Clarification of application of foreign money ban

(a) Clarification of treatment of provision of certain information as contribution or donation of a thing of value Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (c) Clarification of treatment of provision of certain information as contribution or donation of a thing of value For purposes of this section, a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value includes the provision of opposition research, polling, or other non-public information relating to a candidate for election for a Federal, State, or local office for the purpose of influencing the election, regardless of whether such research, polling, or information has monetary value, except that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to treat the mere provision of an opinion about a candidate as a thing of value for purposes of this section.. (b) Clarification of application of foreign money ban to all contributions and donations of things of value and to all solicitations of contributions and donations of things of value Section 319(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking promise to make a contribution or donation and inserting promise to make such a contribution or donation; (2) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking donation and inserting donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make such a contribution or donation,; and (3) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: (2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive (directly or indirectly) a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), or to solicit, accept, or receive (directly or indirectly) an express or implied promise to make such a contribution or donation, from a foreign national.. (c) Enhanced penalty for certain violations (1) In general Section 309(d)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(d)(1)), as amended by section 3103, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (G) (i) Any person who knowingly and willfully commits a violation of section 319 which involves a foreign national which is a government of a foreign country or a foreign political party, or which involves a thing of value consisting of the provision of opposition research, polling, or other non-public information relating to a candidate for election for a Federal, State, or local office for the purpose of influencing the election, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. (ii) In clause (i), each of the terms government of a foreign country and foreign political party has the meaning given such term in section 1 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (22 U.S.C. 611).. (2) Effective date The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to violations committed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.