PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 22, 2001
Common Sense Federal Election Reform Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to: (1) provide for raised individual contribution limits with respect to one senatorial candidate in response to expenditures from personal funds beyond a specified threshold amount by an opposing candidate; (2) increase contribution limits; (3) limit soft money donations to political parties; (4) increase disclosure for certain communications; and (5) ban, with certain exceptions, the use of union dues for purposes unrelated to collective bargaining.Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit specified political donations to congressional campaigns and solicitation (fundraising) of such donations on Federal property.Makes it unlawful for any person to make a contribution to a candidate for nomination for election to, or election to, a Federal office, an individual who is a holder of a Federal office, or the head of any executive department, or any entity established on behalf of any such individual, to defray the individual's legal expenses: (1) to the extent it would result in the aggregate amount of such contributions from such person to, or on behalf of, such individual to exceed $10,000 for any calendar year; or (2) if the person is a foreign national or a person prohibited from contributing to the campaign of a candidate under FECA.Amends FECA to provide for increased criminal penalties for violations of foreign national prohibitions and contributions in the name of another.Increases from six years to eight years the terms for Federal Election Commission Commissioners.
People & committees
Sen. Domenici, Pete V. [R-NM] · R–NM
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2776-2777)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 19, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.602 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.602 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.602 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.602 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.