Joe Morelle: “I thank my good friend and colleague from Wisconsin for advancing this bill. I rise in strong support of S. 2747, and I…”

“I thank my good friend and colleague from Wisconsin for advancing this bill. I rise in strong support of S. 2747, and I will probably be repeating and underscoring some of the things my good friend said, because this is important legislation. We should take time out to acknowledge how important it is. This bill extends the Federal Election Commission's Administrative Fine Program for certain campaign finance reporting violations, which, as my good friend mentioned, has been extended several times in the past, last time through President Trump, and this will take it through the end of 2033. The important program allows the FEC to assess administrative fines against those who fail to timely report their receipts and disbursements. The FEC relies heavily on the Administrative Fine Program to enforce campaign finance law. It has been remarkably successful, as has been said. Since the year 2000, the FEC has made public more than 4,000 violations, and, through the program, has assessed more than $8.8 million in fines. It is important to note, before the program began, an average of 21 percent of campaign finance reports were filed late. Since the Administrative Fine Program has been in place, that number has been reduced to less than 10 percent.…”