119-s1849

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1849 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1849

 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require each 
 authorized committee or leadership PAC of a former candidate for 
 election for Federal office to disburse all of the remaining funds of 
 the committee or PAC after the election, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 May 21, 2025

 Mr. Bennet introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require each 
 authorized committee or leadership PAC of a former candidate for 
 election for Federal office to disburse all of the remaining funds of 
 the committee or PAC after the election, and for other purposes.

 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 ``Zeroing Out Money for Buying 
Influence after Elections

    (ZOMBIE) Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES OF CANDIDATES TO DISBURSE 
 UNEXPENDED FUNDS.

    (a) Requiring Disbursement.--Title III of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after 

section 303 the following new section:

``

SEC. 303A. DISBURSEMENT OF REMAINING UNEXPENDED FUNDS.

 ``

    (a) Requiring Disbursement.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Each authorized committee or leadership 
 PAC of a candidate shall, in accordance with subsection

    (b) , 
 disburse all funds of the authorized committee or leadership 
 PAC before the earliest of--
 ``
        (A) the last day of the applicable disbursement 
 period;
 ``
        (B) the date on which the candidate first makes a 
 lobbying contact or is employed or retained to make a 
 lobbying contact that would require registration under 
 

section 4 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 
 U.S.C. 1603); or
 ``
            (C) the date on which the candidate becomes an 
 agent of a foreign principal that would require 
 registration under 

section 2 of the Foreign Agents 
 Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 612).
 ``

    (2) Exception for candidates in next election.--Paragraph

    (1) does not apply to the authorized committee or leadership 
 PAC of a candidate who, prior to the first day of the 
 applicable disbursement period, provides the appropriate State 
 election official with the information and fees (if any) 
 required under State law for the individual to qualify as a 
 candidate for the next election for the office sought by the 
 candidate or the next election for another Federal office.
 ``

    (3) Applicable disbursement period.--In this subsection, 
 the `applicable disbursement period' is, with respect to a 
 candidate seeking election for an office, the 6-month period 
 which begins on the day after the latest date on which an 
 individual may provide the appropriate State election official 
 with the information and fees (if any) required under State law 
 for the individual to qualify as a candidate for the next 
 election for such office. In the case of a candidate for 
 Senate, the office sought shall be the Senate office in the 
 class that ends with the term of the office for which such 
 candidate is seeking.
 ``

    (b) Rules for Disbursement of Funds.--Any funds to which 
subsection

    (a) applies that are disbursed on or after the first day of 
the applicable disbursement period shall be disbursed as follows:
 ``

    (1) Payment of obligations.--An authorized committee or 
 leadership PAC shall first pay obligations incurred in 
 connection with the operation of the committee.
 ``

    (2) Other permitted disbursements.--Notwithstanding 
 

section 313

    (a) , if, after disbursing all of the funds necessary 
 to pay obligations under paragraph

    (1) , funds of a committee or 
 PAC remain unexpended, the committee or PAC may only disburse 
 such remaining funds for the following purposes:
 ``
        (A) To return to any person a contribution the 
 person made to the committee or PAC.
 ``
        (B) Except as provided in paragraph

    (3)
        (A) , to 
 make a contribution to an organization described in 
 

section 170
            (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
 ``

    (3) Prohibitions.--In disbursing funds pursuant to the 
 requirements of this section, an authorized committee or 
 leadership PAC may not disburse funds during the applicable 
 disbursement period to any of the following:
 ``
        (A) Any organization described in 

section 170
            (c) (other than an organization described in paragraph

    (1) thereof) if--
 ``
            (i) the organization was established by 
 the candidate;
 ``
            (ii) the organization bears the 
 candidate's name; or
 ``
            (iii) the candidate or a relative of the 
 candidate--
 ``
            (I) is employed by such 
 organization;
 ``
            (II) is an officer of such 
 organization; or
 ``
            (III) performs services (whether 
 paid or unpaid) on behalf of such 
 organization.
 ``
        (B) Any relative of the candidate unless the 
 funds are disbursed to pay an obligation of the 
 committee as described in paragraph

    (1) which is 
 reported by the committee or PAC as a disbursement 
 under 

section 304

    (b)

    (5) or which would be so reported 
 if the amount of the disbursement were in excess of 
 $200.
 ``
            (c) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:
 ``

    (1) Leadership pac.--The term `leadership PAC' has the 
 meaning given such term in 

section 304
            (i) (8)
        (B) .
 ``

    (2) Relative.--The term `relative' means, with respect to 
 a candidate, an individual who is related to the candidate as 
 father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, 
 first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, 
 mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, 
 sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, 
 stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.''.

    (b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Permitted Uses of 
Contributions.--

Section 313

    (a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30114

    (a) ) is 
amended by striking ``A contribution'' and inserting ``Subject to 

section 303A, a contribution''.
            (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 
Federal office held in November 2026 and each succeeding election for 
Federal office.

SEC. 3. REQUIRING FORMER CANDIDATES SERVING AS REGISTERED LOBBYISTS TO 
 CERTIFY COMPLIANCE WITH DISBURSEMENT REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Certification of Compliance.--

Section 4

    (b) of the Lobbying 
Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603

    (b) ) is amended--

    (1) in paragraph

    (6) , by striking ``and'' at the end;

    (2) in paragraph

    (7) , by striking the period at the end and 
 inserting ``; and''; and

    (3) by inserting after paragraph

    (7) the following:
 ``

    (8) in the case of an individual who was a candidate for 
 election for Federal office, a certification (under penalty of 
 perjury) that each authorized committee and leadership PAC (as 
 defined in 

section 304
            (i) (8)
        (B) of the Federal Election 
 Campaign Act of 1971) of the individual is in compliance with 
 

section 303A of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
 (relating to the disbursement of funds of the committee or 
 leadership PAC which remain unexpended after the date of the 
 election).''.

    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection

    (a) shall 
apply with respect to registration statements filed under 

section 4

    (a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act on or after the date of the regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2026.

SEC. 4. REQUIRING FORMER CANDIDATES SERVING AS FOREIGN AGENTS TO 
 CERTIFY COMPLIANCE WITH DISBURSEMENT REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Certification of Compliance.--

Section 2

    (a) of the Foreign 
Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 612

    (a) ) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (12) In the case of an individual who was a candidate for 
 election for Federal office, a certification (under penalty of 
 perjury) that each authorized committee and leadership PAC (as 
 defined in 

section 304
            (i) (8)
        (B) of the Federal Election 
 Campaign Act of 1971) of the individual is in compliance with 
 

section 303A of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
 (relating to the disbursement of funds of the committee or 
 leadership PAC which remain unexpended after the date of the 
 election).''.

    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection

    (a) shall 
apply with respect to registration statements filed under 

section 2 of 
the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended on or after the 
date of the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office 
held in November 2026.
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