.