IB 

Union Calendar No. 97 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2316 

[Report No. 110–161, Part I] 

To provide more rigorous requirements with respect to disclosure and 

enforcement of lobbying laws and regulations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 15, 2007 

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. HALL of 

New York, Mr. KAGEN, and Mr. SHERMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 

to the Committees on Rules and 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 

MAY 21, 2007 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SPACE, Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas, and Ms. CASTOR

MAY 21, 2007 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

MAY 21, 2007 

Committees on Rules and House Administration discharged; committed to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered 

to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 15, 2007] 

A BILL 

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sure and enforcement of lobbying laws and regulations, 

and for other purposes. 

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

TITLE I—CLOSING THE REVOLVING DOOR 

Sec. 101. Disclosure by Members and staff of employment negotiations. 

Sec. 102. Wrongfully influencing a private entity’s employment decisions or practices. 

Sec. 103. Additional restrictions on contractors. 

Sec. 104. Effective date. 

TITLE II—FULL PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING 

Sec. 201. Quarterly filing of lobbying disclosure reports. 

Sec. 202. Electronic filing of lobbying disclosure reports. 

Sec. 203. Additional lobbying disclosure requirements. 

Sec. 204. Quarterly reports on other contributions. 

Sec. 205. Prohibition on provision of gifts or travel by registered lobbyists to 

Members of Congress and to congressional employees. 

Sec. 206. Disclosure of lobbying activities by certain coalitions and association. 

Sec. 207. Disclosure by registered lobbyists of past executive branch and congressional employment. 

Sec. 208. Public database of lobbying disclosure information; maintenance of information. 

Sec. 209. Inapplicability to certain political committees. 

Sec. 210. Effective date. 

TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT OF LOBBYING RESTRICTIONS 

Sec. 301. Increased civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. 

TITLE IV—INCREASED DISCLOSURE 

Sec. 401. Prohibition on official contact with spouse of Member who is a registered lobbyist. 

Sec. 402. Posting of travel and financial disclosure reports on public website of 

Clerk of the House of Representatives. 


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TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Rule of construction. 

1 TITLE I—CLOSING THE 

2 REVOLVING DOOR 

3 SEC. 101. DISCLOSURE BY MEMBERS AND STAFF OF EM4 PLOYMENT NEGOTIATIONS. 

5 The Rules of the House of Representatives are amended 

6 by redesignating rules XXVII and XXVIII as rules XXVIII 

7 and XXIX, respectively, and by inserting after rule XXVI 

8 the following new rule: 

9 ‘‘RULE XXVII 

10 ‘‘DISCLOSURE BY MEMBERS AND STAFF OF EMPLOYMENT

11 NEGOTIATIONS

12 ‘‘1. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 

13 shall not directly negotiate or have any agreement of future 

14 employment or compensation until after his or her successor 

15 has been elected, unless such Member, Delegate, or Resident 

16 Commissioner, within 3 business days after the commence17 ment of such negotiation or agreement of future employment 

18 or compensation, files with the Committee on Standards of 

19 Official Conduct a statement, which must be signed by the 

20 Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, regarding 

21 such negotiations or agreement, including the name of the 

22 private entity or entities involved in such negotiations or 

23 agreement, and the date such negotiations or agreement 

24 commenced. 


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1 ‘‘2. An officer or an employee of the House earning 

2 in excess of 75 percent of the salary paid to a Member shall 

3 notify the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct that 

4 he or she is negotiating or has any agreement of future em5 ployment or compensation. 

6 ‘‘3. The disclosure and notification under this rule 

7 shall be made within 3 business days after the commence8 ment of such negotiation or agreement of future employment 

9 or compensation. 

10 ‘‘4. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, 

11 and an officer or employee to whom this clause applies, 

12 shall recuse himself or herself from any matter in which 

13 there is a conflict of interest or an appearance of a conflict 

14 for that Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, 

15 or employee under this rule and shall notify the Committee 

16 on Standards of Official Conduct of such recusal. A Mem17 ber, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner making such 

18 recusal shall, upon such recusal, submit to the Clerk for 

19 public disclosure the statement of disclosure under clause 

20 1 with respect to which the recusal was made.’’. 

