I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4696 

To make certain reforms in lobbying, ethics, and campaign finance laws, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2006 

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on 

Government Reform, House Administration, Rules, and Resources, 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 make certain reforms in lobbying, ethics, and campaign 

finance laws, 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 ‘‘Restoring Trust in Government Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—LOBBYING REFORM 
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Sec. 101. Independent commission on lobbying and ethics. 

Sec. 102. Lobbying disclosure reports to be made monthly and online. 

Sec. 103. Criminal penalties for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. 

Sec. 104. Suspension of floor privileges for former Members and officers who 

are registered lobbyists. 

Sec. 105. Expansion of one-year prohibition on lobbying by senior congressional 

staff to cover lobbying any Member or committee. 

Sec. 106. Four-year prohibition on Federal employees lobbying Congress for 

foreign governments. 

TITLE II—ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS 

Sec. 201. Random audits of Members’ annual financial disclosure statements. 

Sec. 202. Criminal penalties for intentionally misrepresenting facts on financial 

disclosure statement. 

Sec. 203. Independent commission required to affirmatively approve all privately funded travel by Members and staff. 

Sec. 204. Federal pension revoked if Member or staff is convicted of any Federal offense related to bribery. 

TITLE III—INDIAN GAMBLING REFORM 

Sec. 301. Indian gambling reform. 

TITLE IV—CLOSING LOOPHOLES IN CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW 

Sec. 401. Treatment of Indian tribes as corporations for purposes of regulation 

of campaign spending. 

Sec. 402. Prohibiting section 527 organizations from disbursing funds for electioneering communications. 

1 TITLE I—LOBBYING REFORM 

2 SEC. 101. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON LOBBYING AND 

3 ETHICS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established in 

5 the legislative branch a commission on lobbying and eth6 ics. 

7 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of the commission shall be 

8 to carry out this Act and any other duties assigned to the 

9 commission under law. 

10 (c) MEMBERS.—The commission shall be composed 

11 of 4 members appointed as follows: 
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1 (1) 1 member appointed by the Speaker of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (2) 1 member appointed by the minority leader 

4 of the House of Representatives. 

5 (3) 1 member appointed by the majority leader 

6 of the Senate. 

7 (4) 1 member appointed by the minority leader 

8 of the Senate. 

9 (d) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for a 

10 term of 2 years. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy 

11 occurring before the expiration of the term for which the 

12 member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 

13 only for the remainder of that term. A member may serve 

14 after the expiration of that member’s term until a suc15 cessor has taken office. A vacancy in the commission shall 

16 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment 

17 was made. 

18 (e) BASIC PAY.—Members shall each be paid no more 

19 than the maximum annual rate of pay for any employee 

20 of the House of Representatives whose pay is disbursed 

21 by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Rep22 resentatives, as set forth under an order of the Speaker 

23 of the House of Representatives pursuant to the authority 

24 vested in the Speaker under section 311(a) of the Legisla25 tive Branch Appropriations Act, 1988 (2 U.S.C. 60a–2a). 
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1 (f) QUORUM.—3 members of the commission shall 

2 constitute a quorum but a lesser number may hold hear3 ings. 

4 (g) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the commis5 sion shall be designated by the Speaker of the House of 

6 Representatives. 

7 (h) FEE-BASED FUNDING.—The commission shall, 

8 under such regulations as the commission may prescribe, 

9 charge and collect, from persons required to register under 

10 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, reasonable fees to 

11 cover the estimated cost to the commission incident to the 

12 performance of its duties. The fees authorized by this sub13 section shall, as nearly as practicable, cover the costs of 

14 the commission incident to its performance of its duties. 

15 Such fees shall be deposited into a fund which shall be 

16 available without fiscal year limitation for the expenses of 

17 the commission incident to performing its duties. 

18 SEC. 102. LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REPORTS TO BE MADE 

19 MONTHLY AND ONLINE TO COMMISSION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other report 

21 required by section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

22 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604), each registrant under that Act 

23 shall file a monthly report with the commission established 

24 under section 101. The report shall cover the lobbying ac-
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1 tivities that relate to Congress. A separate report shall be 

2 filed for each client of the registrant. 

3 (b) MANNER OF FILING.—Each report required by 

4 subsection (a) shall cover a calendar month. It shall be 

5 filed in electronic form immediately after the end of that 

6 month. 

7 (c) CONTENTS.—Each such report shall include all 

8 the matters specified in section 5(b) of the Lobbying Dis9 closure Act of 1995, except that the report shall cover— 

10 (1) only the calendar month; and 

11 (2) only activities that relate to Congress. 

12 (d) PUBLICATION ONLINE.—Upon receiving a report 

13 under this section, the commission shall immediately make 

14 that report available to the public on the Internet. 

