A central provision establishes public financing for congressional elections, giving candidates as much as a 6-to-1 match for small donations to participating campaigns. Republicans have attacked the measure for funneling taxpayer money to political candidates; Democrats reworked the bill to tap revenue from fines from people and companies found guilty of corporate malfeasance...
Another key campaign finance provision would require nonprofit “dark money” groups that engage in political activity to disclose their large donors — a provision that has generated opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups that argue the disclosure could chill free speech.
The bill also aims to end partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts by requiring independent state commissions, rather than legislatures, to draw lines. It also would create an automatic voter-registration system, bar states from disenfranchising felons who have completed their sentences, create stricter rules surrounding voter-roll purges and weaken state laws requiring voters to present photo identification.
Several parts of the bill appeared to be aimed at the alleged abuses of Trump and his administration — none more clearly than a requirement that presidential and vice presidential candidates disclose 10 years of past tax returns, a voluntary practice that the president has ignored. The bill was amended this week to require the disclosure of the tax returns of companies owned or controlled by those candidates.
Other provisions include a new mandatory ethical code for the Supreme Court, an end to most first-class travel for federal officeholders and a provision making Election Day a national holiday.