21 SEC. 102. WRONGFULLY INFLUENCING A PRIVATE ENTITY’S 

22 EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS OR PRACTICES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 18, United 

24 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 227. Wrongfully influencing a private entity’s em2 ployment decisions by a Member of Con3 gress 

4 ‘‘Whoever, being a Senator or Representative in, or a 

5 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress or an 

6 employee of either House of Congress, with the intent to in7 fluence on the basis of partisan political affiliation an em8 ployment decision or employment practice of any private 

9 entity— 

10 ‘‘(1) takes or withholds, or offers or threatens to 

11 take or withhold, an official act, or 

12 ‘‘(2) influences, or offers or threatens to influ13 ence, the official act of another, 

14 shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more 

15 than 15 years, or both, and may be disqualified from hold16 ing any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United 

17 States.’’. 

18 (b) NO INFERENCE.—Nothing in section 227 of title 

19 18, United States Code, as added by this section, shall be 

20 construed to create any inference with respect to whether 

21 the activity described in section 227 of title 18, United 

22 States Code, was a criminal or civil offense before the enact23 ment of this Act, including under section 201(b), 201(c), 

24 or any of sections 203 through 209, of title 18, United 

25 States Code. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 for chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘227. Wrongfully influencing a private entity’s employment decisions by a Member of Congress.’’. 

4 SEC. 103. ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRACTORS. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION.—Chapter 11 of title 18, United 

6 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 219 the 

7 following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 220. Restrictions on contractors with Congress 

9 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a person who is an attor11 ney or a law firm, including a professional legal cor12 poration or partnership, or an attorney employed by 

13 such a law firm, enters into a contract to provide 

14 services to— 

15 ‘‘(A) a committee of Congress, or a sub16 committee of any such committee, 

17 ‘‘(B) a Member of the leadership of the 

18 House of Representatives or a Member of the 

19 leadership of the Senate, 

20 ‘‘(C) a covered legislative branch official, or 

21 ‘‘(D) a working group or caucus organized 

22 to provide legislative services or other assistance 

23 to Members of Congress, 


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1 the attorney or law firm entering into the contract, 

2 and the law firm by which the attorney entering into 

3 the contract is employed, may not, during the period 

4 prescribed in paragraph (2), knowingly make, with 

5 the intent to influence, any communication or ap6 pearance before any person described in paragraph 

7 (3), on behalf of any other person (except the United 

8 States), in connection with any matter on which such 

9 attorney or law firm seeks official action by a Mem10 ber, officer, or employee of either House of Congress, 

11 in his or her official capacity. 

12 ‘‘(2) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—The period referred 

13 to in paragraph (1) is the period during which the 

14 contract described in paragraph (1) is in effect, and 

15 a period of 1 year after the attorney or law firm, as 

16 the case may be, is no longer subject to the contract. 

17 ‘‘(3) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—The persons re18 ferred to in paragraph (1) with respect to appear19 ances or communications by an attorney or law firm 

20 are any Member, officer, or employee of either House 

21 of Congress. 

22 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—Any person who violates paragraph 

23 (1) shall be punished as provided in section 216. 

24 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘committee of Congress’ includes 

2 any standing committee, joint committee, and select 

3 committee; 

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered legislative branch official’ 

5 has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the 

6 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995; 

7 ‘‘(3)(A) a person is an employee of a House of 

8 Congress if that person is an employee of the House 

9 of Representatives or an employee of the Senate; 

10 ‘‘(B) the terms ‘employee of the House of Rep11 resentatives’ and ‘employee of the Senate’ have the 

12 meanings given those terms in section 207(e)(7); 

13 ‘‘(4) an attorney is ‘employed’ by a law firm if 

14 the attorney is an employee of, or a partner or other 

15 member of, the law firm; 

16 ‘‘(5) the terms ‘Member of the leadership of the 

17 House of Representatives’ and ‘Member of the leader18 ship of the Senate’ have the meanings given those 

19 terms in section 207(e)(7); and 

20 ‘‘(6) the term ‘Member of Congress’ means a Sen21 ator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident 

22 Commissioner to, the Congress.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) The table of sections for chapter 11 of title 

25 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 


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1 the item relating to section 219 the following new 

2 item: 

‘‘220. Restrictions on contractors with Congress.’’. 

3 (2) Section 216 of title 18, United States Code, 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘or 209’’ each place it ap5 pears and inserting ‘‘, 209, or 220’’. 

6 SEC. 104. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 (a) SECTION 101.—The amendment made by section 

8 101 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act, and shall apply to negotiations commenced, and agree10 ments entered into, on or after that date. 

11 (b) SECTION 102.—The amendments made by section 

12 102 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act. 

14 (c) SECTION 103.—The amendments made by section 

15 103 shall take effect on May 23, 2007, and shall apply with 

16 respect to any contract entered into before, on, or after that 

17 date. 

18 TITLE II—FULL PUBLIC 

19 DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING 

20 SEC. 201. QUARTERLY FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

21 REPORTS. 

22 (a) QUARTERLY FILING REQUIRED.—Section 5 of the 

23 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amend24 ed— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘SEMIANNUAL’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘QUARTERLY’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘the semiannual period’’ 

4 and all that follows through ‘‘July of each year’’ 

5 and insert ‘‘the quarterly period beginning on 

6 the first day of January, April, July, and Octo7 ber of each year’’; and 

8 (C) by striking ‘‘such semiannual period’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘such quarterly period’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

12 by striking ‘‘semiannual report’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘quarterly report’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘semi15 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

16 period’’; 

17 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘semi18 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe19 riod’’; and 

20 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘semi21 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

22 period’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 3(10) of the Lobbying 

25 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘six month period’’ and inserting ‘‘3-month 

2 period’’. 

3 (2) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Lobbying 

4 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

5 (A) in subsection (a)(3)(A), by striking 

6 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

7 period’’; and 

8 (B) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by striking 

9 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

10 period’’. 

11 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 6 of the Lobbying 

12 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is amended in 

13 paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘semiannual period’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘quarterly period’’. 

15 (4) ESTIMATES.—Section 15 of the Lobbying 

16 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1610) is amended— 

17 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘semi18 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe19 riod’’; and 

20 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘semi21 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe22 riod’’. 

23 (5) DOLLAR AMOUNTS.—Section 4 of the Lob24 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603) is fur25 ther amended— 


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1 (A) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), by striking 

2 ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500’’; 

3 (B) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii), by striking 

4 ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; 

5 (C) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by striking 

6 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; and 

7 (D) in subsection (b)(4), by striking 

8 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

9 SEC. 202. ELECTRONIC FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

10 REPORTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Lobbying Disclo12 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.—A report re15 quired to be filed under this section shall be filed in elec16 tronic form, in addition to any other form that may be 

17 required by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the 

18 House of Representatives.’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirement in section 

20 5(d) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as added by 

21 subsection (a) of this section, that reports be filed electroni22 cally shall take effect on the day after the end of the first 

23 calendar quarter that begins after the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 203. ADDITIONAL LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIRE2 MENTS. 

3 Section 5(b) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 

4 (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

6 semicolon; 

7 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking the period and 

8 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(5) a certification that the lobbying firm, or 

11 registrant, and each employee listed as a lobbyist 

12 under section 4(b)(6) or paragraph (2)(C) of this sub13 section for that lobbying firm or registrant, has not 

14 provided, requested, or directed a gift, including trav15 el, to a Member of Congress or an officer or employee 

16 of either House of Congress in violation rule XXXV 

17 of the Standing Rules of the Senate or rule XXV of 

18 the Rules of the House of Representatives.’’. 

