II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2482 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to require the Attorney General 

to establish a section within the Department of Justice with responsibility 

for the enforcement of laws against suspected operatives or agents of 

foreign governments, to amend title 18, United States Code, to improve 

enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2018 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. CORNYN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. YOUNG) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to require the Attorney General to establish a section within the Department 

of Justice with responsibility for the enforcement of laws 

against suspected operatives or agents of foreign governments, to amend title 18, United States Code, to improve 

enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Agents Reg3 istration Amendments Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FOREIGN OPERATIVES AND AGENTS REGISTRATION 

5 INVESTIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT UNIT. 

6 Section 509A of title 28, United States Code, is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(c) Not later than 180 days after the date of enact9 ment of this subsection, the Attorney General shall estab10 lish a unit within the counterespionage section of the Na11 tional Security Division of the Department of Justice with 

12 responsibility for the enforcement of laws against sus13 pected operatives or unregistered agents of foreign govern14 ments. 

15 ‘‘(d) The unit established under subsection (c) is au16 thorized to— 

17 ‘‘(1) take appropriate legal action against indi18 viduals suspected of violating subsection (a) or (b) 

19 of section 951 of title 18; and 

20 ‘‘(2) coordinate any such legal action with the 

21 United States Attorney for the relevant jurisdiction. 

22 ‘‘(e) The Attorney General shall, as appropriate, con23 sult with the Director of National Intelligence, the Sec24 retary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of State.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION CRIMINAL EN2 FORCEMENT. 

3 Section 951 of title 18, United States Code, is 

4 amended by striking subsections (a) through (e) and in5 serting the following: 

6 ‘‘(a) OPERATIVES OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, other than a dip8 lomatic or consular officer or attache ́, acts in the 

9 United States as an operative of a foreign govern10 ment without prior notification to the Attorney Gen11 eral if required in paragraph (2), shall be fined 

12 under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 

13 years, or both. 

14 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General 

15 shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing 

16 requirements for notification. 

17 ‘‘(3) TRANSMISSION.—The Attorney General 

18 shall, upon receipt, promptly transmit 1 copy of each 

19 notification statement filed under this section to the 

20 Secretary of State for such comment and use as the 

21 Secretary of State may determine to be appropriate 

22 from the point of view of the foreign relations of the 

23 United States. Failure of the Attorney General to do 

24 so shall not be a bar to prosecution under this sec25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, the term ‘operative of a foreign government’ 

3 means an individual who agrees to operate within 

4 the United States subject to the direction or control 

5 of a foreign government or official, except that such 

6 term does not include— 

7 ‘‘(A) a duly accredited diplomatic or con8 sular officer of a foreign government, who is so 

9 recognized by the Department of State; 

10 ‘‘(B) any officially and publicly acknowl11 edged and sponsored official or representative 

12 of a foreign government; 

13 ‘‘(C) any officially and publicly acknowl14 edged and sponsored member of the staff of, or 

15 employee of, an officer, official, or representa16 tive described in paragraph (A) or (B), who is 

17 not a United States citizen; or 

18 ‘‘(D) any person engaged in a legal com19 mercial transaction. 

20 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Notwith21 standing paragraph (4)(D), any person engaged in a 

22 legal commercial transaction shall be considered to 

23 be an agent of a foreign government for purposes of 

24 this section if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) such person agrees to operate within 

2 the United States subject to the direction or 

3 control of a foreign government or official; and 

4 ‘‘(B) such person— 

5 ‘‘(i) is an agent of Cuba or any other 

6 country that the President determines (and 

7 so reports to the Congress) poses a threat 

8 to the national security interest of the 

9 United States for purposes of this section, 

10 unless the Attorney General, after con11 sultation with the Secretary of State, de12 termines and so reports to the Congress 

13 that the national security or foreign policy 

14 interests of the United States require that 

15 the provisions of this section do not apply 

16 in specific circumstances to agents of such 

17 country; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) has been convicted of, or has en19 tered a plea of nolo contendere with re20 spect to, any offense under section 792 

21 through 799, 831, or 2381 of this title or 

22 under section 11 of the Export Adminis23 tration Act of 1979, except that the provi24 sions of this subsection shall not apply to 

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1 riod of more than 5 years beginning on the 

2 date of the conviction or the date of entry 

3 of the plea of nolo contendere, as the case 

4 may be. 

