In the Senate of the United States,

November 9, 1995.

Resolved, That the resolution from the House of Representatives (H.J. Res. 115) entitled ‘‘Joint resolution making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year

1996, and for other purposes’’ do pass with the following

AMENDMENTS:

1 Ω1æPage 2, line 20, after ‘‘1948,’’ insert: section 313 of

2 the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994

3 and 1995 (Public Law 103–236),

4 Ω2æPage 10, line 19, after ‘‘resolution.’’ insert: Included

5 in the apportionment for the Federal Payment to the Dis6 trict of Columbia shall be an additional $15,000,000 above

7 the amount otherwise made available by this joint resolu8 tion, for purposes of certain capital construction loan re9 payments pursuant to Public Law 85–451, as amended.

10 Ω3æPage 15, strike out line 1 and all that follows over

11 to and including line 7 on page 36, and insert:
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1 TITLE III

2 PROHIBITION ON SUBSIDIZING POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS

3 WITH TAXPAYER FUNDS

4 SEC. 301. (a) LIMITATIONS.—(1) Notwithstanding any

5 other provision of law, any organization receiving Federal

6 grants in an amount that, in the aggregate, is greater than

7 $125,000 in the most recent Federal fiscal year, shall be

8 subject to the limitations on lobbying activity expenditures

9 under section 4911(c)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code

10 of 1986, except that, if exempt purpose expenditures are

11 over $17,000,000 then the organization shall also be subject

12 to a limitation on lobbying of 1 percent of the excess of

13 the exempt purpose expenditures over $17,000,000 unless

14 otherwise subject to section 4911(c)(2)(A) based on an elec15 tion made under section 501(h) of the Internal Revenue

16 Code of 1986.

17 (2) An organization described in section 501(c)(4) of

18 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying

19 activities during the organization’s previous taxable year

20 shall not be eligible to receive Federal funds constituting

21 a taxpayer subsidized grant. This paragraph shall not

22 apply to organizations described in section 501(c)(4) with

23 gross annual revenues of less than $3,000,000 in such pre24 vious taxable year, including Federal funds received as a

25 taxpayer subsidized grant.
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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this title:

2 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the mean3 ing given that term in section 551(1) of title 5, Unit4 ed States Code.

5 (2) CLIENT.—The term ‘‘client’’ means any per6 son or entity that employs or retains another person

7 for financial or other compensation to conduct lobby8 ing activities on behalf of that person or entity. A

9 person or entity whose employees act as lobbyists on

10 its own behalf is both a client and an employer of

11 such employees. In the case of a coalition or associa12 tion that employs or retains other persons to conduct

13 lobbying activities, the client is the coalition or asso14 ciation and not its individual members.

15 (3) COVERED EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIAL.—

16 The term ‘‘covered executive branch official’’ means—

17 (A) the President;

18 (B) the Vice President;

19 (C) any officer or employee, or any other

20 individual functioning in the capacity of such

21 an officer or employee, in the Executive Office of

22 the President;

23 (D) any officer or employee serving in a po24 sition in level I, II, III, IV, or V of the Executive
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1 Schedule, as designated by statute or Executive

2 order;

3 (E) any member of the uniformed services

4 whose pay grade is at or above O–7 under sec5 tion 201 of title 37, United States Code; and

6 (F) any officer or employee serving in a po7 sition of a confidential, policy-determining, pol8 icy-making, or policy-advocating character de9 scribed in section 7511(b)(2) of title 5, United

10 States Code.

11 (4) COVERED LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OFFICIAL.—

12 The term ‘‘covered legislative branch official’’

13 means—

14 (A) a Member of Congress;

15 (B) an elected officer of either House of

16 Congress;

17 (C) any employee of, or any other individ18 ual functioning in the capacity of an employee

19 of—

20 (i) a Member of Congress;

21 (ii) a committee of either House of

22 Congress;

23 (iii) the leadership staff of the House of

24 Representatives or the leadership staff of the

25 Senate;
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1 (iv) a joint committee of Congress; and

2 (v) a working group or caucus orga3 nized to provide legislative services or other

4 assistance to Members of Congress; and

5 (D) any other legislative branch employee

6 serving in a position described under section

7 109(13) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978

8 (5 U.S.C. App.).

