II 

Calendar No. 369 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2128 

To provide greater transparency with respect to lobbying activities, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 16, 2005 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. BURNS, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. 

COLEMAN, Mr. NELSON of Florida, and Mr. KYL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

MARCH 3, 2006 

Reported by Ms. COLLINS, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To provide greater transparency with respect to lobbying 

activities, 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 Transparency and Accountability Act of 

6 2005’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

Sec. 101. Quarterly filing of lobbying disclosure reports. 

Sec. 102. Electronic filing of lobbying disclosure reports. 

Sec. 103. Public database of lobbying disclosure information. 

Sec. 104. Disclosure by registered lobbyists of all past executive and congressional employment. 

Sec. 105. Disclosure of grassroots activities by paid lobbyists. 

Sec. 106. Disclosure of lobbyist contributions and payments. 

Sec. 107. Increased penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. 

Sec. 108. Disclosure of lobbying activities by certain coalitions and associations. 

TITLE II—SLOWING THE REVOLVING DOOR 

Sec. 201. Amendments to restrictions on former officers, employees, and elected 

officials of the executive and legislative branches. 

Sec. 202. Additional employment rights. 

Sec. 203. Public disclosure by Members of Congress of employment negotiations. 

TITLE III—CURBING EXCESSES IN PRIVATELY FUNDED TRAVEL 

AND LOBBYIST GIFTS 

Sec. 301. Requirement of full payment and disclosure of charter flights. 

Sec. 302. Increased disclosure of travel by Members. 

Sec. 303. Guidelines respecting travel expenses. 

Sec. 304. Valuation of tickets to sporting and entertainment events. 

TITLE IV—OVERSIGHT OF ETHICS AND LOBBYING 

Sec. 401. Comptroller General review and semiannual reports. 

3 TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING 

4 DISCLOSURE 

5 SEC. 101. QUARTERLY FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

6 REPORTS. 

7 (a) QUARTERLY FILING REQUIRED.—Section 5 of 

8 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (in this title referred 

9 to as the ‘‘Act’’) (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

10 (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 

5 year’’ and insert ‘‘the quarterly period begin6 ning on the first days of January, April, July, 

7 and October of each year’’; and 

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

9 and insert ‘‘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.— 


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1 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 3(10) of the Act (2 

2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended by striking ‘‘six month pe3 riod’’ and inserting ‘‘three-month period’’. 

4 (2) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act (2 

5 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

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

7 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

8 period’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

11 period’’. 

12 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 6(6) of the Act (2 

13 U.S.C. 1605(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘semiannual 

14 period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly period’’. 

15 (4) ESTIMATES.—Section 15 of the Act (2 

16 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.— 

24 (A) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act 

25 (2 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 


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1 (i) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), by strik2 ing ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500’’; 

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

4 striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘$10,000’’; 

6 (iii) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by strik7 ing ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; 

8 and 

9 (iv) in subsection (b)(4), by striking 

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

11 (B) REPORTS.—Section 5 of the Act (2 

12 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

13 (i) in subsection (c)(1), by striking 

14 ‘‘$10,000’’ and ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$5,000’’ and ‘‘$10,000’’, respectively; and 

16 (ii) in subsection (c)(2), by striking 

17 ‘‘$10,000’’ both places such term appears 

18 and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

19 SEC. 102. ELECTRONIC FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

20 REPORTS. 

21 Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.—A report re24 quired to be filed under this section shall be filed in elec25 tronic form, in addition to any other form that may be 


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

2 the House of Representatives.’’. 

3 SEC. 103. PUBLIC DATABASE OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE IN4 FORMATION. 

5 (a) DATABASE REQUIRED.—Section 6 of the Act (2 

6 U.S.C. 1605) is amended— 

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

8 end; 

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

10 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

13 over the Internet, without a fee or other access 

14 charge, in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable 

15 manner, an electronic database that— 

16 ‘‘(A) includes the information contained in 

17 registrations and reports filed under this Act; 

18 ‘‘(B) directly links the information it con19 tains to the information disclosed in reports 

20 filed with the Federal Election Commission 

21 under section 304 of the Federal Election Cam22 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434); and 

23 ‘‘(C) is searchable and sortable, at a min24 imum, by each of the categories of information 

25 described in section 4(b) or 5(b).’’. 


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1 (b) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Section 6(4) of the 

2 Act is amended by inserting before the semicolon the fol3 lowing: ‘‘and, in the case of a report filed in electronic 

4 form pursuant to section 5(d), shall make such report 

5 available for public inspection over the Internet not more 

6 than 48 hours after the report is filed’’. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

9 necessary to carry out paragraph (9) of section 6 of the 

10 Act, as added by subsection (a). 

11 SEC. 104. DISCLOSURE BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS OF ALL 

12 PAST EXECUTIVE AND CONGRESSIONAL EM13 PLOYMENT. 

14 Section 4(b)(6) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1603) is amend15 ed by striking ‘‘or a covered legislative branch official’’ 

16 and all that follows through ‘‘as a lobbyist on behalf of 

17 the client,’’ and inserting ‘‘or a covered legislative branch 

18 official,’’. 

19 SEC. 105. DISCLOSURE OF GRASSROOTS ACTIVITIES BY 

20 PAID LOBBYISTS. 

21 (a) DISCLOSURE OF GRASSROOTS ACTIVITIES.—Sec22 tion 3 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or grass24 roots lobbying activities’’ after ‘‘lobbying activities’’ 

25 both places it appears; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraphs— 

3 ‘‘(17) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING.—The term 

4 ‘grassroots lobbying’— 

5 ‘‘(A) means any attempt to influence the 

6 general public, or segments thereof, to engage 

7 in lobbying contacts whether or not those con8 tacts were made on behalf of a client; and 

9 ‘‘(B) does not include any attempt de10 scribed in subparagraph (A) by a person or en11 tity directed to its members, employees, officers 

12 or shareholders, unless such attempt is financed 

13 with funds directly or indirectly received from 

14 or arranged by a retained registrant. 

15 ‘‘(18) GRASSROOTS LOBBYIST.—The term 

16 ‘grassroots lobbyist’ means any individual who is re17 tained by a client for financial or other compensa18 tion for services to engage in grassroots lobbying. 

19 ‘‘(19) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING FIRM.—The term 

20 ‘grassroots lobbying firm’— 

21 ‘‘(A) means a person or entity that has 1 

22 or more employees who are grassroots lobbyists 

23 on behalf of a client other than that person or 

24 entity; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) includes a self-employed individual 

2 who is a grassroots lobbyist. 

3 ‘‘(20) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.— 

4 The term ‘grassroots lobbying activities’ means 

5 grassroots lobbying and efforts in support of grass6 roots lobbying, including preparation and planning 

7 activities, research and other background work that 

8 is intended, at the time it is performed, for use in 

9 grassroots lobbying, and coordination with the lob10 bying activities or grassroots lobbying activities of 

11 others. 

12 ‘‘(21) LEADERSHIP PAC.—The term ‘leadership 

13 PAC’ means, with respect to an individual holding 

14 Federal office, an unauthorized political committee 

15 which is associated with such individual.’’. 

16 (b) REGISTRATION.—Section 4(a) of the Act (2 

17 U.S.C. 1603(a)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘45’’ and in19 serting ‘‘20’’; 

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

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

24 ‘‘(3) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING.—Not later than 

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1 tained by a client to engage in grassroots lobbying, 

2 such grassroots lobbying firm shall register with the 

3 Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 

4 of Representatives.’’; and 

5 (4) in paragraph (4)(A), as redesignated— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)’’; 

8 and 

9 (B) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and grass10 roots lobbying activities’’ after ‘‘lobbying activi11 ties’’. 