5 ‘‘(b) FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION CRIMINAL

6 ENFORCEMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(1) VIOLATIONS; FALSE STATEMENTS AND

8 WILLFUL OMISSIONS.—Any person who— 

9 ‘‘(A) willfully violates any provision of the 

10 Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 

11 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) or any regulation there12 under; or 

13 ‘‘(B) in any registration statement or sup14 plement thereto or in any other document filed 

15 with or furnished to the Attorney General 

16 under the provisions of the Foreign Agents 

17 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et 

18 seq.) willfully makes a false statement of a ma19 terial fact or willfully omits any material fact 

20 required to be stated therein or willfully omits 

21 a material fact or a copy of a material docu22 ment necessary to make the statements therein 

23 and the copies of documents furnished there24 with not misleading, 


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1 shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine 

2 of not more than $200,000 or by imprisonment for 

3 not more than 5 years, or both, except that in the 

4 case of a violation of subsection (b), (e), or (f) of 

5 section 4 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 

6 1938 (22 U.S.C. 614) or of paragraph (4) or (5) of 

7 this section the punishment shall be a fine of not 

8 more than $15,000 or imprisonment for not more 

9 than 6 months, or both. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—It shall 

11 be unlawful for any agent of a foreign principal reg12 istered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 

13 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) to fail to disclose be14 fore or during any meeting with a Member of Con15 gress or staff of a Member of Congress that the 

16 agent has registered under that Act.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION CIVIL ENFORCE18 MENT. 

19 Section 951 of title 18, United States Code, as 

20 amended by section 3, is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(c) FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION CIVIL EN23 FORCEMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMANDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ISSUANCE AND SERVICE.—Whenever 

2 the Attorney General, or a designee of the At3 torney General, has reason to believe that any 

4 person may be in possession, custody, or control 

5 of any documentary material or information rel6 evant to an investigation under this section, the 

7 Attorney General, or a designee of the Attorney 

8 General, may issue in writing and cause to be 

9 served upon such person, a civil investigative 

10 demand requiring such person— 

11 ‘‘(i) to produce such documentary ma12 terial for inspection and copying; 

13 ‘‘(ii) to answer in writing written in14 terrogatories with respect to such docu15 mentary material or information; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) to give oral testimony con17 cerning such documentary material or in18 formation. 

19 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each civil inves20 tigative demand issued under subparagraph (A) 

21 shall state the nature of the conduct consti22 tuting the alleged violation of a foreign agents 

23 law which is under investigation, and the appli24 cable provision of law alleged to be violated. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS.—Each 

2 civil investigative demand issued under sub3 paragraph (A) for the production of documen4 tary material shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) describe each class of documen6 tary material to be produced with such 

7 definiteness and certainty as to permit 

8 such material to be fairly identified; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) prescribe a return date for each 

10 such class which will provide a reasonable 

11 period of time within which the material so 

12 demanded may be assembled and made 

13 available for inspection and copying. 

14 ‘‘(D) DEMAND FOR WRITTEN ANSWERS.— 

15 Each civil investigative demand issued under 

16 subparagraph (A) for answers to written inter17 rogatories shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) set forth with specificity the writ19 ten interrogatories to be answered; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) prescribe dates at which time an21 swers to written interrogatories shall be 

22 submitted. 

23 ‘‘(E) ORAL TESTIMONY.—Each civil inves24 tigative demand issued under subparagraph (A) 

25 for the giving of oral testimony shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) prescribe a date, time, and place 

2 at which oral testimony shall be com3 menced; 

4 ‘‘(ii) specify that such attendance and 

5 testimony are necessary to the conduct of 

6 the investigation; 

7 ‘‘(iii) notify the person receiving the 

8 demand of the right to be accompanied by 

9 an attorney and any other representative; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iv) describe the general purpose for 

12 which the demand is being issued and the 

13 general nature of the testimony, including 

14 the primary areas of inquiry, which will be 

15 taken pursuant to the demand. 

16 ‘‘(2) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) REGISTRATION STATEMENTS.—Who18 ever fails to file timely or complete registration 

19 statement as provided under section 2(b) of the 

20 Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 

21 U.S.C. 612(a)) shall be subject to a civil fine of 

22 not more than $10,000 per violation. 

23 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTS.—Whoever fails to file 

24 timely or complete supplements as provided 

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1 istration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 612(b)) shall 

2 be subject to a civil fine of not more than 

3 $1,000 per violation. 

4 ‘‘(C) OTHER VIOLATIONS.—Whoever know5 ingly fails to— 

6 ‘‘(i) remedy a defective filing within 

7 60 days after notice of such defect by the 

8 Attorney General; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) comply with any other provision 

10 of this chapter; 

11 shall upon proof of such knowing violation by a 

12 preponderance of the evidence, be subject to a 

13 civil fine of not more than $200,000, depending 

14 on the extent and gravity of the violation. 

15 ‘‘(D) NO FINES PAID BY FOREIGN PRIN16 CIPALS.—Whenever a fine is paid under para17 graph (1), such fine may not be paid, directly 

18 or indirectly, by a foreign principal (as defined 

19 in section 1 of the Foreign Agents Registration 

20 Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611)). 

21 ‘‘(E) USE OF FINES.—All fines collected 

22 under this subsection shall be used to defray 

23 the cost of the Foreign Operatives and Agents 

24 Enforcement Unit established under section 

25 509A(c) of title 28.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. REMOVING THE LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT EX2 EMPTION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Foreign Agents 

4 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 613) is amended by 

5 striking subsection (h). 

6 (b) LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a)(3) of the Lob8 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)(3)) 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) FOREIGN AGENTS.—Any person re11 quired to register as an agent of a foreign prin12 cipal in accordance with the Foreign Agents 

13 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et 

14 seq.) is not required to register under this sub15 section.’’. 

16 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

17 by paragraph (1) shall take effect 180 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 6. ENHANCING PUBLIC ACCESS TO DATABASE OF FOR20 EIGN AGENTS. 

21 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Attorney General shall promulgate regula23 tions that modernize the input and output data for disclo24 sures under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 

25 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.), including regulations that provide 

26 that— 


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1 (1) not later than 2 years after the effective 

2 date of the regulations, require all users to file the 

3 disclosures through an online database, except under 

4 limited circumstances established by the Attorney 

5 General; 

6 (2) the online submissions should use online 

7 data entry software, including spreadsheets, that re8 quire all users to submit data in structured formats, 

9 including comma separated values and automatically 

10 validated data; 

11 (3) the publishing of the disclosures by the Fed12 eral Government to the public should be in data that 

13 is in a nonproprietary, machine-readable format; 

14 (4) if the data is published in bulk, the data 

15 should use file formats designed for bulk, structured 

16 data like comma separated values; and 

17 (5) client files should include a value that dem18 onstrates if a file has been terminated so the user 

19 is aware when the client ends a relationship or just 

20 stopped reporting. 

21 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that— 

23 (1) meaningful enforcement of the Foreign 

24 Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et 

25 seq.) is vital to the national security of the United 


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1 States and the integrity of our democratic process; 

2 and 

3 (2) the enforcement of that Act by the Depart4 ment of Justice must include civil and criminal pen5 alties, in addition to ongoing efforts to promote vol6 untary compliance. 

Æ 


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