H.R. 8720

119 HR 8720 IH: Campaign Finance Transparency Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-05-11
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 8720  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   May 11, 2026   Mr. Steil  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on House Administration    A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to modify requirements regarding contributions related to elections for Federal office and to improve the operation of the Federal Election Commission, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Campaign Finance Transparency Act  .
2.
Requiring disclosure of card verification value or card verification code as condition of acceptance of online contributions made using credit or debit cards in Federal elections
Section 302 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ( 52 U.S.C. 30102 ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(j)
(1)
No political committee shall accept any internet credit or debit card contribution unless—
(A)
except in the case of a contribution the political committee receives by mail, the individual or entity making such contribution is required, at the time such individual or entity makes such contribution, to disclose the card verification value or card verification code of such credit or debit card and the ZIP Code of the billing address associated with such credit or debit card; and
(B)
(i)
the mailing address of the individual or entity is located in a State; or
(ii)
in the case of a contribution made by an individual whose mailing address is not located in a State, the individual provides the committee with the applicable information described in paragraph (2).
(2)
The applicable information described in this paragraph is as follows:
(A)
In the case of an individual who is a citizen or national of the United States—
(i)
the United States mailing address the individual uses for voter registration purposes;
(ii)
a copy of the individual’s United States passport; or
(iii)
a copy of a comparable acceptable identification document, or the unique identifying number from such a document, for the individual.
(B)
In the case of an individual who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined by section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) )—
(i)
a copy of the individual’s permanent resident card; or
(ii)
a copy of a comparable acceptable identification document issued by the Department of Homeland Security.
(3)
A political committee that accepts any internet credit or debit card contribution as a recurring contribution shall require the individual or entity making such contribution to comply with the requirements of this subsection for the first such contribution, but shall not require the individual or entity to provide the information identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) for subsequent recurring contributions made using the same credit or debit card as the initial contribution.
(4)
A political committee that stores or saves, or arranges to store or save, any credit or debit card information shall require the individual or entity making such contribution to comply with the requirements of this subsection for the first such contribution or at the time of storing or saving such information, but shall not require the individual or entity to provide the information identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) for subsequent contributions made using the same credit or debit card as the initial contribution.
(5)
An internet credit or debit card contribution received by a political committee made through the use of a digital wallet shall be treated as complying with the requirements of this subsection.
(6)
Notwithstanding subsection (b) or (c), in the case of an internet credit or debit card contribution—
(A)
no later than 10 days after receiving the contribution, the person who receives the contribution shall forward to the treasurer such contribution, the name and address of the person making the contribution, and the date of receipt; and
(B)
the treasurer of a political committee shall keep an account of the name and address of any person making any such contribution, together with the date and amount of such contribution by any person consistent with applicable regulations of the Commission, including regulations relating to the period for which contribution records must be preserved and the anonymity of certain contributors.
(7)
(A)
A treasurer of a political committee who is aware that a contribution to the committee is not in compliance with this subsection has an affirmative duty to refund the contribution to the individual or entity making the contribution.
(B)
If the treasurer of a political committee shows that best efforts have been used to comply with the requirements of this paragraph, the committee shall be considered in compliance with this subsection.
(8)
In this subsection—
(A)
the term  digital wallet  means a software application that stores payment or account information to facilitate traditional payments that use bank and credit card information; and
(B)
the term  Internet credit or debit card contribution  means a contribution that—
(i)
is made using a credit or debit card; and
(ii)
is received through an internet website or application.
 .
3.
Requiring name on credit or debit card to be name of donor as condition of acceptance of contributions in Federal elections
Section 302 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ( 52 U.S.C. 30102 ), as amended by  section 2 , is amended by adding at the end the following:
(k)
No political committee shall accept any credit or debit card contribution unless the name on the credit or debit card used to make such contribution is the name of the individual or entity donating such contribution.
 .
4.
Prohibiting acceptance of contributions made using gift cards in Federal elections
Section 302 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ( 52 U.S.C. 30102 ), as amended by section 2 and section 3, is amended by adding at the end the following:
(l)
No political committee shall knowingly accept a contribution made through the use of a gift certificate or store gift card, as such terms are defined, respectively, under section 915(a) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
(2)
(A)
A treasurer of a political committee who is aware that a contribution to the committee is not in compliance with this subsection has an affirmative duty to refund the contribution to the individual or entity making the contribution.
(B)
If the treasurer of a political committee shows that best efforts have been used to comply with the requirements of this subsection, the committee shall be considered in compliance with this subsection.
 .
5.
Removal of threshold for reporting contributions
Section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ( 52 U.S.C. 30104 ) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (b)(3)—
(A)
in subparagraph (A), by striking  whose contribution or contributions have an aggregate amount or value in excess of $200 within the calendar year (or election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee of a candidate for Federal office), or in any lesser amount if the reporting committee should so elect, ;
(B)
in subparagraph (F), by striking  in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $200 within the calendar year (or election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee of a candidate for Federal office) ; and
(C)
in subparagraph (G), by striking  in an aggregate value or amount in excess of $200 within the calendar year (or election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee of a candidate for Federal office) ;
(2)
in subsection (c)(2)(C), by striking  in excess of $200 ; and
(3)
in subsection (e)(3)—
(A)
by striking  receipts or ; and
(B)
by striking   paragraphs (3)(A), (5),  and inserting  paragraphs (5) .
6.
Prohibiting aiding or abetting making of contribution in the name of another
Section 320 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ( 52 U.S.C. 30122 ) is amended—
(1)
by striking  No person  and inserting the following:
(a)
In general
No person
 ; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(b)
Prohibition on assistance
No person shall knowingly direct, help, or assist any person in making a contribution in the name of another person.
(c)
Reporting of suspected contributions
Any recipient who suspects that a contribution made to such recipient is a contribution made by one person in the name of another person shall report such contribution to the Federal Election Commission.
 .
7.
Regulations
(a)
Deadline
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election Commission shall promulgate regulations to carry out the amendments made by this Act.
(b)
Consultation with credit card payment networks
In promulgating regulations under subsection (a) to carry out the amendments made by this Act, the Commission shall consult with representatives of payment card networks, as defined under section 921(c) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1693o–2(c) ), and other relevant stakeholders.
8.
Effective date
The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to contributions made after the expiration of the 90-day period which begins on the date the Commission promulgates regulations under  section 7 .