I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8022 

To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to assign unique identification 

numbers to each lobbyist who registers under such Act and to each 

client of the lobbyist and each person who provides strategic lobbying 

services in support of the lobbyist, to require the disclosure of information 

on any persons who provide strategic lobbying services in support of 

registered lobbyists under such Act, to require the Clerk of the House 

of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate to assign a unique 

identification number to each individual who registers as a lobbyist under 

such Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 11, 2020 

Mr. PHILLIPS (for himself and Mr. CLINE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to assign 

unique identification numbers to each lobbyist who registers under such Act and to each client of the lobbyist 

and each person who provides strategic lobbying services 

in support of the lobbyist, to require the disclosure of 

information on any persons who provide strategic lobbying services in support of registered lobbyists under 

such Act, to require the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate to assign a unique 

identification number to each individual who registers 

as a lobbyist under such Act, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Lobbying Disclosure 

5 Reform Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the right to petition government for redress 

9 of grievances is a fundamental right in our rep10 resentative democracy, which is often realized 

11 through lobbying; 

12 (2) responsible representative government re13 quires public awareness of the efforts of paid lobby14 ists to influence the public decision making process 

15 in both the legislative and executive branches of the 

16 Federal Government; 

17 (3) existing lobbying disclosure laws have not 

18 been as effective as they could be because of unclear 

19 statutory language, weak administrative and enforce20 ment provisions, and an absence of clear guidance as 

21 to who is required to register and what they are re22 quired to disclose; 

23 (4) the effective public disclosure of the identity 

24 and extent of the efforts of paid lobbyists to influ25 ence Federal officials in the conduct of government 


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1 actions will increase public confidence in the integ2 rity of government; and 

3 (5) experience with lobbying laws and regula4 tions for nearly a half century led to substantial im5 provements in the law in 1995, and experience with 

6 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 over the last 

7 decade provides a sound basis for new refinements 

8 today. 

9 SEC. 3. ASSIGNMENT OF UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION NUM10 BERS TO LOBBYISTS, CLIENTS, AND PRO11 VIDERS OF STRATEGIC LOBBYING SERVICES. 

12 (a) ASSIGNMENT OF UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION NUM13 BERS.—Section 6(a)(3) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

14 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)(3)) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara16 graph (A); 

17 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon the 

18 end of subparagraph (B); and 

19 (3) by adding after subparagraph (B) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(C) a system that assigns an identifica22 tion number for each lobbyist for whom a reg23 istration or report is filed under this Act, each 

24 client of such a lobbyist, and each provider of 


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1 strategic lobbying services on behalf of such cli2 ent;’’. 

3 (b) INCLUSION IN REGISTRATION STATEMENTS.— 

4 (1) INFORMATION ON REGISTRANTS.—Section 

5 4(b)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(1)) is amend6 ed by striking ‘‘name,’’ and inserting ‘‘name, unique 

7 identification number (if available at the time of reg8 istration),’’. 

9 (2) INFORMATION ON CLIENTS.—Section 

10 4(b)(2) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(2)) is amend11 ed by striking ‘‘name,’’ and inserting ‘‘name, unique 

12 identification number (if available at the time of reg13 istration),’’. 

14 (3) INFORMATION ON EMPLOYEES.—Section 

15 4(b)(6) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6)) is amend16 ed by striking ‘‘the name’’ and inserting ‘‘the name 

17 and unique identification number (if available at the 

18 time of registration)’’. 

19 (c) INCLUSION IN QUARTERLY REPORTS.— 

20 (1) INFORMATION ON REGISTRANTS AND CLI21 ENTS.—Section 5(b)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

22 1604(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘the name of the 

23 registrant, the name of the client’’ and inserting the 

24 following: ‘‘the name and unique identification numVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Aug 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8022.IH H8022

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1 ber of the registrant, the name and unique identi2 fication number of the client’’. 

3 (2) INFORMATION ON EMPLOYEES.—Section 

4 5(b)(2)(C) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)(2)(C)) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘a list of the employees’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘a list of the names and unique identifica7 tion numbers of the employees’’. 

8 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Clerk of the House of 

9 Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall im10 plement the system described in subparagraph (C) of sec11 tion 6(a)(3) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as 

12 added by subsection (a), not later than the first day of 

13 the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress. 

14 SEC. 4. REQUIRING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONS PROVIDING 

15 STRATEGIC LOBBYING SERVICES. 

16 (a) DISCLOSURE IN LOBBYIST REGISTRATION

17 STATEMENTS.—Section 4(b)(6) of the Lobbying Disclo18 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘expects to act as a lobbyist on 

20 behalf of the client and’’ and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘expects to act as a lobbyist on behalf of the client, 

22 or who has been or who the registrant expects to be 

23 a provider of strategic lobbying services on behalf of 

24 the client, and’’; and 


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1 (2) by inserting after ‘‘first acted as a lobbyist’’ 

2 the following: ‘‘or was first a provider of strategic 

3 lobbying services’’. 

4 (b) DISCLOSURE IN QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Section 

5 5(b)(2) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)(2)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara7 graph (C); 

8 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara9 graph (D); and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub11 paragraphs: 

12 ‘‘(E) a list of the names and unique identi13 fication numbers of the employees of the reg14 istrant who were providers of strategic lobbying 

15 services in support of the registrant’s lobbying 

16 activities on behalf of the client during the 

17 quarterly period; and 

18 ‘‘(F) a list of the names of all other per19 sons who were retained as providers of strategic 

20 lobbying services in support of the registrant’s 

21 lobbying activities on behalf of the client during 

22 the quarterly period, together with— 

23 ‘‘(i) the nature of the strategic lob24 bying services provided, along with a brief 

25 summary of work performed; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the amount paid to each such 

2 person for such services; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the name of any individual em4 ployed by such person who supervised the 

5 provision of such services, and, if the indi6 vidual served as a covered executive branch 

7 official or a covered legislative branch offi8 cial in the previous 20 years, a statement 

9 describing the position in which such indi10 vidual served; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) the name of any individual em12 ployed by such person who provided such 

13 services during the quarterly period, and, if 

14 the individual served as a covered executive 

15 branch official or a covered legislative 

16 branch official in the previous 20 years, a 

17 statement describing the position in which 

18 such individual served.’’. 

19 (c) INCLUSION IN FILING, CODING, AND CROSS-IN20 DEXING SYSTEMS.—Section 6(a)(3)(A) of such Act (2 

21 U.S.C. 1605(a)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘and their 

22 clients’’ and inserting ‘‘and their clients and providers of 

23 strategic lobbying services’’. 

24 (d) DEFINITION.—Section 3 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

25 1602) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (15) and (16) 

2 as paragraphs (16) and (17); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol4 lowing new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(15) PROVIDER OF STRATEGIC LOBBYING

6 SERVICES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘provider of 

8 strategic lobbying services’ means any person 

9 who, during a quarterly period described in sec10 tion 5, provided a registrant under section 4 

11 with 12 or more hours of services which are de12 scribed in subparagraph (C) but which are not 

13 otherwise treated as lobbying activities or lob14 bying contacts. 

15 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR FORMER OFFI16 CIALS.—In the case of a person who served as 

17 a covered executive branch official or a covered 

18 legislative branch official in the previous 20 

19 years and who, during a quarterly period de20 scribed in section 5, provided a registrant under 

21 section 4 with services described in subpara22 graph (A) and also carried out lobbying activi23 ties on behalf of the registrant, such person 

24 shall be treated as a provider of strategic lob25 bying services if the combined time spent in 


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1 providing services described in subparagraph 

2 (A) and lobbying activities on behalf of the reg3 istrant during the period was 12 hours or 

4 greater. 

5 ‘‘(C) SERVICES DESCRIBED.—The services 

6 described in this subparagraph are the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(i) Providing strategic planning for 

9 lobbying activities or lobbying campaigns. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Providing strategic advice re11 garding earned media or press coverage re12 lated to specific issues upon which a lob13 byist employed by the registrant engaged 

14 in lobbying activities. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Polling services enlisted by a 

16 registrant related to specific issues upon 

17 which a lobbyist employed by the reg18 istrant engaged in lobbying activities. 

19 ‘‘(iv) Providing advice on or producing 

20 public communications related to specific 

21 issues upon which a lobbyist employed by 

22 the registrant engaged in lobbying activi23 ties. 

24 ‘‘(v) Encouraging persons to support 

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1 tion or take action with regard to specific 

2 issues upon which a lobbyist employed by 

3 the registrant engaged in lobbying activi4 ties, including the costs of creating formal 

5 or informal coalitions of organizations for 

6 such purposes.’’. 

7 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply with respect to statements and re9 ports filed on or after the first day of the One Hundred 

10 Seventeenth Congress. 

11 SEC. 5. PROMOTING ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GEN12 ERAL. 

13 (a) REFERENCE OF NONCOMPLIANCE TO ATTORNEY

14 GENERAL.—Section 6(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act 

15 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘the 

16 United States Attorney for the District of Columbia’’ each 

17 place it appears in paragraph (8) and paragraph (11) and 

18 inserting ‘‘the Attorney General’’. 

19 (b) INCLUSION IN ENFORCEMENT REPORTS OF

20 IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO IMPOSI21 TION OF SENTENCE.—Section 6(b)(1) of such Act (2 

22 U.S.C. 1605(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘by case, any 

23 sentences imposed, except that such report shall not in24 clude the names of individuals, or personally identifiable 

25 information, that is not already a matter of public record’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘by case and by the name of the individual 

2 and (if applicable) the lobbying firm involved, any sen3 tences imposed’’. 

4 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS TO PROMOTE ENFORCE5 MENT AND COMPLIANCE.—Section 6 of such Act (2 

6 U.S.C. 1605) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS TO PROMOTE ENFORCE9 MENT AND COMPLIANCE.—The Attorney General, at any 

10 time, may make recommendations to Congress on steps 

11 to promote the enforcement of and compliance with this 

12 Act, including recommendations regarding the Attorney 

13 General’s need for resources to carry out the enforcement 

14 of this Act.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. INCREASING TRANSPARENCY OF SYSTEM FOR FIL16 ING, CODING, AND CROSS-INDEXING OF RE17 PORTED INFORMATION. 

18 (a) CLARIFYING REQUIREMENT TO IMPLEMENT SYS19 TEM.—Section 6(a)(3) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

20 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)(3)) is amended in the matter pre21 ceding subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘develop’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘develop and implement’’. 

23 (b) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION THROUGH

24 SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS.—Section 6(a)(3)(B) of such 

25 Act (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘computerized systems’’ and inserting ‘‘computerized sys2 tems, including a system through which individuals may 

3 use software or web-based applications to obtain access 

4 to a searchable, sortable, and downloadable database of 

5 information,’’ 

6 SEC. 7. OTHER REFORMS IN REGULATION OF LOBBYISTS 

7 AND LOBBYING ACTIVITY. 

8 (a) REVISION OF THRESHOLD FOR EXEMPTION

9 FROM TREATMENT AS LOBBYIST.— 

10 (1) REVISION.—Section 3(10) of the Lobbying 

11 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(10)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘by a client’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘by a client or by a registrant’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘other than an individual’’ 

16 and all that follows and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘other than an individual who, over a 3-month 

18 period, spends fewer than 12 hours engaged in 

19 lobbying activities for such client or such reg20 istrant.’’. 

21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

22 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to lob23 bying activities occurring on or after the first day of 

24 the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress. 

25 (b) DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION.— 


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1 (1) REVISION OF DEADLINE.—Section 4(a) of 

2 such Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)) is amended— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘45 days’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘30 days’’; and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘45th day’’ each place it 

6 appears and inserting ‘‘30th day’’. 

7 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

8 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to lob9 bying contacts occurring on or after the first day of 

10 the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress. 

