Campaign Finance Act (H.R. 8720)

Summary

Creates stricter rules for online and credit card donations to political campaigns to help prevent fraud and illegal foreign money in elections.

What problem does this solve?

Current campaign finance rules can be exploited, allowing for fraudulent or illegal foreign donations. This bill adds new verification steps for online donations and requires all contributions to be reported to prevent this.

What does this bill do?

Requires security codes for online donations

Mandates that political campaigns collect the card verification value (CVV) and billing ZIP code for all online credit or debit card donations.

Removes the reporting threshold for donations

Eliminates the $200 minimum for reporting contributions, requiring campaigns to identify and report every person who donates, regardless of the amount.

Bans donations made with gift cards

Prohibits political committees from knowingly accepting contributions made using gift certificates or store gift cards.

Requires donor name to match credit card

Stops political committees from accepting any credit or debit card contribution unless the name on the card matches the name of the person donating.

Adds rules for donors outside the U.S.

Requires U.S. citizens or permanent residents donating from outside a U.S. state to provide extra identification, like a passport or permanent resident card.

Punishes helping with illegal donations

Makes it illegal to knowingly help or assist any person in making a political contribution in someone else's name.

Who does this affect?

Political campaigns
Political donors
Federal Election Commission

What is the real world impact?

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Increases security for online donations

Adds verification steps like requiring the security code from a credit card for online donations. This helps confirm that the person making the donation is the actual cardholder, reducing the risk of fraud.

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Prevents foreign interference in elections

Requires donors living outside the U.S. to provide proof of citizenship or legal residency. This makes it harder for foreign nationals, who are not allowed to donate, to illegally contribute to U.S. campaigns.

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May discourage small-dollar donors

Removes the $200 minimum for reporting donations, meaning every single contribution must be publicly disclosed. Some may argue this invades the privacy of small donors and could discourage them from participating.

When does this start?

The new rules will apply to donations made 90 days after the Federal Election Commission (FEC) issues its final regulations.

FEC rule creation deadline

The Federal Election Commission must create and release new regulations to carry out these changes no later than 90 days after this Act becomes law.