12 (c) SEPARATE ITEMIZATION OF GRASSROOTS EX13 PENSES.—Section 5(b) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (3), by— 

16 (A) inserting after ‘‘total amount of all in17 come’’ the following: ‘‘(including a separate 

18 good faith estimate of the total amount relating 

19 specifically to grassroots lobbying activities and, 

20 within that amount, a good faith estimate of 

21 the total amount specifically relating to grass22 roots lobbying through paid advertising)’’; 

23 (B) inserting ‘‘or a grassroots lobbying 

24 firm’’ after ‘‘lobbying firm’’; 


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1 (C) inserting ‘‘or grassroots lobbying ac2 tivities’’ after ‘‘lobbying activities’’ both places 

3 it appears; and 

4 (D) striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

5 (2) in paragraph (4), by— 

6 (A) inserting after ‘‘total expenses’’ the 

7 following: ‘‘(including a separate good faith es8 timate of the total amount relating specifically 

9 to grassroots lobbying activities and, within 

10 that total amount, a separate good faith esti11 mate of the total amount specifically relating to 

12 grassroots lobbying through paid advertising)’’; 

13 (B) inserting ‘‘or grassroots lobbying ac14 tivities’’ after ‘‘lobbying activities’’ both places 

15 it appears; and 

16 (C) striking the period and inserting ‘‘; 

17 and’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(5) in the case of a grassroots lobbying firm, 

20 for each client— 

21 ‘‘(A) a list of the specific issues upon 

22 which the registrant engaged in grassroots lob23 bying activities, including, to the maximum ex24 tent practicable, a list of bill numbers and ref25 erences to specific executive branch activities; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the total disbursements made for 

2 grassroots lobbying activities, and a subtotal for 

3 disbursements made for grassroots lobbying 

4 through paid advertising; 

5 ‘‘(C) identification of each person or entity 

6 who received a disbursement of funds for grass7 roots lobbying activities of $10,000 or more 

8 during the period and the total amount each 

9 person or entity received; and 

10 ‘‘(D) if such disbursements are made 

11 through a person or entity who serves as an 

12 intermediary or conduit, identification of each 

13 such intermediary or conduit, identification of 

14 the person or entity who receives the funds, and 

15 the total amount each such person or entity re16 ceived.’’. 

17 (d) LARGE GRASSROOTS EXPENDITURE.—Section 

18 5(a) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘No later’’ and inserting ‘‘Ex20 cept as provided in paragraph (2), not later’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) LARGE GRASSROOTS EXPENDITURE.—A 

23 registrant that is a grassroots lobbying firm and 

24 that receives income of, or spends or agrees to 

25 spend, an aggregate amount of $250,000 or more on 


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1 grassroots lobbying activities for a client, or for a 

2 group of clients for a joint effort, shall file— 

3 ‘‘(A) a report under this section not later 

4 than 20 days after receiving, spending, or 

5 agreeing to spend that amount; and 

6 ‘‘(B) an additional report not later than 20 

7 days after each time such lobbyist or lobbying 

8 firm receives income of, or spends or agrees to 

9 spend, an aggregate amount of $250,000 or 

10 more on grassroots lobbying activities for a cli11 ent, or for a group of clients for a joint effort.’’. 

12 SEC. 106. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYIST CONTRIBUTIONS AND 

13 PAYMENTS. 

14 Section 5(b) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

17 the semicolon; 

18 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and 

19 inserting a semicolon; and 

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

21 ‘‘(6) for each registrant (and for any political 

22 committee, as defined in 301(4) of the Federal Elec23 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(4)), affili24 ated with such registrant), and for each employee 


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1 listed as a lobbyist by a registrant under paragraph 

2 (2)(C)— 

3 ‘‘(A) the name of each Federal candidate 

4 or officeholder, leadership PAC, or political 

5 party committee, to whom a contribution was 

6 made, and the date and amount of such con7 tribution; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the name of each Federal candidate 

9 or officeholder, or a leadership PAC of such 

10 candidate or officeholder, or political party com11 mittee for whom a fundraising event was 

12 hosted, cohosted, or otherwise sponsored, the 

13 date and location of the event, and the total 

14 amount raised by the event; 

15 ‘‘(7) the name of each covered legislative 

16 branch official or covered executive branch official 

17 for whom the registrant or employee listed as a lob18 byist provided, or directed or arranged to be pro19 vided, any payment or reimbursements for travel 

20 and related expenses in connection with the duties of 

21 such covered official, including for each such offi22 cial— 

23 ‘‘(A) an itemization of the payments or re24 imbursements provided to finance the travel 

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1 ments or reimbursements were made, including 

2 any payment or reimbursement made with the 

3 express or implied understanding or agreement 

4 that such funds will be used for travel and re5 lated expenses; 

6 ‘‘(B) the purpose and final itinerary of the 

7 trip, including a description of all meetings, 

8 tours, events, and outings attended; 

9 ‘‘(C) the names of any registrant or indi10 vidual employed by the registrant who traveled 

11 on any such trip; 

12 ‘‘(D) the identity of official or listed spon13 sor of travel; and 

14 ‘‘(E) the identity of any person or entity, 

15 other than the listed sponsor of the travel, 

16 which directly or indirectly provided for pay17 ment of travel and related expenses at the re18 quest or suggestion of the registrant or the em19 ployee; 

20 ‘‘(8) the date, recipient, and amount of funds 

21 contributed or disbursed by, or arranged by, a reg22 istrant or employee listed as a lobbyist— 

23 ‘‘(A) to pay the costs of an event to honor 

24 or recognize a covered legislative branch official 

25 or covered executive branch official; 


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1 ‘‘(B) to, or on behalf of, an entity that is 

2 named for a covered legislative branch official 

3 or covered executive branch official, or to a per4 son or entity in recognition of such official; 

5 ‘‘(C) to an entity established, financed, 

6 maintained, or controlled by a covered legisla7 tive branch official or covered executive branch 

8 official, or an entity designated by such official; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(D) to pay the costs of a meeting, retreat, 

11 conference or other similar event held by, or for 

12 the benefit of, 1 or more covered legislative 

13 branch officials or covered executive branch of14 ficials; 

15 except that this paragraph shall not apply to any 

16 payment or reimbursement made from funds re17 quired to be reported under section 304 of the Fed18 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434); 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(9) the date, recipient, and amount of any gift 

21 (that under the rules of the House of Representa22 tives or Senate counts towards the one hundred dol23 lar cumulative annual limit described in such rules) 

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1 ployee listed as a lobbyist to a covered legislative 

2 branch official or covered executive branch official. 

3 For purposes of paragraph (9), the term ‘gift’ means a 

4 gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, 

5 forbearance, or other item having monetary value. The 

6 term includes gifts of services, training, transportation, 

7 lodging, and meals, whether provided in kind, by purchase 

8 of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after 

9 the expense has been incurred.’’. 

10 SEC. 107. INCREASED PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 

11 WITH LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIRE12 MENTS. 

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

14 U.S.C. 1606) is amended by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and in15 serting ‘‘$100,000’’. 

16 SEC. 108. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES BY CER17 TAIN COALITIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 3 of the 

19 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602) is 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(2) CLIENT.— 

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

23 means any person or entity that employs or re24 tains another person for financial or other com25 pensation to conduct lobbying activities or 


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1 grassroots lobbying activities on behalf of that 

2 person or entity. A person or entity whose em3 ployees act as lobbyists on its own behalf if 

4 both a client and an employer of such employ5 ees. 

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

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro9 vided in clause (ii), in the case of a coali10 tion or association of 2 or more groups 

11 that retains a person to conduct lobbying 

12 activities or grassroots lobbying activities, 

13 each group whose total contribution to the 

14 coalition or association in connection with 

15 the lobbying activities or grassroots lob16 bying activities exceeds an aggregate of 

17 $10,000 during the reporting period is the 

18 client along with the coalition or associa19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TAX

21 EXEMPT ASSOCIATIONS.—In the case of an 

22 association which is described in any para23 graph of section 501(c) of the Internal 

24 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

25 tax under section 501(a) of such Code, the 


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1 association (and not its members) shall be 

2 treated as the client. 

3 ‘‘(iii) MEMBERSHIP.—Nothing in this 

4 paragraph shall be construed to require the 

5 disclosure of any information about the 

6 members of, or donors to, a group which is 

7 treated as a client by this provision.’’. 

8 TITLE II—SLOWING THE 

9 REVOLVING DOOR 

10 SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO RESTRICTIONS ON FORMER OF11 FICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND ELECTED OFFI12 CIALS OF THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE 

13 BRANCHES. 

14 (a) VERY SENIOR EXECUTIVE PERSONNEL.—The 

15 matter after subparagraph (C) in section 207(d)(1) of title 

16 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘within 

17 1 year’’ and inserting ‘‘within 2 years’’. 

18 (b) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, OFFICERS, AND EM19 PLOYEES OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.—Section 207(e) 

20 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘within 1 

22 year’’ and inserting ‘‘within 2 years’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘within 1 

24 year’’ and inserting ‘‘within 2 years’’; 


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1 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘within 1 

2 year’’ and inserting ‘‘within 2 years’’; and 

3 (4) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ‘‘within 1 

4 year’’ and inserting ‘‘within 2 years’’. 

5 SEC. 202. ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104 of the Indian Self7 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

8 450i) is amended by striking subsection (j) and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(j) ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 

12 205 and 207 of title 18, United States Code, an offi13 cer or employee of the United States assigned to an 

14 Indian tribe under section 3372 of title 5, United 

15 States Code, or section 2072 of the Revised Statutes 

16 (25 U.S.C. 48), or an individual that was formerly 

17 an officer or employee of the United States and who 

18 is an employee of an Indian tribe employed to per19 form services pursuant to self-governance contracts 

20 or compacts under this Act that the individual for21 merly performed for the United States, may commu22 nicate with and appear before any department, agen23 cy, court, or commission on behalf of the Indian 

24 tribe with respect to any matter relating to the con25 tract or compact, including any matter in which the 


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1 United States is a party or has a direct and sub2 stantial interest. 

3 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF INVOLVEMENT IN PEND4 ING MATTER.—An officer, employee, or former offi5 cer or employee described in paragraph (1) shall 

6 submit to the head of each appropriate department, 

7 agency, court, or commission, in writing, a notifica8 tion of any personal and substantial involvement the 

9 officer, employee, or former officer or employee had 

10 as an officer or employee of the United States with 

11 respect to the pending matter.’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The effective date of the 

13 amendment made by this section shall be the date that 

14 is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 203. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 

16 OF EMPLOYMENT NEGOTIATIONS. 

17 (a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The Code of Of18 ficial Conduct set forth in rule XXIII of the Rules of the 

19 House of Representatives is amended by redesignating 

20 clause 14 as clause 15 and by inserting after clause 13 

21 the following new clause: 

22 ‘‘14. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 

23 shall file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

24 for public disclosure, a statement that he or she is negoti25 ating or has any arrangement concerning prospective emVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:22 Mar 03, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2128.RS S2128

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1 ployment if a conflict of interest or the appearance of a 

2 conflict of interest may exist. Such statement shall be 

3 made within 3 days after the commencement of such nego4 tiation or arrangement.’’. 

5 (b) SENATE.—Rule XXXVII of the Standing Rules 

6 of the Senate is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘13. A Member shall file with the Secretary of the 

9 Senate, for public disclosure, a statement that he or she 

10 is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospec11 tive employment if a conflict of interest or the appearance 

12 of a conflict of interest may exist. Such statement shall 

13 be made within 3 days after the commencement of such 

14 negotiation or arrangement.’’. 

15 TITLE III—CURBING EXCESSES 

16 IN PRIVATELY FUNDED TRAV17 EL AND LOBBYIST GIFTS 

18 SEC. 301. REQUIREMENT OF FULL PAYMENT AND DISCLO19 SURE OF CHARTER FLIGHTS. 

20 (a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Clause 5(a)(3)(A) of rule 

22 XXV of the Standing Rules of the House of Rep23 resentatives is amended by— 

24 (A) inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(A)’’; and 

25 (B) adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) Market value for a flight on an airplane 

2 that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation Adminis3 tration to operate for compensation or hire shall be 

4 the fair market value of a charter flight. The Com5 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct shall make 

6 public information received under this subparagraph 

7 as soon as possible after it is received.’’. 

8 (2) DISCLOSURE.—Clause 5 of rule XXV of the 

9 Standing Rules of the House of Representatives is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(g) A Member, officer, or employee who takes a 

12 flight described in paragraph (a)(3)(A)(2) shall, with re13 spect to the flight, file a report with the Clerk of the 

14 House of Representatives for public disclosure within 10 

15 days after the flight— 

16 ‘‘(1) the date of the flight; 

17 ‘‘(2) the destination of the flight who else was 

18 on the flight, other than those operating the plane; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(3) the purpose of the trip.’’. 

21 (b) SENATE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph 1(c)(1) of rule 

23 XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate is 

24 amended by— 

25 (A) inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; and 


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1 (B) adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(B) Market value for a flight on an airplane 

3 that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation Adminis4 tration to operate for compensation or hire shall be 

5 the fair market value of a charter flight. The Select 

6 Committee on Ethics shall make public information 

7 received under this subparagraph as soon as possible 

8 after it is received.’’. 

9 (2) DISCLOSURE.—Paragraph 1 of rule XXXV 

10 of the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(h) A Member, officer, or employee who takes a 

13 flight described in subparagraph (c)(1)(B) shall, with re14 spect to the flight, file a report with the Secretary of the 

15 Senate for public disclosure within 10 days after the 

16 flight— 

17 ‘‘(1) the date of the flight; 

18 ‘‘(2) the destination of the flight; 

19 ‘‘(3) who else was on the flight, other than 

20 those operating the plane; and 

21 ‘‘(4) the purpose of the trip.’’. 

22 (c) CANDIDATES.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

23 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (42 

24 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)) is amended by— 

25 (1) in clause (xiii), striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (2) in clause (xiv), by striking the period and 

2 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(xv) any travel expense for a flight 

5 on an airplane that is not licensed by the 

6 Federal Aviation Administration to operate 

7 for compensation or hire, but only if the 

8 candidate or the candidate’s authorized 

9 committee or other political committee 

10 pays within 7 days after the date of the 

11 flight to the owner, lessee, or other person 

12 who provides the use of the airplane an 

13 amount not less than the normal and usual 

14 charter fare or rental charge for a com15 parable commercial airplane of appropriate 

16 size.’’. 

17 SEC. 302. INCREASED DISCLOSURE OF TRAVEL BY MEM18 BERS. 

19 (a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Clause 

20 5(b)(1)(A)(ii) of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of 

21 Representatives is amended by— 

22 (1) inserting ‘‘a detailed description and 

23 itemization of each of’’ before ‘‘the expenses’’; and 


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1 (2) inserting ‘‘, including a description of all 

2 meetings, tours, events, and outings attended during 

3 such travel’’ before the period at the end thereof. 

4 (b) SENATE.—Paragraph 2(c) of rule XXXV of the 

5 Standing Rules of the Senate is amended— 

6 (1) in subclause (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

7 semicolon; 

8 (2) by redesignating subclause (6) as subclause 

9 (7); and 

10 (3) by adding after subclause (5) the following: 

11 ‘‘(6) a detailed description and itemization of 

12 all meetings, tours, events, and outings attended 

13 during such travel; and’’. 

14 SEC. 303. GUIDELINES RESPECTING TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

15 (a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Clause 5(f) of 

16 rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives 

17 is amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(f)’’ and by adding 

18 at the end the following new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(2) Within 90 days after the date of adoption of this 

20 subparagraph and at annual intervals thereafter, the Com21 mittee on Standards of official Conduct shall develop and 

22 revise, as necessary, guidelines on what constitutes ‘rea23 sonable expenses’ or ‘reasonable expenditures’ for pur24 poses of paragraph (b)(4). In developing and revising the 

25 guidelines, the committee shall take into account the maxVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:22 Mar 03, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2128.RS S2128

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1 imum per diem rates for official Government travel pub2 lished annually by the General Services Administration, 

3 the Department of State, and the Department of De4 fense.’’. 

5 (b) SENATE.—Rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of 

6 the Senate is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(7) Not later than 90 days after the date of 

8 adoption of this paragraph and at annual intervals 

9 thereafter, the Select Committee on Ethics shall de10 velop and revise, as necessary, guidelines on what 

11 constitutes ‘reasonable expenses’ or ‘reasonable ex12 penditures’ for purposes of this rule. In developing 

13 and revising the guidelines, the committee shall take 

14 into account the maximum per diem rates for official 

15 Government travel published annually by the Gen16 eral Services Administration, the Department of 

17 State, and the Department of Defense.’’. 

18 SEC. 304. VALUATION OF TICKETS TO SPORTING AND EN19 TERTAINMENT EVENTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—For a covered executive branch 

21 official, a gift of a ticket to a sporting or entertainment 

22 event shall be valued at the face value of the ticket, pro23 vided that in the case of a ticket without a face value, 

24 the ticket shall be valued at the highest cost of a ticket 

25 with a face value for the event. 


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1 (b) SENATE.—Paragraph 1(b)(1) of rule XXXV of 

2 the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by— 

3 (1) inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; and 

4 (2) adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) A gift of a ticket to a sporting or en6 tertainment event shall be valued at the face 

7 value of the ticket, provided that in the case of 

8 a ticket without a face value, the ticket shall be 

9 valued at the highest cost of a ticket with a face 

10 value for the event.’’. 

11 (c) HOUSE.—Clause 5(a)(2)(A) of rule XXV of the 

12 Standing Rules of the House of Representatives is amend13 ed by— 

14 (1) inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(A)’’; and 

15 (2) adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(ii) A gift of a ticket to a sporting or 

17 entertainment event shall be valued at the 

18 face value of the ticket, provided that in 

19 the case of a ticket without a face value, 

20 the ticket shall be valued at the highest 

21 cost of a ticket with a face value for the 

22 event.’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—OVERSIGHT OF 

2 ETHICS AND LOBBYING 

3 SEC. 401. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW AND SEMI4 ANNUAL REPORTS. 

5 (a) ONGOING REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Comptroller 

6 General shall review on an ongoing basis the activities car7 ried out by the Clerk of the House of Representatives and 

8 the Secretary of the Senate under section 6 of the Lob9 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605). The review 

10 shall emphasize— 

11 (1) the effectiveness of those activities in secur12 ing the compliance by lobbyists with the require13 ments of that Act; and 

14 (2) whether the Clerk and the Secretary have 

15 the resources and authorities needed for effective 

16 oversight and enforcement of that Act. 

17 (b) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—Twice yearly, not later 

18 than January 1 and not later than July 1 of each year, 

19 the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report 

20 on the review required by subsection (a). The report shall 

21 include the Comptroller General’s assessment of the mat22 ters required to be emphasized by that subsection and any 

23 recommendations of the Comptroller General to— 

24 (1) improve the compliance by lobbyists with 

25 the requirements of that Act; and 


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1 (2) provide the Clerk and the Secretary with 

2 the resources and authorities needed for effective 

3 oversight and enforcement of that Act. 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

6 ‘‘Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

Sec. 101. Quarterly filing of lobbying disclosure reports. 

Sec. 102. Annual report on contributions. 

Sec. 103. Public database of lobbying disclosure information. 

Sec. 104. Disclosure by registered lobbyists of all past executive and congressional 

employment. 

Sec. 105. Disclosure of lobbyist travel and payments. 

Sec. 106. Increased penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. 

Sec. 107. Disclosure of lobbying activities by certain coalitions and associations. 

Sec. 108. Disclosure of enforcement for noncompliance. 

Sec. 109. Electronic filing of lobbying disclosure reports. 

Sec. 110. Disclosure of paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying. 

Sec. 111. Effective date. 

TITLE II—OVERSIGHT OF ETHICS AND LOBBYING 

Sec. 201. Comptroller General audit and annual report. 

Sec. 202. Mandatory Senate ethics training for Members and staff. 

Sec. 203. Sense of the Senate regarding self-regulation within the lobbying community. 

Sec. 204. Annual ethics committees reports. 

TITLE III—SLOWING THE REVOLVING DOOR 

Sec. 301. Amendments to restrictions on former officers, employees, and elected officials of the executive and legislative branches. 

TITLE IV—BAN ON PROVISION OF GIFTS OR TRAVEL BY LOBBYISTS 

IN VIOLATION OF THE RULES OF CONGRESS 

Sec. 401. Prohibition on provision of gifts or travel by registered lobbyists to 

Members of Congress and to congressional employees. 


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TITLE V—COMMISSION TO STRENGTHEN CONFIDENCE IN 

CONGRESS ACT OF 2006 

Sec. 501. Short title. 

Sec. 502. Establishment of Commission. 

Sec. 503. Purposes. 

Sec. 504. Composition of Commission. 

Sec. 505. Functions of Commission. 

Sec. 506. Powers of Commission. 

Sec. 507. Administration. 

Sec. 508. Security clearances for Commission members and staff. 

Sec. 509. Commission reports; termination. 

Sec. 510. Funding. 

1 TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING 

2 DISCLOSURE 

3 SEC. 101. QUARTERLY FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

4 REPORTS. 

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

6 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (in this title referred to 

7 as the ‘‘Act’’) (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

10 ‘‘Semiannual’’ and inserting ‘‘Quarterly’’; 

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

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

13 and inserting ‘‘the quarterly period beginning on 

14 the 20th day of January, April, July, and Octo15 ber of each year or on the first business day after 

16 the 20th day if that day is not a business day’’; 

17 and 

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

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


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1 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

3 by striking ‘‘semiannual report’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘quarterly report’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘semi6 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

7 period’’; 

8 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘semi9 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe10 riod’’; and 

11 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘semi12 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

13 period’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 3(10) of the Act (2 

16 U.S.C. 1602) is amended by striking ‘‘six month pe17 riod’’ and inserting ‘‘three-month period’’. 

18 (2) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act (2 

19 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

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

21 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

22 period’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

25 period’’. 


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1 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 6(a)(6) of the Act 

2 (2 U.S.C. 1605(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘semi3 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly period’’. 

4 (4) ESTIMATES.—Section 15 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

5 1610) is amended— 

6 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘semi7 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe8 riod’’; and 

9 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘semi10 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe11 riod’’. 

