HR 838 — Campaign Spending Integrity Act

(a) Permitted uses A contribution accepted by a candidate, and any other donation received by an individual as support for activities of the individual as a holder of Federal office, may be used by the candidate or individual— (1) for otherwise authorized expenditures in connection with the campaign for Federal office of the candidate or individual; (2) for ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with duties of the individual as a holder of Federal office; (3) for contributions to an organization described in section 170(c) of title 26; (4) for transfers, without limitation, to a national, State, or local committee of a political party; (5) for donations to State and local candidates subject to the provisions of State law; or (6) for any other lawful purpose unless prohibited by subsection (b) of this section. (b) Prohibited use (1) In general A contribution or donation described in subsection (a) shall not be converted by any person to personal use. (2) Conversion For the purposes of paragraph (1), a contribution or donation shall be considered to be converted to personal use if the contribution or amount is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign or individual’s duties as a holder of Federal office, including— (A) a home mortgage, rent, or utility payment; (B) a clothing purchase; (C) a noncampaign-related automobile expense; (D) a country club membership; (E) a vacation or other noncampaign-related trip; (F) a household food item; (G) a tuition payment; (H) admission to a sporting event, concert, theater, or other form of entertainment not associated with an election campaign; and (I) dues, fees, and other payments to a health club or recreational facility. (c) Restrictions on use of campaign funds for flights on noncommercial aircraft (1) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a candidate for election for Federal office (other than a candidate who is subject to paragraph (2)), or any authorized committee of such a candidate, may not make any expenditure for a flight on an aircraft unless— (A) the aircraft is operated by an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules, or, in the case of travel which is abroad, by an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by an appropriate foreign civil aviation authority and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules; or (B) the candidate, the authorized committee, or other political committee pays to the owner, lessee, or other person who provides the airplane the pro rata share of the fair market value of such flight (as determined by dividing the fair market value of the normal and usual charter fare or rental charge for a comparable plane of comparable size by the number of candidates on the flight) within a commercially reasonable time frame after the date on which the flight is taken. (2) House candidates Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in the case of a candidate for election for the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress, an authorized committee and a leadership PAC of the candidate may not make any expenditure for a flight on an aircraft unless— (A) the aircraft is operated by an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules, or, in the case of travel which is abroad, by an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by an appropriate foreign civil aviation authority and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules; or (B) the aircraft is operated by an entity of the Federal government or the government of any State. (3) Exception for aircraft owned or leased by candidate (A) In general Paragraphs (1)...