Keep foreign money out of our elections
Washington Examiner
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Voter confidence in the integrity of national elections has fallen in recent years, and rightly so. Foreign billionaires have found a loophole to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into groups that support the Democratic Party and its far-left and anti-family agenda.
There is a simple way to close this loophole, however, and House Republicans introduced legislation this week to do so.
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Existing federal election law bans noncitizens from donating to federal candidates and national political parties and their affiliated organizations. It is legal, however, for noncitizens to donate to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations such as Planned Parenthood and politically active associated 501(c)(4) organizations such as Planned Parenthood Action Fund. These 501(c)(4) organizations, according to existing tax law, “may engage in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for public office provided that such intervention does not constitute the organization’s primary activity.”
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has used this loophole to funnel $475 million into U.S. elections through the Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund, including more than $72 million since 2021. This foreign money has helped fund Democratic voter turnout, President Joe Biden’s radical spending agenda, Planned Parenthood’s abortion militancy, campaigns to block conservative Supreme Court justice appointments, and judicial elections for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
“The Berger Action Fund does not endorse political candidates,” a spokesperson for the fund told the Washington Examiner. “We have strict policies prohibiting our funds from being used for get-out-the-vote activities, voter registration, or supporting or opposing candidates or political parties.”
It is true. Both the Berger Action Fund and the Wyss Foundation comply with federal law and do not engage in political activities directly. But they give money to Democratic Party-aligned 501(c)(4) groups that perform those functions, and, as everyone knows, money is fungible. The money Wyss funnels to these groups makes it easier for them to perform these functions.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) has introduced the American Confidence in Elections, or ACE, Act that would close this loophole. It would ban any 501(c)(4) organization from doing some political activities for four years after receiving any money from any foreign source. So, if Planned Parenthood Action Fund received any money from a Wyss-controlled organization one year, it would then be banned from some political activities for the next four years.
“American elections are for American citizens,” Steil said in a statement. “Yet foreign nationals still find ways to influence American elections. The ACE Act will close loopholes that foreign nationals are exploiting to funnel money to super PACs or ballot initiatives.”
The ACE Act is not a silver bullet to restore confidence in federal elections. More needs to be done, especially preventing Election Day from turning into Election Month, but it is a step in the right direction, and it deserves a vote on the House floor. It should pass and will do so if the majority of our elected politicians would prefer to support than to undermine our democracy.