H.R. 4617 - Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy (SHIELD) Act

Bill Text

    Rules Committee Print 116-35 PDF XML

    Showing the text of H.R. 4617, as ordered reported by the Committee on House Administration, with reserved text as introduced.

    Text of H.R. 4617 PDF XML

    (as reported)

    H. Rept. 116-246, Part 1 PDF

    Report from the Committee on House Administration to accompany H.R. 4617

Rule Information

COMMITTEE ACTION:
REPORTED BY A RECORD VOTE OF 9-2 on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.

FLOOR ACTION ON H. RES. 650: 
Agreed to by record vote of 226-180, after agreeing to the previous question by record vote of 223-180, on Wednesday, October 23, 2019.

MANAGERS: Hastings/Cole

1. Structured rule.

2. Provides one hour of general debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration.

3. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.

4. Makes in order as original text for the purpose of amendment an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 116-35, as modified by the amendment printed in Part A of the Rules Committee report, and provides that it shall be considered as read.

5. Waives all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute.

6. Makes in order only those amendments printed in Part B of the Rules Committee report. Each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.

7. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in Part B of the report.

8. Provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Amendments (click headers to sort)

#Version #Sponsor(s)PartySummaryStatus
1Version 1Delgado (NY)DemocratRequire the Federal Election Commission to do an analysis of the extent to which illicit foreign money was used to carry out disinformation and propaganda campaigns focused on depressing turnout among rural communities and the success or failure of these efforts, together with recommendations to address these efforts in future elections.Made in Order
2Version 1Swalwell (CA)DemocratIncludes a candidate’s immediate family members among those whose direct or indirect contacts or communications with a covered foreign national may amount to a reportable foreign contact with the term immediate family member meaning a candidate’s parent, parent-in-law, spouse, adult child, or sibling.Made in Order
3Version 1Levin, Mike (CA)DemocratDirects the GAO to conduct a study of algorithmic radicalization, its implications for disinformation and impact on federal elections, and present policy options to address the issue. Algorithmic radicalization is social media platforms’ practice of presenting increasingly radical content via algorithm based on a user's initial selection.Submitted
4Version 1Van Drew (NJ), Horn (OK), Spanberger (VA), Gottheimer (NJ)DemocratRequires state and local governments to conduct an annual evaluation of their election service providers to ensure that each election service provider is solely owned and controlled by U.S. persons with the exception of our “Five Eyes” allies – Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.Submitted
5Version 1Posey (FL)RepublicanStrips federal benefits from former Presidents, Vice Presidents, Cabinet Members, Members of Congress, or Senior Congressional Employees who receive compensation as a lobbyist for foreign principals. They would still be entitled to the retirement savings in their Thrift Savings Fund and, in the case of former Presidents, Secret Service protection for them and their spouses.Submitted
6Version 1Posey (FL)RepublicanRequires the President, Vice President, all Members of Congress, and Presidential Cabinet Members to disclose any business that they or their immediate family has (if any) with a foreign entity. If they have any such ties, they must disclose information detailing the nature of the business tie and foreign entity.Submitted
7Version 1Lynch (MA)DemocratWithdrawn Requires the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, in consultation with the Federal Election Commission and other federal agencies, to develop, regularly update, and publicly disseminate a “Foreign Election Interference Media Literacy Guide” prior to federal election cycles in order to educate the American public on the use of deepfakes and other evolving technologies to spread disinformation and propaganda online and influence elections for public office.Withdrawn
8Version 2Lynch (MA)DemocratRevised Generally prohibits the use of deepfakes within 60 days of a federal election and establishes corresponding criminal and civil penalties.Made in Order
9Version 2Langevin (RI), Slotkin (MI)DemocratRevised Directs the Federal Elections Commission to commission an independent study and report on media literacy with respect to online political content consumption among voting-age Americans.Made in Order
10Version 1Houlahan (PA)DemocratCodifies the FEC definition of “substantial assistance” for an illegal foreign transaction and defines what it means to “knowingly” abet a foreign entity, consistent with FEC regulations.Made in Order
11Version 1Brown (MD)DemocratIncludes “immediate family member” in the definition of the term “individual affiliated with a campaign.”Submitted
12Version 1Brown (MD)DemocratRequires the FBI to confirm receipt when a political committee issues a notification that they have been contacted by a reportable foreign contact. Additionally, requires the FBI to submit a report to Congress on how they are managing and responding to notifications from political committees.Made in Order
13Version 2Slotkin (MI)DemocratRevised Directs GAO to conduct an assessment of current exemptions of FARA registration requirements and what adjustments should be made to prevent foreign funding from influencing U.S. elections and political processes.Made in Order
