Sponsors (13)
The bill strengthens protections against foreign influence in federal, state, and local elections through expanded bans and enforceable certifications, at the cost of new compliance burdens, privacy risks, governance complications, and added enforcement demands on the FEC.
Voters and state/local governments: the bill reduces foreign influence in U.S. elections by expanding the foreign‑national contribution/disbursement ban to cover foreign‑controlled or foreign‑influenced business entities and by explicitly covering state and local ballot initiatives, referenda, and recall elections.
Political committees, donors, and taxpayers: the bill creates clearer, enforceable reporting and certification requirements (including annual certifications to the FEC) that increase transparency and provide an enforcement mechanism for campaign‑finance rules.
Political committees and downstream recipients: required certifications allow recipients to rely in good faith on representations that funds are not from foreign nationals, reducing uncertainty and legal risk when accepting contributions accompanied by the certification.
U.S. businesses with minority foreign investors and corporate PACs: the bill imposes new certification and compliance requirements that could create significant administrative costs and reduce some businesses' or PACs' ability to participate in political activity.
Businesses with complex ownership structures and their supporters: new ownership and control definitions and thresholds could chill legitimate political speech and lead to exclusion while the FEC or courts interpret the rules.
Federal agencies and taxpayers: the FEC will need resources and new processes to review and verify certifications, potentially straining agency capacity and reducing enforcement effectiveness without additional funding.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits contributions and election spending by domestic entities that are foreign-owned, controlled, or influenced and requires corporate PAC certifications limiting foreign decisionmaking; extends the ban to state and local ballot measures.
Official title: Amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to apply the ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals under such Act to foreign-controlled, foreign-influenced, and foreign-owned domestic business entities, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 22, 2026 by Sheldon Whitehouse · Last progress July 22, 2026
Expands the federal ban on contributions, donations, and election-related spending by foreign nationals to explicitly cover domestic business entities that are foreign-owned, foreign-controlled, or foreign-influenced. It also broadens the definition of a "business entity" treated as a foreign national when foreign ownership or control thresholds are met, requires corporate PACs to certify that decisionmakers are U.S. persons and that foreign nationals do not direct activity, and clarifies the prohibition applies to state and local ballot measures and certain political committees.