H.R. 8399 would prohibit foreign nationals from donating money to fund voter registration, ballot collection, or voting activities or to fund the administration of federal, state, or local elections. The bill would require certain entities, as part of campaign financial reporting requirements, to certify their compliance with the bill’s provisions. H.R. 8399 also would, with exceptions for certain legal matters, prevent tax-exempt organizations from revealing the identity of their donors. Under the bill, current or former federal employees would face fines or imprisonment for disclosing such information. Enacting H.R. 8399 could increase collections of criminal fines, which are recorded as revenues, deposited into the Crime Victims Fund, and later spent without further appropriation. CBO estimates that any additional collections of criminal fines would not be significant because of the small number of anticipated violations. As a result, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 8399 would have insignificant effects on direct spending and revenues. CBO has not estimated the bill’s effects on spending subject to appropriation. The bill would impose private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) that would not exceed the annual threshold ($200 million in 2024, adjusted annually for inflation). The bill contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.