19 SEC. 204. QUARTERLY REPORTS ON OTHER CONTRIBU20 TIONS. 

21 Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604) is further amend22 ed by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(e) QUARTERLY REPORTS ON OTHER CONTRIBU24 TIONS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after 

26 the end of the quarterly period beginning on the first 


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1 day of January, April, July, and October of each 

2 year, or on the first business day after the first day 

3 of such month if that day is not a business day, each 

4 person who is registered or is required to register 

5 under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 4(a), and each 

6 employee who is or is required to be listed as a lob7 byist under section 4(b)(6) or subsection (b) of this 

8 section, shall file a report with the Secretary of the 

9 Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

10 containing— 

11 ‘‘(A) the name of the person; 

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of an employee, his or her 

13 the employer; 

14 ‘‘(C) the names of all political committees 

15 established or administered by the person; 

16 ‘‘(D) the name of each Federal candidate or 

17 officeholder, leadership PAC, or political party 

18 committee, to whom aggregate contributions 

19 equal to or exceeding $200 were made by the per20 son or a political committee established or ad21 ministered by the person within the calendar 

22 year, and the date and amount of each contribu23 tion made within the quarterly period; 

24 ‘‘(E) the date, recipient, and amount of 

25 funds contributed, disbursed, or arranged (or a 


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1 good faith estimate thereof) by the person or a 

2 political committee established or administered 

3 by the person during the quarterly period— 

4 ‘‘(i) to pay the cost of an event to 

5 honor or recognize a covered legislative 

6 branch official or covered executive branch 

7 official; 

8 ‘‘(ii) to, or on behalf of, an entity that 

9 is named for a covered legislative branch of10 ficial, or to a person or entity in recogni11 tion of such official; 

12 ‘‘(iii) to an entity established, fi13 nanced, maintained, or controlled by a cov14 ered legislative branch official or covered ex15 ecutive branch official, or an entity des16 ignated by such official; or 

17 ‘‘(iv) to pay the costs of a meeting, re18 treat, conference, or other similar event held 

19 by, or for the benefit of, 1 or more covered 

20 legislative branch officials or covered execu21 tive branch officials; 

22 ‘‘(F) any information reported to the Fed23 eral Election Commission under the second sen24 tence of section 315(a)(8) of the Federal Election 

25 Campaign Act of 1971 (relating to reports by 


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1 intermediaries and conduits of the original 

2 source and the intended recipient of contribu3 tions under such Act) during the quarterly pe4 riod by the person or a political committee estab5 lished or administered by the person; and 

6 ‘‘(G) the amount and recipient of any funds 

7 provided to an organization described in section 

8 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that 

9 is not treated as a political committee under sec10 tion 301(4) under the Federal Election Cam11 paign Act of 1971. 

12 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

13 ‘leadership PAC’ means, with respect to an individual 

14 holding Federal office, an unauthorized political com15 mittee that is associated with an individual holding 

16 Federal office, except that such term shall not apply 

17 in the case of a political committee of a political 

18 party.’’. 

19 SEC. 205. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF GIFTS OR TRAV20 EL BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS TO MEMBERS 

21 OF CONGRESS AND TO CONGRESSIONAL EM22 PLOYEES. 

23 (a) PROHIBITION.—The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

24 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 25. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF GIFTS OR TRAV2 EL BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS TO MEMBERS 

3 OF CONGRESS AND TO CONGRESSIONAL EM4 PLOYEES. 

5 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Any person described in sub6 section (b) may not make a gift or provide travel to a Mem7 ber, officer, or employee of Congress, if the person has 

8 knowledge that the gift or travel may not be accepted under 

9 the rules of the House of Representatives or the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(b) PERSONS SUBJECT TO PROHIBITION.—The per11 sons subject to the prohibition under subsection (a) are any 

12 lobbyist that is registered or is required to register under 

13 section 4(a)(1), any organization that employs 1 or more 

14 lobbyists and is registered or is required to register under 

15 section 4(a)(2), and any employee listed or required to be 

16 listed as a lobbyist by a registrant under section 4(b)(6).’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this 

18 section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act. 

