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``(A) IN GENERAL.--Every political organization shall file a statement with the Secretary (at such time and in such form and manner as the Secretary shall prescribe) which contains the information described in subparagraph (B) with respect to each reporting period.

[Page: H4161]  GPO's PDF

   ``(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.--The information described in this subparagraph is--

   ``(i) the name and address of each person to whom the political organization made any disbursement during the reporting period in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $200 within the calendar year,

   ``(ii) a certification, under penalty of perjury, whether such disbursement is made in cooperation, consultation, or concert, with, or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate for public office or any authorized committee of such candidate or agent of such committee or candidate,

   ``(iii) the name, address, and occupation of each person (and the name of his or her employer) who made (in the aggregate for the reporting period) a contribution in excess of $200 to the political organization,

   ``(iv) the name, address, and business purpose of any entity, as well as whether the entity purports to be exempt from tax under this title and (if so) the provision under which t he entity purports to be so exempt, which made (in the aggregate for the reporting period) a contribution in excess of $200 to the political organization, and

   ``(v) the original source and the intended ultimate recipient of all contributions made by a person, either directly or indirectly, on behalf of any particular person, including contributions which are in any way earmarked or otherwise directed through any intermediary.

   ``(C) REPORTING PERIODS AND DUE DATES FOR FILING STATEMENTS.--

   ``(i) IN GENERAL.--The reporting periods and deadlines for filing statements required by this subsection shall be the same as the periods and deadlines set forth for reports under paragraph (4) of section 304(a) of Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)). The Secretary shall issue such guidance as may be necessary concerning the filing deadlines for such statements.

   ``(ii) CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS FILE ANNUALLY.--In the case of a political organization described in clause (iii)--

   ``(I) subparagraph (A) shall not apply,

   ``(II) the reporting period shall be such organization's taxable year, and

   ``(III) the due date for the statement required by this subsection shall be the due date (without regard to extensions) for filing the return of tax for such year, whether or not such organization is requi red to file a return for such taxable year.

   ``(iii) ORGANIZATION DESCRIBED.--An organization is described in this clause if such organization is a political organization which is organized and operated exclusively for the purpose of securing the nomination, election, or appointment of a clearly identified candidate for State, local, or judicial office.

   ``(D) ELECTRONIC FILING.--The Secretary shall develop procedures for submission in electronic form of statements required to be filed under this paragraph.

   ``(3) POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.--For purposes of this section, the term `political organization' has the meaning given to such term by section 527(e) without regard to whether such organization claims a tax exemption under section 527.

   ``(4) PAPERWORK AND BURDEN REDUCTION.--An organization shall not be required to file any statement under paragraph (1) or (2) for any period if, with respect to such period, such organization submits to the Secretary, under penalty of perjury, a certified statement that the organization has made a filing, which is publicly available, with another Federal agency which includes all of the information requested by paragraph (1) or (2), whichever is applicable, and which specifies the public location where such information may be found.''

   (c) INCREASED DISCLOSURE BY POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS.--Section 2501, as amended by subsection (b), is further amended by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f) and by inserting after subsection (d) the following new subsection:

   ``(e) INSPECTION OF STATEMENTS OF POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS.--

   ``(1) IN GENERAL.--In the case of a political organization (as defined in subsection (d)(3))--

   ``(A) a copy of the statements filed under subsection (d) shall be made available by such organization for inspection during regular business hours by any individual at the principal office of such organization and, if such organization regularly maintains 1 or more regional or district offices having 3 or more employees, at each such regional or district office, and

   ``(B) upon request of an individual made at such principal office or such a regional or district office, a copy of such statements shall be provided to such individual without charge other than a reasonable fee for any reproduction and mailing costs.

   The request described in subparagraph (B) must be made in person or in writing. If such request is made in person, such copy shall be provided immediately and, if made in writing, shall be provided within 30 days.

   ``(2) 3-year limitation on inspection of statements.--Paragraph (1) shall apply to any statement filed under subsection (d) only during the 3-year period beginning on the last day prescribed for filing such statement (determined with regard to any extension of time for filing).

   ``(3) LIMITAION ON PROVIDING COPIES.--A rule similar to the rule of section 6104(d)(4) shall apply for purposes of this subsection.''

