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H.R. 4053 116th Congress House

Empower Act of 2019

Official title: To amend chapters 95 and 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform the system of public financing for Presidential election campaigns, and for other purposes.

Introduced: July 25, 2019 See on congress.gov
Government Operations and Politics Elections, voting, political campaign regulationGovernment trust fundsPolitical parties and affiliationPresidents and presidential powers, Vice PresidentsTax administration and collection, taxpayers
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Aug 28, 2019
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Aug 28, 2019
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
Jul 25, 2019
Introduced in House
Jul 25, 2019
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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 Latest action August 28, 2019

Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Empower Act of 2019

This bill modifies the system for the public financing of presidential primary and general elections.

The bill (1) increases the amount of matching funds for participating candidates by matching the first $200 of contributions by individuals to a candidate at a 6:1 ratio; (2) eliminates spending limits on participating candidates; (3) allows the national committee of a political party to make expenditures of up to $100 million in coordination with participating candidates; (4) requires all payments made to candidates, beginning with the 2028 presidential election, to be made from the Freedom From Influence Fund established by this bill; and (5) prohibits joint fundraising committees for any authorized committee of a candidate.

 Related & companion bills 5
  • HR 1 For the People Act of 2019
  • S 949 For the People Act of 2019
  • S 1917 Empower Act of 2019
  • S 5070 Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act
  • HR 9029 Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 5
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4053: Empower Act of 2019. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-4053/
MLA
"H.R. 4053: Empower Act of 2019." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-4053/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 4053, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-4053/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 4053: Empower Act of 2019](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-4053/)
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