08/05/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/05/2024 08:36
WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) announced its next phase of oversight into ActBlue's online political donation operation amid concerns that ActBlue is violating or skirting federal campaign finance (FCF) laws. In launching the investigation, Chairman Steil released the following statement:
"Illegal and malicious conduct have no place in our elections. Ensuring all parties are complying with federal election law as we approach a presidential election is of utmost importance. By launching a new phase of our investigation into ActBlue, the Committee on House Administration has begun robust oversight of ActBlue's lenient donor verification standards. I'm committed to ensuring Americans can have confidence in our elections and to preventing foreign or malicious actors from influencing American elections."
In launching the next phase of the investigation, Chairman Steil sent a letter to Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chairman Cooksey and Vice Chair Weintraub requesting the FEC immediately initiate an emergency rulemaking process to require political campaigns verify the card verification value (CVV) of donors who contribute online and a rulemaking to prohibit political committees from accepting online contributions from gift cards or credit and debit cards. In addition to the letter, the Committee has scheduled a briefing with the FEC investigations team set for later this month.
Read the full text of the letter here.
In addition, Chairman Steil's plan includes legislation to:
Background:
In recent weeks, a wide array of sources have voiced concerns that ActBlue is violating or skirting federal campaign finance laws in several ways including:
On September 20, 2023, Chairman Steil held the first full committee hearing with the Federal Election Commission in over a decade.
On October 31, 2023 Chairman Steil sent a letter demanding answers on ActBlue's practices, questioning if they are complying with federal campaign finance laws and preventing foreign and illegal contributions.
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