II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1935

To prohibit lobbyists and their clients from providing to legislative branch

officials certain gifts, meals, entertainment, reimbursements, or loans

and to place limits on and require disclosure by lobbyists of certain

expenditures.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 16 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1994

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. WELLSTONE, and Mr. FEINGOLD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

MARCH 17 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1994

Ordered; that if the Committee on Governmental Affairs has not reported the

bill by the close of business April 27, 1994, then the bill be discharged

and placed on the calendar

A BILL

To prohibit lobbyists and their clients from providing to

legislative branch officials certain gifts, meals, entertainment, reimbursements, or loans and to place limits on

and require disclosure by lobbyists of certain expenditures.

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. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN GIFTS, MEALS, EN2 TERTAINMENT, REIMBURSEMENTS, AND

3 LOANS; NEW LIMITATIONS ON AND PUBLIC

4 DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN EXPENDITURES.

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—

6 (1) CLIENT.—The term ‘‘client’’ means an indi7 vidual or other person or entity (including a State

8 or local government and including a foreign principal

9 (as defined in section 1(b) of the Foreign Agents

10 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611(b)) that

11 employs or retains another person for financial or

12 other compensation to conduct lobbying activities on

13 the person’s or entity’s behalf. An organization, any

14 employees of which act as lobbyists on the organiza15 tion’s behalf, is both a client and an employer of

16 such employees. In the case of a coalition or associa17 tion that employs or retains other persons to con18 duct lobbying activities on behalf of its membership,

19 the client is the coalition or association and not its

20 individual members.

21 (2) COVERED EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIAL.—

22 The term ‘‘covered executive branch official’’

23 means—

24 (A) the President or the President-elect;

25 (B) the Vice President or the Vice Presi26 dent-elect;
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1 (C) an officer or employee (other than a

2 clerical or secretarial employee) of the Execu3 tive Office of the President or any individual

4 functioning in the capacity of such an officer or

5 employee on an unpaid basis;

6 (D) an officer or employee serving in a po7 sition in level I, II, III, IV, or V of the Execu8 tive Schedule, as designated by statute or

9 Executive order;

10 (E) an officer or employee serving in a

11 Senior Executive Service position, as defined in

12 section 3132(a)(2) of title 5, United States

13 Code;

14 (F) a member of the uniformed services

15 whose pay grade is at or above O–7 under sec16 tion 201 of title 37, United States Code; and

17 (G) an officer or employee serving in a po18 sition of a confidential, policy-determining, pol19 icy-making, or policy-advocating character de20 scribed in section 7511(b)(2) of title 5, United

21 States Code.

22 (3) COVERED LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OFFI23 CIAL.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered leg25 islative branch official’’ means—
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1 (i) a Member of Congress or a

2 Member-elect of Congress;

3 (ii) an elected officer of either House

4 of Congress;

5 (iii) any employee of a Member of

6 Congress or of a committee of either

7 House of Congress;

8 (iv) any employee on the leadership

9 staff of the House of Representatives and

10 any employee on the leadership staff of the

11 Senate;

12 (v) any employee of a joint committee

13 of the Congress; and

14 (vi) any employee of a working group

15 or caucus organized to provide legislative

16 services or other assistance to Members of

17 Congress.

18 (B) DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED IN SUB19 PARAGRAPH (A).—In subparagraph (A)—

20 (i) the terms ‘‘employee on the leader21 ship staff of the House of Representatives’’

22 and ‘‘employee on the leadership staff of

23 the Senate’’ have the meanings stated in

24 section 207(e)(4) of title 18, United States

25 Code;
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1 (ii) the term ‘‘employee’’ includes an

2 individual functioning in the capacity of an

3 employee described in subparagraph (A) on

4 an unpaid basis but does not include a

5 clerical or secretarial employee; and

6 (iii) the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’

7 means a Senator or a Representative in, or

8 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the

9 Congress.

10 (4) COVERED PERSON OR ENTITY.—The term

11 ‘‘covered person or entity’’ means a covered legisla12 tive branch official, an entity that is maintained or

13 controlled by a covered legislative branch official,

14 and any other person or entity to whom or to which

15 an item described in subsection (b) is provided on

16 behalf of a covered legislative branch official.

