Southern Wisconsin Times

WASHINGTON (September 9, 2024) - Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01) introduced the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act. The SHIELD Act would prohibit political committees from accepting contributions from debit or credit cards without the disclosure of the card verification value (CVV) and billing address associated with the card.

The legislation would also prohibit the acceptance of contributions from gift cards, pre-paid credit or debit cards, or gift certificates. Finally, the SHIELD Act will prohibit aiding and abetting making a contribution in another person's name.

"American elections should always be free from foreign interference," said Steil. "The SHIELD Act will take a crucial next step in blocking foreign funding in our elections and certifying that every political contribution received is actually coming from the individual whose name is on the contribution. By passing the SHIELD Act, we will increase integrity and American trust in our elections."

Background:

The SHIELD Act comes as reports indicate major Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue was accepting political contributions without requiring a CVV. There were also reports of ActBlue accepting contributions from prepaid gift cards, debit cards, and credit cards, which are susceptible to illegal straw donations.

On September 20, 2023, Rep. Steil, as Chairman of the Committee on House Administration held the first full committee hearing with the Federal Election Commission in over a decade.

On October 31, 2023, Rep. Steil sent a letter demanding answers on ActBlue's practices, questioning if they are complying with federal campaign finance laws and preventing foreign and illegal contributions.

On November 27, 2023, ActBlue responded to Rep. Steil's letter saying it did not require a CVV in order to contribute on their website.

On August 5, 2024, Rep. Steil sent a letter to Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chairman Cooksey and Vice Chair Weintraub requesting the FEC immediately initiate an emergency rulemaking process to require political campaigns verify the CVV of donors who contribute online and a rulemaking to prohibit political committees from accepting online contributions from gift cards or credit and debit cards. However, the FEC has declined to take any action.