Legislation to regulate campaign funding introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal

July 12 :
Three members of Congress—Representative Paul Tonko, Representative Becca Balint, and Representative Pramila Jayapal—introduced a bill to guarantee that political campaigns fairly reflect the little money they receive from Indian Americans. Donations of this amount cannot be requested in a deceitful or dishonest manner, as stated in the Small Dollar Donor Protection Act (SDDPA). It sets up a system for reporting that should make campaigns' grassroots support more open and honest.

Online small-dollar donations are becoming increasingly common in elections, and this is happening at the same time. Roughly two-thirds of the five million contributions received by House and Senate campaigns in the first three months of 2024 were under twenty dollars. More than 1.2 million people made these contributions.

It is commendable that political campaigns highlight modest contributions. Instead of courting affluent individuals and companies for political funding, we should be urging candidates to prioritize support from their constituents at large. Nevertheless, Rep. Jayapal stated that numerous campaigns currently employ misleading tactics to obtain modest donations.

To safeguard these donors from fraud and provide the FEC with greater power and supervision over how campaigns record their small-dollar donations, she proudly supported the Small Dollar Donor Protection Act.

Under the proposed law, political campaigns would have to disclose how many contributions totaling less than $200 were received. It mandates that the FEC provide rules outlining the format of disclosure, with a focus on public accessibility, within ninety days of its passage.
Furthermore, it gives the FEC the green light to look into any misleading or dishonest practices employed by campaigns when reaching out to small-dollar donors. Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Public Citizen, and Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) are all in support of the bill. Democracy and our political process benefit from grassroots financing. Not only does it hurt our elections when campaigns utilize deceptive strategies to raise money, but it also tricks regular people out of their money. According to Jayapal, these practices need to be addressed.