IB 

Union Calendar No. 244 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4975 

[Report No. 109–439, Parts I, II, III, and IV] 

To provide greater transparency with respect to lobbying activities, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2006 

Mr. DREIER (for himself, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. BLUNT, Ms. 

PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. PUTNAM, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, and Mr. HASTINGS of 

Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Rules, Government Reform, and Standards of Official Conduct, 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 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mrs. 

SCHMIDT, and Mr. ISSA

APRIL 25, 2006 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Reported from the Committee on House Administration 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Reported from the Committee on Rules with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through in brackets and insert the part printed in boldface roman] 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Reported from the Committee on Government Reform with amendments 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
2 

•HR 4975 RH 

[Omit the part struck through in parentheses and insert the part printed in boldface italic] 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Committee on Standards of Official Conduct discharged; committed to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered 

to be printed 

A BILL 

To provide greater transparency with respect to lobbying 

activities, 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 ‘‘Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 

6 2006’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

Sec. 101. Quarterly filing of lobbying disclosure reports. 

Sec. 102. Electronic filing of lobbying registrations and disclosure reports. 

Sec. 103. Public database of lobbying disclosure information. 

Sec. 104. Disclosure by registered lobbyists of past executive branch and congressional employment. 

Sec. 105. Disclosure of lobbyist contributions and gifts. 

Sec. 106. Increased penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. 

TITLE II—SLOWING THE REVOLVING DOOR 

Sec. 201. Notification of post-employment restrictions. 

Sec. 202. Disclosure by Members of the House of Representatives of employment negotiations. 

Sec. 203. Wrongfully influencing, on a partisan basis, an entity’s employment 

decisions or practices. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
3 

•HR 4975 RH 

TITLE III—SUSPENSION OF PRIVATELY-FUNDED TRAVEL; 

CURBING LOBBYIST GIFTS 

Sec. 301. Suspension of privately-funded travel. 

Sec. 302. Recommendations on gifts and travel. 

Sec. 303. Prohibiting registered lobbyists on corporate flights. 

Sec. 304. Valuation of tickets to sporting and entertainment events. 

TITLE IV—OVERSIGHT OF LOBBYING AND ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 401. Audits of lobbying reports by House Inspector General. 

Sec. 402. House Inspector General review and annual reports. 

TITLE V—INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS 

Sec. 501. Earmarking reform. 

øSec. 502. Frequent and comprehensive ethics training.¿ 

Sec. 502. Mandatory ethics training for House employees. 

Sec. 503. Biennial publication of ethics manual. 

TITLE VI—REFORM OF SECTION 527 ORGANIZATIONS 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Treatment of section 527 organizations. 

Sec. 603. Rules for allocation of expenses between Federal and non-Federal activities. 

Sec. 604. Repeal of limit on amount of party expenditures on behalf of candidates in general elections. 

Sec. 605. Construction. 

Sec. 606. Judicial review. 

Sec. 607. Severability. 

TITLE VII—FORFEITURE OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS 

ΩSec. 701. Loss of pensions accrued during service as a Member of Congress 

for abusing the public trust.æ 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Conviction of certain offenses. 

Sec. 703. Absence from the United States to avoid prosecution. 

Sec. 704. Refund of contributions and deposits. 

Sec. 705. Restoration of annuity or retired pay. 

1 TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING 

2 DISCLOSURE 

3 SEC. 101. QUARTERLY FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

4 REPORTS. 

5 (a) QUARTERLY FILING REQUIRED.—Section 5 of 

6 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (in this title referred 

7 to as the ‘‘Act’’) (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
4 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SEMI3 ANNUAL’’ and inserting ‘‘QUARTERLY’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘45’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’; 

5 (C) by striking ‘‘the semiannual period’’ 

6 and all that follows through ‘‘July of each 

7 year’’ and insert ‘‘the quarterly period begin8 ning on the first day of January, April, July, 

9 and October of each year’’; and 

10 (D) by striking ‘‘such semiannual period’’ 

11 and insert ‘‘such quarterly period’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (b)— 

13 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

14 by striking ‘‘semiannual report’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘quarterly report’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘semi17 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

18 period’’; 

19 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘semi20 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe21 riod’’; and 

22 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘semi23 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

24 period’’. 

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
5 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 3(10) of the Act (2 

2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended by striking ‘‘six month pe3 riod’’ and inserting ‘‘3-month period’’. 

4 (2) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act (2 

5 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

6 (A) in subsection (a)(3)(A), by striking 

7 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

8 period’’; and 

9 (B) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by striking 

10 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

11 period’’. 

12 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 6(6) of the Act (2 

13 U.S.C. 1605(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘semiannual 

14 period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly period’’. 

15 (4) ESTIMATES.—Section 15 of the Act (2 

16 U.S.C. 1610) is amended— 

17 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘semi18 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe19 riod’’; and 

20 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘semi21 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe22 riod’’. 

23 (5) DOLLAR AMOUNTS.— 

24 (A) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act 

25 (2 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
6 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (i) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), by strik2 ing ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500’’; 

3 (ii) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii), by 

4 striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘$10,000’’; 

6 (iii) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by strik7 ing ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; 

8 and 

9 (iv) in subsection (b)(4), by striking 

10 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

11 (B) REPORTS.—Section 5 of the Act (2 

12 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

13 (i) in subsection (c)(1), by striking 

14 ‘‘$10,000’’ and ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$5,000’’ and ‘‘$10,000’’, respectively; and 

16 (ii) in subsection (c)(2), by striking 

17 ‘‘$10,000’’ both places such term appears 

18 and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

19 SEC. 102. ELECTRONIC FILING OF LOBBYING REGISTRA20 TIONS AND DISCLOSURE REPORTS. 

21 (a) REGISTRATIONS.—Section 4 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

22 1603) in amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub24 section (e); and 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
7 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.—A registra4 tion required to be filed under this section on or after the 

5 date of enactment of the Lobbying Accountability and 

6 Transparency Act of 2006 shall be filed in electronic form, 

7 in addition to any other form that may be required by 

8 the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of 

9 Representatives. The due date for a registration filed in 

10 electronic form shall be no later than the due date for a 

11 registration filed in any other form.’’. 

12 (b) REPORTS.—Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604) 

13 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A report required to be 

16 filed under this section shall be filed in electronic 

17 form, in addition to any other form that may be re18 quired by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk 

19 of the House of Representatives. The due date for 

20 a report filed in electronic form shall be no later 

21 than the due date for a report filed in any other 

22 form, except as provided in paragraph (2). 

23 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE IN ELEC24 TRONIC FORM.—The Secretary of the Senate or the 

25 Clerk of the House of Representatives may establish 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
8 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 a later due date for the filing of a report in elec2 tronic form by a registrant, if and only if— 

3 ‘‘(A) on or before the original due date, the 

4 registrant— 

5 ‘‘(i) timely files the report in every 

6 form required, other than electronic form; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) makes a request for such a later 

9 due date to the Secretary or the Clerk, as 

10 the case may be; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the request is supported by good 

12 cause shown.’’. 

13 SEC. 103. PUBLIC DATABASE OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE IN14 FORMATION. 

15 (a) DATABASE REQUIRED.—Section 6 of the Act (2 

16 U.S.C. 1605) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

18 end; 

19 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period and 

20 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(9) maintain, and make available to the public 

23 over the Internet, without a fee or other access 

24 charge, in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable 

25 manner, an electronic database that— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
9 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) includes the information contained in 

2 registrations and reports filed under this Act; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) is searchable and sortable, at a min5 imum, by each of the categories of information 

6 described in section 4(b) or 5(b).’’. 

7 (b) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Section 6(4) of the 

8 Act is amended by inserting before the semicolon the fol9 lowing: ‘‘and, in the case of a registration filed in elec10 tronic form pursuant to section 4(d) or a report filed in 

11 electronic form pursuant to section 5(d), shall make such 

12 registration or report (as the case may be) available for 

13 public inspection over the Internet not more than 48 hours 

14 after the registration or report (as the case may be) is 

15 approved as received by the Secretary of the Senate or 

16 the Clerk of the House of Representatives (as the case 

17 may be)’’. 

18 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

20 necessary to carry out paragraph (9) of section 6 of the 

21 Act, as added by subsection (a) of this section. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
10 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 SEC. 104. DISCLOSURE BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS OF 

2 PAST EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND CONGRES3 SIONAL EMPLOYMENT. 

4 Section 4(b)(6) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1603) is amend5 ed by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting ‘‘7 years’’. 

6 SEC. 105. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYIST CONTRIBUTIONS AND 

7 GIFTS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(b) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

9 1604(b)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

11 the semicolon; 

12 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and 

13 inserting a semicolon; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(6) for each registrant (and for any political 

16 committee, as defined in 301(4) of the Federal Elec17 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(4)), affili18 ated with such registrant), and for each employee 

19 listed as a lobbyist by a registrant under paragraph 

20 (2)(C), the name of each Federal candidate or of21 ficeholder, and of each leadership PAC, political 

22 party committee, or other political committee to 

23 whom a contribution was made which is required to 

24 be reported to the Federal Election Commission by 

25 the recipient, and the date and amount of such con26 tribution; and 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
11 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(7) the date, recipient, and amount of any gift 

2 that under the Rules of the House of Representa3 tives counts towards the cumulative annual limit de4 scribed in such rules and is given by a registrant or 

5 employee listed as a lobbyist to a covered legislative 

6 branch official.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3 of the 

8 Act (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following new paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(17) GIFT.—The term ‘gift’ means a gratuity, 

11 favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, for12 bearance, or other item having monetary value. The 

13 term includes gifts of services, training, and meals 

14 whether provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, 

15 payment in advance, or reimbursement after the ex16 pense has been incurred. 

