Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act

This bill, known as the "Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act," significantly amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to strengthen prohibitions against foreign national involvement in U.S. elections. It expands the existing ban on foreign national contributions to explicitly include donations for voter registration, ballot collection, voter identification, get-out-the-vote efforts, public communications referring to political parties, and the administration of Federal, State, or local elections . The bill also clarifies that the ban applies to State and local ballot initiatives, referenda, and recall elections. To prevent circumvention, the legislation prohibits any person from knowingly aiding or facilitating a foreign national contribution violation and defines indirect contributions to capture funds channeled through third parties for prohibited activities. New enforcement provisions allow individuals accused of violations to submit a sworn certification of non-violation and limit the scope of Federal Election Commission investigations to necessary factual matters. The Act mandates that political committees, parties, and individuals making independent expenditures or electioneering communications must provide a certification under penalty of perjury affirming compliance with the foreign money ban. Furthermore, the bill establishes broad restrictions on federal government entities from collecting or publicly disclosing the identification of donors to most tax-exempt organizations. It outlines specific exceptions for agencies like the IRS and FEC when acting lawfully, and imposes severe penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for unauthorized disclosure of donor information by federal officers or employees.