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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3859 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3859

    To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit 
 contributions and expenditures by multicandidate political committees 
   controlled by foreign-owned corporations, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 20, 2009

  Ms. Kaptur introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 
   the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit 
 contributions and expenditures by multicandidate political committees 
   controlled by foreign-owned corporations, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ethics in Foreign Lobbying Act of 
2009''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY MULTICANDIDATE 
              POLITICAL COMMITTEES OR SEPARATE SEGREGATED FUNDS 
              SPONSORED BY FOREIGN-CONTROLLED CORPORATIONS AND 
              ASSOCIATIONS.

    Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
441 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

   ``prohibition of contributions and expenditures by multicandidate 
 political committees sponsored by foreign-controlled corporations and 
                              associations

    ``Sec. 325.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
            ``(1) no multicandidate political committee or separate 
        segregated fund of a foreign-controlled corporation may make 
        any contribution or expenditure with respect to an election for 
        Federal office; and
            ``(2) no multicandidate political committee or separate 
        segregated fund of a trade organization, membership 
        organization, cooperative, or corporation without capital stock 
        may make any contribution or expenditure with respect to an 
        election for Federal office if 50 percent or more of the 
        operating fund of the trade organization, membership 
        organization, cooperative, or corporation without capital stock 
        is supplied by foreign-controlled corporations or foreign 
        nationals.
    ``(b) The Commission shall--
            ``(1) require each multicandidate political committee or 
        separate segregated fund of a corporation to include in the 
        statement of organization of the multicandidate political 
        committee or separate segregated fund a statement (to be 
        updated annually and at any time when the percentage goes above 
        or below 50 percent) of the percentage of ownership interest in 
        the corporation that is controlled by persons other than 
        citizens or nationals of the United States;
            ``(2) require each trade association, membership 
        organization, cooperative, or corporation without capital stock 
        to include in its statement of organization of the 
        multicandidate political committee or separate segregated fund 
        (and update annually) the percentage of its operating fund that 
        is derived from foreign-owned corporations and foreign 
        nationals; and
            ``(3) take such action as may be necessary to enforce 
        subsection (a).
    ``(c) The Commission shall maintain a list of the identity of the 
multicandidate political committees or separate segregated funds that 
file reports under subsection (b), including a statement of the amounts 
and percentage reported by such multicandidate political committees or 
separate segregated funds.
    ``(d) As used in this section--
            ``(1) the term `foreign-owned corporation' means a 
        corporation at least 50 percent of the ownership interest of 
        which is controlled by persons other than citizens or nationals 
        of the United States;
            ``(2) the term `multicandidate political committee' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 315(a)(4);
            ``(3) the term `separate segregated fund' means a separate 
        segregated fund referred to in section 316(b)(2)(C); and
            ``(4) the term `foreign national' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 319.''.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN ELECTION-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FOREIGN 
              NATIONALS.

    Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
441e) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) A foreign national shall not direct, dictate, control, or 
directly or indirectly participate in the decisionmaking process of any 
person, such as a corporation, labor organization, or political 
committee, with regard to such person's Federal or non-Federal 
election-related activities, such as decisions concerning the making of 
contributions or expenditures in connection with elections for any 
local, State, or Federal office or decisions concerning the 
administration of a political committee.''.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A CLEARINGHOUSE OF POLITICAL ACTIVITIES 
              INFORMATION WITHIN THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There shall be established within the Federal 
Election Commission a clearinghouse of public information regarding the 
political activities of foreign principals and agents of foreign 
principals. The information comprising this clearinghouse shall include 
only the following:
            (1) All registrations and reports filed pursuant to the 
        Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) during 
        the preceding 5-year period.
            (2) All registrations and reports filed pursuant to the 
        Foreign Agents Registration Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611 et 
        seq.), during the preceding 5-year period.
            (3) The listings of public hearings, hearing witnesses, and 
        witness affiliations printed in the Congressional Record during 
        the preceding 5-year period.
            (4) Public information disclosed pursuant to the rules of 
        the Senate or the House of Representatives regarding honoraria, 
        the receipt of gifts, travel, and earned and unearned income.
            (5) All reports filed pursuant to title I of the Ethics in 
        Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) during the preceding 5-
        year period.
            (6) All public information filed with the Federal Election 
        Commission pursuant to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
        1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) during the preceding 5-year period.
    (b) Disclosure of Other Information Prohibited.--The disclosure by 
the clearinghouse, or any officer or employee thereof, of any 
information other than that set forth in subsection (a) is prohibited, 
except as otherwise provided by law.
    (c) Director of Clearinghouse.--(1) The clearinghouse shall have a 
Director, who shall administer and manage the responsibilities and all 
activities of the clearinghouse.
    (2) The Director shall be appointed by the Federal Election 
Commission.
    (3) The period of the Director's term of service shall be 
determined by the Commission, but may not exceed 5 years.
    (4) No individual appointed to serve a term as the Director may 
serve for an additional term.
    (d) Ensuring Sufficient Staff and Other Resources.--The Commission 
shall ensure that the Director has sufficient resources, including 
staff, to carry out the Director's duties and responsibilities under 
this Act.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to conduct the activities of 
the clearinghouse.

SEC. 5. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE 
              CLEARINGHOUSE.

    (a) In General.--It shall be the duty of the Director of the 
clearinghouse established under section 4--
            (1) to develop a filing, coding, and cross-indexing system 
        to carry out the purposes of this Act (which shall include an 
        index of all persons identified in the reports, registrations, 
        and other information comprising the clearinghouse);
            (2) notwithstanding any other provision of law, to make 
        copies of registrations, reports, and other information 
        comprising the clearinghouse available for public inspection 
        and copying, beginning not later than 30 days after the 
        information is first available to the public, and to permit 
        copying of any such registration, report, or other information 
        by hand or by copying machine or, at the request of any person, 
        to furnish a copy of any such registration, report, or other 
        information upon payment of the cost of making and furnishing 
        such copy, except that no information contained in such 
        registration or report and no such other information shall be 
        sold or used by any person for the purpose of soliciting 
        contributions or for any profit-making purpose;
            (3) to compile and summarize, for each calendar quarter, 
        the information contained in such registrations, reports, and 
        other information comprising the clearinghouse in a manner 
        which facilitates the disclosure of political activities, 
        including, but not limited to, information on--
                    (A) political activities pertaining to issues 
                before the Congress and issues before the executive 
                branch; and
                    (B) the political activities of individuals, 
                organizations, foreign principals, and agents of 
                foreign principals who share an economic, business, or 
                other common interest;
            (4) to make the information compiled and summarized under 
        paragraph (3) available to the public within 30 days after the 
        close of each calendar quarter, and to publish such information 
        in the Federal Register at the earliest practicable 
        opportunity;
            (5) not later than 150 days after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act and at any time thereafter, to prescribe, in 
        consultation with the Comptroller General, such rules, 
        regulations, and forms, in conformity with the provisions of 
        chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, as are necessary to 
        carry out the provisions of section 4 and this section in the 
        most effective and efficient manner; and
            (6) at the request of any Member of the Senate or Member of 
        the House of Representatives, to prepare and submit to such 
        Member a study or report relating to the political activities 
        of any person and consisting only of the information in the 
        registrations, reports, and other information comprising the 
        clearinghouse.
    (b) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            (1) the terms ``foreign principal'' and ``agent of a 
        foreign principal'' have the meanings given those terms in 
        section 1 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 
        U.S.C. 611);
            (2) the term ``issue before the Congress'' means the total 
        of all matters, both substantive and procedural, relating to--
                    (A) any pending or proposed bill, resolution, 
                report, nomination, treaty, hearing, investigation, or 
                other similar matter in either the Senate or the House 
                of Representatives or any committee or office of the 
                Congress; or
                    (B) any pending action by a Member, officer, or 
                employee of the Congress to affect, or attempt to 
                affect, any action or proposed action by any officer or 
                employee of the executive branch;
            (3) the term ``issue before the executive branch'' means 
        the total of all matters, both substantive and procedural, 
        relating to any pending action by any executive agency, or by 
        any officer or employee of the executive branch, concerning--
                    (A) any pending or proposed rule, rule of practice, 
                adjudication, regulation, determination, hearing, 
                investigation, contract, grant, license, negotiation, 
                or the appointment of officers and employees, other 
                than appointments in the competitive service; or
                    (B) any issue before the Congress; and
            (4) the term ``Member of the House of Representatives'' 
        includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.

SEC. 6. PENALTIES FOR DISCLOSURE.

    Any person who discloses information in violation of section 4(b), 
and any person who sells or uses information for the purpose of 
soliciting contributions or for any profit-making purpose in violation 
of section 5(a)(2), shall be imprisoned for a period of not more than 1 
year, or fined under title 18, United States Code, or both.

SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION ACT OF 1938.

    (a) Quarterly Reports.--Section 2(b) of the Foreign Agents 
Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 612(b)), is amended in the first 
sentence by striking ``, within thirty days'' and all that follows 
through ``preceding six months' period'' and inserting the following: 
``on January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31 of each year, file 
with the Attorney General a supplement thereto on a form prescribed by 
the Attorney General, which shall set forth regarding the three-month 
periods ending the previous December 31, March 31, June 30, and 
September 30, respectively, or if a lesser period, the period since the 
initial filing,''.
    (b) Exemption for Legal Representation.--Section 3(g) of the 
Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 613(g)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: ``A person may be exempt under this 
subsection only upon filing with the Attorney General a request for 
such exemption.''.
    (c) Civil Penalties.--Section 8 of the Foreign Agents Registration 
Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 618) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(i)(1) Any person who is determined, after notice and opportunity 
for an administrative hearing--
            ``(A) to have failed to file a registration statement under 
        section 2(a) or a supplement thereto under section 2(b),
            ``(B) to have omitted a material fact required to be stated 
        therein, or
            ``(C) to have made a false statement with respect to such a 
        material fact,
shall be required to pay a civil penalty in an amount not less than 
$2,000 or more than $5,000 for each violation committed. In determining 
the amount of the penalty, the Attorney General shall give due 
consideration to the nature and duration of the violation.
    ``(2)(A) In conducting investigations and hearings under paragraph 
(1), administrative law judges may, if necessary, compel by subpoena 
the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence at any 
designated place or hearing.
    ``(B) In the case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena 
lawfully issued under this paragraph and, upon application by the 
Attorney General, an appropriate district court of the United States 
may issue an order requiring compliance with such subpoena and any 
failure to obey such order may be punished by such court as contempt 
thereof.''.
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