Congressman Gosar Statement on the “Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act”

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Paul Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) issued the following statement after introducing H.R. 1127, the Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act. This bipartisan legislation eliminates loopholes in the Federal Elections Campaign Act which allows foreign individuals or entities to unlawfully donate to political campaigns online, despite foreign political donations having been outlawed since 1966.

“Debates over campaign finance reform have long permeated our political dialogue, but Americans should not have to worry about illegal foreign donations that have been prohibited by United States law for over half of a century. It is well-documented that online political donations made using a credit card can be exploited to mask tens of millions of foreign campaign donations, and this loophole must be closed. Technology offers great potential for the advancement of democracy, but it can also serve as its Achilles’ heel. Online campaign donations should be strengthened to close loopholes that allow foreign actors the potential to influence American elections. By requiring the disclosure of the Credit Verification Value (CVV) and billing address on all online political campaign donations, we can effectively seal off this loophole to protect the right to utilize the Internet to support political candidates of our choosing while bringing much needed transparency to who is funding our elections,” said Congressman Paul Gosar.

Original Cosponsors: Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02), Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA-18), Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Rep. Seth Moulton (MA-06), Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Rep. Mo Brooks (AL-05)

Background:

U.S. campaign laws have barred foreign nationals from influencing our elections through campaign contributions since 1966. Yet, the lack of verification measures when online credit card campaign contributions are made threaten our democracy. Foreign entities should never fund political candidates in this country, however foreign actors have found ways to exploit loopholes in current law. In fact, a 2012 Government Accountability Office report highlighted this risk and found online donation systems to be extremely vulnerable to foreigners attempting to violate federal contribution limits.

To close these loopholes and eliminate foreign monetary influence in our elections, this common-sense legislation amends Section 302 of the Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1971 to require both the disclosure of the CVV number printed on the back of a credit card along with the billing address for all online contributions.  Online contributions lacking the CVV number will be prohibited. This commonsense fix to existing law will help ensure that any person making online donations is an American citizen making our electoral system safer and more transparent.