I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 796 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish a uniform 5-year postemployment ban on the lobbying of any officer or employee of the 

executive branch or any Member, officer, or employee of Congress by 

former executive branch officials and former Members, officers, and employees of Congress, to establish a lifetime post-employment ban on 

lobbying on behalf of foreign governments by former senior executive 

branch officials, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2017 

Mr. DESANTIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish a uniform 5-year post-employment ban on the lobbying of 

any officer or employee of the executive branch or any 

Member, officer, or employee of Congress by former executive branch officials and former Members, officers, and 

employees of Congress, to establish a lifetime post-employment ban on lobbying on behalf of foreign governments by former senior executive branch officials, and 

for other purposes. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 796 IH

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drain the Swamp Act 

5 of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. 5-YEAR POST-EMPLOYMENT BAN ON LOBBYING OF 

7 EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCH BY 

8 ALL FORMER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. 

9 (a) 5-YEAR POST-EMPLOYMENT BAN ON LOBBYING

10 OF EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.— 

11 (1) LOBBYING BY FORMER EXECUTIVE BRANCH

12 OFFICIALS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of sec14 tion 207(c) of title 18, United States Code, is 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) RESTRICTIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the re18 strictions set forth in subsections (a) and (b), 

19 any person who is an officer or employee (in20 cluding any special Government employee) of 

21 the executive branch of the United States (in22 cluding an independent agency), who is referred 

23 to in paragraph (2), and who, within 5 years 

24 after the termination of his or her service or 

25 employment as such officer or employee, knowVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H796.IH H796

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 796 IH

1 ingly makes, with the intent to influence, any 

2 communication to or appearance before any in3 dividual described in subparagraph (B) on be4 half of any other person (except the United 

5 States) in connection with any matter on which 

6 such other person seeks official action by such 

7 individual, shall be punished as provided in sec8 tion 216 of this title. 

9 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An indi10 vidual described in this subparagraph is any of 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) An officer or employee of the ex13 ecutive branch of the United States (in14 cluding an independent agency). 

15 ‘‘(ii) A Member of Congress. 

16 ‘‘(iii) An elected officer of the Senate 

17 or an employee of the Senate. 

18 ‘‘(iv) An elected officer of the House 

19 of Representatives or an employee of the 

20 House of Representatives. 

21 ‘‘(v) An employee of any other legisla22 tive office of the Congress.’’. 

23 (B) DESCRIPTION OF FORMER EXECUTIVE

24 BRANCH OFFICIALS SUBJECT TO BAN.—SubVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H796.IH H796

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 796 IH

1 paragraph (A) of section 207(c)(2) of such title 

2 is amended— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of 

4 clause (iv); 

5 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

6 of clause (v) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

7 (iii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new clauses: 

9 ‘‘(vi) serves in the position of Vice Presi10 dent of the United States; 

11 ‘‘(vii) is employed in a position in the exec12 utive branch of the United States (including 

13 any independent agency) at a rate of pay pay14 able for level I of the Executive Schedule or em15 ployed in a position in the Executive Office of 

16 the President at a rate of pay payable for level 

17 II of the Executive Schedule; or 

18 ‘‘(viii) is appointed by the President to a 

19 position under section 105(a)(2)(A) of title 3 or 

20 by the Vice President to a position under sec21 tion 106(a)(1)(A) of title 3.’’. 

22 (C) ELIMINATION OF SEPARATE 2-YEAR

23 BAN FOR SENIOR EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFI24 CIALS.—Section 207 of such title is amended by 

25 striking subsection (d). 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 796 IH

1 (D) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

2 207 of such title is amended— 

3 (i) in subparagraph (A) of subsection 

4 (c)(2), by striking ‘‘(other than a person 

5 subject to the restrictions of subsection 

6 (d))’’; 

7 (ii) by amending paragraph (3) of 

8 subsection (c) to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(3) MEMBERS OF THE INDEPENDENT PAY10 MENT ADVISORY BOARD.—Paragraph (1) shall apply 