17 ‘‘(18) LEADERSHIP PAC.—The term ‘leader18 ship PAC’ means, with respect to an individual hold19 ing Federal office, an unauthorized political com20 mittee (as defined in the Federal Election Campaign 

21 Act of 1971) which is associated with such indi22 vidual.’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
12 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 SEC. 106. INCREASED PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 

2 WITH LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIRE3 MENTS. 

4 Section 7 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1606) is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000’’. 

6 TITLE II—SLOWING THE 

7 REVOLVING DOOR 

8 SEC. 201. NOTIFICATION OF POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRIC9 TIONS. 

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

11 amended by adding at the end the following new para12 graph: 

13 ‘‘(8) NOTIFICATION OF POST-EMPLOYMENT RE14 STRICTIONS.—After a Member of the House of Rep15 resentatives or an elected officer of the House of 

16 Representatives leaves office, or after the termi17 nation of employment with the House of Representa18 tives of an employee of the House of Representatives 

19 covered under paragraph (2), (3), or (4), the Clerk 

20 of the House of Representatives, after consultation 

21 with the Committee on Standards of Official Con22 duct, shall inform the Member, officer, or employee 

23 of the beginning and ending date of the prohibitions 

24 that apply to the Member, officer, or employee under 

25 this subsection, and also inform each office of the 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
13 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 House of Representatives with respect to which such 

2 prohibitions apply of those dates.’’. 

3 SEC. 202. DISCLOSURE BY MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF 

4 REPRESENTATIVES OF EMPLOYMENT NEGO5 TIATIONS. 

6 The Code of Official Conduct set forth in rule XXIII 

7 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended 

8 by redesignating clause 14 as clause 15 and by inserting 

9 after clause 13 the following new clause: 

10 ‘‘14. (a) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commis11 sioner shall file with the Committee on Standards of Offi12 cial Conduct a statement that he or she is negotiating 

13 compensation for prospective employment or has any ar14 rangement concerning prospective employment if a conflict 

15 of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest may 

16 exist. Such statement shall be made within 5 days (other 

17 than Saturdays, Sundays, or public holidays) after com18 mencing the negotiation for compensation or entering into 

19 the arrangement. 

20 ‘‘(b) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 

21 should refrain from voting on any legislative measure 

22 pending before the House or any committee thereof if the 

23 negotiation described in subparagraph (a) may create a 

24 conflict of interest.’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
14 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 SEC. 203. WRONGFULLY INFLUENCING, ON A PARTISAN 

2 BASIS, AN ENTITY’S EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS 

3 OR PRACTICES. 

4 The Code of Official Conduct set forth in rule XXIII 

5 of the Rules of the House of Representatives (as amended 

6 by section 202) is further amended by redesignating 

7 clause 15 as clause 16 and by inserting after clause 14 

8 the following new clause: 

9 ‘‘15. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, 

10 officer, or employee of the House may not, with the intent 

11 to influence on the basis of political party affiliation an 

12 employment decision or employment practice of any pri13 vate or public entity (except for the Congress)— 

14 ‘‘(a) take or withhold, or offer or threaten to 

15 take or withhold, an official act; or 

16 ‘‘(b) influence, or offer or threaten to influence, 

17 the official act of another.’’. 

18 TITLE III—SUSPENSION OF PRI19 VATELY-FUNDED TRAVEL; 

20 CURBING LOBBYIST GIFTS 

21 SEC. 301. SUSPENSION OF PRIVATELY-FUNDED TRAVEL. 

22 Notwithstanding clause 5 of rule XXV of the Rules 

23 of the House of Representatives, no Member, Delegate, 

24 Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House 

25 may accept a gift of travel (including any transportation, 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
15 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 lodging, and meals during such travel) from any private 

2 source. 

3 SEC. 302. RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE ON 

4 STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT ON 

5 GIFTS AND TRAVEL. 

6 Not later than December 15, 2006, the Committee 

7 on Standards of Official Conduct shall report its rec8 ommendations on changes to rule XXV of the Rules of 

9 the House of Representatives to the Committee on Rules. 

10 In developing such recommendations, the Committee on 

11 Standards of Official Conduct shall consider the following: 

12 (1) The ability of the current provisions of rule 

13 XXV to protect the House, its Members, officers, 

14 and employees, from the appearance of impropriety. 

15 (2) With respect to the allowance for privately16 funded travel contained in clause 5(b) of rule 

17 XXV— 

18 (A) the degree to which privately-funded 

19 travel meets the representational needs of the 

20 House, its Members, officers, and employees; 

21 (B) whether certain entities should or 

22 should not be permitted to fund the travel of 

23 the Members, officers, and employees of the 

24 House, what sources of funding may be permisVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:36 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
16 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 sible, and what other individuals may partici2 pate in that travel; and 

3 (C) the adequacy of the current system of 

4 approval and disclosure of such travel. 

5 (3) With respect to the exceptions to the limita6 tion on the acceptance of gifts contained in clause 

7 5(a)— 

8 (A) the degree to which those exceptions 

9 meet the representational and personal needs of 

10 the House, its Members, officers, and employ11 ees; 

12 (B) the clarity of the limitation and its ex13 ceptions; and 

14 (C) the suitability of the current dollar 

15 limitations contained in clause 5(a)(1)(B) of 

16 such rule, including whether such limitations 

17 should be lowered. 

18 SEC. 303. PROHIBITING REGISTERED LOBBYISTS ON COR19 PORATE FLIGHTS. 

20 The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 is amended by 

21 inserting after section 5 the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 5A. PROHIBITING REGISTERED LOBBYISTS ON COR23 PORATE FLIGHTS. 

24 ‘‘If a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident 

25 Commissioner to, the Congress or an officer or employee 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
17 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 of the House of Representatives is a passenger or crew 

2 member on a flight of an aircraft not licensed by the Fed3 eral Aviation Administration to operate for compensation 

4 or hire that is owned or operated by a person who is the 

5 client of a lobbyist or a lobbying firm, then such lobbyist 

6 may not be a passenger or crew member on that flight.’’. 

7 SEC. 304. VALUATION OF TICKETS TO SPORTING AND EN8 TERTAINMENT EVENTS. 

9 Clause 5(a)(2)(A) of rule XXV of the Rules of the 

10 House of Representatives is amended by— 

11 (1) inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(A)’’; and 

12 (2) adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(ii) A gift of a ticket to a sporting or entertainment 

14 event shall be valued at the face value of the ticket, pro15 vided that in the case of a ticket without a face value, 

16 the ticket shall be valued at the highest cost of a ticket 

17 with a face value for the event.’’. 

18 TITLE IV—OVERSIGHT OF 

19 LOBBYING AND ENFORCEMENT 

20 SEC. 401. AUDITS OF LOBBYING REPORTS BY HOUSE IN21 SPECTOR GENERAL. 

22 (a) ACCESS TO LOBBYING REPORTS.—The Office of 

23 Inspector General of the House of Representatives shall 

24 have access to all lobbyists’ disclosure information received 

25 by the Clerk of the House of Representatives under the 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
18 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 and shall conduct ran2 dom audits of lobbyists’ disclosure information as nec3 essary to ensure compliance with that Act. 

4 (b) REFERRAL AUTHORITY.—The Office of the In5 spector General of the House of Representatives may refer 

6 potential violations by lobbyists of the Lobbying Disclo7 sure Act of 1995 to the Department of Justice for discipli8 nary action. 

9 SEC. 402. HOUSE INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW AND AN10 NUAL REPORTS. 

11 (a) ONGOING REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Inspector 

12 General of the House of Representatives shall review on 

13 an ongoing basis the activities carried out by the Clerk 

14 of the House of Representatives under section 6 of the 

15 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605). The 

16 review shall emphasize— 

17 (1) the effectiveness of those activities in secur18 ing the compliance by lobbyists with the require19 ments of that Act; and 

20 (2) whether the Clerk has the resources and au21 thorities needed for effective oversight and enforce22 ment of that Act. 

23 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than December 31 

24 of each year, the Inspector General of the House of Rep25 resentatives shall submit to the House of Representatives 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
19 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 a report on the review required by subsection (a). The re2 port shall include the Inspector General’s assessment of 

3 the matters required to be emphasized by that subsection 

4 and any recommendations of the Inspector General to— 

5 (1) improve the compliance by lobbyists with 

6 the requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

7 1995; and 

8 (2) provide the Clerk of the House of Rep9 resentatives with the resources and authorities need10 ed for effective oversight and enforcement of that 

11 Act. 

12 TITLE V—INSTITUTIONAL 

13 REFORMS 

14 SEC. 501. EARMARKING REFORM. 

15 (a) In the House of Representatives, it shall not be 

16 in order to consider— 

17 (1) a general appropriation bill reported by the 

18 Committee on Appropriations unless the report in19 cludes a list of earmarks in the bill or in the report 

20 (and the name of any Member who submitted a re21 quest to the Committee on Appropriations for an 

22 earmark included in such list); or 

23 (2) a conference report to accompany a general 

24 appropriation bill unless the joint explanatory state25 ment prepared by the managers on the part of the 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
20 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 House and the managers on the part of the Senate 

2 includes a list of earmarks in the conference report 

3 or joint statement (and the name of any Member 

4 who submitted a request to the Committee on Ap5 propriations for an earmark included in such list) 

6 that were— 

7 (A) not committed to the conference com8 mittee by either House; 

9 (B) not in the report specified in para10 graph (1); and 

11 (C) not in a report of a committee of the 

12 Senate on a companion measure. 

13 (b) In the House of Representatives, it shall not be 

14 in order to consider a rule or order that waives the appli15 cation of subsection (a)(2). 