14Version 1Slotkin (MI)DemocratDirects the FTC to develop regulations for social media platforms to disclose bots as automated.Submitted
15Version 1Quigley (IL), Cartwright (PA)DemocratDirects GAO to conduct an analysis of ethics training provided to employees of the Federal Election Commission relating to efforts to prevent voter intimidation and deceptive practices in elections for Federal office.Submitted
16Version 1Allred (TX)DemocratRequires all federal officeholders to also report any attempted foreign contacts to the applicable ethics official for their federal office.Submitted
17Version 1Sherrill (NJ)DemocratRequires the DHS Secretary or the FBI Director to notify Congress when a foreign national has obtained access, or has attempted to obtain access, to a computerized Statewide voter registration list.Submitted
18Version 1Sherrill (NJ)DemocratExpands from 60 days before an election to 90 days the provisions on knowingly prohibiting deceptive practices in federal elections, including knowingly providing false information about the time or place of voting, qualifications for voting, or public endorsements.Made in Order
19Version 2Lofgren (CA)DemocratMANAGER’S AMENDMENT Revised Amends the exception to the “reportable foreign contact” for those contacts made for purposes of enabling elections by international observers. Provides that the exception does not apply if the contact involves illicit campaign spending in contravention of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Provides that improper interference in a United States election is grounds for inadmissibility and deportability.Considered as Adopted
20Version 1Rouda (CA)DemocratWithdrawn Makes it a felony for an owner, officer, attorney, or incorporation agent of a corporation, company, or business entity to establish or use a corporation, company, or business entity to conceal illegal political activity by a foreign national.Withdrawn
21Version 1Levin, Andy (MI), McCaul (TX), Rouda (CA), Speier (CA), Slotkin (MI)Bi-PartisanProhibits foreign nationals from influencing American elections by setting up shell companies.Made in Order
22Version 1Brownley (CA)DemocratProhibits campaigns, individuals affiliated with campaigns, and donors from paying the fines for violations of the duty to report foreign campaign contacts.Submitted
23Version 1Brownley (CA), Malinowski (NJ)DemocratCreates a duty for campaigns to report offers of unlawful assistance, defined as offers to provide information that the campaign, or individuals affiliated with the campaign, have reason to know was obtained through illicit means.Submitted
24Version 1Cunningham (SC)DemocratLate Requires the Federal Election Commission to include in its report to Congress an analysis of disinformation campaigns focused on depressing turnout among African-American and other minority communities.Made in Order
25Version 1Cunningham (SC)DemocratLate Requires the Federal Election Commission to include in its report to Congress an analysis of disinformation campaigns focused on influencing military servicemembers and veterans along with recommendations to address these efforts.Made in Order
26Version 1Speier (CA)DemocratLate Withdrawn Provides clear civil and criminal enforcement authority, as provided under the Federal Election Campaign Act, for existing reporting requirements for presidential inaugural committees and prohibition on donations to inaugural committees from foreign nationals.Withdrawn
27Version 1Omar (MN), Slotkin (MI)DemocratLate Amends Section 8 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act by directing the Attorney General to establish a unit within the Department of Justice to investigate and enforce the Act and impose civil monetary penalties for violations of the Act. It also requires agents of registered foreign principals to disclose known transactions involving things of financial value conferred on officeholders.Submitted
28Version 1Calvert (CA)RepublicanLate Prohibits the practice of ballot harvesting by third party individuals.Submitted
29Version 1Lesko (AZ)RepublicanLate Strikes Section 313.Made in Order
30Version 1Spanberger (VA)DemocratLate Requires that online platform records of purchase requests for qualified political advertisements include a statement that a person is acting as the agent of a foreign principal and the identification of the foreign principal involved, when applicable. Qualified political advertisements include ads related to national legislative issues of public importance.Made in Order
31Version 1Davis, Rodney (IL)RepublicanLate Strikes the section on application of disclaimer statements for online communications and replace it with guidelines located in H.R. 4736, the Honest Elections Act.Submitted
32Version 1McClintock (CA)RepublicanLate Prohibits the use of any federal funds to administer any election for Federal office in a state which permits foreign nationals who are not U.S. citizens to vote in elections for public office.Submitted
33Version 1Murphy, Gregory (NC)RepublicanLate Strikes the term "legitimate" from Section 104. Section 104 establishes a new legal term for legitimate press.Submitted
34Version 1Loudermilk (GA)RepublicanLate Strikes Section 116, entitled Political Record Requirements for Online Platforms, from the legislation and designate the succeeding section as Section 116.Submitted
35Version 1DeSaulnier (CA)DemocratLate Requires the FEC to notify states within 30 days of making a determination that a foreign national has initiated or attempted to initiate a disinformation campaign targeted at an election in a state.Made in Order
36Version 1Davis, Rodney (IL)RepublicanLate Prohibits direct or indirect disbursements of funds to foreign nationals by political committees.Submitted
37Version 1Meng (NY)DemocratLate Prohibits the use of federal funds for partisan political foreign travel by any officer or employee of the federal government.Submitted