9 (5) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means

10 any individual who is an officer, employee, partner,

11 director, or proprietor of a person or entity, but does

12 not include—

13 (A) independent contractors; or

14 (B) volunteers who receive no financial or

15 other compensation from the person or entity for

16 their services.

17 (6) FOREIGN ENTITY.—The term ‘‘foreign entity’’

18 means a foreign principal (as defined in section 1(b)

19 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22

20 U.S.C. 611(b)).

21 (7) GRANT.—The term ‘‘grant’’ means the provi22 sion of any Federal funds, appropriated under this or

23 any other Act, to carry out a public purpose of the

24 United States, except—
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1 (A) the provision of funds for acquisition

2 (by purchase, lease, or barter) of property or

3 services for the direct benefit or use of the United

4 States;

5 (B) the payments of loans, debts, or entitle6 ments;

7 (C) the provision of funds to, or distribution

8 of funds by, a Federal court established under

9 Article I or III of the Constitution of the United

10 States;

11 (D) nonmonetary assistance provided by the

12 Department of Veterans Affairs to organizations

13 approved or recognized under section 5902 of

14 title 38, United States Code; and

15 (E) the provision of grant and scholarship

16 funds to students for educational purposes.

17 (8) LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘‘lobbying

18 activities’’ means lobbying contacts and efforts in

19 support of such contacts, including preparation and

20 planning activities, research and other background

21 work that is intended, at the time it is performed, for

22 use in contacts, and coordination with the lobbying

23 activities of others.

24 (9) LOBBYING CONTACT.—
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1 (A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘lobbying con2 tact’’ means any oral or written communication

3 (including an electronic communication) to a

4 covered executive branch official or a covered leg5 islative branch official that is made on behalf of

6 a client with regard to—

7 (i) the formulation, modification, or

8 adoption of Federal legislation (including

9 legislative proposals);

10 (ii) the formulation, modification, or

11 adoption of a Federal rule, regulation, Ex12 ecutive order, or any other program, policy,

13 or position of the United States Govern14 ment;

15 (iii) the administration or execution of

16 a Federal program or policy (including the

17 negotiation, award, or administration of a

18 Federal contract, grant, loan, permit, or li19 cense); or

20 (iv) the nomination or confirmation of

21 a person for a position subject to confirma22 tion by the Senate.

23 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘lobbying con24 tact’’ does not include a communication that

25 is—
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1 (i) made by a public official acting in

2 the public official’s official capacity;

3 (ii) made by a representative of a

4 media organization if the purpose of the

5 communication is gathering and dissemi6 nating news and information to the public;

7 (iii) made in a speech, article, publica8 tion or other material that is distributed

9 and made available to the public, or

10 through radio, television, cable television, or

11 other medium of mass communication;

12 (iv) made on behalf of a government of

13 a foreign country or a foreign political

14 party and disclosed under the Foreign

15 Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C.

16 611 et seq.);

17 (v) a request for a meeting, a request

18 for the status of an action, or any other

19 similar administrative request, if the re20 quest does not include an attempt to influ21 ence a covered executive branch official or a

22 covered legislative branch official;

23 (vi) made in the course of participa24 tion in an advisory committee subject to the

25 Federal Advisory Committee Act;
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1 (vii) testimony given before a commit2 tee, subcommittee, or task force of the Con3 gress, or submitted for inclusion in the pub4 lic record of a hearing conducted by such

5 committee, subcommittee, or task force;

6 (viii) information provided in writing

7 in response to an oral or written request by

8 a covered executive branch official or a cov9 ered legislative branch official for specific

10 information;

11 (ix) required by subpoena, civil inves12 tigative demand, or otherwise compelled by