17 (5) EMPLOYEE.—Except as provided in para18 graph (3)(B)(ii), the term ‘‘employee’’ means an in19 dividual who is an officer, employee, partner, direc20 tor, or proprietor of an organization, but does not

21 include—

22 (A) independent contractors; or

23 (B) volunteers who receive no financial or

24 other compensation from the organization for

25 their services.
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1 (6) GRASS ROOTS LOBBYING COMMUNICA2 TION.—The term ‘‘grass roots lobbying communica3 tion’’ means—

4 (A) a communication that attempts to in5 fluence any legislation through an attempt to

6 affect the opinions of the general public or any

7 segment thereof as described in paragraph

8 (1)(A) of section 4911(d) of the Internal

9 Revenue Code of 1986;

10 (B) a communication between an organiza11 tion and any bona fide member of the organiza12 tion to directly encourage the member to make

13 a communication as provided in paragraph

14 (1)(B) of section 4911(d) of the Internal

15 Revenue Code of 1986; and

16 (C) a communication between an organiza17 tion and any bona fide member of the organiza18 tion to directly encourage the member to urge

19 persons other than members to communicate as

20 provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph

21 or paragraph (1)(B) of section 4911(d) of the

22 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

23 (7) LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘lobbying ac25 tivities’’ means lobbying contacts and efforts in
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1 support of such contacts, including preparation

2 and planning activities, research and other

3 background work that is intended, at the time

4 of its preparation, for use in contacts, and co5 ordination with the lobbying activities of others,

6 and, except as provided in subparagraph (B),

7 includes—

8 (i) a grass roots lobbying communica9 tion; and

10 (ii) a communication described in

11 paragraph (8)(B) (iii), (v), (vii), or (viii),

12 to the extent that such activities or communica13 tions are made in direct support of a lobbying

14 contact.

15 (B) EXCLUSION OF RELIGIOUS ORGANIZA16 TIONS.—The term ‘‘lobbying activities’’ does

17 not include grass roots lobbying communica18 tions by churches, their integrated auxiliaries,

19 and conventions or associations of churches

20 that are exempt from filing Federal income tax

21 returns under paragraph (2)(A)(i) of section

22 6033(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,

23 unless such communications are made by a per24 son or organization that is required by law to

25 be identified in a lobbyist registration form.
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1 (8) LOBBYING CONTACT.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘lobbying

3 contact’’ means an oral or written communica4 tion (including an electronic communication) to

5 a covered executive branch official or a covered

6 legislative branch official that is made on behalf

7 of a client with regard to—

8 (i) the formulation, modification, or

9 adoption of Federal legislation (including

10 legislative proposals);

11 (ii) the formulation, modification, or

12 adoption of a Federal regulation, Executive

13 order, or any other program, policy, or po14 sition of the United States Government;

15 (iii) the administration or execution of

16 a Federal program or policy (including the

17 negotiation, award, or administration of a

18 Federal contract, grant, loan, permit, or li19 cense), but not including a communication

20 that is made to a covered executive branch

21 official—

22 (I) who is serving in a Senior Ex23 ecutive Service position; or

24 (II) who is a member of the uni25 formed services whose pay grade is
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1 lower than O–9 under section 201 of

2 title 37, United States Code,

3 in the agency responsible for taking such

4 administrative or executive action; or

5 (iv) the nomination or confirmation of

6 a person for a position subject to confirma7 tion by the Senate.

8 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘lobbying

9 contact’’ does not include a communication that

10 is—

11 (i) made by a public official acting in

12 an official capacity;

13 (ii) made by a representative of a

14 media organization if the purpose of the

15 communication is gathering and dissemi16 nating news and information to the public;

17 (iii) made in a speech, article, publica18 tion, or other material that is widely dis19 tributed to the public through radio, tele20 vision, cable television, or any other me21 dium of mass communication;

22 (iv) made on behalf of a government

23 of a foreign country or a foreign political

24 party and disclosed under the Foreign
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1 Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22

2 U.S.C. 611 et seq.);

3 (v) a request for a meeting, a request

4 for the status of a Federal action, or other

5 similar contact, if there is no attempt to

6 influence a covered executive branch offi7 cial or a covered legislative branch official;

8 (vi) made in the course of participa9 tion in an advisory committee subject to

10 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

11 U.S.C. App.);

12 (vii) testimony given before a commit13 tee, subcommittee, or task force of the

14 Congress, or submitted for inclusion in the

15 public record of a hearing conducted by

16 such committee, subcommittee, or task

17 force;

18 (viii) information provided in writing

19 in response to a written request for specific

20 information from a covered executive

21 branch official or a covered legislative

22 branch official;

23 (ix) required by subpoena, civil inves24 tigative demand, or otherwise compelled by
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1 statute, regulation, or other action of the

2 Congress or an agency;

3 (x) made in response to a notice in

4 the Federal Register, Commerce Business

5 Daily, or other similar publication solicit6 ing communications from the public and

7 directed to the agency official specifically

8 designated in the notice to receive such

9 communications;

10 (xi) not possible to report without dis11 closing information, the unauthorized dis12 closure of which is prohibited by law;

13 (xii) made to officials in an agency

14 with regard to—

15 (I) a judicial proceeding or a

16 criminal or civil law enforcement in17 quiry, investigation, or proceeding; or

18 (II) a filing or proceeding that

19 the Government is specifically re20 quired by statute or regulation to

21 maintain or conduct on a confidential

22 basis,

23 if that agency is charged with responsibil24 ity for such proceeding, inquiry, investiga25 tion, or filing;
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1 (xiii) made in compliance with written

2 agency procedures regarding an adjudica3 tion conducted by the agency under section

4 554 of title 5, United States Code, or sub5 stantially similar provisions;

6 (xiv) written comments filed in the

7 course of a public proceeding or other com8 munications that are made on the record

9 in a public proceeding;

10 (xv) a petition for agency action made

11 in writing pursuant to established agency

12 procedures;

13 (xvi) made on behalf of an individual

14 with regard to that individual’s benefits,

15 employment, or other personal matters in16 volving only that individual, except that

17 this subclause does not apply to any com18 munication with respect to the formulation,

19 modification, or adoption of private legisla20 tion for the relief of that individual;

21 (xvii) a disclosure by an individual to

22 the appropriate authority on account of

23 which the individual is protected against

24 adverse personnel actions, or other repris25 als, under the amendments made by the
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1 Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, the

2 Inspector General Act of 1978, or other

3 law; and

4 (xviii) made on behalf of a church, its

5 integrated auxiliary, or convention or asso6 ciation of churches that is exempt from fil7 ing a Federal income tax return under sec8 tion 6033(a)(2)(A)(i) of the Internal Reve9 nue Code of 1986 if the communication

10 constitutes the free exercise of religion or

11 is for the purpose of protecting the right to

12 the free exercise of religion.

13 (9) LOBBYIST.—The term ‘‘lobbyist’’ means an

14 individual who is employed or retained by a client

15 for financial or other compensation to perform serv16 ices that include lobbying contacts, other than an in17 dividual whose lobbying activities constitute less

18 than 10 percent of the time engaged in the services

19 provided by such individual to that client.

20 (10) MARKET VALUE.—The term ‘‘market

21 value’’, as applied to a gift, means the retail cost

22 that a person would incur to purchase the gift or,

23 if the cost cannot be ascertained, a reasonable esti24 mate of the retail cost. The market value of a gift

25 of a ticket entitling the holder to food, refreshment,
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1 or entertainment is the retail cost of similar food,

2 refreshment, or entertainment.

3 (11) MEDIA ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘media

4 organization’’ means an organization engaged in dis5 seminating information to the general public through

6 a newspaper, magazine, other publication, radio, tel7 evision, cable television, or other medium of mass

8 communication.

