Speier Amendment To Hold Campaign Finance Violators Accountable Passes, Included in H.R. 1

Press Release

Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14) celebrated today the passage of her legislation to help ensure those who violate campaign finance laws are held accountable. Rep. Speier reintroduced her bill with Congressman André Carson (IN-07) as an amendment to H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2021, which strives to fight big money in politics, expand voting rights, end extreme partisan gerrymandering, and hold elected officials accountable for egregious abuses of power and violations of federal law. The House is expected to pass H.R. 1 later this evening.

Rep. Speier first introduced her bill last year, after it was reported that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy ran an illegal straw donor scheme by asking employees at his former company, New Breed Logistics, to donate to certain candidates running for office and to political committees. DeJoy then reimbursed those employees for the exact amount they donated with bonuses. The five-year statute of limitation for federal campaign finance law for both criminal and civil violations means DeJoy could get away this serious federal offense based on the timing of his actions.

"Postmaster General DeJoy's actions were egregious, illegal, and it appears that he lied about them while testifying under oath before the House Oversight Committee last August. He's also far from the exception when it comes to getting away with these schemes as it can take years to uncover them and the statute of limitations is absurdly short," Rep. Speier said. "It shouldn't be as easy as running out a clock to outrun the law. My legislation will make it easier to hold those who violate the Federal Election Campaign Act accountable by extending the statute of limitations for criminal violations of FECA from 5 years to 10 years and for civil violations from 5 years to 15 years. I'm proud to see it included in H.R. 1 and urge our colleagues in the Senate to take up this legislation and pass it immediately."

"I am proud to cosponsor this important amendment with my colleague Congresswoman Speier," Rep. Carson said. "As a former law enforcement officer, I know that extending the statute of limitations is necessary to improve accountability and ensure that those who break campaign finance laws and then try to hide their actions can be brought to justice. As we have learned in recent events, violations of campaign finance laws may not be uncovered until years after the fact. Extending the statute of limitations provides investigators and prosecutors the ability to go after those who the break the law. This is an important addition to H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which I strongly support."

The legislation is endorsed by the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Public Citizen.

Quotes from supporting organizations are below:

"This amendment sets a new and important standard, extending the statute of limitations for campaign finance violations in order to create the conditions for an accountable political system. Campaign finance violations may not be discovered until years later, and when they are discovered, FEC commissioners too often delay action, only to cite an expiring statute of limitations to dismiss or avoid fully investigating the matter. Moreover, for most of last year, the FEC lacked a quorum and was unable to enforce the law, yet the statute of limitations kept running," said Jo Deutsch, Director of Legislative Strategy, Campaign Legal Center (CLC).

"By adding language into the For The People Act that will give prosecutors and civil regulators the opportunity to untangle the webs of shell corporations and other legal dark money mechanisms, Congress will take an important step in regulating and protecting our elections. Far too often, dark money groups are able to escape accountability by running out the clock, and Rep. Speier's amendment in today's bill is a critical step towards ensuring that these bad actors are held accountable," said Jennifer Ahearn, Policy Director, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

"Public Citizen applauds this commonsense reform from Rep. Speier. Enforcement of our campaign finance laws is sadly derelict, and this legislation will take an important step to ensure that serious violations are tackled. The American people deserve effective policing of the nation's laws to rein in out of control money in politics," said Lisa Gilbert, Executive Vice President, Public Citizen.

A copy of the amendment is attached to this press release below.

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