12 (5) DOLLAR AMOUNTS.— 

13 (A) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act (2 

14 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

15 (i) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), by strik16 ing ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500’’; 

17 (ii) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii), by 

18 striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; 

19 (iii) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by strik20 ing ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; and 

21 (iv) in subsection (b)(4), by striking 

22 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

23 (B) REPORTS.—Section 5 of the Act (2 

24 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 


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1 (i) in subsection (c)(1), by striking 

2 ‘‘$10,000’’ and ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘$5,000’’ and ‘‘$10,000’’, respectively; and 

4 (ii) in subsection (c)(2), by striking 

5 ‘‘$10,000’’ both places such term appears 

6 and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

7 SEC. 102. ANNUAL REPORT ON CONTRIBUTIONS. 

8 Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT ON CONTRIBUTIONS.—Not later 

11 than 45 days after the end of the quarterly period beginning 

12 on the first day of October of each year referred to in sub13 section (a), a lobbyist registered under section 4(a)(1), or 

14 an employee who is a lobbyist of an organization registered 

15 under section 4(a)(2), shall file a report with the Secretary 

16 of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

17 containing— 

18 ‘‘(1) the name of the lobbyist; 

19 ‘‘(2) the employer of the lobbyist; 

20 ‘‘(3) the name of each Federal candidate or of21 ficeholder, leadership PAC, or political party com22 mittee, to whom a contribution equal to or exceeding 

23 $200 was made within the past year, and the date 

24 and amount of such contribution; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) the name of each Federal candidate or of2 ficeholder, leadership PAC, or political party com3 mittee for whom a fundraising event was hosted, co4 hosted, or otherwise sponsored, within the past year, 

5 and the date and location of the event.’’. 

6 SEC. 103. PUBLIC DATABASE OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE IN7 FORMATION. 

8 (a) DATABASE REQUIRED.—Section 6 of the Act (2 

9 U.S.C. 1605) is amended— 

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

11 end; 

12 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period and 

13 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

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

17 in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable manner, 

18 an electronic database that— 

19 ‘‘(A) includes the information contained in 

20 registrations and reports filed under this Act; 

21 ‘‘(B) directly links the information it con22 tains to the information disclosed in reports filed 

23 with the Federal Election Commission under sec24 tion 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

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


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1 ‘‘(C) is searchable and sortable, at a min2 imum, by each of the categories of information 

3 described in section 4(b) or 5(b).’’. 

4 (b) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Section 6(a)(4) of 

5 the Act is amended by inserting before the semicolon the 

6 following: ‘‘and, in the case of a report filed in electronic 

7 form under section 5(e), shall make such report available 

8 for public inspection over the Internet not more than 48 

9 hours after the report is filed’’. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

11 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec12 essary to carry out paragraph (9) of section 6(a) of the Act, 

13 as added by subsection (a). 

14 SEC. 104. DISCLOSURE BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS OF ALL 

15 PAST EXECUTIVE AND CONGRESSIONAL EM16 PLOYMENT. 

17 Section 4(b)(6) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1603) is amended 

18 by striking ‘‘or a covered legislative branch official’’ and 

19 all that follows through ‘‘as a lobbyist on behalf of the cli20 ent,’’ and inserting ‘‘or a covered legislative branch offi21 cial,’’. 

22 SEC. 105. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYIST TRAVEL AND PAY23 MENTS. 

24 Section 5(b) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)) is amend25 ed— 


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

2 semicolon; 

3 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 

4 inserting a semicolon; and 

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

6 ‘‘(5) the name of each covered legislative branch 

7 official or covered executive branch official for whom 

8 the registrant or employee listed as a lobbyist pro9 vided, or directed or arranged to be provided, any 

10 payment or reimbursements for travel and related ex11 penses in connection with the duties of such covered 

12 official, including for each such official— 

13 ‘‘(A) an itemization of the payments or re14 imbursements provided to finance the travel and 

15 related expenses and to whom the payments or 

16 reimbursements were made, including any pay17 ment or reimbursement made with the express or 

18 implied understanding or agreement that such 

19 funds will be used for travel and related ex20 penses; 

21 ‘‘(B) the purpose and final itinerary of the 

22 trip, including a description of all meetings, 

23 tours, events, and outings attended; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the names of any registrant or indi2 vidual employed by the registrant who traveled 

3 on any such trip; 

4 ‘‘(D) the identity of the listed sponsor or 

5 sponsors of travel; and 

6 ‘‘(E) the identity of any person or entity, 

7 other than the listed sponsor or sponsors of the 

8 travel, which directly or indirectly provided for 

9 payment of travel and related expenses at the re10 quest or suggestion of the registrant or the em11 ployee; 

12 ‘‘(6) the date, recipient, and amount of funds 

13 contributed or disbursed by, or arranged by, a reg14 istrant or employee listed as a lobbyist— 

15 ‘‘(A) to pay the costs of an event to honor 

16 or recognize a covered legislative branch official 

17 or covered executive branch official; 

18 ‘‘(B) to, or on behalf of, an entity that is 

19 named for a covered legislative branch official or 

20 covered executive branch official, or to a person 

21 or entity in recognition of such official; 

22 ‘‘(C) to an entity established, financed, 

23 maintained, or controlled by a covered legislative 

24 branch official or covered executive branch offi25 cial, or an entity designated by such official; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) to pay the costs of a meeting, retreat, 

2 conference or other similar event held by, or for 

3 the benefit of, 1 or more covered legislative 

4 branch officials or covered executive branch offi5 cials; 

6 except that this paragraph shall not apply to any 

7 payment or reimbursement made from funds required 

8 to be reported under section 304 of the Federal Elec9 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434); and 

10 ‘‘(7) the date, recipient, and amount of any gift 

11 (that under the rules of the House of Representatives 

12 or Senate counts towards the one hundred dollar cu13 mulative annual limit described in such rules) valued 

14 in excess of $20 given by a registrant or employee 

15 listed as a lobbyist to a covered legislative branch offi16 cial or covered executive branch official. 

17 For purposes of paragraph (7), the term ‘gift’ means a gra18 tuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, for19 bearance, or other item having monetary value. The term 

20 includes gifts of services, training, transportation, lodging, 

21 and meals, whether provided in kind, by purchase of a tick22 et, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense 

23 has been incurred. Information required by paragraph (5) 

24 shall be disclosed as provided in this Act not later than 

25 30 days after the travel.’’. 


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1 SEC. 106. INCREASED PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 

2 WITH LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIRE3 MENTS. 

4 Section 7 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1606) is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000’’. 

6 SEC. 107. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES BY CER7 TAIN COALITIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Lobbying 

9 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(3)(B)) is amended 

10 to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(B) participates in a substantial way in 

12 the planning, supervision or control of such lob13 bying activities;’’. 

14 (b) NO DONOR OR MEMBERSHIP LIST DISCLOSURE.— 

15 Section 4(b) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

16 U.S.C. 1603(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘No disclosure is required under paragraph (3)(B) if it is 

19 publicly available knowledge that the organization that 

20 would be identified is affiliated with the client or has been 

21 publicly disclosed to have provided funding to the client, 

22 unless the organization in whole or in major part plans, 

23 supervises or controls such lobbying activities. Nothing in 

24 paragraph (3)(B) shall be construed to require the disclo25 sure of any information about individuals who are members 


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1 of, or donors to, an entity treated as a client by this Act 

2 or an organization identified under that paragraph.’’. 

3 SEC. 108. DISCLOSURE OF ENFORCEMENT FOR NON4 COMPLIANCE. 

5 Section 6 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1605) is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary of 

7 the Senate’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (3) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 

11 inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

12 (4) after paragraph (9), by inserting the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(10) provide to the Committee on Homeland Se15 curity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 

16 the Committee on Government Reform of the House of 

17 Representatives the aggregate number of lobbyists and 

18 lobbying firms, separately accounted, referred to the 

19 United States Attorney for the District of Columbia 

20 for noncompliance as required by paragraph (8) on 

21 a semi-annual basis’’; and 

22 (5) by inserting at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT REPORT.—The United States At24 torney for the District of Columbia shall report to the Com25 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 


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1 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

2 Committee on Government Reform and the Committee on 

3 the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on a semi4 annual basis the aggregate number of enforcement actions 

5 taken by the Attorney’s office under this Act and the 

6 amount of fines, if any, by case, except that such report 

7 shall not include the names of individuals or personally 

8 identifiable information.’’. 

9 SEC. 109. ELECTRONIC FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

10 REPORTS. 

11 Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(e) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.—A report re14 quired to be filed under this section shall be filed in elec15 tronic form, in addition to any other form that may be 

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

17 House of Representatives.’’. 

18 SEC. 110. DISCLOSURE OF PAID EFFORTS TO STIMULATE 

19 GRASSROOTS LOBBYING. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

21 1602) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (7), by adding at the end of the 

23 following: ‘‘Lobbying activities include paid efforts to 

24 stimulate grassroots lobbying, but do not include 

25 grassroots lobbying.’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end of the following: 

2 ‘‘(17) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING.—The term ‘grass3 roots lobbying’ means the voluntary efforts of members 

4 of the general public to communicate their own views 

5 on an issue to Federal officials or to encourage other 

6 members of the general public to do the same. 

7 ‘‘(18) PAID EFFORTS TO STIMULATE GRASS8 ROOTS LOBBYING.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘paid efforts 

10 to stimulate grassroots lobbying’ means any paid 

11 attempt in support of lobbying contacts on behalf 

12 of a client to influence the general public or seg13 ments thereof to contact one or more covered leg14 islative or executive branch officials (or Congress 

15 as a whole) to urge such officials (or Congress) 

16 to take specific action with respect to a matter 

17 described in section 3(8)(A), except that such 

18 term does not include any communications by 

19 an entity directed to its members, employees, of20 ficers, or shareholders. 

21 ‘‘(B) PAID ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE THE

22 GENERAL PUBLIC OR SEGMENTS THEREOF.—The 

23 term ‘paid attempt to influence the general pub24 lic or segments thereof’ does not include an atVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:22 Mar 03, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2128.RS S2128

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1 tempt to influence directed at less than 500 

2 members of the general public. 

3 ‘‘(C) REGISTRANT.—For purposes of this 

4 paragraph, a person or entity is a member of a 

5 registrant if the person or entity— 

6 ‘‘(i) pays dues or makes a contribution 

7 of more than a nominal amount to the enti8 ty; 

9 ‘‘(ii) makes a contribution of more 

10 than a nominal amount of time to the enti11 ty; 

12 ‘‘(iii) is entitled to participate in the 

13 governance of the entity; 

14 ‘‘(iv) is 1 of a limited number of hon15 orary or life members of the entity; or 

16 ‘‘(v) is an employee, officer, director or 

17 member of the entity. 

18 ‘‘(19) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING FIRM.—The term 

19 ‘grassroots lobbying firm’ means a person or entity 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(A) is retained by 1 or more clients to en22 gage in paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lob23 bying on behalf of such clients; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) receives income of, or spends or agrees 

2 to spend, an aggregate of $25,000 or more for 

3 such efforts in any quarterly period.’’. 

4 (b) REGISTRATION.—Section 4(a) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

5 1603(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) in the flush matter at the end of paragraph 

7 (3)(A), by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For pur8 poses of clauses (i) and (ii), the term ‘lobbying activi9 ties’ shall not include paid efforts to stimulate grass10 roots lobbying.’’; and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(4) FILING BY GRASSROOTS LOBBYING FIRMS.— 

14 Not later than 45 days after a grassroots lobbying 

15 firm first is retained by a client to engage in paid 

16 efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying, such grass17 roots lobbying firm shall register with the Secretary 

18 of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Represent19 atives.’’. 

20 (c) SEPARATE ITEMIZATION OF PAID EFFORTS TO

21 STIMULATE GRASSROOTS LOBBYING.—Section 5(b) of the 

22 Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (3), by— 

24 (A) inserting after ‘‘total amount of all in25 come’’ the following: ‘‘(including a separate good 


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1 faith estimate of the total amount of income re2 lating specifically to paid efforts to stimulate 

3 grassroots lobbying and, within that amount, a 

4 good faith estimate of the total amount specifi5 cally relating to paid advertising)’’; and 

6 (B) inserting ‘‘or a grassroots lobbying 

7 firm’’ after ‘‘lobbying firm’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting after ‘‘total 

9 expenses’’ the following: ‘‘(including a good faith esti10 mate of the total amount of expenses relating specifi11 cally to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying 

12 and, within that total amount, a good faith estimate 

13 of the total amount specifically relating to paid ad14 vertising)’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘Subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) shall not 

17 apply with respect to reports relating to paid efforts to 

18 stimulate grassroots lobbying activities.’’. 

19 (d) GOOD FAITH ESTIMATES AND DE MINIMIS RULES

20 FOR PAID EFFORTS TO STIMULATE GRASSROOTS LOB21 BYING.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(c) of the Act (2 

23 U.S.C. 1604(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(c) ESTIMATES OF INCOME OR EXPENSES.—For pur25 poses of this section, the following shall apply: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Estimates of income or expenses shall be 

2 made as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) Estimates of amounts in excess of 

4 $10,0000 shall be rounded to the nearest $20,000. 

5 ‘‘(B) In the event income or expenses do not 

6 exceed $10,000, the registrant shall include a 

7 statement that income or expenses totaled less 

8 than $10,000 for the reporting period. 

9 ‘‘(2) Estimates of income or expenses relating 

10 specifically to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lob11 bying shall be made as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) Estimates of amounts in excess of 

13 $25,000 shall be rounded to the nearest $20,000. 

14 ‘‘(B) In the event income or expenses do not 

15 exceed $25,000, the registrant shall include a 

16 statement that income or expenses totaled less 

17 than $25,000 for the reporting period.’’. 

18 (2) TAX REPORTING.—Section 15 of the Act (2 

19 U.S.C. 1610) is amended— 

20 (A) in subsection (a)— 

21 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

22 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

23 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking the 

24 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (iii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(3) in lieu of using the definition of paid efforts 

4 to stimulate grassroots lobbying in section 3(18), con5 sider as paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying 

6 only those activities that are grassroots expenditures 

7 as defined in section 4911(c)(3) of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986.’’; and 

9 (B) in subsection (b)— 

10 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

11 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

12 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking the 

13 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (iii) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(3) in lieu of using the definition of paid efforts 

17 to stimulate grassroots lobbying in section 3(18), con18 sider as paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying 

19 only those activities that are grassroots expenditures 

20 as defined in section 4911(c)(3) of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986.’’. 

22 SEC. 111. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 This title and the amendments made by this title shall 

24 take effect January 1, 2007. 


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1 TITLE II—OVERSIGHT OF ETHICS 

2 AND LOBBYING 

3 SEC. 201. COMPTROLLER GENERAL AUDIT AND ANNUAL RE4 PORT. 

5 (a) AUDIT REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General shall 

6 audit on an annual basis lobbying registration and reports 

7 filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to deter8 mine the extent of compliance or noncompliance with the 

9 requirements of that Act by lobbyists and their clients. 

10 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than April 1 of each 

11 year, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a 

12 report on the review required by subsection (a). The report 

13 shall include the Comptroller General’s assessment of the 

14 matters required to be emphasized by that subsection and 

15 any recommendations of the Comptroller General to— 

16 (1) improve the compliance by lobbyists with the 

17 requirements of that Act; and 

18 (2) provide the Secretary of the Senate and the 

19 Clerk of the House of Representatives with the re20 sources and authorities needed for effective oversight 

21 and enforcement of that Act. 


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1 SEC. 202. MANDATORY SENATE ETHICS TRAINING FOR 

2 MEMBERS AND STAFF. 

3 (a) TRAINING PROGRAM.—The Select Committee on 

4 Ethics shall conduct ongoing ethics training and awareness 

5 programs for Members of the Senate and Senate staff. 

6 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The ethics training program 

7 conducted by the Select Committee on Ethics shall be com8 pleted by— 

9 (1) new Senators or staff not later than 60 days 

10 after commencing service or employment; and 

11 (2) Senators and Senate staff serving or em12 ployed on the date of enactment of this Act not later 

13 than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 203. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING SELF-REGU15 LATION WITHIN THE LOBBYING COMMUNITY. 

16 It is the sense of the Senate that the lobbying commu17 nity should develop proposals for multiple self-regulatory 

18 organizations which could provide— 

19 (1) for the creation of standards for the organi20 zations appropriate to the type of lobbying and indi21 viduals to be served; 

22 (2) training for the lobbying community on law, 

23 ethics, reporting requirements, and disclosure require24 ments; 


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1 (3) for the development of educational materials 

2 for the public on how to responsibly hire a lobbyist 

3 or lobby firm; 

4 (4) standards regarding reasonable fees to cli5 ents; 

6 (5) for the creation of a third-party certification 

7 program that includes ethics training; and 

8 (6) for disclosure of requirements to clients re9 garding fee schedules and conflict of interest rules. 

10 SEC. 204. ANNUAL ETHICS COMMITTEES REPORTS. 

11 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of 

12 the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on 

13 Ethics of the Senate shall each issue an annual report due 

14 no later than January 31, describing the following: 

15 (1) The number of alleged violations of Senate or 

16 House rules including the number received from third 

17 parties, from Members or staff within each House, or 

18 inquires raised by a Member or staff of the respective 

19 House or Senate committee. 

20 (2) A list of the number of alleged violations that 

21 were dismissed— 

22 (A) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction; 

23 or 

24 (B) because they failed to provide sufficient 

25 facts as to any material violation of the House 


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1 or Senate rules beyond mere allegation or asser2 tion. 

3 (3) The number of complaints in which the com4 mittee staff conducted a preliminary inquiry. 

5 (4) The number of complaints that staff pre6 sented to the committee with recommendations that 

7 the complaint be dismissed. 

8 (5) The number of complaints that the staff pre9 sented to the committee with recommendation that the 

10 investigation proceed. 

11 (6) The number of ongoing inquiries. 

12 (7) The number of complaints that the committee 

13 dismissed for lack of substantial merit. 

14 (8) The number of private letters of admonition 

15 or public letters of admonition issued. 

16 (9) The number of matters resulting in a dis17 ciplinary sanction. 

18 TITLE III—SLOWING THE 

19 REVOLVING DOOR 

20 SEC. 301. AMENDMENTS TO RESTRICTIONS ON FORMER OF21 FICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND ELECTED OFFI22 CIALS OF THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE 

23 BRANCHES. 

24 (a) VERY SENIOR EXECUTIVE PERSONNEL.—The mat25 ter after subparagraph (C) in section 207(d)(1) of title 18, 


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1 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘within 1 year’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘within 2 years’’. 

3 (b) RESTRICTIONS ON LOBBYING BY MEMBERS OF

4 CONGRESS AND EMPLOYEES OF CONGRESS.—Subsection (e) 

5 of section 207 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘within 1 

7 year’’ and inserting ‘‘within 2 years’’; 

8 (2) by striking paragraphs (2) through (5) and 

9 inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL STAFF.— 

11 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—Any person who is an 

12 employee of a House of Congress and who, with13 in 1 year after that person leaves office, know14 ingly makes, with the intent to influence, any 

15 communication to or appearance before any of 

16 the persons described in subparagraph (B), on 

17 behalf of any other person (except the United 

18 States) in connection with any matter on which 

19 such former employee seeks action by a Member, 

20 officer, or employee of either House of Congress, 

21 in his or her official capacity, shall be punished 

22 as provided in section 216 of this title. 

23 ‘‘(B) CONTACT PERSONS COVERED.—The 

24 persons referred to in subparagraph (A) with re25 spect to appearances or communications are any 


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1 Member, officer, or employee of the House of 

2 Congress in which the person subject to subpara3 graph (A) was employed.’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (6)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2), (3), and 

6 (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘(A)’’; 

8 (C) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

9 (D) by redesignating the paragraph as 

10 paragraph (3); and 

11 (4) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para12 graph (4). 

13 TITLE IV—BAN ON PROVISION 

14 OF GIFTS OR TRAVEL BY LOB15 BYISTS IN VIOLATION OF THE 

16 RULES OF CONGRESS 

17 SEC. 401. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF GIFTS OR TRAV18 EL BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS TO MEMBERS 

19 OF CONGRESS AND TO CONGRESSIONAL EM20 PLOYEES. 

21 The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 is amended by 

22 adding at the 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.—A registered lobbyist may not 

6 knowingly make a gift or provide travel to a Member, Dele7 gate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of Con8 gress, unless the gift or travel may be accepted under the 

9 rules of the House of Representatives or the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—Any registered lobbyist who violates 

11 this section shall be subject to penalties provided in section 

12 7.’’. 

13 TITLE V—COMMISSION TO 

14 STRENGTHEN CONFIDENCE 

15 IN CONGRESS ACT OF 2006 

16 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Commission to 

18 Strengthen Confidence in Congress Act of 2006’’. 

19 SEC. 502. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

20 There is established in the legislative branch a commis21 sion to be known as the ‘‘Commission to Strengthen Con22 fidence in Congress’’ (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Com23 mission’’). 

24 SEC. 503. PURPOSES. 

25 The purposes of the Commission are to— 


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1 (1) evaluate and report the effectiveness of cur2 rent congressional ethics requirements, if penalties are 

3 enforced and sufficient, and make recommendations 

4 for new penalties; 

5 (2) weigh the need for improved ethical conduct 

6 with the need for lawmakers to have access to exper7 tise on public policy issues; 

8 (3) determine whether the current system for en9 forcing ethics rules and standards of conduct is suffi10 ciently effective and transparent; 

11 (4) determine whether the statutory framework 

12 governing lobbying disclosure should be expanded to 

13 include additional means of attempting to influence 

14 Members of Congress, senior staff, and high-ranking 

15 executive branch officials; 

16 (5) analyze and evaluate the changes made by 

17 this Act to determine whether additional changes need 

18 to be made to uphold and enforce standards of ethical 

19 conduct and disclosure requirements; and 

20 (6) investigate and report to Congress on its 

21 findings, conclusions, and recommendations for re22 form. 

23 SEC. 504. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

24 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed of 

25 10 members, of whom— 


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1 (1) the chair and vice chair shall be selected by 

2 agreement of the majority leader and minority leader 

3 of the House of Representatives and the majority 

4 leader and minority leader of the Senate; 

5 (2) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

6 member of the Senate leadership of the Republican 

7 Party, 1 of which is a former member of the Senate; 

8 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

9 member of the Senate leadership of the Democratic 

10 Party, 1 of which is a former member of the Senate; 

11 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

12 member of the leadership of the House of Representa13 tives of the Republican Party, 1 of which is a former 

14 member of the House of Representatives; and 

15 (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

16 member of the leadership of the House of Representa17 tives of the Democratic Party, 1 of which is a former 

18 member of the House of Representatives. 

19 (b) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 

20 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Five mem21 bers of the Commission shall be Democrats and 5 Re22 publicans. 

23 (2) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An indi24 vidual appointed to the Commission may not be an 


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1 officer or employee of the Federal Government or any 

2 State or local government. 

3 (3) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 

4 Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis5 sion should be prominent United States citizens, with 

6 national recognition and significant depth of experi7 ence in professions such as governmental service, gov8 ernment consulting, government contracting, the law, 

9 higher education, historian, business, public relations, 

10 and fundraising. 

11 (4) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All members 

12 of the Commission shall be appointed on a date 3 

13 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 (5) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

15 meet and begin the operations of the Commission as 

16 soon as practicable. 

17 (c) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After its initial meeting, 

18 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the chairman 

19 or a majority of its members. Six members of the Commis20 sion shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy in the Com21 mission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

22 the same manner in which the original appointment was 

23 made. 


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1 SEC. 505. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. 

2 The functions of the Commission are to submit to Con3 gress a report required by this title containing such find4 ings, conclusions, and recommendations as the Commission 

5 shall determine, including proposing organization, coordi6 nation, planning, management arrangements, procedures, 

7 rules and regulations— 

8 (1) related to section 503; or 

9 (2) related to any other areas the commission 

10 unanimously votes to be relevant to its mandate to 

11 recommend reforms to strengthen ethical safeguards 

12 in Congress. 

13 SEC. 506. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

14 (a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission or, 

15 on the authority of the Commission, any subcommittee or 

16 member thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out this 

17 title— 

18 (1) hold such hearings and sit and act at such 

19 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

20 evidence, administer such oaths; and 

21 (2) subject to subsection (b), require, by subpoena 

22 or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of such 

23 witnesses and the production of such books, records, 

24 correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents, 

25 as the Commission or such designated subcommittee 

26 or designated member may determine advisable. 


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1 (b) SUBPOENAS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be issued 

3 under this subsection only— 

4 (A) by the agreement of the chair and the 

5 vice chair; or 

6 (B) by the affirmative vote of 6 members of 

7 the Commission. 

8 (2) SIGNATURE.—Subject to paragraph (1), sub9 poenas issued under this subsection may be issued 

10 under the signature of the chairman or any member 

11 designated by a majority of the Commission, and 

12 may be served by any person designated by the chair13 man or by a member designated by a majority of the 

14 Commission. 

15 (c) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—Upon request of the 

16 Commission, the head of any agency or instrumentality of 

17 the Federal Government shall furnish information deemed 

18 necessary by the panel to enable it to carry out its duties. 

19 SEC. 507. ADMINISTRATION. 

20 (a) COMPENSATION.—Except as provided in subsection 

21 (b), members of the Commission shall receive no additional 

22 pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on 

23 the Commission. 

24 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES AND PER DIEM.—Each mem25 ber of the Commission shall receive travel expenses and per 


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1 diem in lieu of subsistence in accordance with sections 5702 

2 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (c) STAFF AND SUPPORT SERVICES.— 

4 (1) STAFF DIRECTOR.— 

5 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The Chair (or Co6 Chairs) in accordance with the rules agreed upon 

7 by the Commission shall appoint a staff director 

8 for the Commission. 

9 (B) COMPENSATION.—The staff director 

10 shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the rate es11 tablished for level V of the Executive Schedule 

12 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (2) STAFF.—The Chair (or Co-Chairs) in ac14 cordance with the rules agreed upon by the Commis15 sion shall appoint such additional personnel as the 

16 Commission determines to be necessary. 

17 (3) APPLICABILITY OF CIVIL SERVICE LAWS.— 

18 The staff director and other members of the staff of 

19 the Commission shall be appointed without regard to 

20 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov21 erning appointments in the competitive service, and 

22 shall be paid without regard to the provisions of 

23 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

24 title relating to classification and General Schedule 

25 pay rates. 


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1 (4) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap2 proval of the Commission, the staff director may pro3 cure temporary and intermittent services under sec4 tion 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

5 (d) PHYSICAL FACILITIES.—The Architect of the Cap6 itol, in consultation with the appropriate entities in the leg7 islative branch, shall locate and provide suitable office space 

8 for the operation of the Commission on a nonreimbursable 

9 basis. The facilities shall serve as the headquarters of the 

10 Commission and shall include all necessary equipment and 

11 incidentals required for the proper functioning of the Com12 mission. 

13 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES AND OTHER

14 ASSISTANCE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Com16 mission, the Architect of the Capitol and the Adminis17 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com18 mission on a nonreimbursable basis such administra19 tive support services as the Commission may request. 

20 (2) ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.—In addition to the 

21 assistance set forth in paragraph (1), departments 

22 and agencies of the United States may provide the 

23 Commission such services, funds, facilities, staff, and 

24 other support services as the Commission may deem 

25 advisable and as may be authorized by law. 


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1 (f) USE OF MAILS.—The Commission may use the 

2 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

3 same conditions as Federal agencies and shall, for purposes 

4 of the frank, be considered a commission of Congress as de5 scribed in section 3215 of title 39, United States Code. 

6 (g) PRINTING.—For purposes of costs relating to print7 ing and binding, including the cost of personnel detailed 

8 from the Government Printing Office, the Commission shall 

9 be deemed to be a committee of the Congress. 

10 SEC. 508. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM11 BERS AND STAFF. 

12 The appropriate Federal agencies or departments shall 

13 cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously providing 

14 to the Commission members and staff appropriate security 

15 clearances to the extent possible pursuant to existing proce16 dures and requirements, except that no person shall be pro17 vided with access to classified information under this title 

18 without the appropriate security clearances. 

19 SEC. 509. COMMISSION REPORTS; TERMINATION. 

20 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Commission shall sub21 mit— 

22 (1) an initial report to Congress not later than 

23 July 1, 2006; and 

24 (2) annual reports to Congress after the report 

25 required by paragraph (1); 


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1 containing such findings, conclusions, and recommenda2 tions for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a 

3 majority of Commission members. 

4 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES.—During the 60-day 

5 period beginning on the date of submission of each annual 

6 report and the final report under this section, the Commis7 sion shall— 

8 (1) be available to provide testimony to commit9 tees of Congress concerning such reports; and 

10 (2) take action to appropriately disseminate 

11 such reports. 

12 (c) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.— 

13 (1) FINAL REPORT.—At such time as a majority 

14 of the members of the Commission determines that the 

15 reasons for the establishment of the Commission no 

16 longer exist, the Commission shall submit to Congress 

17 a final report containing information described in 

18 subsection (a). 

19 (2) TERMINATION.—The Commission, and all the 

20 authorities of this title, shall terminate 60 days after 

21 the date on which the final report is submitted under 

22 paragraph (1), and the Commission may use such 60- 

23 day period for the purpose of concluding its activities. 


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1 SEC. 510. FUNDING. 

2 There are authorized such sums as necessary to carry 

3 out this title. 


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Calendar No. 369 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2128 

A BILL 

To provide greater transparency with respect to 

lobbying activities, and for other purposes. 

MARCH 3, 2006 

Reported with an amendment 


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