Sponsors
The bill simplifies tax forms and modestly reduces deficits by eliminating the $3 public-financing designation and transferring remaining balances to the Treasury, at the cost of ending a small but symbolically important public funding option for Presidential campaigns—potentially lowering small-donor participation and shifting influence toward private contributors.
Taxpayers: Eliminates the $3 public-financing designation on tax returns, simplifying the tax-filing form by removing a checkbox most filers saw but few used.
Taxpayers and the federal budget: Transfers remaining balances from the public-financing fund to the Treasury general fund, modestly reducing federal deficits or borrowing needs.
Voters and presidential candidates: Ends taxpayer-funded public financing for Presidential campaigns and conventions, removing an alternative funding source that some candidates rely on.
Small-dollar donors and civic participants: Removes a low-cost public option (the $3 designation) that encouraged small-dollar public support and could reduce public participation in campaign funding choices.
Taxpayers and democratic fairness: Redirecting the fund to deficit reduction eliminates a dedicated programmatic funding option for public elections, which may concentrate campaign influence toward private donors and increase the perceived influence of large contributors.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Ends the $3 taxpayer check-off and dissolves the Presidential Election Campaign Fund; remaining balances go to the Treasury general fund.
Introduced May 8, 2025 by W. Greg Steube · Last progress May 8, 2025
Ends the federal $3 taxpayer check-off for the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and dissolves that fund and its candidate accounts for all future Presidential elections and nominating conventions. Any money left in the fund as of enactment must be transferred to the Treasury general fund for deficit reduction. Taxpayers will no longer be able to direct $3 of their taxes to public financing of Presidential campaigns for tax years after 2024. Presidential candidates and political parties will no longer receive funding from the federal account-based public financing program for future elections and conventions.