I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2169

To provide for the disclosure of lobbying activities to influence the Federal

Government, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 2, 1995

Mr. MCHALE (for himself, Mr. SHAYS, Mrs. WALDHOLTZ, Mr. BARRETT of

Wisconsin, Mr. KLUG, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. MINGE, Mr. DEAL of Georgia,

Mr. DICKEY, Mr. ZIMMER, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. LUTHER, and Mr. INGLIS

of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide for the disclosure of lobbying activities to

influence the Federal Government, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Lobbying Disclosure Reform Act of 1995’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

Sec. 4. Registration of lobbyists.
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Sec. 5. Reports by registered lobbyists.

Sec. 6. Duties of Chairman.

Sec. 7. Initial procedure for alleged violations.

Sec. 8. Determinations of violations.

Sec. 9. Disclosure of information; written decisions.

Sec. 10. Judicial review.

Sec. 11. Conforming amendments to other statutes.

Sec. 12. Severability.

Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 14. Identification of clients and covered officials.

Sec. 15. Transitional filing requirement.

Sec. 16. Estimates based on tax reporting system.

Sec. 17. Effective dates and interim rules.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) responsible representative Government re4 quires public awareness of the efforts of paid lobby5 ists to influence the public decisionmaking process in

6 both the legislative and executive branches of the

7 Federal Government;

8 (2) existing lobbying disclosure statutes have

9 been ineffective because of unclear statutory lan10 guage, weak administrative and enforcement provi11 sions, and an absence of clear guidance as to who

12 is required to register and what they are required to

13 disclose;

14 (3) the effective public disclosure of the identity

15 and extent of the efforts of paid lobbyists to influ16 ence Federal officials in the conduct of Government

17 actions will increase public confidence in the integ18 rity of Government;
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1 (4) citizens acting on their own behalf, regard2 less of how much money they might spend or how

3 influential they might be perceived to be, should not

4 be subject to reporting and disclosure requirements;

5 and

6 (5) grassroots organizations play an important

7 role in a democracy, and individual citizens’ right,

8 ability, or ease in participating in ‘‘grassroots’’ ac9 tivities should not be infringed upon.

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

11 As used in this Act:

12 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the

13 meaning given that term in section 551(1) of title 5,

14 United States Code.

15 (2) CLIENT.—The term ‘‘client’’ means any

16 person or entity that employs or retains another per17 son for financial or other compensation to conduct

18 lobbying activities on behalf of that person or entity.

19 A person or entity whose employees act as lobbyists

20 on its own behalf is both a client and an employer

21 of such employees. In the case of a coalition or asso22 ciation that employs or retains other persons to con23 duct lobbying activities, the client is the coalition or

24 association and not its individual members.
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1 (3) COVERED EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIAL.—

2 The term ‘‘covered executive branch official’’

3 means—

4 (A) the President;

5 (B) the Vice President;

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

7 individual functioning in the capacity of such

8 an officer or employee, in the Executive Office

9 of the President;

10 (D) any officer or employee serving in a

11 position in level I, II, III, IV, or V of the Exec12 utive Schedule, as designated by statute or Ex13 ecutive order;

14 (E) any officer or employee serving in a

15 Senior Executive Service position, as defined in

16 section 3132(a)(2) of title 5, United States

17 Code;

18 (F) any member of the uniformed services

19 whose pay grade is at or above O–7 under sec20 tion 201 of title 37, United States Code; and

21 (G) any officer or employee serving in a

22 position of a confidential, policy-determining,

23 policy-making, or policy-advocating character

24 described in section 7511(b)(2) of title 5, Unit25 ed States Code.
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1 (4) COVERED LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OFFI2 CIAL.—The term ‘‘covered legislative branch official’’

3 means—

4 (A) a Member of Congress;

5 (B) an elected officer of either House of

6 Congress;

7 (C) any employee of, or any other individ8 ual functioning in the capacity of an employee

9 of—

10 (i) a Member of Congress;

11 (ii) a committee of either House of

12 Congress;

13 (iii) the leadership staff of the House

14 of Representatives or the leadership staff

15 of the Senate;

16 (iv) a joint committee of Congress;

17 and

18 (v) a working group or caucus orga19 nized to provide legislative services or

20 other assistance to Members of Congress;

21 and

22 (D) any other legislative branch employee

23 serving in a position described under section

24 109(13) of the Ethics in Government Act of

25 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
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1 (5) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means

2 the Chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

3 (6) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Attorney

4 General’’ means the Attorney General of the United

5 States.

6 (7) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means

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

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

9 not include—

10 (A) independent contractors;

11 (B) volunteers who receive no financial or

12 other compensation from the person or entity

13 for their services; and

14 (C) individual citizens acting on their own

15 behalf.

16 (8) FOREIGN ENTITY.—The term ‘‘foreign en17 tity’’ means a foreign principal (as defined in section

18 1(b) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938

19 (22 U.S.C. 611(b)).

20 (9) LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘‘lobby21 ing activities’’ means lobbying contacts and efforts

22 in support of such contacts, including preparation

23 and planning activities, research and other back24 ground work that is intended, at the time it is per25 formed, for use in contacts, and coordination with
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1 the lobbying activities of others. Lobbying activities

2 also include efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying,

3 as described in section 4911(d)(1)(A) of the Internal

4 Revenue Code of 1986, to the extent that such com5 munications are made in support of a lobbying con6 tact by a registered lobbyist. A communication in

7 support of a lobbying contact is a lobbying activity

8 even if the communication is excluded from the defi9 nition of ‘‘lobbying contact’’ under paragraph

10 (10)(B).

11 (10) LOBBYING CONTACT.—

12 (A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘lobbying

13 contact’’ means any oral or written communica14 tion (including an electronic communication) to

15 a covered executive branch official or a covered

16 legislative branch official that is made on behalf

17 of a client with regard to—

18 (i) the formulation, modification, or

19 adoption of Federal legislation (including

20 legislative proposals);

21 (ii) the formulation, modification, or

22 adoption of a Federal rule, regulation, Ex23 ecutive order, or any other program, policy,

24 or position of the United States Govern25 ment;
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1 (iii) the administration or execution of

2 a Federal program or policy (including the

3 negotiation, award, or administration of a

4 Federal contract, grant, loan, permit, or li5 cense), except that this clause does not in6 clude communications that are made to

7 any covered executive branch official—

8 (I) who is serving in a Senior Ex9 ecutive Service position described in

10 paragraph (3)(E); or

11 (II) who is a member of the uni12 formed services whose pay grade is

13 lower than O–9 under section 201 of

14 title 37, United States Code,

15 in the agency responsible for taking such

16 administrative or executive action; or

17 (iv) the nomination or confirmation of

18 a person for a position subject to confirma19 tion by the Senate.

20 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘lobbying

21 contact’’ does not include a communication that

22 is—

23 (i) required by subpoena, civil inves24 tigative demand, or otherwise compelled by
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1 statute, regulation, or other action of the

2 Congress or an agency; and

3 (ii) made by—

4 (I) a church, its integrated auxil5 iary, or a convention or association of

6 churches that is exempt from filing a

7 Federal income tax return under

8 paragraph (2)(A)(i) of section

9 6033(a) of the Internal Revenue Code

10 of 1986, or

11 (II) a religious order that is ex12 empt from filing a Federal income tax

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

14 such section 6033(a);

15 (iii) between—

16 (I) officials of a self-regulatory

17 organization (as defined in section

18 3(a)(26) of the Securities Exchange

19 Act of 1934) that is registered with or

20 established by the Securities and Ex21 change Commission as required by

22 that Act or a similar organization that

23 is designated by or registered with the

24 Commodities Future Trading Com-
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1 mission as provided under the Com2 modity Exchange Act; and

3 (II) the Securities and Exchange

4 Commission or the Commodities Fu5 ture Trading Commission, respec6 tively;

7 relating to the regulatory responsibilities of

8 such organization under that Act;

9 (iv) testimony given before a commit10 tee, subcommittee, or task force of the

11 Congress, or submitted for inclusion in the

12 public record of a hearing conducted by

13 such committee, subcommittee, or task

14 force;

15 (v) made in response to a notice in

16 the Federal Register, Commerce Business

17 Daily, or other similar publication solicit18 ing communications from the public and

19 directed to the agency official specifically

20 designated in the notice to receive such

21 communications;

22 (vi) made to an official in an agency

23 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

5 the Government is specifically re6 quired by statute or regulation to

7 maintain or conduct on a confidential

8 basis,

9 if that agency is charged with responsibil10 ity for such proceeding, inquiry, investiga11 tion, or filing.

12 (11) LOBBYING FIRM.—The term ‘‘lobbying

13 firm’’ means a person or entity that has 1 or more

14 employees who are lobbyists on behalf of a client

15 other than that person or entity. The term also in16 cludes a self-employed individual who is a lobbyist.

17 (12) LOBBYIST.—The term ‘‘lobbyist’’ means

18 any individual who is employed or retained by a cli19 ent for financial or other compensation for services

20 that include 1 or more lobbying contacts, other than

21 an individual whose lobbying activities constitute less

22 than 10 percent of the time engaged in the services

23 provided by such individual to that client.

24 (13) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term

25 ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a Senator or a Rep-
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1 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis2 sioner to, the Congress.

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

4 means a person or entity other than an individual.

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

6 or entity’’ means any individual, corporation, com7 pany, foundation, association, labor organization,

8 firm, partnership, society, joint stock company,

9 group of organizations, or State or local government.

10 (16) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

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

12 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United

13 States.

14 SEC. 4. REGISTRATION OF LOBBYISTS.

15 (a) REGISTRATION.—

16 (1) GENERAL RULE.—No later than 30 days

17 after a lobbyist first makes a lobbying contact or is

18 employed or retained to make a lobbying contact,

19 whichever is earlier, such lobbyist (or, as provided

20 under paragraph (2), the organization employing

21 such lobbyist), shall register with the Federal Elec22 tions Commission.

23 (2) EMPLOYER FILING.—Any organization that

24 has 1 or more employees who are lobbyists shall file

25 a single registration under this section on behalf of
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1 such employees for each client on whose behalf the

2 employees act as lobbyists.

3 (3) EXEMPTION.—

4 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Notwithstanding

5 paragraphs (1) and (2), a person or entity

6 whose—

7 (i) total income for matters related to

8 lobbying activities on behalf of a particular

9 client (in the case of a lobbying firm) does

10 not exceed and is not expected to exceed

11 $2,500;

12 (ii) the total income in connection

13 with lobbying activities in a 6-month pe14 riod does not exceed $5,000; or

15 (iii) total expenses in connection with

16 lobbying activities (in the case of an orga17 nization whose employees engage in lobby18 ing activities on its own behalf) do not ex19 ceed or are not expected to exceed $5,000,

20 (as estimated under section 5) in the semi21 annual period described in section 5(a) during

22 which the registration would be made is not re23 quired to register under subsection (a) with re24 spect to such client.
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1 (B) ADJUSTMENT.—The dollar amounts in

2 subparagraph (A) shall be adjusted—

3 (i) on January 1, 1997, to reflect

4 changes in the Consumer Price Index (as

5 determined by the Secretary of Labor)

6 since the date of enactment of this Act;

7 and

8 (ii) on January 1 of each fourth year

9 occurring after January 1, 1997, to reflect

10 changes in the Consumer Price Index (as

11 determined by the Secretary of Labor)

12 during the preceding 4-year period,

13 rounded to the nearest $500.

14 (b) CONTENTS OF REGISTRATION.—Each registra15 tion under this section shall be in such form as the Chair16 man shall prescribe by regulation and shall contain—

17 (1) the name, address, business telephone num18 ber, and principal place of business of the registrant,

19 and a general description of its business or activi20 ties;

21 (2) the name, address, and principal place of

22 business of the registrant’s client, and a general de23 scription of its business or activities (if different

24 from paragraph (1));
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1 (3) the name, address, and principal place of

2 business of any organization, other than the client,

3 that—

4 (A) contributes more than $5,000 toward

5 the lobbying activities of the registrant in a

6 semiannual period described in section 5(a);

7 and

8 (B) participates significantly in the plan9 ning, supervision, or control of such lobbying

10 activities;

11 (4) the name, address, principal place of busi12 ness, amount of any contribution of more than

13 $5,000 to the lobbying activities of the registrant,

14 and approximate percentage of equitable ownership

15 in the client (if any) of any foreign entity that—

16 (A) holds at least 20 percent equitable

17 ownership in the client or any organization

18 identified under paragraph (3);

19 (B) directly or indirectly, in whole or in

20 major part, plans, supervises, controls, directs,

21 finances, or subsidizes the activities of the cli22 ent or any organization identified under para23 graph (3); or

24 (C) is an affiliate of the client or any orga25 nization identified under paragraph (3) and has
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1 a direct interest in the outcome of the lobbying

2 activity;

3 (5) a statement of—

4 (A) the general issue areas in which the

5 registrant expects to engage in lobbying activi6 ties on behalf of the client; and

7 (B) to the extent practicable, specific is8 sues that have (as of the date of the registra9 tion) already been addressed or are likely to be

10 addressed in lobbying activities; and

11 (6) the name of each employee of the registrant

12 who has acted or whom the registrant expects to act

13 as a lobbyist on behalf of the client and, if any such

14 employee has served as a covered executive branch

15 official or a covered legislative branch official in the

16 5 years before the date on which such employee first

17 acted (after the date of enactment of this Act) as a

18 lobbyist on behalf of the client, the position in which

19 such employee served and the Member, committee,

20 or agency for which the individual served.

21 (c) GUIDELINES FOR REGISTRATION.—

22 (1) MULTIPLE CLIENTS.—In the case of a reg23 istrant making lobbying contacts on behalf of more

24 than 1 client, a separate registration under this sec25 tion shall be filed for each such client.
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1 (2) MULTIPLE CONTACTS.—A registrant who

2 makes more than 1 lobbying contact for the same

3 client shall file a single registration covering all such

4 lobbying contacts.

5 (d) TERMINATION OF REGISTRATION.—A registrant

6 who after registration—

7 (1) is no longer employed or retained by a cli8 ent to conduct lobbying activities, and

9 (2) does not anticipate any additional lobbying

10 activities for such client,

11 may so notify the Chairman and terminate its registration.

12 SEC. 5. REPORTS BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS.

13 (a) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—No later than 30 days after

15 the end of the semiannual period beginning on the

16 first day of each January and the first day of July

17 of each year in which a registrant is registered

18 under section 4, each registrant shall file a report

19 with the Federal Election Commission (hereinafter

20 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) on its lobbying ac21 tivities during such semiannual period. A separate

22 report shall be filed for each client of the registrant.

23 (2) EXEMPTION.—

24 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Any registrant

25 whose—
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1 (i) total income for a particular client

2 for matters that are related to lobbying ac3 tivities on behalf of that client (in the case

4 of a lobbying firm), does not exceed and is

5 not expected to exceed $2,500;

6 (ii) the total income in connection

7 with lobbying activities in a 6-month pe8 riod does not exceed $5,000; or

9 (iii) total expenses in connection with

10 lobbying activities (in the case of a reg11 istrant whose employees engage in lobbying

12 activities on its own behalf) do not exceed

13 and are not expected to exceed $5,000,

14 in a semiannual period (as estimated under

15 paragraph (3) or (4) of subsection (b) or para16 graph (4) of subsection (c), as applicable) is

17 deemed to be inactive during such period and

18 may comply with the reporting requirements of

19 this section by so notifying the Chairman in

20 such form as the Chairman may prescribe.

21 (B) ADJUSTMENT.—The dollar amounts in

22 subparagraph (A) shall be adjusted as provided

23 in section 4(a)(3)(B).