11 (c) INCLUSION OF SPECIFIC INFORMATION IN REG12 ISTRATION STATEMENTS ON ISSUED ADDRESSED IN LOB13 BYING ACTIVITIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(b)(5)(B) of such 

15 Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(5)(B)) is amended by strik16 ing the semicolon at the end and inserting the fol17 lowing: ‘‘, including any Federal rule, regulation, 

18 Executive Order, or any other program, policy, pol19 icy, or position of the United States Government, as 

20 well as any proposed Federal legislation or a descrip21 tion thereof;’’. 

22 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

23 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to state24 ments filed on or after the first day of the One Hun25 dred Seventeenth Congress. 


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1 (d) CLARIFICATION OF TIMING OF TERMINATION OF

2 REGISTRATION.—Section 4(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

3 1603(d)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘by a client’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘by a client or by a registrant’’; and 

6 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘for such cli7 ent’’ and inserting ‘‘for such client or lobbying 

8 firm’’. 

9 SEC. 8. QUADRENNIAL REPORTS ON EFFECTIVENESS OF 

10 COLLECTION, STORING, AND RELEASE OF IN11 FORMATION. 

12 (a) INCLUSION IN ANNUAL AUDITS BY COMP13 TROLLER GENERAL.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 26 of the Lobbying 

15 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1614) is amend16 ed— 

17 (A) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub18 section (c); and 

19 (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the 

20 following new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(b) QUADRENNIAL REPORTS ON MODERNIZATION

22 OF REPORTING AND DISCLOSURES.—Beginning in 2020 

23 and every 4 years thereafter, the Comptroller General 

24 shall include with the audit conducted under subsection 

25 (a) an evaluation of the technology and methods employed 


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1 by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 

2 to collect, store, review, and electronically publish the in3 formation filed with the Secretary and Clerk under this 

4 Act, and shall include in such evaluation an analysis of— 

5 ‘‘(1) whether additional technological means 

6 could be employed to reduce the burden on filers and 

7 increase the accuracy of filings; 

8 ‘‘(2) whether automated means are being maxi9 mally employed to allow the Secretary and the Clerk 

10 to automatically process, normalize, and verify the 

11 data they have received; and 

12 ‘‘(3) whether the Secretary and the Clerk could 

13 undertake other measures to improve how such is 

14 collected, reviewed, and reported to the public.’’. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

16 SUBMISSION OF REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 

17 26(c)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1614(c)(1)), as re18 designated by paragraph (1), is amended by in the 

19 matter preceding subparagraph (A) by striking the 

20 period at the end of the first sentence and inserting 

21 the following: ‘‘, and, if applicable, the quadrennial 

22 evaluation conducted under subsection (b).’’. 

23 (b) JOINT REVIEW BY SECRETARY OF SENATE AND

24 CLERK OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The Lobbying 


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1 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended 

2 by adding at the end the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 27. QUADRENNIAL REVIEW OF INFORMATION COL4 LECTION AND DISSEMINATION BY SEC5 RETARY OF SENATE AND CLERK OF HOUSE 

6 OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

7 ‘‘(a) REVIEW.—Not later than April 1, 2021, and 

8 every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary of the Senate and 

9 the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall jointly 

10 conduct and submit to Congress a review of how the Sec11 retary and Clerk collect, store, review, and disseminate in12 formation filed with the Secretary and the Clerk under 

13 this Act. 

14 ‘‘(b) FACTORS.—In conducting the review under sub15 section (a), the Secretary and the Clerk— 

16 ‘‘(1) shall include an analysis of how the filing 

17 and public disclosure of the information filed under 

18 this Act can be improved, including a detailed plan 

19 with deadlines for improving filing and disclosure 

20 mechanisms; and 

21 ‘‘(2) shall consult with members of the public, 

22 with an emphasis on those members of the public 

23 who regularly seek access to such information. 

24 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL OR SEPARATE VIEWS PER25 MITTED.—The Secretary and the Clerk may each include 


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1 additional or separate views in the review submitted to 

2 Congress under subsection (a).’’. 

Æ 


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