16 (c)(1) A point of order raised under subsection (a) 

17 may be based only on the failure of a report of the Com18 mittee on Appropriations or joint statement, as the case 

19 may be, to include the list required by subsection (a). 

20 (2) As disposition of a point of order under this sec21 tion, the Chair shall put the question of consideration with 

22 respect to the proposition that is the subject of the point 

23 of order. 

24 (3) The question of consideration under this sub25 section shall be debatable for 10 minutes by the Member 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
21 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 initiating the point of order and for 10 minutes by an op2 ponent, but shall otherwise be decided without intervening 

3 motion except one that the House adjourn. 

4 ø(d)(1) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘ear5 mark’’ means a provision in a bill, joint resolution, or con6 ference report, or language in an accompanying committee 

7 report or joint statement of managers, providing a specific 

8 amount of discretionary budget authority to a non-Federal 

9 entity, if such entity is identified by name. 

10 ø(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), government11 sponsored enterprises, Federal facilities, and Federal 

12 lands shall be considered Federal entities. 

13 ø(3) For purposes of subsection (a), to the extent 

14 that the non-Federal entity is a unit of State or local gov15 ernment, an Indian tribe, or a foreign government, the 

16 provision or language shall not be considered an earmark 

17 unless the provision or language also specifies the specific 

18 purpose for which the designated budget authority is to 

19 be expended.¿ 

20 (d)(1) For the purpose of this section, the 

21 term ‘‘earmark’’ means a provision in a bill, 

22 joint resolution or conference report, or lan23 guage in an accompanying committee report 

24 or joint statement of managers, providing or 

25 recommending a specific amount of discreVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:36 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6202 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
22 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 tionary budget authority to a non-Federal en2 tity, if such entity is specifically identified in 

3 the report or bill; or if the discretionary budg4 et authority is allocated outside of the normal 

5 formula-driven or competitive bidding proc6 ess and is targeted or directed to an identifi7 able person, specific State, or Congressional 

8 district. 

9 (2) For the purpose of paragraph (1), gov10 ernment-sponsored enterprises, Federal fa11 cilities, and Federal lands shall be considered 

12 Federal entities. 

13 (3) For the purpose of paragraph (1), to 

14 the extent that the non-Federal entity is a 

15 State or territory, an Indian tribe, a foreign 

16 government or an intergovernmental inter17 national organization, the provision or lan18 guage shall not be considered an earmark un19 less the provision or language also specifies 

20 the specific purpose for which the designated 

21 budget authority is to be expended. 

22 øSEC. 502. FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE ETHICS 

23 TRAINING. 

24 ø(a) ETHICS TRAINING.— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
23 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ø(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee on Stand2 ards of Official Conduct shall provide ethics training 

3 once per Congress to each employee of the House of 

4 Representatives, including training on the Code of 

5 Official Conduct, related rules of the House of Rep6 resentatives, and applicable provisions of law. 

7 ø(2) NEW EMPLOYEES.—A new employee of the 

8 House of Representatives shall receive training 

9 under this section not later than 30 days after be10 ginning service to the House. 

11 ø(3) MEMBERS.—While the House of Rep12 resentatives recognizes that adding qualifications to 

13 service as a Member may be unconstitutional, it en14 courages Members to participate in ethics training. 

15 ø(b) CERTIFICATION.—Within 30 days of completing 

16 required ethics training, each employee of the House of 

17 Representatives shall file a certification with the Com18 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct that the employee 

19 has completed such training and is familiar with the con20 tents of any pertinent publications that are so designated 

21 by the committee.¿ 

22 SEC. 502. MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING FOR HOUSE EM23 PLOYEES. 

24 (a) MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING FOR

25 HOUSE EMPLOYEES.—


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
24 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (1) CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER.—

2 Clause 4 of rule II of the Rules of the 

3 House of Representatives is amended by 

4 inserting the following new paragraph at 

5 the end: 

6 ‘‘(d) The Chief Administrative Officer may 

7 not pay any compensation to any employee of 

8 the House with respect to any pay period dur9 ing which the employee, as determined by the 

10 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, 

11 is not in compliance with the applicable re12 quirements of regulations promulgated pur13 suant to clause 3(r) of Rule XI. ’’. 

14 (2) MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING PRO15 GRAM.—Clause 3 of rule XI of the Rules of 

16 the House of Representatives is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(r) The committee shall establish a pro19 gram of regular ethics training for employees 

20 of the House and promulgate regulations pro21 viding for the following: 

22 ‘‘(1)(A) Except as otherwise provided, 

23 all employees of the House are required 

24 to complete ethics training offered by the 

25 committee at least once during each conVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6202 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
25 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 gress. Any employee who is hired after 

2 the date of adoption of such rules is re3 quired to complete such training within 

4 30 days of being hired. 

5 ‘‘(B) Any employee of the House who 

6 works in a Member’s district office shall 

7 not be required to complete such ethics 

8 training until 30 days after the district 

9 office has received a notice from the 

10 Committee on Standards of Official Con11 duct that the required ethics training 

12 program is available on the Internet. 

13 ‘‘(2) After any employee of the House 

14 completes such ethics training, that em15 ployee shall file a written certification 

16 with the committee that he is familiar 

17 with the contents of any pertinent publi18 cations that are so designated by the 

19 committee and has completed the re20 quired ethics training. 

21 ‘‘(3) As used in this paragraph, the 

22 term ‘employee of the House’ refers to 

23 any individual whose compensation is 

24 disbursed by the Chief Administrative Of25 ficer, including any staff assigned to a 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
26 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 Member’s personal office, any staff of a 

2 committee or leadership office, or any 

3 employee of the Office of the Clerk, of the 

4 Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, 

5 or of the Sergeant-at-Arms, but does not 

6 include a Member, Delegate, or Resident 

7 Commissioner.’’. 

8 (b) ETHICS TRAINING FOR MEMBERS, DELE9 GATES AND THE RESIDENT COMMISSIONER.—

10 Clause 3 of rule XI of the Rules of the House 

11 of Representatives is amended by inserting 

12 the following new paragraph at the end: 

13 ‘‘(s) The committee shall establish a pro14 gram of regular ethics training for Members, 

15 Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner 

16 similar to the program established in para17 graph (r), and encourage participation in 

18 such program.’’. 

19 SEC. 503. BIENNIAL PUBLICATION OF ETHICS MANUAL. 

20 Within 120 days after the date of enactment of this 

21 Act and during each Congress thereafter, the Committee 

22 on Standards of Official Conduct shall publish an up-to23 date ethics manual for Members, officers, and employees 

24 of the House of Representatives and make such manual 

25 available to all such individuals. The committee has a duty 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
27 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 to keep all Members, Delegates, the Resident Commis2 sioner, officers, and employees of the House of Represent3 atives apprised of current rulings or advisory opinions 

4 when potentially constituting changes to or interpretations 

5 of existing policies. 

6 TITLE VI—REFORM OF SECTION 

7 527 ORGANIZATIONS 

8 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘527 Reform Act of 

10 2006’’. 

11 SEC. 602. TREATMENT OF SECTION 527 ORGANIZATIONS. 

12 (a) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL COMMITTEE.—Sec13 tion 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

14 (2 U.S.C. 431(4)) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking the period at the end of sub16 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(D) any applicable 527 organization.’’. 

19 (b) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE 527 ORGANIZA20 TION.—Section 301 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431) is amend21 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(27) APPLICABLE 527 ORGANIZATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para24 graph (4)(D), the term ‘applicable 527 organiVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
28 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 zation’ means a committee, club, association, or 

2 group of persons that— 

3 ‘‘(i) has given notice to the Secretary 

4 of the Treasury under section 527(i) of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that it is 

6 to be treated as an organization described 

7 in section 527 of such Code; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) is not described in subparagraph 

9 (B). 

10 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTED ORGANIZATIONS.—A com11 mittee, club, association, or other group of per12 sons described in this subparagraph is— 

13 ‘‘(i) an organization described in sec14 tion 527(i)(5) of the Internal Revenue 

15 Code of 1986; 

16 ‘‘(ii) an organization which is a com17 mittee, club, association or other group of 

18 persons that is organized, operated, and 

19 makes disbursements exclusively for paying 

20 expenses described in the last sentence of 

21 section 527(e)(2) of the Internal Revenue 

22 Code of 1986 or expenses of a newsletter 

23 fund described in section 527(g) of such 

24 Code; 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
29 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(iii) an organization which is a com2 mittee, club, association, or other group 

3 that consists solely of candidates for State 

4 or local office, individuals holding State or 

5 local office, or any combination of either, 

6 but only if the organization refers only to 

7 one or more non-Federal candidates or ap8 plicable State or local issues in all of its 

9 voter drive activities and does not refer to 

10 a Federal candidate or a political party in 

11 any of its voter drive activities; or 

12 ‘‘(iv) an organization described in sub13 paragraph (C). 

14 ‘‘(C) APPLICABLE ORGANIZATION.—For 

15 purposes of subparagraph (B)(iv), an organiza16 tion described in this subparagraph is a com17 mittee, club, association, or other group of per18 sons whose election or nomination activities re19 late exclusively to— 

20 ‘‘(i) elections where no candidate for 

21 Federal office appears on the ballot; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) one or more of the following pur23 poses: 

24 ‘‘(I) Influencing the selection, 

25 nomination, election, or appointment 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
30 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 of one or more candidates to non-Fed2 eral offices. 

3 ‘‘(II) Influencing one or more ap4 plicable State or local issues. 

5 ‘‘(III) Influencing the selection, 

6 appointment, nomination, or con7 firmation of one or more individuals 

8 to non-elected offices. 

9 ‘‘(D) EXCLUSIVITY TEST.—A committee, 

10 club, association, or other group of persons 

11 shall not be treated as meeting the exclusivity 

12 requirement of subparagraph (C) if it makes 

13 disbursements aggregating more than $1,000 

14 for any of the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) A public communication that pro16 motes, supports, attacks, or opposes a 

17 clearly identified candidate for Federal of18 fice during the 1-year period ending on the 

19 date of the general election for the office 

20 sought by the clearly identified candidate 

21 (or, if a runoff election is held with respect 

22 to such general election, on the date of the 

23 runoff election). 

24 ‘‘(ii) Any voter drive activity during a 

25 calendar year, except that no disburseVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
31 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ments for any voter drive activity shall be 

2 taken into account under this subpara3 graph if the committee, club, association, 

4 or other group of persons during such cal5 endar year— 

6 ‘‘(I) makes disbursements for 

7 voter drive activities with respect to 

8 elections in only 1 State and complies 

9 with all applicable election laws of 

10 that State, including laws related to 

11 registration and reporting require12 ments and contribution limitations; 

13 ‘‘(II) refers to one or more non14 Federal candidates or applicable State 

15 or local issues in all of its voter drive 

16 activities and does not refer to any 

17 Federal candidate or any political 

18 party in any of its voter drive activi19 ties; 

20 ‘‘(III) does not have a candidate 

21 for Federal office, an individual who 

22 holds any Federal office, a national 

23 political party, or an agent of any of 

24 the foregoing, control or materially 

25 participate in the direction of the orVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
32 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ganization, solicit contributions to the 

2 organization (other than funds which 

3 are described under clauses (i) and 

4 (ii) of section 323(e)(1)(B)), or direct 

5 disbursements, in whole or in part, by 

6 the organization; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) makes no contributions to 

8 Federal candidates. 

9 ‘‘(E) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO FEDERAL

10 CANDIDATES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For 

11 purposes of subparagraphs (B)(iii) and 

12 (D)(ii)(II), a voter drive activity shall not be 

13 treated as referring to a clearly identified Fed14 eral candidate if the only reference to the can15 didate in the activity is— 

16 ‘‘(i) a reference in connection with an 

17 election for a non-Federal office in which 

18 such Federal candidate is also a candidate 

19 for such non-Federal office; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) a reference to the fact that the 

21 candidate has endorsed a non-Federal can22 didate or has taken a position on an appli23 cable State or local issue, including a ref24 erence that constitutes the endorsement or 

25 position itself. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
33 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(F) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO POLITICAL

2 PARTIES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For pur3 poses of subparagraphs (B)(iii) and (D)(ii)(II), 

4 a voter drive activity shall not be treated as re5 ferring to a political party if the only reference 

6 to the party in the activity is— 

7 ‘‘(i) a reference for the purpose of 

8 identifying a non-Federal candidate; 

9 ‘‘(ii) a reference for the purpose of 

10 identifying the entity making the public 

11 communication or carrying out the voter 

12 drive activity; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) a reference in a manner or con14 text that does not reflect support for or op15 position to a Federal candidate or can16 didates and does reflect support for or op17 position to a State or local candidate or 

18 candidates or an applicable State or local 

19 issue. 

20 ‘‘(G) APPLICABLE STATE OR LOCAL

21 ISSUE.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 

22 term ‘applicable State or local issue’ means any 

23 State or local ballot initiative, State or local ref24 erendum, State or local constitutional amendVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
34 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ment, State or local bond issue, or other State 

2 or local ballot issue.’’. 

3 (c) DEFINITION OF VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—Sec4 tion 301 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431), as amended by sub5 section (b), is further amended by adding at the end the 

6 following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(28) VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—The term 

8 ‘voter drive activity’ means any of the following ac9 tivities conducted in connection with an election in 

10 which a candidate for Federal office appears on the 

11 ballot (regardless of whether a candidate for State 

12 or local office also appears on the ballot): 

13 ‘‘(A) Voter registration activity. 

14 ‘‘(B) Voter identification. 

15 ‘‘(C) Get-out-the-vote activity. 

16 ‘‘(D) Generic campaign activity. 

17 ‘‘(E) Any public communication related to 

18 activities described in subparagraphs (A) 

19 through (D). 

20 Such term shall not include any activity described in 

21 subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 316(b)(2).’’. 

22 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Federal Election Commis23 sion shall promulgate regulations to implement this sec24 tion not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
35 

•HR 4975 RH 

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

2 this section shall take effect on the date which is 60 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 603. RULES FOR ALLOCATION OF EXPENSES BETWEEN 

5 FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL ACTIVITIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 

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

8 by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 325. ALLOCATION AND FUNDING RULES FOR CER10 TAIN EXPENSES RELATING TO FEDERAL AND 

11 NON-FEDERAL ACTIVITIES. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any disbursements 

13 by any political committee that is a separate segregated 

14 fund or nonconnected committee for which allocation rules 

15 are provided under subsection (b)— 

16 ‘‘(1) the disbursements shall be allocated be17 tween Federal and non-Federal accounts in accord18 ance with this section and regulations prescribed by 

19 the Commission; and 

20 ‘‘(2) in the case of disbursements allocated to 

21 non-Federal accounts, may be paid only from a 

22 qualified non-Federal account. 

23 ‘‘(b) COSTS TO BE ALLOCATED AND ALLOCATION

24 RULES.— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
36 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Disbursements by any sep2 arate segregated fund or nonconnected committee, 

3 other than an organization described in section 

4 323(b)(1), for any of the following categories of ac5 tivity shall be allocated as follows: 

6 ‘‘(A) 100 percent of the expenses for public 

7 communications or voter drive activities that 

8 refer to one or more clearly identified Federal 

9 candidates, but do not refer to any clearly iden10 tified non-Federal candidates, shall be paid with 

11 funds from a Federal account, without regard 

12 to whether the communication refers to a polit13 ical party. 

14 ‘‘(B) At least 50 percent, or a greater per15 centage if the Commission so determines by 

16 regulation, of the expenses for public commu17 nications and voter drive activities that refer to 

18 one or more clearly identified candidates for 

19 Federal office and one or more clearly identified 

20 non-Federal candidates shall be paid with funds 

21 from a Federal account, without regard to 

22 whether the communication refers to a political 

23 party. 

24 ‘‘(C) At least 50 percent, or a greater per25 centage if the Commission so determines by 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
37 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 regulation, of the expenses for public commu2 nications or voter drive activities that refer to 

3 a political party, but do not refer to any clearly 

4 identified Federal or non-Federal candidate, 

5 shall be paid with funds from a Federal ac6 count, except that this paragraph shall not 

7 apply to communications or activities that re8 late exclusively to elections where no candidate 

9 for Federal office appears on the ballot. 

10 ‘‘(D) At least 50 percent, or a greater per11 centage if the Commission so determines by 

12 regulation, of the expenses for public commu13 nications or voter drive activities that refer to 

14 a political party and refer to one or more clear15 ly identified non-Federal candidates, but do not 

16 refer to any clearly identified Federal can17 didates, shall be paid with funds from a Federal 

18 account, except that this paragraph shall not 

19 apply to communications or activities that re20 late exclusively to elections where no candidate 

21 for Federal office appears on the ballot. 

22 ‘‘(E) Unless otherwise determined by the 

23 Commission in its regulations, at least 50 per24 cent of any administrative expenses, including 

25 rent, utilities, office supplies, and salaries not 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
38 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 attributable to a clearly identified candidate, 

2 shall be paid with funds from a Federal ac3 count, except that for a separate segregated 

4 fund such expenses may be paid instead by its 

5 connected organization. 

6 ‘‘(F) At least 50 percent, or a greater per7 centage if the Commission so determines by 

8 regulation, of the direct costs of a fundraising 

9 program or event, including disbursements for 

10 solicitation of funds and for planning and ad11 ministration of actual fundraising events, where 

12 Federal and non-Federal funds are collected 

13 through such program or event shall be paid 

14 with funds from a Federal account, except that 

15 for a separate segregated fund such costs may 

16 be paid instead by its connected organization. 

17 This paragraph shall not apply to any fund18 raising solicitations or any other activity that 

19 constitutes a public communication. 