   (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

   Mr. DOGGETT (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to recommit be considered as read and printed in the RECORD.

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas?

   There was no objection.

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas is recognized for 5 minutes in support of his motion to recommit.

   Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. MOORE), a leader in this political reform effort.

   Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the motion to recommit. The majority whip said, ``I am for full disclosure and immediate disclosure.'' What we say is not nearly as important as how we vote.

   This motion only requires organizations engaging in political activity to name the contributors, how much was contributed, and how the money was spent. Disclosure, simple disclosure.

   The American people are fed up with hypocrisy and delays. What we need now is action. Last night, JOHN MCCAIN stood up in the United States Senate and stood up for the American people on behalf of disclosure. I urge all of my colleagues on this body on both sides of the aisle to stand up for disclosure. The American people deserve, expect, and demand it.

   Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. STENHOLM), another leader in this effort.

   (Mr. STENHOLM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

   Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, the issue is pretty simple today. It is whether we are going to have sunshine in the political process or whether we are not. We all know we do not need another study. We do not have to wait on another study. All we need to know is whether or not the 527 and all other groups shall disclose how much they are spending, how they are spending it, and who is, in fact, contributing the money.

   Let us let sunshine shine on the legislative process. It is pretty simple. Vote for the motion to recommit. Let us move this process along.

   Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske).

   Mr. GANSKE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Senate said that stealth political committees have to disclose their donors and expenditures. These tax exempt 527s and other like groups could be the Communist Chinese, Colombian drug lords, the Mafia. Who knows?

   Both Republicans and Democrats say they want full disclosure. Last year, the majority whip said in support of the Doolittle full disclosure bill, quote: What reform can restore accountability more than an open book? Letters from the gentleman from California (Mr. DOOLITTLE) shout, ``Full Disclosure,'' ``Scrap the Failed Rules'' and ``Full Disclosure.'' Another Dear Colleague screams, ``Hypocrisy.''

   What will the headlines scream tomorrow? Mr. Speaker, 115 Republicans voted last year for full disclosure only. If my colleagues are really for full disclosure, vote yes. A ``no'' vote is going to be mighty hard to explain in November. We can get this done today. Vote yes.

   Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 2 1/2 minutes remaining.

   Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. MEEHAN), the leader of the campaign reform effort here.

   Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the United States Senate took a small but important step towards restoring some accountability to our elections system. We have a chance today to match that step with one of our own.

   We cannot afford to wait. The election season is already upon us. There are millions and millions of dollars being raised and the public has no idea where it is coming from. We have to stop this corrupt system of raising money and having no one know where it comes from. The opportunity is now. Now is when we need to change this system.

   Let us match step with the other body and send a message across America that whoever contributes to campaigns in America in this cycle, the American people are going to know where that money came from.

   Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute and 30 seconds.

   Mr. Speaker, last night, across this Capitol, 14 Republicans stood up to their leadership and took a firm stance against the corruption of our American political system. This motion once again seeks to achieve what now they have really already accomplished.

   Mandatory full disclosure by every secret political organization is the one modest reform that we can put in place in time for this year's election. Like yesterday's successful McCain-Feingold amendment, this gift tax motion presents each of us with a moment of truth, a cho ice for more secrecy or more democracy.

   Six Republicans joined 202 sponsors of this measure to choose openness and reform on my previous motion to recommit in May. We need only a few more to make reform a reality.

   This motion, effective immediately, will not delay by 5 minutes the estate tax repeal. This motion specifically applies to all organiza tions engaging in political activity. It does not exclude, contrary to what my colleagues have been told, or offer any special treatment, for labor unions or trial lawyers or any other group allied with Democrats. This motion seeks no organization's constitutionally protected membership list.

   Mr. Speaker, this motion parallels language that I offered and had rejected in the Committee on Ways and Means almost 3 months ago. The last-minute offer this morning of a vote by July 4 on a new bill, not yet filed, is just another way of running out the clock on reform, which each day more dirty money is collected.

   Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues, please, do not be hammered into submission. Do not be hammered into submission to cast an indefensible vote against disclosure. Join us to stop the collection of money so dirty that your leadership is ashamed to identify the donors.

[Time: 13:00]

   The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. KOLBE). The gentleman from Texas (Mr. DOGGETT) has 30 seconds remaining.

   Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. GEPHARDT), the distinguished minority leader.

   Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I am often asked if we can do anything here this year in a bipartisan way to solve the obvious problems that our country faces. This is an issue on which the Senate has taken a definitive position 57 to 42. Senator MCCAIN said yesterday, what could be more simple. What could be more fair, honest, and straightforward? I cannot say it any better than that.

   This is a moment in which Democrats and Republicans can come together to pass an end to the secret organizations with undisclosed money. Vote yes for the motion to recommit. Let us get something done for the American people in this Congress.

   Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York (Mr. HOUGHTON) is recognized for 5 minutes.

   Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I know there is a lot of emotion on this. But I would like to speak on the other side of this issue. On May 25 of this year, just before we left for the Memorial Day break, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DOGGETT) offered a 527 amendment to the telephone tax repeal. I understand what he was getting at. We are all trying to accomplish the same thing. But it was a curious proposal. It would repeal the telephone tax for everyone except for political organizations tha t do not comply with the new disclosure requirements.

   So the end result would be, at the end of the day, if section 527 organizations were willing to pay a 3 percent phone tax, they could avoid disclosure. I do not think that was in the spirit of what we were trying to do.

   Today the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DOGGETT) is proposing still something else. Though we are trying to repeal the estate and gift tax, we keep it on the books for section 527 organizations.

   These proposals bother me. They only attack part of the problem. Also, before we left for Memorial Day, I indicated that I was working with a group of people to try to get together a hearing, and we have been in session only 3 days since that time. We are going to have the hearing. It is going to be set for the 20th of this month.

   An article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal noted that, under the proposal offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DOGGETT), that many tax exempt organizations would be shielded from disclosure l aws, not full light on all the organizations that are contributing. Why is it fair to the American people, therefore, to require some tax exempt to disclose political activities and not all? Why is it right for one party or another to benefit from bringing some groups into the sunshine while allowing others to operate under the cloak of secrecy.

   We are taking a looking at lobbying and campaign intervention by all of these groups, regardless of their agenda, not just the 527 groups. What we would like is disclosure by these groups, but we have to be careful because we do not want to regulate constitutional rights to death so that the rights become meaningless.

   Yesterday I announced we were going to be having a hearing in Committee on Ways and Means on the 20th of this month. There are some that say that we do not need a hearing and just do it. But by doing it, we can do it the wrong way.

   If the majority were to bring this to the floor without a hearing, I think this would be wrong. My colleague and I serve on the key committee of the House. The committee has a strong tradition of trying to do things the right way. We try not to enact legislation piecemeal, imposing disclosure requirements on some tax exempt organizations but shielding others for not disclo sing them.

   Senator MCCAIN said yesterday that he was interested in broadening this. It was a first step. He wanted to broaden this. This is, of course, what we are trying to do.

   Now, in a political year, there are all sorts of pressures from the press and from parties and things like that. But I would like to think that most of us want to reject this.

   I am a very strong advocate of campaign finance reform. I signed a discharge petition on this House floor. I voted for the Shays-Meehan bill. But I do think that there is another way of doing this and doing it right.

   Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARMEY), the majority leader of the House.

   Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New York for yielding me this time.

   Mr. Speaker, what we are discussing here is an important issue. It is recognized as such by the American people. It is an issue that requires a much more dignified response by this Congress than what it is getting on this floor today.

   This is not about political vendettas or partisan politics. It is about the key principle of full and fair disclosure for, as the gentleman from Texas (Mr. STENHOLM) said so eloquently, all institutions that engage in political advocacy. There are many people on this side of the aisle that have taken that position for a long time.

   Within the next week, we will have hearings on a measure that will require full and fair disclosure for all institutions that engage in political advocacy. There will be a vote on this floor on a bill prior to the July 4th district work period where we will require full and fair disclosure for all institutions that engage from political advocacy without political exemption and without political vendetta.

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time has expired.

   Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit.

   There was no objection.

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.

   The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the noes appeared to have it.

   RECORDED VOTE

   Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

   A recorded vote was ordered.

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will advise Members that a vote on passage, if ordered, will be reduced to a 5-minute vote.

   The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 202, noes 216, not voting 17, as follows:

   Ackerman

   Allen

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