15 SEC. 103. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 

16 WITH LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIRE17 MENTS. 

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

19 U.S.C. 1606) is amended by striking ‘‘shall, upon proof’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) be fined under title 18, United States 

22 Code, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) upon proof’’. 
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1 SEC. 104. SUSPENSION OF FLOOR PRIVILEGES FOR 

2 FORMER MEMBERS AND OFFICERS WHO ARE 

3 REGISTERED LOBBYISTS. 

4 Clause 4(a) of rule IV of the Rules of the House of 

5 Representatives is amended by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after 

6 ‘‘(1)’’, by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(B)’’, by striking 

7 the period at the end thereof and inserting ‘‘; or’’, and 

8 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(2) they are not lobbyists registered under the 

10 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 or any successor 

11 statute or lobbyists who, as employees of an organi12 zation, are covered by the registration of any such 

13 organization under that Act or any successor law.’’. 

14 SEC. 105. EXPANSION OF ONE-YEAR PROHIBITION ON LOB15 BYING BY SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL STAFF 

16 TO COVER LOBBYING ANY MEMBER OR COM17 MITTEE. 

18 Section 207(e) of title 18, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘or (C)’’; 

21 (2) by striking paragraph (1)(C); 

22 (3) in paragaph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘are the fol23 lowing:’’ and all that follows through the period at 

24 the end and inserting ‘‘are any Member, officer, or 

25 employee of either House of Congress, and any em-
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1 ployee of any other legislative office of the Con2 gress.’’; 

3 (4) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘any person 

4 who is a Member or an employee of that committee 

5 or who was a Member of the committee in the year 

6 immediately prior to the termination of such per7 son’s employment by the committee,’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘any person who is a Member, officer, or employee 

9 of either House of Congress, or any employee of any 

10 other legislative office of the Congress,’’; 

11 (5) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘are the 

12 following:’’ and all that follows through the period at 

13 the end and inserting ‘‘are any Member, officer, or 

14 employee of either House of Congress, and any em15 ployee of any other legislative office of the Con16 gress.’’; 

17 (6) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ‘‘are the 

18 employees and officers’’ and all that follows through 

19 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘are any Mem20 ber, officer, or employee of either House of Con21 gress, and any employee of any other legislative of22 fice of the Congress.’’; and 

23 (7) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ‘‘termi24 nated, was paid a rate of’’ and inserting ‘‘termi25 nated— 
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1 ‘‘(i) had responsibilities a significant por2 tion of which related to the development of pol3 icy; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) was paid a rate of’’. 

5 SEC. 106. FOUR-YEAR PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL EMPLOY6 EES LOBBYING CONGRESS FOR FOREIGN 

7 GOVERNMENTS. 

8 Section 207(f) of title 18, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

11 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol13 lowing new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(2) LOBBYING CONGRESS.—(A) Any person 

15 who is subject to the restrictions contained in sub16 section (c), (d), or (e) and who knowingly, within 4 

17 years after leaving the position, office, or employ18 ment referred to in such subsection, makes, with the 

19 intent to influence, any communication to or appear20 ance before any person described in subparagraph 

21 (B), on behalf of any foreign entity in connection 

22 with any matter on which such person or foreign en23 tity seeks action by a Member, officer, or employee 

24 of either House of Congress, in his or her official ca-
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1 pacity, shall be punished as provided in section 216 

2 of this title. 

3 ‘‘(B) The persons referred to in subparagraph 

4 (A) are any Member, officer, or employee of either 

5 House of Congress, and any employee of any other 

6 legislative office of the Congress.’’. 

7 TITLE II—ADMINISTRATIVE 

8 REFORMS 

9 SEC. 201. RANDOM AUDITS OF MEMBERS’ ANNUAL FINAN10 CIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The commission established by 

12 section 101 shall— 

13 (1) randomly select reports filed under title I of 

14 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 by Members 

15 of Congress; and 

16 (2) carry out a thorough audit of each report 

17 so selected. 

18 (b) SECRETARY AND CLERK TO PROVIDE.—The Sec19 retary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House shall pro20 vide to the commission established by section 101 each re21 port filed under title I of the Ethics in Government Act 

22 of 1978 by every Member of Congress. 
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1 SEC. 202. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR INTENTIONALLY MIS2 REPRESENTING FACTS ON FINANCIAL DIS3 CLOSURE STATEMENT. 

4 Section 104 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub6 section: 

7 ‘‘(e) Whoever knowingly and willfully falsifies any in8 formation that the individual is required to report pursu9 ant to section 102 shall be fined under title 18, United 

10 States Code, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.’’. 

11 SEC. 203. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION REQUIRED TO AF12 FIRMATIVELY APPROVE ALL PRIVATELY 

13 FUNDED TRAVEL BY MEMBERS AND STAFF. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The commission established by 

15 section 101 shall review, and shall promptly approve or 

16 disapprove, any expense related to business travel by any 

17 congressional employee that is paid for, or to be paid for, 

18 by private funds pertaining to business. 