24 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each semiannual re25 port filed under subsection (a) shall be in such form as
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1 the Chairman shall prescribe by regulation and shall con2 tain—

3 (1) the name of the registrant, the name of the

4 client, and any changes or updates to the informa5 tion provided in the initial registration;

6 (2) for each general issue area in which the reg7 istrant engaged in lobbying activities on behalf of

8 the client during the semiannual filing period—

9 (A) a list of the specific issues upon which

10 a lobbyist employed by the registrant engaged

11 in lobbying activities, including, to the maxi12 mum extent practicable, a list of bill numbers

13 and references to specific regulatory actions,

14 programs, projects, contracts, grants, and

15 loans;

16 (B) a statement of the Houses and com17 mittees of Congress and the Federal agencies

18 contacted by lobbyists employed by the reg19 istrant on behalf of the client;

20 (C) a list of the employees of the registrant

21 who acted as lobbyists on behalf of the client;

22 and

23 (D) a description of the interest, if any, of

24 any foreign entity identified under section
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1 4(b)(4) in the specific issues listed under sub2 paragraph (A).

3 (3) in the case of a lobbying firm, a good faith

4 estimate of the total amount of all income from the

5 client (including any payments to the registrant by

6 any other person for lobbying activities on behalf of

7 the client) during the semiannual period, other than

8 income for matters that are unrelated to lobbying

9 activities; and

10 (4) in the case of a registrant engaged in lobby11 ing activities on its own behalf, a good faith estimate

12 of the total expenses that the registrant and its em13 ployees incurred in connection with lobbying activi14 ties during the semiannual filing period.

15 (c) ESTIMATES OF INCOME OR EXPENSES.—For pur16 poses of this section, estimates of income or expenses shall

17 be made as follows:

18 (1) $100,000 OR LESS.—Income or expenses of

19 $100,000 or less shall be estimated in accordance

20 with the following categories:

21 (A) $10,000 or less.

22 (B) More than $10,000 but not more than

23 $20,000.

24 (C) More than $20,000 but not more than

25 $50,000.
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1 (D) More than $50,000 but not more than

2 $100,000.

3 (2) MORE THAN $100,000 BUT NOT MORE THAN

4 $500,000.—Income or expenses in excess of $100,000

5 but not more than $500,000 shall be estimated and

6 rounded to the nearest $50,000.

7 (3) MORE THAN $500,000.—Income or expenses

8 in excess of $500,000 shall be estimated and round9 ed to the nearest $100,000.

10 (4) CONSTRUCTION.—In estimating total in11 come or expenses under this section, a registrant is

12 not required to include—

13 (A) the value of contributed services for

14 which no payment is made; or

15 (B) the expenses for services provided by

16 an independent contractor of the registrant who

17 is separately registered under this Act.

18 (d) CONTACTS.—

19 (1) CONTACTS WITH COMMITTEES.—For pur20 poses of subsection (b)(2), any contact with a mem21 ber of a committee of Congress, an employee of a

22 committee of Congress, or an employee of a member

23 of a committee of Congress regarding a matter with24 in the jurisdiction of such committee shall be consid25 ered to be a contact with the committee.
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1 (2) CONTACTS WITH HOUSE OF CONGRESS.—

2 For purposes of subsection (b)(2), any contact with

3 a Member of Congress or an employee of a Member

4 of Congress regarding a matter that is not within

5 the jurisdiction of a committee of Congress of which

6 that Member is a member shall be considered to be

7 a contact with the House of Congress of that Mem8 ber.

9 (3) CONTACTS WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES.—For

10 purposes of subsection (b)(2), any contact with a

11 covered executive branch official shall be considered

12 to be a contact with the Federal agency that em13 ploys that official, except that a contact with a cov14 ered executive branch official who is detailed to an15 other Federal agency or to the Congress shall be

16 considered to be a contact with the Federal agency

17 or with the committee of Congress or House of Con18 gress to which the official is detailed.

19 (e) EXTENSION FOR FILING.—The Chairman may

20 grant an extension of time of not more than 30 days for

21 the filing of any report under this section, upon the re22 quest of the registrant, for good cause shown.

23 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF CHAIRMAN.

24 The Chairman shall—
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1 (1) after notice and a reasonable opportunity

2 for public comment, and consultation with the Sec3 retary of the Senate, the Clerk of the House of Rep4 resentatives, and the Administrative Conference of

5 the United States, prescribe such regulations and

6 forms as are necessary to carry out the registration

7 and reporting requirements of this Act;

8 (2) provide guidance and assistance on the reg9 istration and reporting requirements of this Act, in10 cluding—

11 (A) providing information to all registrants

12 at the time of registration about the obligations

13 of registered lobbyists under this Act, and

14 (B) issuing published decisions and advi15 sory opinions;

16 (3) review the registrations and reports filed

17 under this Act and make such verifications or in18 quiries as are necessary to ensure the completeness,

19 accuracy, and timeliness of the registrations and re20 ports;

21 (4) develop filing, coding, and cross-indexing

22 systems to carry out the purposes of this Act, in23 cluding—

24 (A) a publicly available list of all registered

25 lobbyists and their clients; and
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1 (B) computerized systems designed to min2 imize the burden of filing and maximize public

3 access to materials filed under this Act;

4 (5) ensure that the computer systems developed

5 pursuant to paragraph (4)—

6 (A) allow the materials filed under this Act

7 to be accessed by the client name, lobbyist

8 name, and registrant name;

9 (B) are compatible with or are the same as

10 computer systems already developed and main11 tained by the Federal Election Commission, and

12 that information filed in the two systems can be

13 readily cross-referenced; and

14 (C) are compatible with computer systems

15 developed and maintained by the Secretary of

16 the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Rep17 resentatives;

18 (6) make copies of each registration and report

19 filed under this Act available to the public, upon the

20 payment of reasonable fees, not to exceed the cost

21 of such copies, as determined by the Chairman, in

22 written and electronic formats, as soon as prac23 ticable after the date on which such registration or

24 report is received;
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1 (7) preserve the originals or accurate reproduc2 tion of—

3 (A) registrations filed under this Act for a

4 period that ends not less than 3 years after the

5 termination of the registration under section

6 4(d); and

7 (B) reports filed under this Act for a pe8 riod that ends not less than 3 years after the

9 date on which the report is received;

10 (8) maintain a computer record of—

11 (A) the information contained in registra12 tions for a period that ends not less than 5

13 years after the termination of the registration

14 under section 4(d); and

15 (B) the information contained in reports

16 filed under this Act for a period that ends not

17 less than 5 years after the date on which the

18 reports are received;

19 (9) compile and summarize, with respect to

20 each semiannual period, the information contained

21 in registrations and reports filed with respect to

22 such period in a manner which clearly presents the

23 extent and nature of expenditures on lobbying activi24 ties during such period;
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1 (10) make information compiled and summa2 rized under paragraph (9) available to the public in

3 electronic and hard copy formats as soon as prac4 ticable after the close of each semiannual filing pe5 riod;

6 (11) provide, by computer telecommunication or

7 other transmittal in a form accessible by computer,

8 to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the

9 House of Representatives copies of all registrations

10 and reports received under sections 4 and 5 and all

11 compilations, cross-indexes, and summaries of such

12 registrations and reports, as soon as practicable (but

13 not later than 3 working days) after such material

14 is received or created;

15 (12) provide, by computer telecommunication or

16 other transmittal in a form accessible by computer,

17 to the Attorney General, copies of all registrations

18 and reports received under sections 4 and 5 on all

19 compilations, cross-indexes, and summaries of such

20 registrations and reports, as soon as practicable (but

21 not later than 3 working days) after such material

22 is received or created;

23 (13) make available to the public a list of all

24 persons whom the Attorney General determines,

25 under section 8 (after exhaustion of all appeals
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1 under section 10) to have committed a major or

2 minor violation of this Act and submit such list to

3 the Congress as part of the report provided for

4 under paragraph (14); and

5 (14) make available to the public upon request

6 and transmit to the President, the Secretary of the

7 Senate, the Clerk of the House of Representatives,

8 the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Sen9 ate, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the

10 House of Representatives a report, not later than

11 March 31 of each year, describing the activities of

12 the Commission and the implementation of this Act,

13 including—

14 (A) a financial statement for the preceding

15 fiscal year;

16 (B) a summary of the registrations and re17 ports filed with the Commission with respect to

18 the preceding calendar year;

19 (C) a summary of the registrations and re20 ports filed on behalf of foreign entities with re21 spect to the preceding calendar year; and

22 (D) recommendations for such legislative

23 or other action as the Chairman considers ap24 propriate.
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1 SEC. 7. INITIAL PROCEDURE FOR ALLEGED VIOLATIONS.

2 (a) ALLEGATION OF A VIOLATION.—Whenever the

3 Attorney General has reason to believe from complaints

4 filed with the Attorney General or otherwise that a person

5 or entity may be in violation of the requirements of this

6 Act, the Attorney General shall notify the person or entity

7 in writing of the nature of the alleged violation and pro8 vide an opportunity for the person or entity to respond

9 in writing to the allegation within 30 days after the notifi10 cation is sent or such longer period as the Attorney Gen11 eral may determine appropriate in the circumstances.

12 (b) INITIAL DETERMINATION.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the person or entity re14 sponds within the period described in the notification

15 under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall—

16 (A) issue a written determination that the

17 person or entity has not violated this Act if the

18 person or entity provides adequate information

19 or explanation to make such determination; or

20 (B) make a formal request for information

21 under subsection (c) or a notification under sec22 tion 8(a), if the information or explanation pro23 vided is not adequate to make a determination

24 under subparagraph (A).

25 (2) WRITTEN DECISION.—If the Attorney Gen26 eral makes a determination under paragraph (1)(A),
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1 the Attorney General shall issue a public written de2 cision in accordance with section 9.

3 (c) FORMAL REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.—If a per4 son or entity fails to respond in writing within the period

5 described in the notification under subsection (a) or the

6 response is not adequate to determine whether such per7 son or entity has violated this Act, the Attorney General

8 may make a formal request for specific additional written

9 information (subject to applicable privileges) that is rea10 sonably necessary for the Attorney General to make such

11 determination. Each such request shall be structured to

12 minimize any burden imposed, consistent with the need

13 to determine whether the person or entity is in compliance

14 with this Act, and shall—

15 (1) state the nature of the conduct constituting

16 the alleged violation which is the basis for the in17 quiry and the provision of law applicable thereto;

18 (2) describe the class or classes of material to

19 be produced pursuant to the request with such defi20 niteness and certainty as to permit such material to

21 be readily identified; and

22 (3) prescribe a return date or dates which pro23 vide a reasonable period of time within which the

24 person or entity may assemble and make available
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1 for inspection and copying or reproduction the mate2 rial so requested.

3 SEC. 8. DETERMINATIONS OF VIOLATIONS.

4 (a) NOTIFICATION AND HEARING.—If the informa5 tion provided to the Attorney General under section 7 indi6 cates that a person or entity may have violated this Act,

7 the Attorney General shall—

8 (1) notify the person or entity in writing of this

9 finding and, if appropriate, a proposed penalty as10 sessment and provide such person or entity with an

11 opportunity to respond in writing within 30 days

12 after the notice is sent; and

13 (2) if requested in writing by that person or en14 tity within that 30-day period, afford the person or

15 entity an opportunity for a hearing on the record

16 under the provisions of section 554 of title 5, United

17 States Code.

18 (b) DETERMINATION.—Upon the receipt of a written

19 response under subsection (a)(1) when no hearing under

20 subsection (a)(2) is requested, upon the completion of a

21 hearing requested under subsection (a)(2), or upon the ex22 piration of 30 days in a case in which no such written

23 response is received, the Attorney General shall review the

24 information received under section 7 and this section (in25 cluding evidence presented at any such hearing) and make
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1 a final determination whether there was a violation and

2 a final determination of the penalty, if any. If no written

3 response was received under this section within the 30-

4 day period provided, the determination and penalty assess5 ment shall constitute a final order not subject to appeal.

6 (c) WRITTEN DECISION.—

7 (1) DETERMINATION OF VIOLATION.—If the At8 torney General makes a final determination under

9 subsection (b) that there was a violation, the Attor10 ney General shall issue a written decision in accord11 ance with section 9—

12 (A) directing the person or entity to cor13 rect the violation; and

14 (B) assessing a civil monetary penalty—

15 (i) in the case of a minor violation,

16 which shall be no more than $10,000, de17 pending on the extent and gravity of the

18 violation;

19 (ii) in the case of a major violation,

20 which shall be more than $10,000, but no

21 more than $100,000, depending on the ex22 tent and gravity of the violation;

23 (iii) in the case of a late registration

24 or filing, which shall be $200 for each

25 week by which the registration or filing
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1 was late, unless the Attorney General de2 termines that the failure to timely register

3 or file constitutes a major violation (as de4 fined under subsection (e)(2)) in which

5 case the amount shall be as prescribed by

6 clause (ii); or

7 (iv) in the case of a failure to provide

8 information requested by the Attorney

9 General pursuant to section 7(c), which

10 shall be no more than $10,000, depending

11 on the extent and gravity of the violation,

12 except that no penalty shall be assessed if

13 the Attorney General determines that the

14 violation was the result of a good faith dis15 pute over the validity or appropriate scope

16 of a request for information.

17 (2) DETERMINATION OF NO VIOLATION OR IN18 SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE.—If the Attorney General

19 determines that no violation occurred or there was

20 not sufficient evidence that a violation occurred, the

21 Attorney General shall issue a written decision in ac22 cordance with section 9.

23 (d) CIVIL INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—If a person or en24 tity fails to comply with a directive to correct a violation

25 under subsection (c), the Attorney General may seek civil
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1 injunctive relief in the appropriate court of the United

2 States to compel such person or entity to comply with such

3 directive.

4 (e) PENALTY GUIDELINES.—The Attorney General

5 shall, after notice and a reasonable opportunity for public

6 comment and consultation with the Secretary of the Sen7 ate, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the

8 Administrative Conference of the United States, prescribe

9 such penalty guidelines as are necessary to carry out this

10 Act.

11 (f) PENALTY ASSESSMENTS.—

12 (1) GENERAL RULE.—No penalty shall be as13 sessed under this section unless the Attorney Gen14 eral finds that the person or entity subject to the

15 penalty knew or should have known that such person

16 or entity was in violation of this Act. In determining

17 the amount of a penalty to be assessed, the Attorney

18 General shall take into account the totality of the

19 circumstances, including the extent and gravity of

20 the violation, whether the violation was voluntarily

21 admitted and corrected, the extent to which the per22 son or entity may have profited from the violation,

23 the ability of the person or entity to pay, and such

24 other matters as justice may require.
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1 (2) REGULATIONS.—Major violations shall be

2 defined to include a failure to register and any other

3 violation that is extensive or repeated, if the person

4 or entity who failed to register or committed such

5 other violation—

6 (A) had actual knowledge that the conduct

7 constituted a violation;

8 (B) acted in deliberate ignorance of the

9 provisions of this Act or regulations related to

10 the conduct constituting a violation; or

11 (C) acted in reckless disregard of the pro12 visions of this Act or regulations related to the

13 conduct constituting a violation.

14 (g) LIMITATION.—No proceeding shall be initiated

15 under section 7 or this section unless the Attorney General

16 notifies the person or entity who is to be the subject of

17 the proceeding of the alleged violation within 3 years after

18 the date on which the alleged violation occurred.

19 SEC. 9. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION; WRITTEN DECI20 SIONS.

21 (a) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—Information

22 provided to the Attorney General pursuant to sections 7

23 and 8 shall not be made available to the public without

24 the consent of the person or entity providing the informa-
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1 tion, except to the extent that such information may be

2 included in—

3 (1) a new or amended report or registration

4 filed under this Act; or

5 (2) a written decision issued by the Attorney

6 General under this section.

7 (b) WRITTEN DECISIONS.—All written decisions is8 sued by the Attorney General under sections 7 and 8 shall

9 be made available to the public. The Attorney General may

10 provide for the publication of a written decision if the At11 torney General determines that publication would provide

12 useful guidance. Before making a written decision public,

13 the Attorney General—

14 (1) shall delete information that would identify

15 a person or entity who was alleged to have violated

16 this Act if—

17 (A) there was insufficient evidence to de18 termine that the person or entity violated this

19 Act or the Attorney General found that person

20 or entity did not violate this Act, and

21 (B) the person or entity so requests; and

22 (2) shall delete information that would identify

23 any other person or entity (other than a person or

24 entity who was found to have violated this Act), if

25 the Attorney General determines that such person or
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1 entity could reasonably be expected to be injured by

2 the disclosure of such information.

3 SEC. 10. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

4 (a) FINAL DECISION.—A written decision issued by

5 the Attorney General under section 8 shall become final

6 60 days after the date on which the Attorney General pro7 vides notice of the decision, unless such decision is ap8 pealed under subsection (b) of this section.

9 (b) APPEAL.—Any person or entity adversely affected

10 by a written decision issued by the Attorney General under

11 section 8 may appeal such decision, except as provided

12 under section 8(b), to the appropriate United States court

13 of appeals. Such review may be obtained by filing a written

14 notice of appeal in such court no later than 60 days after

15 the date on which the Attorney General provides notice

16 of the Attorney General’s decision and by simultaneously

17 sending a copy of such notice of appeal to the Attorney

18 General. The Attorney General shall file in such court the

19 record upon which the decision was issued, as provided

20 under section 2112 of title 28, United States Code. The

21 findings of fact of the Attorney General shall be conclu22 sive, unless found to be unsupported by substantial evi23 dence, as provided under section 706(2)(E) of title 5,

24 United States Code. Any penalty assessed or other action
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1 taken in the decision shall be stayed during the pendency

2 of the appeal.

3 (c) RECOVERY OF PENALTY.—Any penalty assessed

4 in a written decision which has become final under this

5 Act may be recovered in a civil action brought by the At6 torney General in an appropriate United States district

7 court. In any such action, no matter that was raised or

8 that could have been raised before the Attorney General

9 or pursuant to judicial review under subsection (b) may

10 be raised as a defense, and the determination of liability

11 and the determination of amounts of penalties and assess12 ments shall not be subject to review.

13 SEC. 11. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO OTHER STATUTES.

14 (a) AMENDMENT TO COMPETITIVENESS POLICY

15 COUNCIL ACT.—Section 5206(e) of the Competitiveness

16 Policy Council Act (15 U.S.C. 4804(e)) is amended by in17 serting ‘‘or a lobbyist for a foreign entity (as the terms

18 ‘lobbyist’ and ‘foreign entity’ are defined under section 3

19 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995)’’ after ‘‘an agent

20 for a foreign principal’’.

21 (b) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES

22 CODE.—Section 219(a) of title 18, United States Code,

23 is amended—

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘or a lobbyist required to reg25 ister under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 in
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1 connection with the representation of a foreign en2 tity, as defined in section 3(8) of that Act’’ after

3 ‘‘an agent of a foreign principal required to register

4 under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of

5 1938’’; and

6 (2) by striking out ‘‘, as amended,’’.

7 (c) AMENDMENT TO FOREIGN SERVICE ACT OF

8 1980.—Section 602(c) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980

9 (22 U.S.C. 4002(c)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or a lobby10 ist for a foreign entity (as defined in section 3(8) of the

11 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995)’’ after ‘‘an agent of a

12 foreign principal (as defined by section 1(b) of the Foreign

13 Agents Registration Act of 1938)’’.

14 SEC. 12. SEVERABILITY.

15 If any provision of this Act, or the application there16 of, is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this

17 Act and the application of such provision to other persons

18 and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

19 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal

21 years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 such sums as

22 may be necessary to carry out this Act.
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1 SEC. 14. IDENTIFICATION OF CLIENTS AND COVERED OFFI2 CIALS.

3 (a) ORAL LOBBYING CONTACTS.—Any person or en4 tity that makes an oral lobbying contact with a covered

5 legislative branch official or a covered executive branch of6 ficial shall, on the request of the official at the time of

7 the lobbying contact—

8 (1) state whether the person or entity is reg9 istered under this Act and identify the client on

10 whose behalf the lobbying contact is made; and

11 (2) state whether such client is a foreign entity

12 and identify any foreign entity required to be dis13 closed under section 4(b)(4) that has a direct inter14 est in the outcome of the lobbying activity.

15 (b) WRITTEN LOBBYING CONTACTS.—Any person or

16 entity registered under this Act that makes a written lob17 bying contact (including an electronic communication)

18 with a covered legislative branch official or a covered exec19 utive branch official shall—

20 (1) if the client on whose behalf the lobbying

21 contact was made is a foreign entity, identify such

22 client, state that the client is considered a foreign

23 entity under this Act, and state whether the person

24 making the lobbying contact is registered on behalf

25 of that client under section 4; and
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1 (2) identify any other foreign entity identified

2 pursuant to section 4(b)(4) that has a direct interest

3 in the outcome of the lobbying activity.