11 to a member of the Independent Payment Advisory 

12 Board under section 1899A of the Social Security 

13 Act.’’; 

14 (iii) in paragraph (9) of subsection 

15 (e), by striking ‘‘As used in this sub16 section’’ and inserting ‘‘As used in this 

17 section’’; 

18 (iv) in paragraph (1) of subsection (f), 

19 by striking ‘‘subsection (c), (d), or (e)’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘subsection (c) or (e)’’; 

21 (v) in subparagraph (A) of subsection 

22 (i)(1), by striking ‘‘subsections (a), (c), 

23 and (d),’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (a) 

24 and (c),’’; 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 796 IH

1 (vi) in subsection (j), by striking 

2 ‘‘subsections (c), (d), and (e)’’ each place 

3 it appears in paragraph (2), subparagraph 

4 (A) of paragraph (7), and subparagraph 

5 (B)(ii) of paragraph (7); and 

6 (vii) in paragraph (5) of subsection 

7 (j), by striking ‘‘subsections (a), (c), and 

8 (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (a) and 

9 (c)’’. 

10 (2) LOBBYING BY FORMER MEMBERS AND EM11 PLOYEES OF CONGRESS AND OTHER LEGISLATIVE

12 BRANCH OFFICIALS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 207(e) of such 

14 title is amended by striking paragraphs (1) 

15 through (6) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) RESTRICTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is a 

18 covered legislative branch official and who, 

19 within 5 years after leaving office or the termi20 nation of his or her service or employment as 

21 such an official, knowingly makes, with the in22 tent to influence, any communication to or ap23 pearance before any individual described in sub24 paragraph (C) on behalf of any other person 

25 (except the United States) in connection with 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 796 IH

1 any matter on which such other person seeks 

2 official action by such individual, shall be pun3 ished as provided in section 216 of this title. 

4 ‘‘(B) COVERED LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF5 FICIAL DESCRIBED.—In this paragraph, a ‘cov6 ered legislative branch official’ is any of the fol7 lowing individuals: 

8 ‘‘(i) A Member of Congress. 

9 ‘‘(ii) An elected officer of the Senate 

10 or an elected officer of the House of Rep11 resentatives. 

12 ‘‘(iii) An employee of the Senate or an 

13 employee of the House of Representatives 

14 to whom paragraph (2)(A) applies. 

15 ‘‘(iv) An employee of any other legis16 lative office of the Congress to whom para17 graph (2)(B) applies. 

18 ‘‘(C) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An indi19 vidual described in this subparagraph is any of 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) An officer or employee of the ex22 ecutive branch of the United States (in23 cluding an independent agency). 

24 ‘‘(ii) A Member of Congress. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 796 IH

1 ‘‘(iii) An elected officer of the Senate 

2 or an employee of the Senate. 

3 ‘‘(iv) An elected officer of the House 

4 of Representatives or an employee of the 

5 House of Representatives. 

6 ‘‘(v) An employee of any other legisla7 tive office of the Congress.’’. 

8 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

9 207(e) of such title is amended— 

10 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (7), 

11 (8), and (9) as paragraphs (2), (3), and 

12 (4); 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph 

14 (2) (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘The 

15 restrictions contained in paragraphs (2), 

16 (3), (4), and (5) apply only to acts by a 

17 former employee’’ and inserting the fol18 lowing: ‘‘The restrictions contained in 

19 paragraph (1) apply only to acts by a 

20 former employee of the Senate or a former 

21 employee of the House of Representa22 tives’’; 

23 (iii) in subparagraph (B) of para24 graph (2) (as so redesignated), by striking 

25 ‘‘The restrictions contained in paragraph 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 796 IH

1 (6) apply only to acts by a former em2 ployee’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘The 

3 restrictions contained in paragraph (1) 

4 apply only to acts by a former employee of 

5 any other legislative office of the Con6 gress’’; and 

7 (iv) in subparagraph (G) of paragraph 

8 (4) (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘any 

9 other agency, entity, or office in the legis10 lative branch not covered by paragraph 

11 (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of this subsection’’ 