19 (b) PROHIBITION.—A congressional employee may 

20 not accept or engage in business travel the expenses of 

21 which have not been approved in advance under subsection 

22 (a). 
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1 SEC. 204. FEDERAL PENSION REVOKED IF MEMBER OR 

2 STAFF IS CONVICTED OF ANY FEDERAL OF3 FENSE RELATED TO BRIBERY. 

4 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—Section 

5 8332 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(o)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

8 subchapter, the service of an individual finally convicted 

9 of a Federal offense described in paragraph (2) shall not, 

10 if or to the extent rendered as a Member or congressional 

11 employee (irrespective of when rendered), be taken into 

12 account for purposes of this subchapter. Any such indi13 vidual (or other person determined under section 8342(c), 

14 if applicable) shall be entitled to be paid so much of such 

15 individual’s lump-sum credit as is attributable to service 

16 to which the preceding sentence applies. 

17 ‘‘(2) An offense described in this paragraph is bribery 

18 or conspiracy to commit bribery, committed after the date 

19 of the enactment of this subsection.’’. 

20 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM.— 

21 Section 8411 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(i)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

24 subchapter, the service of an individual finally convicted 

25 of a Federal offense described in paragraph (2) shall not, 

26 if or to the extent rendered as a Member or congressional 
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1 employee (irrespective of when rendered), be taken into 

2 account for purposes of this subchapter. Any such indi3 vidual (or other person determined under section 8424(d), 

4 if applicable) shall be entitled to be paid so much of such 

5 individual’s lump-sum credit as is attributable to service 

6 to which the preceding sentence applies. 

7 ‘‘(2) An offense described in this paragraph is bribery 

8 or conspiracy to commit bribery, committed after the date 

9 of the enactment of this subsection.’’. 

10 TITLE III—INDIAN GAMBLING 

11 REFORM 

12 SEC. 301. INDIAN GAMBLING REFORM. 

13 (a) GAMING INVESTORS.—Section 7(b)(3) of the In14 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2706(b)(3)) is 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(3) shall conduct or cause to be conducted 

17 background investigations on the 10 persons or enti18 ties with the highest financial interest (such as 

19 loans, debt-based financing, financial backing for 

20 equipment or other startup or operation costs, and 

21 other financial interests as determined by the Com22 mission) in a gaming operation regulated by the 

23 Commission and such other background investiga24 tions as may be necessary;’’. 
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1 (b) TRIBAL GAMING OFFICIALS.—Section 

2 11(b)(2)(F)(i) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

3 U.S.C. 2710(b)(2)(F)(i)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘conducted on’’ the first place 

5 it appears and inserting ‘‘conducted by the Commis6 sion on tribal gaming commissioners, key tribal gam7 ing commission employees, and’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘such officials and their man9 agement’’ and inserting ‘‘such individuals’’. 

10 (c) APPROVAL OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS.—Section 

11 6 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2705) 

12 is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

14 inserting a semicolon; 

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

16 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(4) approve financial interests between the 10 

20 persons or entities with the highest financial interest 

21 (such as loans, debt-based financing, financial back22 ing for equipment or other startup or operation 

23 costs, and other financial interests as determined by 

24 the Commission) and a gaming operation regulated 

25 by the Commission.’’. 
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1 (d) COMMISSION FUNDING.—Section 18(a)(2)(B) of 

2 the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 

3 2717(a)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘$8,000,000’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘$16,000,000’’. 

5 (e) CLASS II GAMING.—Section 11(b)(1) of the In6 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2710(b)(1)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

9 the end; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

11 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(C)(i) conducted on lands taken into trust 

15 before the date of the enactment of this sub16 paragraph; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) conducted on lands taken into 

18 trust after the date of the enactment of 

19 this subparagraph only if the application 

20 requesting that the land be taken into 

21 trust stated that the Indian tribe intended 

22 to conduct gaming activities on such 

23 land.’’. 
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1 (f) CLASS III GAMING.—Section 11(d)(1) of the In2 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2710(d)(1)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

5 the end; 

6 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

7 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(D)(i) conducted on lands taken into 

11 trust before the date of the enactment of this 

12 subparagraph; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) conducted on lands taken into 

14 trust after the date of the enactment of 

15 this subparagraph only if the application 

16 requesting that the land be taken into 

17 trust stated that the Indian tribe intended 

18 to conduct gaming activities on such 

19 land.’’. 

20 (g) APPROVAL OF COMPACTS BY STATE.—Section 

21 11(d) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 

22 2710(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

23 new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(10) For the purposes of State approval under 

25 this subsection, the term ‘State’ shall mean the Gov-
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1 ernor of the State and the legislative body of the 

2 State.’’. 

3 (h) RESTRICTION ON GAMING.— 

4 (1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 20 of the Indian 

5 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2719) is amend6 ed— 

7 (A) by amending paragraph (1) of sub8 section (b) to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(1)(A) Subsection (a) shall not apply to Indian 

10 land of an Indian tribe if each of the conditions in 

11 subparagraph (B) are satisfied and the Indian 

12 tribe— 

13 ‘‘(i) was newly recognized after Octo14 ber 17, 1988 (including those newly recog15 nized under the Federal Acknowledgement 

16 Process at the Bureau of Indian Affairs); 

17 ‘‘(ii) was restored by legislation, court 

18 decree, or any other process after having 

19 been terminated by Federal law; or 

20 ‘‘(iii) on the date of the enactment of 

21 subsection (e), had no lands held in trust 

22 by the United States for the benefit of the 

23 Indian tribe, no reservation, and no lands 

24 held by the Indian tribe subject to restric25 tion by the United States against alien-
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1 ation over which the Indian tribe exercised 

2 governmental power. 

3 ‘‘(B) The conditions referred to in sub4 paragraph (A) are the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) The Secretary determines that 

6 the lands acquired in trust for the benefit 

7 of the Indian tribe for the purposes of 

8 gaming are lands within the State where 

9 the Indian tribe has its primary geo10 graphic, social, and historical nexus to the 

11 land. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary determines that 

13 the proposed gaming activity is in the best 

14 interest of the Indian tribe, its tribal mem15 bers, and would not be detrimental to the 

16 surrounding community. 

17 ‘‘(iii) The State, city, county, town, 

18 parish, village, and other general purpose 

19 political subdivisions of the State with au20 thority over land that is concurrent or con21 tiguous to the lands acquired in trust for 

22 the benefit of the Indian tribe for the pur23 poses of gaming approve.’’; and 

24 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

25 subsection: 
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1 ‘‘(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

2 an Indian tribe may conduct gaming regulated by this Act 

3 on only one contiguous parcel of Indian lands. Such Indian 

4 lands must be located where that Indian tribe has its pri5 mary geographic, social, and historical nexus and within 

6 the State or States where the Indian tribe is primarily 

7 located.’’. 

8 (2) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—The amend9 ments made by paragraph (1) shall be applied pro10 spectively. Compacts or other agreements that gov11 ern gaming regulated by the Indian Gaming Regu12 latory Act that were in effect on the date of the en13 actment of this Act shall not be affected by the 

14 amendments made by paragraph (1). 

15 TITLE IV—CLOSING LOOPHOLES 

16 IN CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW 

17 SEC. 401. TREATMENT OF INDIAN TRIBES AS CORPORA18 TIONS FOR PURPOSES OF REGULATION OF 

19 CAMPAIGN SPENDING. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 316 of the Federal Elec21 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b) is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF INDIAN TRIBES AS CORPORA24 TIONS.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, the term ‘corporation’ includes an unincor3 porated Indian tribe. 

4 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF MEMBERS AS STOCK5 HOLDERS.—In applying this subsection, the mem6 bers of an unincorporated Indian tribe shall be 

7 treated in the same manner as the stockholders of 

8 a corporation.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

10 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections occur11 ring after December 2006. 

12 SEC. 402. PROHIBITING SECTION 527 ORGANIZATIONS 

13 FROM DISBURSING FUNDS FOR ELECTION14 EERING COMMUNICATIONS. 

15 (a) PROHIBITION.—Title III of the Federal Election 

16 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following new section: 

18 ‘‘PROHIBITING SECTION 527 ORGANIZATIONS FROM DIS19 BURSING FUNDS FOR ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICA20 TIONS

21 ‘‘SEC. 325. (a) PROHIBITION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A section 527 organization 

23 may not make any disbursement for any election24 eering communication (as defined in section 

25 304(f)(3)). 
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1 ‘‘(2) COVERAGE OF DIRECT OR INDIRECT PAY2 MENTS.—For purposes of paragraph (1), an elec3 tioneering communication shall be treated as made 

4 by a section 527 organization if the organization di5 rectly or indirectly disburses any amount for any of 

6 the costs of the communication. 

7 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘section 

8 527 organization’ means, with respect to disbursements 

9 made in a taxable year, an entity treated as a political 

10 organization under section 527 of the Internal Revenue 

11 Code of 1986 for such taxable year, except that such term 

12 does not include a political committee.’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to disbursements 

15 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