4 (c) IDENTIFICATION AS COVERED OFFICIAL.—Upon

5 request by a person or entity making a lobbying contact,

6 the individual who is contacted or the office employing

7 that individual shall indicate whether or not the individual

8 is a covered legislative branch official or a covered execu9 tive branch official.

10 SEC. 15. TRANSITIONAL FILING REQUIREMENT.

11 (a) SIMULTANEOUS FILING.—Subject to subsection

12 (b), each registrant shall transmit simultaneously to the

13 Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of

14 Representatives an identical copy of each registration and

15 report required to be filed under this Act.

16 (b) SUNSET PROVISION.—The simultaneous filing re17 quirement under subsection (a) shall be effective until

18 such time as the Chairman, in consultation with the Sec19 retary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Rep20 resentatives, determines that the Federal Elections Com21 mission is able to provide computer telecommunication or

22 other transmittal of registrations and reports as required

23 under section 6(11).

24 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Chairman, the Sec25 retary of the Senate, and the Clerk of the House of Rep-
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1 resentatives shall take such actions as necessary to ensure

2 that the Federal Elections Commission is able to provide

3 computer telecommunication or other transmittal of reg4 istrations and reports as required under section 6(11) on

5 the effective date of this Act, or as soon thereafter as rea6 sonably practicable.

7 SEC. 16. ESTIMATES BASED ON TAX REPORTING SYSTEM.

8 (a) ENTITIES COVERED BY SECTION 6033(b) OF THE

9 INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.—A registrant that

10 is required to report and does report lobbying expenditures

11 pursuant to section 6033(b)(8) of the Internal Revenue

12 Code of 1986 may—

13 (1) make a good faith estimate (by category of

14 dollar value) of applicable amounts that would be re15 quired to be disclosed under such section for the ap16 propriate semiannual period to meet the require17 ments of sections 4(a)(3), 5(a)(2), and 5(b)(4); and

18 (2) in lieu of using the definition of ‘‘lobbying

19 activities’’ in section 3(9) of this Act, consider as

20 lobbying activities only those activities that are influ21 encing legislation as defined in section 4911(d) of

22 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

23 (b) ENTITIES COVERED BY SECTION 162(e) OF THE

24 INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.—A registrant that

25 is required to account for lobbying expenditures and does
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1 account for lobbying expenditures pursuant to section

2 162(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 may—

3 (1) make a good faith estimate (by category of

4 dollar value) of applicable amounts that would not

5 be deductible pursuant to such section for the appro6 priate semiannual period to meet the requirements

7 of sections 4(a)(3), 5(a)(2), and 5(b)(4); and

8 (2) in lieu of using the definition of ‘‘lobbying

9 activities’’ in section 3(9) of this Act, consider as

10 lobbying activities only those activities, the costs of

11 which are not deductible pursuant to section 162(e)

12 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

13 (c) DISCLOSURE OF ESTIMATE.—Any registrant that

14 elects to make estimates required by this Act under the

15 procedures authorized by subsection (a) or (b) for report16 ing or threshold purposes shall—

17 (1) inform the Chairman that the registrant

18 has elected to make its estimates under such proce19 dures; and

20 (2) make all such estimates, in a given calendar

21 year, under such procedures.

22 (d) STUDY.—Not later than March 31, 1997, the

23 Comptroller General of the United States shall review re24 porting by registrants under subsections (a) and (b) and

25 report to the Congress—
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1 (1) the differences between the definition of

2 ‘‘lobbying activities’’ in section 3(9) and the defini3 tions of ‘‘lobbying expenditures’’, ‘‘influencing legis4 lation’’, and related terms in sections 162(e) and

5 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as each

6 are implemented by regulations;

7 (2) the impact that any such differences may

8 have on filing and reporting under this Act pursuant

9 to this subsection; and

10 (3) any changes to this Act or to the appro11 priate sections of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

12 that the Comptroller General may recommend to

13 harmonize the definitions.

14 SEC. 17. EFFECTIVE DATES AND INTERIM RULES.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in

16 this section, this Act and the amendments made by this

17 Act shall take effect January 1, 1996.

18 (b) REPEALS AND AMENDMENTS.—The repeals and

19 amendments made under sections 12, 13, 14, and 15 shall

20 take effect as provided in subsection (a), except that such

21 repeals and amendments—

22 (1) shall not affect any proceeding or suit com23 menced before the effective date under subsection

24 (a), and in all such proceedings or suits, proceedings

25 shall be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered
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1 in the same manner and with the same effect as if

2 this Act had not been enacted; and

3 (2) shall not affect the requirements of Federal

4 agencies to compile, publish, and retain information

5 filed or received before the effective date of such re6 peals and amendments.

7 (b) REGULATIONS.—Proposed regulations required to

8 implement this Act shall be published for public comment

9 no later than 270 days after the date of the enactment

10 of this Act. No later than 1 year after the date of the

11 enactment of this Act, final regulations required to imple12 ment this Act shall be published.

13 (c) PHASE-IN PERIOD.—No penalty shall be assessed

14 by the Attorney General under section 8(f) for a violation

15 of this Act which occurs during the first semiannual re16 porting period under section 5 after the effective date pre17 scribed by subsection (a).

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