20 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO FEDERAL CAN21 DIDATES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes 

22 of paragraph (1), a public communication or voter 

23 drive activity shall not be treated as referring to a 

24 clearly identified Federal candidate if the only refVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
39 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 erence to the candidate in the communication or ac2 tivity is— 

3 ‘‘(A) a reference in connection with an 

4 election for a non-Federal office in which such 

5 Federal candidate is also a candidate for such 

6 non-Federal office; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a reference to the fact that the can8 didate has endorsed a non-Federal candidate or 

9 has taken a position on an applicable State or 

10 local issue (as defined in section 301(27)(G)), 

11 including a reference that constitutes the en12 dorsement or position itself. 

13 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO POLITICAL PAR14 TIES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes of 

15 paragraph (1), a public communication or voter 

16 drive activity shall not be treated as referring to a 

17 political party if the only reference to the party in 

18 the communication or activity is— 

19 ‘‘(A) a reference for the purpose of identi20 fying a non-Federal candidate; 

21 ‘‘(B) a reference for the purpose of identi22 fying the entity making the public communica23 tion or carrying out the voter drive activity; or 

24 ‘‘(C) a reference in a manner or context 

25 that does not reflect support for or opposition 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
40 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 to a Federal candidate or candidates and does 

2 reflect support for or opposition to a State or 

3 local candidate or candidates or an applicable 

4 State or local issue. 

5 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNT.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec7 tion, the term ‘qualified non-Federal account’ means 

8 an account which consists solely of amounts— 

9 ‘‘(A) that, subject to the limitations of 

10 paragraphs (2) and (3), are raised by the sepa11 rate segregated fund or nonconnected com12 mittee only from individuals, and 

13 ‘‘(B) with respect to which all require14 ments of Federal, State, or local law (including 

15 any law relating to contribution limits) are met. 

16 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON INDIVIDUAL DONA17 TIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A separate segregated 

19 fund or nonconnected committee may not ac20 cept more than $25,000 in funds for its quali21 fied non-Federal account from any one indi22 vidual in any calendar year. 

23 ‘‘(B) AFFILIATION.—For purposes of this 

24 paragraph, all qualified non-Federal accounts of 

25 separate segregated funds or nonconnected 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
41 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 committees which are directly or indirectly es2 tablished, financed, maintained, or controlled by 

3 the same person or persons shall be treated as 

4 one account. 

5 ‘‘(3) FUNDRAISING LIMITATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No donation to a 

7 qualified non-Federal account may be solicited, 

8 received, directed, transferred, or spent by or in 

9 the name of any person described in subsection 

10 (a) or (e) of section 323. 

11 ‘‘(B) FUNDS NOT TREATED AS SUBJECT

12 TO ACT.—Except as provided in subsection 

13 (a)(2) and this subsection, any funds raised for 

14 a qualified non-Federal account in accordance 

15 with the requirements of this section shall not 

16 be considered funds subject to the limitations, 

17 prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this 

18 Act for any purpose (including for purposes of 

19 subsection (a) or (e) of section 323 or sub20 section (d)(1) of this section). 

21 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL ACCOUNT.—The term ‘Federal 

23 account’ means an account which consists solely of 

24 contributions subject to the limitations, prohibitions, 

25 and reporting requirements of this Act. Nothing in 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
42 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 this section or in section 323(b)(2)(B)(iii) shall be 

2 construed to infer that a limit other than the limit 

3 under section 315(a)(1)(C) applies to contributions 

4 to the account. 

5 ‘‘(2) NONCONNECTED COMMITTEE.—The term 

6 ‘nonconnected committee’ shall not include a polit7 ical committee of a political party. 

8 ‘‘(3) VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘voter 

9 drive activity’ has the meaning given such term in 

10 section 301(28).’’. 

11 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304(e) of 

12 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 

13 434(e)) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

15 paragraphs (4) and (5); and 

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol17 lowing new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(3) RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FROM

19 QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNTS.—In addition 

20 to any other reporting requirement applicable under 

21 this Act, a political committee to which section 

22 325(a) applies shall report all receipts and disburse23 ments from a qualified non-Federal account (as de24 fined in section 325(c)).’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
43 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Federal Election Commis2 sion shall promulgate regulations to implement the amend3 ments made by this section not later than 180 days after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act. 

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall take effect on the date which is 180 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 604. REPEAL OF LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF PARTY EX9 PENDITURES ON BEHALF OF CANDIDATES IN 

10 GENERAL ELECTIONS. 

11 (a) REPEAL OF LIMIT.—Section 315(d) of the Fed12 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any 

16 other provision of law with respect to limita17 tions on expenditures or limitations on con18 tributions, the national committee’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of 

20 law with respect to limitations on amounts of 

21 expenditures or contributions, a national com22 mittee’’, 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘the general’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘any’’, and 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
44 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (C) by striking ‘‘Federal office, subject to 

2 the limitations contained in paragraphs (2), (3), 

3 and (4) of this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘Fed4 eral office in any amount’’; and 

5 (2) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4). 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) INDEXING.—Section 315(c) of such Act (2 

8 U.S.C. 441a(c)) is amended— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 

10 ‘‘(d),’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking 

12 ‘‘subsections (b) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub13 section (b)’’. 

14 (2) INCREASE IN LIMITS FOR SENATE CAN15 DIDATES FACING WEALTHY OPPONENTS.—Section 

16 315(i) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(i)(1)) is amend17 ed— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)(C)(iii)— 

19 (i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub20 clause (I), 

21 (ii) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘; 

22 and’’ and inserting a period, and 

23 (iii) by striking subclause (III); 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
45 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (B) in paragraph (2)(A) in the matter pre2 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and a party 

3 committee shall not make any expenditure,’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), by striking 

5 ‘‘and party expenditures previously made’’; and 

6 (D) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘and 

7 a party shall not make any expenditure’’. 

8 (3) INCREASE IN LIMITS FOR HOUSE CAN9 DIDATES FACING WEALTHY OPPONENTS.—Section 

10 315A(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a—1(a)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub14 paragraph (A), 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

16 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period, and 

17 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

18 (B) in paragraph (3)(A) in the matter pre19 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and a party 

20 committee shall not make any expenditure,’’; 

21 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), by striking 

22 ‘‘and party expenditures previously made’’; and 

23 (D) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘and 

24 a party shall not make any expenditure’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
46 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect January 1, 2006. 

3 SEC. 605. CONSTRUCTION. 

4 No provision of this title, or amendment made by this 

5 title, shall be construed— 

6 (1) as approving, ratifying, or endorsing a regu7 lation promulgated by the Federal Election Commis8 sion; 

9 (2) as establishing, modifying, or otherwise af10 fecting the definition of political organization for 

11 purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

12 (3) as affecting the determination of whether a 

13 group organized under section 501(c) of the Internal 

14 Revenue Code of 1986 is a political committee under 

15 section 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign 

16 Act of 1971. 

17 SEC. 606. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

18 (a) SPECIAL RULES FOR ACTIONS BROUGHT ON

19 CONSTITUTIONAL GROUNDS.—If any action is brought for 

20 declaratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu21 tionality of any provision of this title or any amendment 

22 made by this title, the following rules shall apply: 

23 (1) The action shall be filed in the United 

24 States District Court for the District of Columbia 

25 and shall be heard by a 3-judge court convened purVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
47 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 suant to section 2284 of title 28, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (2) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered 

4 promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representa5 tives and the Secretary of the Senate. 

6 (3) A final decision in the action shall be re7 viewable only by appeal directly to the Supreme 

8 Court of the United States. Such appeal shall be 

9 taken by the filing of a notice of appeal within 10 

10 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement 

11 within 30 days, of the entry of the final decision. 

12 (4) It shall be the duty of the United States 

13 District Court for the District of Columbia and the 

14 Supreme Court of the United States to advance on 

15 the docket and to expedite to the greatest possible 

16 extent the disposition of the action and appeal. 

17 (b) INTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—In 

18 any action in which the constitutionality of any provision 

19 of this title or any amendment made by this title is raised 

20 (including but not limited to an action described in sub21 section (a)), any Member of the House of Representatives 

22 (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Con23 gress) or Senate shall have the right to intervene either 

24 in support of or opposition to the position of a party to 

25 the case regarding the constitutionality of the provision 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
48 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 or amendment. To avoid duplication of efforts and reduce 

2 the burdens placed on the parties to the action, the court 

3 in any such action may make such orders as it considers 

4 necessary, including orders to require intervenors taking 

5 similar positions to file joint papers or to be represented 

6 by a single attorney at oral argument. 

7 (c) CHALLENGE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Any 

8 Member of Congress may bring an action, subject to the 

9 special rules described in subsection (a), for declaratory 

10 or injunctive relief to challenge the constitutionality of any 

11 provision of this title or any amendment made by this title. 

12 (d) APPLICABILITY.— 

13 (1) INITIAL CLAIMS.—With respect to any ac14 tion initially filed on or before December 31, 2008, 

15 the provisions of subsection (a) shall apply with re16 spect to each action described in such subsection. 

17 (2) SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS.—With respect to 

18 any action initially filed after December 31, 2008, 

19 the provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to 

20 any action described in such subsection unless the 

21 person filing such action elects such provisions to 

22 apply to the action. 

23 SEC. 607. SEVERABILITY. 

24 If any provision of this title or any amendment made 

25 by this title, or the application of a provision or amendVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
49 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be uncon2 stitutional, the remainder of this title and the amendments 

3 made by this title, and the application of the provisions 

4 and amendments to any person or circumstance, shall not 

5 be affected by the holding. 

6 ΩTITLE VII—FORFEITURE OF 

7 RETIREMENT BENEFITS 

8 ΩSEC. 701. LOSS OF PENSIONS ACCRUED DURING SERVICE 

9 AS A MEMBER OF CONGRESS FOR ABUSING 

10 THE PUBLIC TRUST. 

11 Ω(a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—Section 

12 8332 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

14 Ω‘‘(o)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

15 subchapter, the service of an individual finally convicted 

16 of an offense described in paragraph (2) shall not be taken 

17 into account for purposes of this subchapter, except that 

18 this sentence applies only to service rendered as a Member 

19 (irrespective of when rendered). Any such individual (or 

20 other person determined under section 8342(c), if applica21 ble) shall be entitled to be paid so much of such individ22 ual’s lump-sum credit as is attributable to service to which 

23 the preceding sentence applies. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
50 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 Ω‘‘(2)(A) An offense described in this paragraph is 

2 any offense described in subparagraph (B) for which the 

3 following apply: 

4 Ω‘‘(i) Every act or omission of the individual 

5 (referred to in paragraph (1)) that is needed to sat6 isfy the elements of the offense occurs while the in7 dividual is a Member. 

8 Ω‘‘(ii) Every act or omission of the individual 

9 that is needed to satisfy the elements of the offense 

10 directly relates to the performance of the individual’s 

11 official duties as a Member. 

12 Ω‘‘(iii) The offense is committed after the date 

13 of enactment of this subsection. 

14 Ω‘‘(B) An offense described in this subparagraph is 

15 only the following, and only to the extent that the offense 

16 is a felony under title 18: 

17 Ω‘‘(i) An offense under section 201 of title 18 

18 (bribery of public officials and witnesses). 

19 Ω‘‘(ii) An offense under section 219 of title 18 

20 (officers and employees acting as agents of foreign 

21 principals). 

22 Ω‘‘(iii) An offense under section 371 of title 18 

23 (conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United 

24 States) to the extent of any conspiracy to commit an 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
51 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 act which constitutes an offense under clause (i) or 

2 (ii). 

3 Ω‘‘(3) An individual convicted of an offense described 

4 in paragraph (2) shall not, after the date of the final con5 viction, be eligible to participate in the retirement system 

6 under this subchapter or chapter 84 while serving as a 

7 Member. 

8 Ω‘‘(4) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre9 scribe any regulations necessary to carry out this sub10 section. Such regulations shall include— 

11 Ω‘‘(A) provisions under which interest on any 

12 lump-sum payment under the second sentence of 

13 paragraph (1) shall be limited in a manner similar 

14 to that specified in the last sentence of section 

15 8316(b); and 

16 Ω‘‘(B) provisions under which the Office may 

17 provide for— 

18 Ω‘‘(i) the payment, to the spouse or chil19 dren of any individual referred to in the first 

20 sentence of paragraph (1), of any amounts 

21 which (but for this clause) would otherwise have 

22 been nonpayable by reason of such first sen23 tence, but only to the extent that the applica24 tion of this clause is considered necessary given 

25 the totality of the circumstances; and 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
52 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 Ω‘‘(ii) an appropriate adjustment in the 

2 amount of any lump-sum payment under the 

3 second sentence of paragraph (1) to reflect the 

4 application of clause (i). 

5 Ω‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection— 

6 Ω‘‘(A) the term ‘Member’ has the meaning 

7 given such term by section 2106, notwithstanding 

8 section 8331(2); and 

9 Ω‘‘(B) the term ‘child’ has the meaning given 

10 such term by section 8341.’’. 

11 Ω(b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYS12 TEM.—Section 8411 of title 5, United States Code, is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 Ω‘‘(i)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

15 chapter, the service of an individual finally convicted of 

16 an offense described in paragraph (2) shall not be taken 

17 into account for purposes of this chapter, except that this 

18 sentence applies only to service rendered as a Member (ir19 respective of when rendered). Any such individual (or 

20 other person determined under section 8424(d), if applica21 ble) shall be entitled to be paid so much of such individ22 ual’s lump-sum credit as is attributable to service to which 

23 the preceding sentence applies. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
53 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 Ω‘‘(2) An offense described in this paragraph is any 

2 offense described in section 8332(o)(2)(B) for which the 

3 following apply: 

4 Ω‘‘(A) Every act or omission of the individual 

5 (referred to in paragraph (1)) that is needed to sat6 isfy the elements of the offense occurs while the in7 dividual is a Member. 

8 Ω‘‘(B) Every act or omission of the individual 

9 that is needed to satisfy the elements of the offense 

10 directly relates to the performance of the individual’s 

11 official duties as a Member. 

12 Ω‘‘(C) The offense is committed after the date 

13 of enactment of this subsection. 

14 Ω‘‘(3) An individual finally convicted of an offense de15 scribed in paragraph (2) shall not, after the date of the 

16 conviction, be eligible to participate in the retirement sys17 tem under this chapter while serving as a Member. 

18 Ω‘‘(4) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre19 scribe any regulations necessary to carry out this sub20 section. Such regulations shall include— 

21 Ω‘‘(A) provisions under which interest on any 

22 lump-sum payment under the second sentence of 

23 paragraph (1) shall be limited in a manner similar 

24 to that specified in the last sentence of section 

25 8316(b); and 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
54 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 Ω‘‘(B) provisions under which the Office may 

2 provide for— 

3 Ω‘‘(i) the payment, to the spouse or chil4 dren of any individual referred to in the first 

5 sentence of paragraph (1), of any amounts 

6 which (but for this clause) would otherwise have 

7 been nonpayable by reason of such first sen8 tence, but only to the extent that the applica9 tion of this clause is considered necessary given 

10 the totality of the circumstances; and 

11 Ω‘‘(ii) an appropriate adjustment in the 

12 amount of any lump-sum payment under the 

13 second sentence of paragraph (1) to reflect the 

14 application of clause (i). 

15 Ω‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection— 

16 Ω‘‘(A) the term ‘Member’ has the meaning 

17 given such term by section 2106, notwithstanding 

18 section 8401(20); and 

19 Ω‘‘(B) the term ‘child’ has the meaning given 

20 such term by section 8341.’’.æ 

21 TITLE VII—FORFEITURE OF 

22 RETIREMENT BENEFITS 

23 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Pen25 sion Forfeiture Act’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
55 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 SEC. 702. CONVICTION OF CERTAIN OFFENSES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8312 of title 5, 

3 United States Code, is amended in subsection 

4 (a)—

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or’’

6 at the end; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the 

8 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

9 (3) by adding after paragraph (2) the 

10 following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(3) was convicted of an offense 

12 named by subsection (d), to the extent pro13 vided by that subsection.’’; 

14 (4) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

15 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (5) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

17 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

18 and’’; and 

19 (6) by adding after subparagraph (B) 

20 the following new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(C) with respect to the offenses 

22 named by subsection (d), to the period 

23 after the date of the conviction.’’. 

24 (b) OFFENSES COVERED.—Such section is 

25 further amended—


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
56 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as 

2 subsection (e); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) 

4 the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(d)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the fol6 lowing are the offenses to which subsection 

7 (a)(3) applies: 

8 ‘‘(A) In title 18—

9 ‘‘(i) section 201 (bribery of public 

10 officials and witnesses); 

11 ‘‘(ii) section 219 (officers and em12 ployees acting as agents of foreign 

13 principals); 

14 ‘‘(iii) section 371 (conspiracy to 

15 commit offense or to defraud United 

16 States), to the extent of any conspiracy 

17 to commit an act which constitutes an 

18 offense within the purview of such sec19 tion 201; or 

20 ‘‘(iv) section 641 (public money, 

21 property or records). 

22 ‘‘(B) Perjury committed under the stat23 utes of the United States in falsely deny24 ing the commission of an act which conVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6204 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
57 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 stitutes an offense within the purview of a 

2 statute named by subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(C) Subornation of perjury com4 mitted in connection with the false denial 

5 of another individual as specified by sub6 paragraph (B). 

7 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies only if—

8 ‘‘(A) the offense is committed while the 

9 individual is a Member of Congress, a 

10 Congressional employee, or a political ap11 pointee; 

12 ‘‘(B) the offense is committed after the 

13 date of the enactment of the Federal Pen14 sion Forfeiture Act; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the offense is punishable by im16 prisonment for more than one year. 

17 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘political 

18 appointee’ means an individual—

19 ‘‘(A) who is paid at the rate for one of 

20 the levels of the Executive Schedule, as 

21 provided under sections 5312 through 

22 5315 or under any other provision of law; 

23 ‘‘(B) who is a noncareer appointee in 

24 the Senior Executive Service, as defined in 

25 section 3132(a)(7); or 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
58 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(C) whose position is excepted from 

2 the competitive service because of its con3 fidential, policy-determining, policy-mak4 ing, or policy-advocating character.’’. 

5 SEC. 703. ABSENCE FROM THE UNITED STATES TO AVOID 

6 PROSECUTION. 

7 Section 8313 of title 5, United States Code, 

8 is amended in subsection (a)(1)—

9 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

10 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

11 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end and inserting ‘‘or’’ ; and 

13 (3) by inserting after subparagraph 

14 (B) the following new subparagraph: 

15 ‘‘(C) after the date of the enact16 ment of the Federal Pension For17 feiture Act, for an offense named by 

18 section 8312(d) of this title; and’’. 

19 SEC. 704. REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND DEPOSITS. 

20 Section 8316 of title 5, United States Code, 

21 is amended in subsection (b)—

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or’’

23 at the end; 

24 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the 

25 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
59 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) 

2 the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(3) if the individual was convicted of 

4 an offense named by section 8312(d), for 

5 the period after the conviction.’’. 

6 SEC. 705. RESTORATION OF ANNUITY OR RETIRED PAY. 

7 Section 8318(b) of title 5, United States 

8 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 8314 or 

9 8315’’ and inserting ‘‘section 8312(a)(3), 

10 8313(a)(1)(C), 8314, or 8315’’. 

11 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

12 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

13 ‘‘Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006’’. 

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

15 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

Sec. 101. Quarterly filing of lobbying disclosure reports. 

Sec. 102. Electronic filing of lobbying registrations and disclosure reports. 

Sec. 103. Public database of lobbying disclosure information. 

Sec. 104. Disclosure by registered lobbyists of past executive branch and congressional employment. 

Sec. 105. Disclosure of lobbyist contributions and gifts. 

Sec. 106. Increased penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. 

Sec. 107. Requiring lobbyists to file reports on solicitations and transfers of contributions for candidates. 

Sec. 108. GAO study of employment contracts of lobbyists. 

TITLE II—SLOWING THE REVOLVING DOOR 

Sec. 201. Notification of post-employment restrictions. 

Sec. 202. Disclosure by Members of the House of Representatives of employment 

negotiations. 

Sec. 203. Wrongfully influencing, on a partisan basis, an entity’s employment decisions or practices. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
60 

•HR 4975 RH 

TITLE III—SUSPENSION OF PRIVATELY-FUNDED TRAVEL; CURBING 

LOBBYIST GIFTS 

Sec. 301. Suspension of privately-funded travel. 

Sec. 302. Recommendations on gifts and travel. 

Sec. 303. Prohibiting registered lobbyists on corporate flights. 

Sec. 304. Valuation of tickets to sporting and entertainment events. 

TITLE IV—OVERSIGHT OF LOBBYING AND ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 401. Audits of lobbying reports by House Inspector General. 

Sec. 402. House Inspector General review and annual reports. 

TITLE V—INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS 

Sec. 501. Earmarking reform. 

Sec. 502. Frequent and comprehensive ethics training. 

Sec. 503. Biennial publication of ethics manual. 

TITLE VI—REFORM OF SECTION 527 ORGANIZATIONS 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Treatment of section 527 organizations. 

Sec. 603. Rules for allocation of expenses between Federal and non-Federal activities. 

Sec. 604. Repeal of limit on amount of party expenditures on behalf of candidates 

in general elections. 

Sec. 605. Construction. 

Sec. 606. Judicial review. 

Sec. 607. Severability. 

TITLE VII—FORFEITURE OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS 

Sec. 701. Loss of pensions accrued during service as a Member of Congress for 

abusing the public trust. 

1 TITLE I—ENHANCING LOBBYING 

2 DISCLOSURE 

3 SEC. 101. QUARTERLY FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

4 REPORTS. 

5 (a) QUARTERLY FILING REQUIRED.—Section 5 of the 

6 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (in this title referred to 

7 as the ‘‘Act’’) (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SEMI10 ANNUAL’’ and inserting ‘‘QUARTERLY’’; 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
61 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (B) by striking ‘‘45’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’; 

2 (C) by striking ‘‘the semiannual period’’ 

3 and all that follows through ‘‘July of each year’’ 

4 and insert ‘‘the quarterly period beginning on 

5 the first day of January, April, July, and Octo6 ber of each year’’; and 

7 (D) by striking ‘‘such semiannual period’’ 

8 and insert ‘‘such quarterly period’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

11 by striking ‘‘semiannual report’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘quarterly report’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘semi14 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

15 period’’; 

16 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘semi17 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe18 riod’’; and 

19 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘semi20 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

21 period’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 3(10) of the Act (2 

24 U.S.C. 1602(10)) is amended by striking ‘‘six month 

25 period’’ and inserting ‘‘3-month period’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
62 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (2) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act (2 

2 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

3 (A) in subsection (a)(3)(A), by striking 

4 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

5 period’’; and 

6 (B) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by striking 

7 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

8 period’’. 

9 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 6(6) of the Act (2 

10 U.S.C. 1605(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘semiannual 

11 period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly period’’. 

12 (4) ESTIMATES.—Section 15 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

13 1610) is amended— 

14 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘semi15 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe16 riod’’; and 

17 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘semi18 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe19 riod’’. 

20 (5) DOLLAR AMOUNTS.— 

21 (A) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of the Act (2 

22 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

23 (i) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), by strik24 ing ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500’’; 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
63 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (ii) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii), by 

2 striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; 

3 (iii) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by strik4 ing ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; and 

5 (iv) in subsection (b)(4), by striking 

6 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

7 (B) REPORTS.—Section 5(c) of the Act (2 

8 U.S.C. 1604(c)) is amended— 

9 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

10 ‘‘$10,000’’ and ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘$5,000’’ and ‘‘$1,000’’, respectively; and 

12 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 

13 ‘‘$10,000’’ both places such term appears 

14 and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

15 SEC. 102. ELECTRONIC FILING OF LOBBYING REGISTRA16 TIONS AND DISCLOSURE REPORTS. 

17 (a) REGISTRATIONS.—Section 4 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

18 1603) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 

20 (e); and 

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.—A registration 

24 required to be filed under this section on or after the date 

25 of enactment of the Lobbying Accountability and TransVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
64 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 parency Act of 2006 shall be filed in electronic form, in 

2 addition to any other form that may be required by the 

3 Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Rep4 resentatives. The due date for a registration filed in elec5 tronic form shall be no later than the due date for a reg6 istration filed in any other form.’’. 

7 (b) REPORTS.—Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A report required to be filed 

11 under this section shall be filed in electronic form, in 

12 addition to any other form that may be required by 

13 the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House 

14 of Representatives. The due date for a report filed in 

15 electronic form shall be no later than the due date for 

16 a report filed in any other form, except as provided 

17 in paragraph (2). 

18 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE IN ELEC19 TRONIC FORM.—The Secretary of the Senate or the 

20 Clerk of the House of Representatives may establish a 

21 later due date for the filing of a report in electronic 

22 form by a registrant, if and only if— 

23 ‘‘(A) on or before the original due date, the 

24 registrant— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
65 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(i) timely files the report in every 

2 form required, other than electronic form; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) makes a request for such a later 

5 due date to the Secretary or the Clerk, as 

6 the case may be; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the request is supported by good cause 

8 shown.’’. 

9 SEC. 103. PUBLIC DATABASE OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE IN10 FORMATION. 

11 (a) DATABASE REQUIRED.—Section 6 of the Act (2 

12 U.S.C. 1605) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period and 

16 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(9) maintain, and make available to the public 

19 over the Internet, without a fee or other access charge, 

20 in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable manner, 

21 an electronic database that— 

22 ‘‘(A) includes the information contained in 

23 registrations and reports filed under this Act; 

24 ‘‘(B) directly links the information it con25 tains to the information disclosed in reports filed 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
66 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 with the Federal Election Commission under sec2 tion 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

3 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434); and 

4 ‘‘(C) is searchable and sortable, at a min5 imum, by each of the categories of information 

6 described in sections 4(b) and 5(b).’’. 

7 (b) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Section 6(4) of the 

8 Act is amended by inserting before the semicolon the fol9 lowing: ‘‘and, in the case of a registration filed in electronic 

10 form pursuant to section 4(d) or a report filed in electronic 

11 form pursuant to section 5(d), shall make such registration 

12 or report (as the case may be) available for public inspec13 tion over the Internet not more than 48 hours after the reg14 istration or report (as the case may be) is approved as re15 ceived by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the 

16 House of Representatives (as the case may be)’’. 

17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

18 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec19 essary to carry out paragraph (9) of section 6 of the Act, 

20 as added by subsection (a) of this section. 