9 (12) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘organization’’

10 means a corporation, company, foundation, associa11 tion, labor organization, firm, partnership, society,

12 joint stock company, or group of organizations.

13 (13) PRINCIPAL OF A CLIENT.—The term

14 ‘‘principal of a client’’ means an individual who is an

15 officer, director, or partner of a client (but not in16 cluding an individual who is a public official).

17 (14) PUBLIC OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘public offi18 cial’’ means an elected official, appointed official, or

19 an employee of—

20 (A) a Federal, State, or local unit of

21 government in the United States other than—

22 (i) a college or university that is an

23 agency or instrumentality of the govern24 ment of a State or of a local unit of gov25 ernment thereof or that is owned or oper-
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1 ated by such a government or by any agen2 cy or instrumentality of 1 or more such

3 governments;

4 (ii) a government-sponsored enterprise

5 (as defined in section 3 of the Congres6 sional Budget and Impoundment Control

7 Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622)); or

8 (iii) a public utility, including an en9 tity that provides gas, electricity, water,

10 communications and is an agency or in11 strumentality of the government of a State

12 or States or of a local unit of government

13 of a State or is owned, controlled, or oper14 ated by such a government or by any agen15 cy or instrumentality of 1 or more such

16 governments;

17 (B) a Government corporation (as defined

18 in section 9101 of title 31, United States

19 Code);

20 (C) an organization of State or local elect21 ed or appointed officials (other than officials of

22 an entity described in subparagraph (A));

23 (D) an Indian tribe (as defined in section

24 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu25 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)));
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1 (E) a national or State political party or

2 any organizational unit thereof; or

3 (F) a national, regional, or local unit of a

4 foreign government.

5 (15) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State,

6 the District of Columbia, and a commonwealth, ter7 ritory, or possession of the United States.

8 (b) PROHIBITION OF GIFTS OF TRAVEL, ENTERTAIN9 MENT, FOOD, LODGING, AND OTHER BENEFITS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub11 sections (c) and (d), it shall be unlawful for a lobby12 ist or a client of a lobbyist (including a principal of

13 a client) to provide, directly or indirectly, to a cov14 ered person or entity an item described in paragraph

15 (2) using funds of—

16 (A) the lobbyist (including personal funds

17 of the lobbyist or funds of the firm of which the

18 lobbyist is a member or employee) or client (in19 cluding personal funds of a client who is an in20 dividual or of a principal of a client);

21 (B) a multicandidate political committee

22 (as defined in section 315(a)(4) of the Federal

23 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

24 441a(a)(4))) that is directly or indirectly estab-
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1 lished, administered, or financially supported by

2 a lobbyist or client; or

3 (C) any other individual, person, or entity

4 at the direction, recommendation, or other spec5 ification of the lobbyist or client of the lobbyist.

6 (2) PROHIBITED ITEMS.—An item is described

7 in this paragraph if it is 1 of the following:

8 (A) TRAVEL, ENTERTAINMENT, FOOD, AND

9 LODGING.—Payment for local or long-distance

10 transportation, entertainment, food, or lodging,

11 whether provided in kind, by purchase of a tick12 et, by payment in advance or by reimburse13 ment, or otherwise.

14 (B) REIMBURSEMENTS.—Reimbursement

15 of an expense.

16 (C) LOANS OR CONTRIBUTIONS.—A loan

17 or contribution.

18 (D) GIFTS.—Any other item (including a

19 service) of value.

20 (c) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN DISCLOSED EXPENDI21 TURES.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) shall not

23 apply to an expenditure made by a lobbyist or client

24 to provide to a covered person or entity an item de25 scribed in paragraph (3) if a lobbyist discloses, in
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1 accordance with paragraph (2), the expenditure of

2 the lobbyist or client in the next lobbying disclosure

3 report that the lobbyist is required by law to submit.

4 (2) DISCLOSURE.—With respect to each ex5 penditure for an item described in paragraph (3), a

6 lobbyist shall disclose—

7 (A) the name and position of the covered

8 person or entity to whom or which or on behalf

9 of whom or which the expenditure was made;

10 (B) a description of the item for which the

11 expenditure was made, including, in the case of

12 a charitable contribution, the name of the per13 son or entity to whom or which the contribution

14 was made;

15 (C) the date on which the expenditure was

16 made; and

17 (D) the amount of the expenditure.

18 (3) EXPENDITURES SUBJECT TO DISCLO19 SURE.—An item is described in this paragraph if it

20 is 1 of the following:

21 (A) CERTAIN TRAVEL-RELATED EXPENDI22 TURES.—(i) Necessary travel-related expendi23 tures made by a lobbyist or client for a covered

24 legislative branch official, to the extent limited

25 by clause (iii), in connection with meetings,
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1 speaking engagements, fact finding trips, and

2 similar events directly related to the official du3 ties of the official if—

4 (I) the expenditure covers the cost of

5 the trip for a period of not more than—

6 (aa) 3 consecutive days (exclud7 ing travel days) in the case of domes8 tic travel and 7 consecutive days (ex9 cluding travel days) in the case of

10 international travel; and

11 (bb) 24 hours before or after

12 such person’s actual participation in

13 the event in the case of domestic trav14 el or 48 hours before or after such

15 person’s actual participation in the

16 event in the case of international trav17 el; and

18 (II) the official has caused the follow19 ing information to be published in the Con20 gressional Record in advance of the travel

21 (unless advance publication is not possible

22 because the travel arrangements cannot be

23 made in time for the information to be

24 published while the Senate or the House of

25 Representatives, as appropriate, is in ses-
20

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1 sion or for other good reason (in which

2 case the information shall be provided in

3 advance of the travel to the Clerk of the

4 House of Representatives or the Secretary

5 of the Senate, as appropriate, who shall

6 make the information available to the pub7 lic immediately and shall cause the infor8 mation to be published in the next Con9 gressional Record)):

10 (aa) The name of the covered

11 legislative branch official.

12 (bb) The dates and itinerary of

13 such travel.

14 (cc) A detailed statement of the

15 purposes of such travel.

16 (dd) The identity of the party

17 making the expenditure.

18 (ee) The anticipated amount of

19 the expenditure.

20 (ii) The requirements of clause (i)(I) may

21 be waived in exceptional circumstances if the

22 covered legislative branch official obtains a writ23 ten statement from the Select Committee on

24 Ethics of the Senate or the Committee on

25 Standards of Official Conduct of the House of
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1 Representatives, as appropriate, that approves

2 the waiver and explains the justification for the

3 waiver. That committee shall cause the state4 ment to be published in the Congressional

5 Record in advance of the travel (unless advance

6 publication is not possible because the waiver is

7 granted at a time when the Senate or the

8 House of Representatives, as appropriate, is not

9 in session or for other good reason (in which

10 case the committee shall, in advance of the

11 travel, provide a copy of the statement to the

12 Clerk of the House of Representatives or the

13 Secretary of the Senate, as appropriate, who

14 shall make the information available to the pub15 lic immediately and shall cause the statement to

16 be published in the next Congressional

17 Record)).

18 (iii) Necessary travel-related expenditures

19 are limited to expenditures for a covered legisla20 tive branch official’s transportation, lodging,

21 conference fees and materials, and meals of22 fered to all attendees as an integral part of the

23 event, including reimbursement for necessary

24 transportation whether or not such transpor25 tation occurs within the periods described in
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1 clause (i)(I), but do not include expenditures

2 for—

3 (I) recreational activities, such as

4 greens fees, ski lift tickets, tennis court

5 time, theater tickets, tickets to sporting

6 events, and similar items;

7 (II) entertainment, other than that

8 provided in connection with meals offered

9 to all attendees as an integral part of the

10 event; or

11 (III) spouses and immediate family

12 members of covered legislative branch offi13 cials.

14 (iv) An event the activities of which are

15 substantially recreational shall not be consid16 ered to be directly related to the official duties

17 of a covered legislative branch official.

18 (B) PERSONAL FRIENDSHIP.—Any expend19 iture for an item that is given by a lobbyist or

20 client to a Member of Congress that is moti21 vated by a personal friendship as described in

22 subsection (d)(4).

23 (C) CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.—A

24 charitable contribution (as defined in section

25 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)
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1 knowingly made by a lobbyist or client to a per2 son or entity that is not maintained or con3 trolled by a covered legislative branch official on

4 the basis of a solicitation made by a covered

5 legislative branch official described in sub6 section (a)(3)(A) (iii), (iv), (v), or (vi).

7 (4) NOTIFICATION.—Not less than 3 weeks

8 after an expenditure required to be reported under

9 this subsection is made, the lobbyist or client who

10 made the expenditure or for whom the expenditure

11 was made shall provide, in a standard format, to any

12 covered person or entity whose name the lobbyist or

13 client intends for the lobbyist to include in the next

14 lobbying disclosure report on itemized expenditures

15 under this subsection that the lobbyist is required by

16 law to submit, a complete list of the information

17 that the lobbyist intends to disclose relative to that

18 covered person or entity. A lobbyist or client shall

19 not submit a report until each covered legislative

20 branch official identified in the report as a bene21 ficiary of an expenditure (including an official on

22 whose behalf an expenditure has been made for an23 other person or entity) has been notified of the ex24 penditure for a period of at least 15 days prior to

25 the submission. A lobbyist shall not list in a report
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1 referred to in this paragraph any information rel2 ative to a covered person or entity who—

3 (A) was not a beneficiary of such an ex4 penditure (including a covered legislative

5 branch official on whose behalf an expenditure

6 was made for another person or entity); or

7 (B) reimburses the person making the ex8 penditure the full amount of such expenditure

9 within 30 days of the receipt of notification

10 under this paragraph.

11 (d) EXCEPTIONS.—The following are not subject to

12 subsection (b) or (c), except as provided in subsection

13 (c)(3)(B):

14 (1) MARKET VALUE PAID.—Anything for which

15 market value is paid by the recipient.

16 (2) POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—A contribu17 tion (as defined in section 301 of the Federal Elec18 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)) that is

19 lawfully made under that Act.

20 (3) LITTLE INTRINSIC VALUE.—An item of lit21 tle intrinsic value such as a greeting card or a per22 sonalized item such as a plaque, certificate, or tro23 phy that is intended solely for recognition of a cov24 ered person or entity.
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1 (4) FAMILY MEMBERS AND PERSONAL

2 FRIENDS.—

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—An item described in

4 subsection (b) given under circumstances that

5 make it clear that the item is given for a

6 nonbusiness purpose and is motivated by a fam7 ily relationship or personal friendship (including

8 a dating relationship) and not by the position of

9 the recipient. In determining if the giving of an

10 item is motivated by a family relationship or

11 personal friendship, at least the following fac12 tors shall be considered:

13 (i) The history of the relationship be14 tween the individual giving the item and

15 the individual receiving the item, including

16 whether or not items have previously been

17 exchanged by such individuals.

18 (ii) Whether the individual who gave

19 the item personally paid for the item.

20 (iii) Whether the individual who gave

21 the item also at the same time gave the

22 same or similar items to other covered per23 sons or entities.

24 (B) TAX DEDUCTION SOUGHT OR REIM25 BURSEMENT ACCEPTED.—(i) The giving of an
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1 item shall not be considered to be motivated by

2 a family relationship or personal friendship if

3 the individual giving the item—

4 (I) seeks to deduct the value of such

5 item as a business expense on the individ6 ual’s Federal income tax return; or

7 (II) accepts direct or indirect reim8 bursement or compensation for the item

9 from a firm of which the individual is a

10 member or employee or from a client.

11 (ii) For purposes of clause (i), indirect re12 imbursement or compensation for an item in13 cludes—

14 (I) an expenditure from an expense

15 account made available to an individual by

16 the individual’s employer, firm, or client;

17 and

18 (II) a fee charged by a lobbyist to a

19 client for the purpose of compensating the

20 lobbyist for the cost of an item.

21 (5) RETURNED ITEMS.—Items that are not

22 used and are promptly returned to the donor.

23 (6) CERTAIN EVENTS SPONSORED BY CLI24 ENTS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

2 subparagraph (D), attendance, food, instruc3 tion, and materials provided to a covered legis4 lative branch official in connection with an

5 event described in subparagraph (B) or (C) if

6 such food, instruction, and materials are unso7 licited by the recipient and made available by a

8 client that is the sponsor of the event to all

9 attendees as an integral part of the event.

10 (B) BROADLY ATTENDED EVENTS.—An

11 event is described in this subparagraph if it is

12 a broadly attended event, such as a convention,

13 conference, symposium, banquet, reception, or

14 similar event.

15 (C) OTHER EVENTS.—An event is de16 scribed in this paragraph if it is a bona fide

17 meeting or similar event of an organization at

18 which the covered legislative branch official par19 ticipates, unless the value of any food provided

20 to the official in connection with the event ex21 ceeds $20.

22 (D) EXCEPTIONS.—This paragraph shall

23 not apply to—

24 (i) travel expenses;

25 (ii) lodging;
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1 (iii) entertainment collateral to an

2 event;

3 (iv) a meal taken other than in a

4 group setting to which all other attendees

5 are invited;

6 (v) a concert, play, motion picture,

7 sporting event, or similar public entertain8 ment event;

9 (vi) a conference, retreat, or similar

10 event for or on behalf of covered legislative

11 branch officials that is sponsored by or af12 filiated with an official congressional orga13 nization; or

14 (vii) an event that is hosted or

15 cohosted with, or in honor of, 1 or more

16 covered legislative branch officials.

17 (7) REWARDS AND PRIZES.—Rewards and

18 prizes given to competitors in contests or events, in19 cluding random drawings open to the public.

20 (8) LOANS.—Loans from financial institutions

21 on terms generally available to the public.

22 (9) WIDE AVAILABILITY.—Opportunities and

23 benefits, including favorable rates and commercial

24 discounts, available to the public or to a class con25 sisting of all Government employees whether or not
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1 restricted on the basis of geographical consider2 ations.

3 (10) PENSIONS.—Pension and other benefits

4 resulting from continued participation in an em5 ployee welfare and benefits plan maintained by a

6 former employer.

7 (11) PAYMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT.—Any8 thing that is paid for by the Government or secured

9 by the Government under Government contract.

10 (12) STATUTORY AUTHORITY.—Any gift accept11 ed under specific statutory authority except section

12 901 of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (2 U.S.C.

13 31–2).

14 (13) CERTAIN MEMBERSHIP FEES.—Reduced

15 membership or other fees for participation in organi16 zational activities offered to all Government employ17 ees by professional organizations if the only restric18 tions on membership relate to professional qualifica19 tions.

20 (14) AVAILABILITY TO GROUP OR CLASS NOT

21 RELATED TO CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT.—Op22 portunities and benefits offered to members of a

23 group or class in which membership is unrelated to

24 congressional employment.
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1 (15) AVAILABILITY TO MEMBERS OF CERTAIN

2 ORGANIZATIONS.—Opportunities and benefits offered

3 to members of an organization, such as a credit

4 union, in which membership is related to congres5 sional employment if similar benefits are broadly

6 available to large segments of the public through or7 ganizations of similar size.

8 (16) OUTSIDE BUSINESS OR EMPLOYMENT.—

9 Gifts resulting from the covered legislative branch

10 official’s outside business or employment activities,

11 in circumstances in which it is clear that such bene12 fits have not been offered or enhanced because of

13 the covered legislative branch official’s official sta14 tus.

15 (17) BUSINESS OR EMPLOYMENT OF SPOUSE.—

16 Gifts resulting from the business or employment ac17 tivities of a covered legislative branch official’s

18 spouse in circumstances in which it is clear that

19 such benefits have not been offered or enhanced be20 cause of the covered legislative branch official’s offi21 cial position.

22 (18) INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS.—Informa23 tional materials that are sent to a covered legislative

24 branch official’s office in the form of books, articles,
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1 periodicals, other written materials, audio tapes, vid2 eotapes, or other forms of communication.

3 (19) HOME STATE PROMOTIONAL ITEMS.—

4 Home State products, food, or other items of mini5 mal value used primarily for promotional purposes.

6 (20) MODEST ITEMS OF FOOD OR REFRESH7 MENT.—Modest items of food or refreshment, such

8 as soft drinks, coffee, or doughnuts, offered other

9 than as part of a meal.

10 (21) HONORARY DEGREES.—An honorary de11 gree provided to a covered legislative branch official.

12 (e) CLIENTS.—

13 (1) NOTICE TO CLIENTS.—A lobbyist shall by

14 written notice inform any client of the lobbyist of the

15 requirements of this section applicable to the client.

16 Such notice shall be provided at the time at which

17 the lobbyist registers on behalf of the client and at

18 the beginning of each reporting period.

19 (2) NOTICE BY CLIENTS.—If a client of a lob20 byist makes an expenditure that the lobbyist will be

21 required to report under subsection (c), the client

22 shall promptly notify the lobbyist of such expendi23 ture. Failure to provide such notice shall be consid24 ered to be a violation of this Act.
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1 (f) PROHIBITION OF PROVISION OF RECREATIONAL

2 TRAVEL.—It shall be unlawful for any individual or other

3 person or entity to provide for travel-related expenditures

4 (including transportation, lodging, food, and entertain5 ment) in connection with travel by a covered legislative

6 branch official, the activities of which travel are substan7 tially recreational, unless the provision for such expendi8 tures is made under circumstances that make it clear that

9 the expenditures are provided for a nonbusiness purpose

10 and are motivated by a family relationship or personal

11 friendship, and not by the position of the official, in ac12 cordance with subsection (d)(4).

13 (g) GIFTS TO SPOUSES AND FAMILY MEMBERS.—

14 For purposes of this section, an item given to the spouse

15 or an immediate family member of a covered legislative

16 branch official shall be considered to be given on behalf

17 of the official.

18 (h) INDIRECT PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN EVENTS.—

19 For purposes of this section, a contribution to or expendi20 ture on behalf of a charitable or other organization that

21 is made by a lobbyist or client of a lobbyist shall be consid22 ered to be an indirect payment on behalf of a covered legis23 lative branch official if the lobbyist or client knows or rea24 sonably should know that the contribution, or a substan25 tial portion thereof, will be used to underwrite travel, food,
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1 entertainment or other expenses associated with the par2 ticipation of 1 or more covered legislative branch officials

3 in an event or events sponsored by the organization.

4 (i) PENALTIES.—An individual or entity that violates

5 this section shall be subject to penalties in accordance with

6 S. 349, the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1993, as approved

7 by the Senate on May 6, 1993.

8 (j) REGULATIONS.—The President or the President’s

9 designee shall publish in the Federal Register proposed

10 regulations to implement this section not later than 270

11 days after the date of enactment of this section. Not later

12 than the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment

13 of this Act, the President or the President’s designee shall

14 publish in the Federal Register final regulations to imple15 ment this section.

16 (k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—With the exception of sub17 section (j), this section shall become effective on the date

18 that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

19 (l) SEVERABILITY.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—If any provision of this sec21 tion, or the application thereof, is held invalid, the

22 validity of the remainder of this section and the ap23 plication of such provision to other persons and cir24 cumstances shall not be affected thereby.
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1 (2) DISCLOSURE OF ACTIVITY IF THE PROHIBI2 TION OF SUCH ACTIVITY IS HELD INVALID.—If any

3 provision of this section that prohibits an activity by

4 a lobbyist or a client of a lobbyist is held invalid, a

5 lobbyist or client shall be required to disclose such

6 activity, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the

7 President or the President’s designee.

8 (m) STUDY.—Not later than 18 months after the ef9 fective date of this section, the President or the Presi10 dent’s designee shall submit a report to the Congress that

11 evaluates this section and identifies any significant prob12 lems that may have arisen in the implementation of this

13 section. The report shall include any relevant statutory

14 changes that the President or the President’s designee

15 may propose.

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