12 and inserting the following: ‘‘and any other 

13 officer or employee of the legislative 

14 branch who is not an employee of the 

15 House of Representatives or an employee 

16 of the Senate’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO OTHER POST18 EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.— 

19 (1) SWITCHING SIDES ON MATTERS UNDER OF20 FICIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Paragraph (2) of section 

21 207(a) of such title is amended— 

22 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘TWO23 YEAR’’ and inserting ‘‘5-YEAR’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘within 2 years’’ and in25 serting ‘‘within 5 years’’. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 796 IH

1 (2) REPRESENTATIONS IN TREATY OR TRADE

2 NEGOTIATIONS.—Paragraph (1) of section 207(b) of 

3 such title is amended by striking ‘‘for a period of 1 

4 year’’ and inserting ‘‘for a period of 5 years’’. 

5 (3) REPRESENTATION OF FOREIGN ENTITIES.— 

6 Paragraph (1) of section 207(f) of such title is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘within 1 year’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘within 5 years’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply with respect to any individual who, 

11 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, leaves 

12 a position to which subsection (a), (b), (c), or (e) of section 

13 207 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this 

14 section, applies. 

15 SEC. 3. LIFETIME BAN ON LOBBYING ON BEHALF OF FOR16 EIGN GOVERNMENTS FOR SENIOR EXECU17 TIVE BRANCH OFFICIALS. 

18 (a) LIFETIME BAN.—Section 207(f) of title 18, 

19 United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para21 graph (4); and 

22 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol23 lowing new paragraph: 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 796 IH

1 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR VERY SENIOR PER2 SONNEL OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND INDE3 PENDENT AGENCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) LIFETIME BAN.—With respect to an 

5 individual described in subparagraph (B), the 

6 restrictions described in paragraph (1) shall 

7 apply to representing, aiding, or advising for8 eign entities at any time after the termination 

9 of that individual’s service in a position de10 scribed in such subparagraph. 

11 ‘‘(B) PERSONNEL DESCRIBED.—An indi12 vidual described in this subparagraph is any in13 dividual who— 

14 ‘‘(i) serves in the position of Vice 

15 President of the United States; 

16 ‘‘(ii) is employed in a position in the 

17 executive branch of the United States (in18 cluding any independent agency) at a rate 

19 of pay payable for level I of the Executive 

20 Schedule or employed in a position in the 

21 Executive Office of the President at a rate 

22 of pay payable for level II of the Executive 

23 Schedule; or 

24 ‘‘(iii) is appointed by the President to 

25 a position under section 105(a)(2)(A) of 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 796 IH

1 title 3 or by the Vice President to a posi2 tion under section 106(a)(1)(A) of title 

3 3.’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to any individual 

6 who, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

7 leaves a position to which section 207(f)(3) of title 18, 

8 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), applies. 

9 SEC. 4. REVISIONS TO TYPES OF LOBBYING SUBJECT TO 

10 LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1995. 

11 (a) TREATMENT OF CONSULTING AND ADVISING AS

12 LOBBYING ACTIVITY.—Section 3(7) of the Lobbying Dis13 closure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(7)) is amended by 

14 striking ‘‘preparation and planning’’ and inserting ‘‘con15 sulting and advising, preparation and planning’’. 

16 (b) INCREASE IN THRESHOLD FOR QUALIFICATION

17 FOR EXEMPTION FROM LOBBYING REGISTRATION AND

18 DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS PRO19 VIDING LIMITED LOBBYING SERVICES FOR CLIENTS.— 

20 Section 3(10) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

21 U.S.C. 1602(10)) is amended by striking ‘‘less than 20 

22 percent of the time’’ and inserting ‘‘less than 10 percent 

23 of the time’’. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 796 IH

1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply with respect to lobbying contacts 

3 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 5. PROHIBITING SOLICITATION BY FOREIGN NATION5 ALS OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, EXPEND6 ITURES, DISBURSEMENTS. 

7 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 319(a)(1) of the Federal 

8 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)) 

9 is amended by striking ‘‘to make’’ each place it appears 

10 and inserting ‘‘to make or solicit’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to solicitations 

13 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS