House Administration Committee advances election finance transparency, security bills

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Election finance transparency bills

Highlights

House Administration Committee advances the Campaign Finance Transparency Act, mandating disclosure of all political donations, identity verification, and banning gift card contributions.
Committee considers Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act and Stop Foreign Funds in Elections Act to close loopholes on foreign money in federal, state, and local election activities.
STEADFAST Act proposes converting the Presidential Election Campaign Fund into a new Election Security Fund for state cybersecurity and secure ballot infrastructure upgrades.

Committee agenda targets campaign finance gaps

As reported by the House Committee on House Administration, Chairman Bryan Steil says the markup centers on legislation designed to tighten campaign finance disclosure and block foreign influence in U.S. elections. In his prepared opening remarks, Steil says the committee’s investigation into alleged fraud involving Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue exposed weaknesses in laws that were not designed for online donations.

Steil says the Campaign Finance Transparency Act would require all political donations to be reported regardless of amount, require a donor’s name to match the name on the credit card used, ban contributions made with gift cards, and require identity verification for Americans donating from abroad. He frames the bill as a response to risks that fraudsters and foreign nationals could exploit current systems to make illegal campaign contributions.

The committee is also considering two measures focused on foreign money in elections. Steil says his Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act would ban foreign nationals from donating to electioneering activities including voter registration efforts, get-out-the-vote operations and ballot harvesting, while Representative Brian Fitzpatrick’s Stop Foreign Funds in Elections Act would bar foreign funding of state and local ballot initiatives, referenda and recall elections.

Security funding and administrative changes in focus

The package also includes Representative Bice’s STEADFAST Act, which would convert the Presidential Election Campaign Fund into a new Election Security Fund for states. Steil says states could apply to use the money for election security needs such as cybersecurity upgrades for voting systems and secure paper ballots.

Other items on the agenda include the FEC Administrative Improvements Act, backed by Ranking Member Morelle and Representative Lee, to modernize administrative operations using recommendations from the Federal Elections Commission. The committee is also weighing Representative Johnson’s VOTE Act, which would require election officials to notify voters when an early voting polling location closes, and Representative Griffith’s Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act, which Steil says was revised after bipartisan discussions, including language on consultation between the Register of the Copyright Office and the Librarian of Congress over certain regulations.

Our earlier coverage of the Georgia 13th Congressional District special election reporting rules explained how candidates and certain political committees must file additional campaign finance disclosures tied to the July 28, 2026 vote and a potential August runoff. We noted that PACs and party committees that don’t file monthly face extra reporting steps when they make newly undisclosed contributions or expenditures linked to the contest, aligning compliance deadlines with the special election calendar.

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