20 SEC. 206. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES BY CER21 TAIN COALITIONS AND ASSOCIATION. 

22 Paragraph (2) of section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure 

23 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(2) CLIENT.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘client’ means 

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1 other person for financial or other compensation 

2 to conduct lobbying activities on behalf of that 

3 person or entity. A person or entity whose em4 ployees act as lobbyists on its own behalf is both 

5 a client and an employer of such employees. 

6 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF COALITIONS AND AS7 SOCIATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

9 in clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv), in the case of 

10 a coalition or association that employs or 

11 retains other persons to conduct lobbying 

12 activities, each of the individual members of 

13 the coalition or association (and not the co14 alition or association) is the client. For 

15 purposes of section 4(a)(3), the preceding 

16 sentence shall not apply, and the coalition 

17 or association shall be treated as the client. 

18 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TAX-EX19 EMPT ASSOCIATIONS.—In the case of an as20 sociation— 

21 ‘‘(I) which is described in para22 graph (3) of section 501(c) of the Inter23 nal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 

24 from tax under section 501(a) of such 

25 Code, or 


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1 ‘‘(II) which is described in any 

2 other paragraph of section 501(c) of 

3 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 

4 exempt from tax under section 501(a) 

5 of such Code and which has substantial 

6 exempt activities other than lobbying 

7 with respect to the specific issue for 

8 which it engaged the person filing the 

9 registration statement under section 4, 

10 the association (and not its members) shall 

11 be treated as the client. 

12 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN MEM13 BERS.—Information on a member of a coa14 lition or association need not be included in 

15 any registration under section 4 if the 

16 amount reasonably expected to be contrib17 uted by such member toward the activities 

18 of the coalition or association of influencing 

19 legislation is less than $500 during the 

20 quarterly period during which the registra21 tion would be made. 

22 ‘‘(iv) NO DONOR OR MEMBERSHIP LIST

23 DISCLOSURE.—No disclosure is required 

24 under this Act, by reason of this subpara25 graph, with respect to lobbying activities if 


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1 it is publicly available knowledge that the 

2 organization that would be identified under 

3 this subparagraph is affiliated with the cli4 ent concerned or has been publicly disclosed 

5 to have provided funding to the client, un6 less the organization in whole or in major 

7 part plans, supervises, or controls such lob8 bying activities. Nothing in this subpara9 graph shall be construed to require the dis10 closure of any information about individ11 uals who are members of, or donors to, an 

12 entity treated as a client by this Act or an 

13 organization identified under this subpara14 graph.’’. 

15 SEC. 207. DISCLOSURE BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS OF PAST 

16 EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND CONGRESSIONAL 

17 EMPLOYMENT. 

18 Section 4(b)(6) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 

19 (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘or a covered 

20 legislative branch official’’ and all that follows through ‘‘as 

21 a lobbyist on behalf of the client,’’ and inserting ‘‘or a cov22 ered legislative branch official,’’. 


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1 SEC. 208. PUBLIC DATABASE OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE IN2 FORMATION; MAINTENANCE OF INFORMA3 TION. 

4 (a) DATABASE REQUIRED.—Section 6 of the Lobbying 

5 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is further amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

8 end; 

9 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

10 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new para12 graphs: 

13 ‘‘(9) maintain, and make available to the public 

14 over the Internet, without a fee or other access charge, 

15 in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable manner, 

16 an electronic database that— 

17 ‘‘(A) includes the information contained in 

18 registrations and reports filed under this Act; 

19 ‘‘(B) directly links the information it con20 tains to the information disclosed in reports filed 

21 with the Federal Election Commission under sec22 tion 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

23 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434); and 

24 ‘‘(C) is searchable and sortable to the max25 imum extent practicable, including searchable 


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1 and sortable by each of the categories of informa2 tion described in section 4(b) or 5(b); and 

3 ‘‘(10) retain the information contained in a reg4 istration or report filed under this Act for a period 

5 of at least 6 years after the registration or report (as 

6 the case may be) is filed.’’. 

7 (b) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(4) of the Lobbying 

9 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is amended by 

10 inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘and, in the case of a report filed in electronic form 

12 pursuant to section 5(d), make such report available 

13 for public inspection over the Internet not more than 

14 48 hours after the report is so filed’’. 

