House Republicans are drafting a bill to close a loophole that has allowed foreign money in U.S. elections, following reports of a Swiss billionaire evading foreign donation bans to bankroll Democrats.
Rep. Bryan Steil (R., Wis.), chair of the House Administration Committee, is set to introduce the legislation, called the American Confidence in Elections Act. It would ban 501(c)(4) organizations that accept foreign money from contributing to political committees for four years.
The bill would help close the loophole being exploited by foreign donors who send money to 501(c)(4)s, which in turn donate their cash to super PACs, thereby evading the ban on foreign nationals contributing to super PACs.
"The American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act will close loopholes that foreign nationals are exploiting to funnel money to super PACs or ballot initiatives," Steil told Axios.
The proposal comes in the wake of an April report that Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss is evading foreign donation bans by giving tens of millions of dollars to a web of nonprofits that back Democrats.
Wyss gave $72 million in 2021 to the Berger Action Fund, which directs money to nonprofits that don’t have to disclose their donors or expenditures. By donating to the fund, Wyss can bypass bans on foreign political financial involvement.
Wyss created the fund in 2007, and it has donated $339 million to left-leaning groups since 2016, according to the Associated Press. Wyss’s representatives claim the tens of millions go to "issue advocacy," addressing the environment, for example, and not partisan interests.