Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9488) to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require the disclosure of the card verification value as a condition of the acceptance of online contributions made through the use of credit or debit cards in elections for Federal office and to prohibit the acceptance of contributions made through the use of gift cards and prepaid credit cards in such elections, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 9488
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations Act'' or the ``SHIELD Act''. SEC. 2. REQUIRING DISCLOSURE OF CARD VERIFICATION VALUE 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) the individual or entity making such contribution is required, at the time such individual makes such contribution, to disclose the card verification value of such credit or debit card; and
``(B)(i) the mailing address of the individual or entity is located in the United States; or
``(ii) in the case of a contribution made by an individual whose mailing address is located outside of the United States, 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 a contribution made by 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) or 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 shall determine whether a contribution is in compliance with this subsection. If the treasurer is unable to verify that the acceptance of the contribution was not in violation of this subsection, the treasurer shall, not later than 30 days after the receipt of the contribution, 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 `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; and
``(B) 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.''. SEC. 3. 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(a), is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(k)(1) 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 shall determine whether a contribution is in compliance with this subsection. If the treasurer is unable to verify that the acceptance of the contribution was not in violation of this subsection, the treasurer shall, not later than 30 days after the receipt of the contribution, 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.''. SEC. 4. 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 by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``No person shall knowingly direct, help, or assist any person in making a contribution in the name of another person.''. SEC. 5. 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. SEC. 6. 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 5.
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Mr. STEIL. 9488.
Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I share my heartfelt condolences to the victims of the tragic events that took place at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, this morning.
We continue to monitor the situation, but we are all thankful to the first responders, the men and women of law enforcement, and medical professionals who responded and answered the call. We keep all of them, the first responders, as well as the victims, in our prayers today.
Mr. Speaker, coming back to the matter at hand, across the political spectrum we are seeing an increase in online political fundraising. Serious questions have been raised related to how criminals and, in particular, international criminals can abuse our financial and campaign finance system. We must ensure online fundraising platforms cannot be abused.
Today, I am proud to support my bill, H.R. 9488, the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations Act, or the SHIELD Act.
The SHIELD Act will strengthen donor verification standards for political committees. The legislation will prohibit political committees from accepting online contributions from credit or debit cards without disclosure of the card verification value, or CVV, and the billing address associated with the card.
Additionally, the SHIELD Act would prohibit political committees from accepting contributions from gift cards, like those bought over the counter.
Finally, the SHIELD Act will strengthen existing law that prohibits individuals from making a contribution in the name of someone else.
With the SHIELD Act as law, the FEC will have the authority to pursue individuals who knowingly break the law. This suggestion has been a top bipartisan legislative recommendation from the Federal Election Commission for years, and I am proud this legislation adopts that recommendation.
As chairman of the Committee on House Administration, my focus has been on increasing participation and restoring confidence in our elections.
Nearly a year ago, my committee launched an investigation into ActBlue, a major online fundraising platform.
At the time, ActBlue did not require a card verification value, or CVV. That is that three- or four-digit code on the back of the credit card that you have to use almost anytime you transact online. It wasn't used in that case in order to make political contributions.
Requiring the CVV is standard practice across the e-commerce industry to reduce fraud and prevent unlawful foreign transactions. It is a necessary security measure that ensures the person making the donation is actually in physical possession of the card.
After ActBlue confirmed that it did not require a CVV in order to make an online contribution, I sent a letter to the FEC urging them to initiate emergency rulemaking to require that political committees, like ActBlue, require the CVV for donors to make online contributions.
I also urged the FEC to initiate a rulemaking process to prohibit political committees from accepting online contributions from gift cards.
For too long now, Americans have grown weary of our election system. We are constantly hearing reports of how foreign actors are attempting to influence our elections. The SHIELD Act makes it more difficult for foreign entities to improperly influence our elections through online fundraising platforms.
Keeping foreign funding out of our elections helps restore confidence in our election system. Greater confidence in our elections leads to greater participation, which is a good thing for the whole country.
I thank Representatives Stephanie Bice, Laurel Lee, Anthony D'Esposito, Greg Murphy, and Ken Calvert for their work and support on this important legislation. I believe that keeping foreign influence out of our elections is an idea we can all get behind.
I also thank Ranking Member Morelle, my Democratic colleagues on the Committee on House Administration, and the committee staff for working together on this important piece of legislation.
Americans deserve free, fair, and secure elections. The SHIELD Act will bring us one step closer to making sure that happens. We should pass the SHIELD Act to keep foreign funding out of our elections.
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Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill. This is one step forward in making sure that online contribution platforms are secure from foreign interference, and I encourage passage of the bill.
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