Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act
Sponsored By: Representative Steil, Bryan [R-WI-1]
Introduced
Summary
Curb foreign money and influence in U.S. elections. This bill would expand federal limits so foreign funds cannot support voter registration, ballot collection, voter identification, get-out-the-vote efforts, partisan public communications, or the administration of elections. It also adds donor privacy protections and new reporting requirements.
Show full summary
- Political committees, parties, and people making independent expenditures would have to certify under penalty of perjury that their contributions and disbursements comply with the foreign-money ban.
- The bill would make it unlawful to knowingly aid or facilitate prohibited foreign-funded activity and would treat pass-throughs as indirect contributions when funds are designated, instructed, or encumbered for those activities.
- Enforcement changes would let respondents use a certification-as-defense, narrow the scope of Federal Election Commission investigations, and create procedures to quash subpoenas and to challenge orders in court.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Stronger ban on foreign election money
If enacted, this bill would expand the federal ban on foreign donations to cover funds given for voter registration, ballot collection, voter identification, get-out-the-vote drives, public communications that name a political party, and the administration of Federal, State, or local elections. It would treat a person as having indirectly made a prohibited contribution when they give money to someone who designates or restricts the funds so part of them go to those activities. The bill would also make it unlawful to knowingly aid or facilitate such prohibited foreign-directed spending. It would add enforcement mechanics that let a respondent submit a sworn certification that no violation occurred and would limit FEC investigations to facts needed to determine whether a violation happened, with a court route to quash overly broad subpoenas.
Federal donor privacy protections
If enacted, the bill would bar Federal Government entities from collecting or publicly releasing information that identifies donors to tax-exempt 501(c) organizations, subject to specific exceptions. Exceptions would include lawful IRS activity under certain Code sections, lawful congressional lobbying filings, lawful FEC activity, disclosures required by a court or administrative order, and disclosures authorized by the organization. The bill would make it a felony for a current or former U.S. officer or employee to willfully disclose donor-identifying information without authorization, with penalties up to $250,000 fine, up to 5 years in prison, and dismissal from office on conviction. The bill would not treat section 527 political organizations as covered tax-exempt organizations for these protections.
New sworn certifications for campaign filings
If enacted, the bill would require new penalty-of-perjury certifications in Federal Election Campaign Act reports. Political committees and parties would need to certify they followed the foreign-donation rules. Independent spenders and persons making electioneering communications would also have to certify under penalty of perjury that their disbursements do not violate the foreign-donation ban. These changes would raise paperwork and legal risk for filers and apply to reports filed on or after enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Steil, Bryan [R-WI-1]
WI • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15]
IL • R
Sponsored 5/12/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov