Description:
H.R. 133 would amend federal law to eliminate the Presidential Election Campaign Fund (PECF). Specifically, the bill would:
- End taxpayers’ option to designate a portion of their federal income tax to be credited to the PECF;
- Eliminate the authority to spend balances in the PECF on Presidential campaigns; and
- Transfer a portion of the remaining balances in the PECF to the 10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund (PRIF) and the remainder to the general fund of the Treasury.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 133 would have a discretionary cost of $63 million over the 2017-2022 period, assuming that amounts specified to be transferred to the PRIF are appropriated. In addition, we estimate that enacting H.R. 133 would reduce direct spending by $4 million over the 2017-2027 period, by ending the authority to spend federal funds on Presidential campaigns. Because enacting the bill would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) has determined that H.R. 133 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
