The House Administration Committee reported out two campaign finance reform bills on June 28, voting 5-3 along party lines. HR 2356, a new version of a bill sponsored by Reps. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA), was reported unfavorably. It closely follows the provisions of McCain-Feingold, which passed the Senate in March. The majority on the committee preferred HR 2360, favorably reporting the alternative introduced by committee Chair Robert Ney (R-OH). The House Rules Committee will meet sometime this week to determine which bill will go to the floor, the process for debate and consideration of amendments and substitutes. Debate is expected to begin before the end of the week. The new Shays-Meehan bill seeks to mirror the Senate bill as much as possible in order to avoid a conference, where House Republican leadership has pledged to kill it. It side-steps differences with the Senate by creating separate contribution limits. For example, Shays-Meehan retains the $1,000 cap on individual contributions to House races, but leaves the increase to $2,000 for Senate races in McCain-Feingold intact. Both limits would be indexed for inflation. It also keeps the Senate provision allowing increased contribution limits for candidates with wealthy, self-funded opponents (the so-called millionaire's amendment), but only for Senate races. The provisions of Mc-Cain-Feingold that limit nonprofit advocacy are adopted by Shays and Meehan, dropping language in their bill that would have regulated print electioneering communications and limiting prohibitions to broadcast, satellite or cable messages that mention federal candidates within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of an election. The broadcast ban dropped a provision in the original bill that would have limited its application to paid advertising. These provisions are overbroad, and will ban a variety of communications by nonprofits that do not attack or support candidates, directly or indirectly. For further information on the impact on nonprofits, see this OMB Watch analysis. The negative impact of these restrictions on nonpartisan issue advocacy and voter education activity by nonprofits is somewhat modified by two amendments Shays and Meehan have added to the McCain-Feingold language. The first excepts broadcast of candidate debates and forums and ads that promote debates. The second permits the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to promulgate regulations that except communications "to ensure the appropriate implementation of this paragraph", as long as they do not attack or promote candidates for federal office. However, until and unless the FEC acts to protect non-electoral communications by nonprofits, any broadcast mentioning a federal candidate within the forbidden time window would be illegal. OMB Watch has been working with other nonprofits for amendments that protect nonprofit advocacy. These two amendments are the result of that effort, but more will need to be done to clearly protect broadcast of nonpartisan grassroots lobbying messages, voter registration and get-out-the-vote messages and public education by charities and other nonprofits. HR 2360, sponsored by Rep. Ney and Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD), does not ban broadcasts during an election cycle, but does contain disclosure requirements that would apply to any broadcast made within 120 days of an election and identifies a federal candidate, even if it does not support or oppose federal candidates. Only news broadcasts are exempted. All other broadcast sponsors would have to file reports at the FEC with 24 hours of payment for the broadcast, naming the person making the disbursement and their place of business and phone number. For mass media broadcasts costing more than $50,000 that are targeted to the electorate of the candidate identified in the ad, more detailed disclosure would be required, including the amount of each expenditure over $200 and the identity of the recipient, the full text of the ad and a list of the candidates identified in it. These disclosure requirements are also overbroad, since they are not limited to broadcasts that advocate for or against candidates. They would impose unnecessary and burdensome tracking and reporting obligations on nonprofits that are engaged in genuine issue advocacy. The Ney-Wynn bill would cap soft money contributions to political parties at $75,00 per year, rather than ban it as the Shays-Meehan bill does. It also increases the annual aggregate limit on contributions by individuals from $25,000 to $37,500, but retains the $1,000 limit on contributions to any one candidate. For information see past OMB Watch's analyses.