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

16 paragraph (1) shall take effect on the day after the 

17 end of the first calendar quarter that begins after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

20 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec21 essary to carry out paragraph (9) of section 6 of the Lob22 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605), as added by 

23 subsection (a) of this section. 


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1 SEC. 209. INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN POLITICAL COM2 MITTEES. 

3 The amendments made by this title shall not apply 

4 to the activities of any political committee described in sec5 tion 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

6 (2 U.S.C. 431(4)). 

7 SEC. 210. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made 

9 by this title shall apply with respect to any quarterly filing 

10 period under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 that be11 gins on or after January 1, 2008. 

12 TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT OF 

13 LOBBYING RESTRICTIONS 

14 SEC. 301. INCREASED CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR 

15 FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH LOBBYING DIS16 CLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. 

17 Section 7 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

18 U.S.C. 1606) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

20 CIVIL PENALTY.—Whoever’’; 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly and 

25 corruptly fails to comply with any provision of this Act 


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1 shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years or fined 

2 under title 18, United States Code, or both.’’. 

3 TITLE IV—INCREASED 

4 DISCLOSURE 

5 SEC. 401. PROHIBITION ON OFFICIAL CONTACT WITH 

6 SPOUSE OF MEMBER WHO IS A REGISTERED 

7 LOBBYIST. 

8 Rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following new clause: 

10 ‘‘7. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 

11 shall prohibit all staff employed by that Member, Delegate, 

12 or Resident Commissioner (including staff in personal, 

13 committee, and leadership offices) from having any official 

14 contact with that individual’s spouse if that spouse is a lob15 byist under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 or is em16 ployed or retained by such a lobbyist for the purpose of in17 fluencing legislation.’’. 

18 SEC. 402. POSTING OF TRAVEL AND FINANCIAL DISCLO19 SURE REPORTS ON PUBLIC WEBSITE OF 

20 CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

21 (a) REQUIRING POSTING ON INTERNET.—The Clerk of 

22 the House of Representatives shall post on the public Inter23 net site of the Office of the Clerk, in a format that is search24 able, sortable, and downloadable, each of the following: 


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1 (1) The advance authorizations, certifications, 

2 and disclosures filed with respect to transportation, 

3 lodging, and related expenses for travel under clause 

4 5(b) of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Rep5 resentatives by Members (including Delegates and 

6 Resident Commissioners to the Congress), officers, and 

7 employees of the House. 

8 (2) The reports filed under section 103(h)(1) of 

9 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 by Members of 

10 the House of Representatives (including Delegates and 

11 Resident Commissioners to the Congress). 

12 (b) APPLICABILITY AND TIMING.— 

13 (1) APPLICABILITY.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to information 

15 received by the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

16 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 (2) TIMING.—The Clerk of the House of Rep18 resentatives shall— 

19 (A) not later than August 1, 2008, post the 

20 information required by subsection (a) that the 

21 Clerk receives by June 1, 2008; and 

22 (B) not later than the end of each 45-day 

23 period occurring after information is required to 

24 be posted under subparagraph (A), post the in25 formation required by subsection (a) that the 


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1 Clerk has received since the last posting under 

2 this subsection. 

3 (c) RETENTION.—The Clerk shall maintain the infor4 mation posted on the public Internet site of the Office of 

5 the Clerk under this section for a period of at least 6 years 

6 after receiving the information. 

7 TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

8 SEC. 501. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

9 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

10 Act shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct 

11 protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities pro12 tected by the free speech, free exercise, or free association 

13 clauses of, the First Amendment to the Constitution. 


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Union Calendar No. 97 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2316 

[Report No. 110

–161, Part I] 

A BILL 

To provide more rigorous requirements with respect 

and regulations, and for other purposes. to disclosure and enforcement of lobbying laws 

MAY 21, 2007 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

amendment 

MAY 21, 2007 

Committees on Rules and House Administration disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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