I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8174 

To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to prohibit certain 

individuals from service as an agent of a foreign principal, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2024 

Mr. GOLDEN of Maine introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 

to prohibit certain individuals from service as an agent 

of a foreign principal, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional and Ex5 ecutive Foreign Lobbying Ban Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITING CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS FROM ACTING 

7 AS AGENTS OF FOREIGN PRINCIPALS. 

8 (a) FORMER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS; GENERAL OR

9 FLAG OFFICERS OF ARMED FORCES.— 


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1 (1) PROHIBITING REGISTRATION AS AGENT.— 

2 The Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as 

3 amended (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (A) by redesignating sections 12 through 

5 14 as sections 13 through 15; and 

6 (B) by inserting after section 11 the fol7 lowing new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 12. PROHIBITING REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN INDI9 VIDUALS. 

10 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—No individual may register 

11 under this Act or otherwise serve as the agent of a foreign 

12 principal if the individual at any time served as a Member 

13 of Congress, as a senior political appointee, or as a general 

14 or flag officer of the Armed Forces. 

15 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Member of Congress’ means a 

17 Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resi18 dent Commissioner to, the Congress; and 

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘senior political appointee’— 

20 ‘‘(A) means— 

21 ‘‘(i) any individual occupying a full22 time senior position and who is appointed 

23 by the President or the Vice President;(ii) 

24 any noncareer appointee in the Senior ExVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:04 May 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8174.IH H8174

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1 ecutive Service (or other SES-type sys2 tem); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) any appointee to a position, at 

4 or above the level of a noncareer member 

5 of the Senior Executive Service, that has 

6 been excepted from the competitive service 

7 by reason of being of a confidential or pol8 icymaking character (schedule C and other 

9 positions excepted under comparable cri10 teria) in an executive agency; and 

11 ‘‘(B) does not include any individual ap12 pointed as a member of the Senior Foreign 

13 Service or, except for a general or flag officer 

14 of the Armed Forces, solely as a uniformed 

15 service commissioned officer.’’. 

16 (2) OTHER REPRESENTATION OF FOREIGN EN17 TITIES.—Section 207(f)(1) of title 18, United States 

18 Code, is amended by inserting after ‘‘within 1 year’’ 

19 the following: ‘‘(or, in the case of a person who is 

20 subject to any of such restrictions and who is a 

21 Member of Congress, a senior political appointee (as 

22 that term is defined in section 12 of the Foreign 

23 Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 

24 U.S.C. 611 et seq.)), or a general or flag officer of 

25 the Armed Forces, at any time)’’. 


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

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

3 whose service as a Member of Congress, a senior political 

4 appointee (as that term is defined in section 12(b)(2) of 

5 the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended 

6 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) (as added by subsection (a)), or 

7 as a general or flag officer of the Armed Forces terminates 

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

Æ 


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