13 statute, regulation, or other action of the

14 Congress or an agency;

15 (x) made in response to a notice in the

16 Federal Register, Commerce Business Daily,

17 or other similar publication soliciting com18 munications from the public and directed to

19 the agency official specifically designated in

20 the notice to receive such communications;

21 (xi) not possible to report without dis22 closing information, the unauthorized dis23 closure of which is prohibited by law;

24 (xii) made to an official in an agency

25 with regard to—
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1 (I) a judicial proceeding or a

2 criminal or civil law enforcement in3 quiry, investigation, or proceeding; or

4 (II) a filing or proceeding that the

5 Government is specifically required by

6 statute or regulation to maintain or

7 conduct on a confidential basis,

8 if that agency is charged with responsibility

9 for such proceeding, inquiry, investigation,

10 or filing;

11 (xiii) made in compliance with written

12 agency procedures regarding an adjudica13 tion conducted by the agency under section

14 554 of title 5, United States Code, or sub15 stantially similar provisions;

16 (xiv) a written comment filed in the

17 course of a public proceeding or any other

18 communication that is made on the record

19 in a public proceeding;

20 (xv) a petition for agency action made

21 in writing and required to be a matter of

22 public record pursuant to established agency

23 procedures;

24 (xvi) made on behalf of an individual

25 with regard to that individual’s benefits,
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1 employment, or other personal matters in2 volving only that individual, except that

3 this clause does not apply to any commu4 nication with—

5 (I) a covered executive branch offi6 cial, or

7 (II) a covered legislative branch

8 official (other than the individual’s

9 elected Members of Congress or employ10 ees who work under such Members’ di11 rect supervision),

12 with respect to the formulation, modifica13 tion, or adoption of private legislation for

14 the relief of that individual;

15 (xvii) a disclosure by an individual

16 that is protected under the amendments

17 made by the Whistleblower Protection Act of

18 1989, under the Inspector General Act of

19 1978, or under another provision of law;

20 (xviii) made by—

21 (I) a church, its integrated auxil22 iary, or a convention or association of

23 churches that is exempt from filing a

24 Federal income tax return under para-
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1 graph 2(A)(i) of section 6033(a) of the

2 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or

3 (II) a religious order that is ex4 empt from filing a Federal income tax

5 return under paragraph (2)(A)(iii) of

6 such section 6033(a); and

7 (xix) between—

8 (I) officials of a self-regulatory or9 ganization (as defined in section

10 3(a)(26) of the Securities Exchange

11 Act) that is registered with or estab12 lished by the Securities and Exchange

13 Commission as required by that Act or

14 a similar organization that is des15 ignated by or registered with the Com16 modities Future Trading Commission

17 as provided under the Commodity Ex18 change Act; and

19 (II) the Securities and Exchange

20 Commission or the Commodities Fu21 ture Trading Commission, respectively;

22 relating to the regulatory responsibilities of

23 such organization under that Act.

24 (10) LOBBYING FIRM.—The term ‘‘lobbying

25 firm’’ means a person or entity that has 1 or more
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1 employees who are lobbyists on behalf of a client other

2 than that person or entity. The term also includes a

3 self-employed individual who is a lobbyist.

4 (11) LOBBYIST.—The term ‘‘lobbyist’’ means any

5 individual who is employed or retained by a client

6 for financial or other compensation for services that

7 include more than one lobbying contact, other than an

8 individual whose lobbying activities constitute less

9 than 20 percent of the time engaged in the services

10 provided by such individual to that client over a six

11 month period.

12 (12) MEDIA ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘media

13 organization’’ means a person or entity engaged in

14 disseminating information to the general public

15 through a newspaper, magazine, other publication,

16 radio, television, cable television, or other medium of

17 mass communication.

18 (13) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘Mem19 ber of Congress’’ means a Senator or a Representative

20 in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con21 gress.

22 (14) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘organization’’

23 means a person or entity other than an individual.

