{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bice.house.gov/media/press-releases/icymi-bice-introduces-bill-will-strengthen-election-integrity", "ICYMI: Bice Introduces Bill That Will Strengthen Election Integrity", "2024-09-11", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "House", "OK", "Stephanie I. Bice", "B000740", "bice.house.gov", "bice", "https://bice.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "House Republicans introduce act to strengthen campaign finance laws\n\nBy Annabella Rosciglione - Washington Examiner\n\nThe chairman of the House Administration Committee, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), introduced legislation Tuesday in hopes of strengthening campaign finance laws and closing potential loopholes.\n\nThe Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations Act would prohibit, among other things, political committees from accepting contributions from debit or credit cards without a CVV or billing address and prohibit donations from prepaid credit or debit cards or gift certificates. Steil introduced the bill alongside Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Laurel Lee (R-FL), and Anthony D\u2019Esposito (R-NY).\n\n\u201cAmerican elections should always be free from foreign interference,\u201d Steil said in a statement. \u201cThe SHIELD Act will take a crucial next step in blocking foreign funding in our elections and certifying that every political contribution received is actually coming from the individual whose name is on the contribution. By passing the SHIELD Act, we will increase integrity and American trust in our elections.\u201d\n\nBice said the bill would address loopholes \u201cthat allow donors to contribute beyond the maximum limit under the law.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs we wait to hear from the FEC about political entities like ActBlue, which do not require CVV verification and allow donations from pre-paid credit cards and gift cards, Congress must act. The SHIELD Act is an important step in closing these loopholes and preventing fraud in campaign donations, regardless of party,\u201d Bice said in a statement.\n\nThe proposed legislation comes as Steil asked the Federal Election Commission last month to close a \u201cserious loophole\u201d that he says allows Democrats\u2019 ActBlue fundraising platform to potentially raise money from illegal campaign contributions.\n\nIn his letter to the FEC, Steil said ActBlue confirmed to the House Administration Committee \u201cthat it does not require a CVV to donate.\u201d\n\n\u201cHowever, the vast majority of online transactions, including a donation to most political campaigns and to other large fundraising platforms, require a CVV number to reduce fraud and prevent unlawful foreign transactions. ActBlue\u2019s donor procedures are painfully outside the norm, and an emergency rulemaking is required to address them,\u201d Steil wrote.\n\nSteil\u2019s office said the FEC has not since taken action to close the loophole.\n\nIn addition to requiring the use of a billing address and CVV verification and banning prepaid cards from being used in donations, the SHIELD Act would also prevent people from making a contribution in someone else\u2019s name.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bice.house.gov/media/press-releases/icymi-bice-introduces-bill-will-strengthen-election-integrity"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8468250744044781, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}