24 (15) PERSON OR ENTITY.—The term ‘‘person or

25 entity’’ means any individual, corporation, company,
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1 foundation, association, labor organization, firm,

2 partnership, society, joint stock company, group of or3 ganizations, or State or local government.

4 (16) PUBLIC OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘public offi5 cial’’ means any elected official, appointed official, or

6 employee of—

7 (A) a Federal, State, or local unit of gov8 ernment in the United States other than—

9 (i) a college or university;

10 (ii) a government-sponsored enterprise

11 (as defined in section 3(8) of the Congres12 sional Budget and Impoundment Control

13 Act of 1974);

14 (iii) a public utility that provides gas,

15 electricity, water, or communications;

16 (iv) a guaranty agency (as defined in

17 section 435(j) of the Higher Education Act

18 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(j))), including any

19 affiliate of such an agency; or

20 (v) an agency of any State functioning

21 as a student loan secondary market pursu22 ant to section 435(d)(1)(F) of the Higher

23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

24 1085(d)(1)(F));
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1 (B) a Government corporation (as defined

2 in section 9101 of title 31, United States Code);

3 (C) an organization of State or local elected

4 or appointed officials other than officials of an

5 entity described in clause (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), or

6 (v) of subparagraph (A);

7 (D) an Indian tribe (as defined in section

8 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu9 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e));

10 (E) a national or State political party or

11 any organizational unit thereof; or

12 (F) a national, regional, or local unit of

13 any foreign government.

14 (17) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

15 the several States, the District of Columbia, and any

16 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United

17 States.

18 DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

19 SEC. 302. (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December

20 31 of each year, each taxpayer subsidized grantee, except

21 an individual person, shall provide (via either electronic

22 or paper medium) to each Federal entity that awarded or

23 administered its taxpayer subsidized grant an annual re24 port for the previous Federal fiscal year, certified by the

25 taxpayer subsidized grantee’s chief executive officer or

26 equivalent person of authority, setting forth—
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1 (1) the taxpayer subsidized grantee’s name and

2 grantee identification number;

3 (2) a statement that the taxpayer subsidized

4 grantee agrees that it is, and shall continue to be,

5 contractually bound by the terms of this title as a

6 condition of the continued receipt and use of Federal

7 funds; and

8 (3)(A) a statement that the taxpayer subsidized

9 grantee spent less than $25,000 on lobbying activities

10 in the grantee’s most recent taxable year; or

11 (B)(i) the amount or value of the taxpayer sub12 sidized grant (including all administrative and over13 head costs awarded);

14 (ii) a good faith estimate of the grantee’s actual

15 expenses on lobbying activities in the most recent tax16 able year; and

17 (iii) a good faith estimate of the grantee’s al18 lowed expenses on lobbying activities under section

19 301 of this Act.

20 PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

21 SEC. 303. (a) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF LOBBYING

22 DISCLOSURE FORMS.—Any Federal entity awarding a tax23 payer subsidized grant shall make publicly available any

24 taxpayer subsidized grant application, and the annual re25 port of a taxpayer subsidized grantee provided under sec26 tion 302 of this Act.
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1 (b) ACCESSIBILITY TO PUBLIC.—The public’s access to

2 the documents identified in subsection (a) shall be facili3 tated by placement of such documents in the Federal enti4 ty’s public document reading room and also by expediting

5 any requests under section 552 of title 5, United States

6 Code, the Freedom of Information Act as amended, ahead

7 of any requests for other information pending at such Fed8 eral entity.

9 (c) WITHHOLDING PROHIBITED.—Records described

10 in subsection (a) shall not be subject to withholding, except

11 under the exemption set forth in subsection (b)(7)(A) of sec12 tion 552 of title 5, United States Code.

13 (d) FEES PROHIBITED.—No fees for searching for or

14 copying such documents shall be charged to the public.

15 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

16 title shall become effective January 4, 1996.

Attest:

Secretary.
104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. J. Res. 115

AMENDMENTS
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