21 SEC. 104. DISCLOSURE BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS OF PAST 

22 EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND CONGRESSIONAL 

23 EMPLOYMENT. 

24 Section 4(b)(6) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6)) is 

25 amended by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting ‘‘7 years’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
67 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 SEC. 105. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYIST CONTRIBUTIONS AND 

2 GIFTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(b) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 

4 1604(b)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

6 semicolon; 

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

8 inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(5) for each registrant (and for any political 

11 committee, as defined in 301(4) of the Federal Elec12 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(4)), affili13 ated with the registrant), and for each employee listed 

14 as a lobbyist by the registrant under paragraph 

15 (2)(C)— 

16 ‘‘(A) the name of each Federal candidate or 

17 officeholder, and of each leadership PAC, polit18 ical party committee, or other political com19 mittee to whom a contribution was made which 

20 is required to be reported to the Federal Election 

21 Commission by the recipient, and the date and 

22 amount of such contribution; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the name of each Federal candidate or 

24 officeholder, leadership PAC of such candidate or 

25 officeholder, or political party committee for 

26 whom a fundraising event was hosted or cohosted 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
68 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (as stated on the official invitation) by the reg2 istrant and each employee listed by the reg3 istrant as a lobbyist, the date and location of the 

4 event, and the total amount raised by the event; 

5 ‘‘(6) the date, recipient, and amount of any gift 

6 that under the Rules of the House of Representatives 

7 counts towards the cumulative annual limit described 

8 in such rules and is given to a covered legislative 

9 branch official by the registrant or an employee listed 

10 as a lobbyist by the registrant under paragraph 

11 (2)(C); 

12 ‘‘(7) the date, recipient, and amount of funds 

13 contributed by the registrant or an employee listed as 

14 a lobbyist by the registrant under paragraph (2)(C)— 

15 ‘‘(A) to pay the costs of an event the pur16 pose of which is (as stated by the registrant or 

17 employee, or in official materials describing the 

18 event) to honor or recognize a covered legislative 

19 branch official or covered executive branch offi20 cial; 

21 ‘‘(B) to, or on behalf of, an entity that is 

22 named for a covered legislative branch official or 

23 covered executive branch official, or to a person 

24 or entity in recognition of such official; 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
69 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(C) to an entity established, financed, 

2 maintained, or controlled by a covered legislative 

3 branch official or covered executive branch offi4 cial, or an entity designated by such official; or 

5 ‘‘(D) to pay the costs of a meeting, retreat, 

6 conference, or substantially similar event held 

7 by, or for the benefit of, 1 or more covered legis8 lative branch officials or covered executive 

9 branch officials; 

10 except that this paragraph shall not apply to any 

11 payment or reimbursement made from funds required 

12 to be reported under section 304 of the Federal Elec13 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434); and 

14 ‘‘(8) the name of each Member of Congress, and 

15 each employee of a Member of Congress, with whom 

16 any lobbying contact has been made on behalf of the 

17 client by the registrant or an employee listed as a lob18 byist by the registrant under paragraph (2)(C).’’. 

19 (b) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED TO DETERMINE RE20 LATIONSHIP BETWEEN OFFICIALS AND OTHER ENTI21 TIES.—Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604), as amended 

22 by section 102(b) of this Act, is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(e) FACTORS TO DETERMINE RELATIONSHIP BE25 TWEEN OFFICIALS AND OTHER ENTITIES.— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
70 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In determining under sub2 section (b)(7)(C) whether a covered legislative branch 

3 official or covered executive branch official directly or 

4 indirectly established, finances, maintains, or controls 

5 an entity, the factors described in paragraph (2) shall 

6 be examined in the context of the overall relationship 

7 between that covered official and the entity to deter8 mine whether the presence of any such factor or fac9 tors is evidence that the covered official directly or in10 directly established, finances, maintains, or controls 

11 the entity. 

12 ‘‘(2) FACTORS.—The factors referred to in para13 graph (1) include, but are not limited to, the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(A) Whether the covered official, directly or 

16 through its agent, owns a controlling interest in 

17 the voting stock or securities of the entity. 

18 ‘‘(B) Whether the covered official, directly or 

19 through its agent, has the authority or ability to 

20 direct or participate in the governance of the en21 tity through provisions of constitutions, bylaws, 

22 contracts, or other rules, or through formal or in23 formal practices or procedures. 

24 ‘‘(C) Whether the covered official, directly or 

25 through its agent, has the authority or ability to 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
71 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 hire, appoint, demote, or otherwise control the of2 ficers or other decisionmaking employees or 

3 members of the entity. 

4 ‘‘(D) Whether the covered official has a com5 mon or overlapping membership with the entity 

6 that indicates a formal or ongoing relationship 

7 between the covered official and the entity. 

8 ‘‘(E) Whether the covered official has com9 mon or overlapping officers or employees with 

10 the entity that indicates a formal or ongoing re11 lationship between the covered official and the 

12 entity. 

13 ‘‘(F) Whether the covered official has any 

14 members, officers, or employees who were mem15 bers, officers, or employees of the entity that in16 dicates a formal or ongoing relationship between 

17 the covered official and the entity, or that indi18 cates the creation of a successor entity. 

19 ‘‘(G) Whether the covered official, directly 

20 or through its agent, provides funds or goods in 

21 a significant amount or on an ongoing basis to 

22 the entity, such as through direct or indirect 

23 payments for administrative, fundraising, or 

24 other costs. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
72 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(H) Whether the covered official, directly 

2 or through its agent, causes or arranges for funds 

3 in a significant amount or on an ongoing basis 

4 to be provided to the entity. 

5 ‘‘(I) Whether the covered official, directly or 

6 through its agent, had an active or significant 

7 role in the formation of the entity. 

8 ‘‘(J) Whether the covered official and the en9 tity have similar patterns of receipts or disburse10 ments that indicate a formal or ongoing rela11 tionship between the covered official and the en12 tity.’’. 

13 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3 of the Act 

14 (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing new paragraphs: 

16 ‘‘(17) GIFT.—The term ‘gift’ means a gratuity, 

17 favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, for18 bearance, or other item having monetary value. The 

19 term includes gifts of services, training, and meals, 

20 whether provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, 

21 payment in advance, or reimbursement after the ex22 pense has been incurred. 

23 ‘‘(18) LEADERSHIP PAC.—The term ‘leadership 

24 PAC’ means an unauthorized political committee that 

25 is established, financed, maintained, and controlled 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
73 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 by an individual who is a Federal officeholder or a 

2 candidate for Federal office.’’. 

3 (d) NOTIFICATION OF MEMBERS.—Section 6(2) of the 

4 Act (2 U.S.C. 1605(2)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘review’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) re6 view’’; 

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

8 end; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(B) if a report states (under section 5(b)(8) or 

11 otherwise) that a Member of Congress, or an employee 

12 of a Member of Congress, was the subject of a lobbying 

13 contact, immediately inform that Member or employee 

14 (as the case may be) of that report;’’. 

15 SEC. 106. INCREASED PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 

16 WITH LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIRE17 MENTS. 

18 Section 7 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1606) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

20 CIVIL PENALTY.—Whoever’’; 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
74 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly and 

2 willfully fails to comply with any provision of this 

3 Act shall be imprisoned not more than 3 years, or 

4 fined under title 18, United States Code, or both. 

5 ‘‘(2) CORRUPTLY.—Whoever knowingly, willfully, 

6 and corruptly fails to comply with any provision of 

7 this Act shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, 

8 or fined under title 18, United States Code, or both.’’. 

9 SEC. 107. REQUIRING LOBBYISTS TO FILE REPORTS ON SO10 LICITATIONS AND TRANSFERS OF CONTRIBU11 TIONS FOR CANDIDATES. 

12 (a) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Section 5 of the Act (2 

13 U.S.C. 1604), as amended by sections 102(b) and 105(b), 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(f) REPORTS OF SOLICITATIONS AND TRANSFERS OF

17 CONTRIBUTIONS IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) REPORTS OF SOLICITATIONS AND TRANS19 FERS REQUIRED.—Any lobbyist registered under sec20 tion 4 who solicits a contribution for or on behalf of 

21 a candidate or political committee from any other 

22 person and transmits the contribution to the can23 didate or political committee, or who transfers any 

24 contribution made by any other person to a candidate 

25 or political committee, shall file a report with the 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
75 

•HR 4975 RH 

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

2 Representatives containing— 

3 ‘‘(A) the name, address, business telephone 

4 number, and principal place of business of the 

5 lobbyist, and a general description of the lobby6 ist’s business or activities; 

7 ‘‘(B) the name of the person from whom the 

8 lobbyist solicited the contribution or from whom 

9 the lobbyist transferred the contribution; and 

10 ‘‘(C) the identity of the candidate or polit11 ical committee on whose behalf the contribution 

12 was solicited and transmitted or transferred 

13 (and, in the case of a political committee which 

14 is an authorized committee of a candidate, the 

15 identity of the candidate). 

16 ‘‘(2) REPORTS OF SERVICE AS OFFICER OF PO17 LITICAL COMMITTEE.—Any lobbyist registered under 

18 section 4 who serves as the treasurer of an authorized 

19 committee of a candidate for election for Federal of20 fice or as the treasurer or chair of any other political 

21 committee, shall file a report with the Secretary of the 

22 Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

23 containing the position held by the lobbyist and the 

24 identity of the candidate and committee involved. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
76 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(3) TIMING OF REPORTS.—Reports required to 

2 be filed under this subsection shall be filed for the 

3 same time periods required for political committees 

4 under section 304(a)(4)(B) of the Federal Election 

5 Campaign Act of 1971, except that a report is not re6 quired to be filed under this subsection with respect 

7 to any month during which the lobbyist did not so8 licit and transmit or transfer a contribution described 

9 in paragraph (1) or serve in a position described in 

10 paragraph (2). 

11 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR LOBBYISTS AS CAN12 DIDATES.—In the case of a lobbyist who is a can13 didate for election for Federal office, paragraph (1) 

14 shall not apply to a contribution made to the lobbyist 

15 or to an authorized committee of the lobbyist. 

16 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the terms 

17 ‘authorized committee’, ‘candidate’, ‘election’, and ‘po18 litical committee’ have the meanings given those 

19 terms in section 301 of the Federal Election Cam20 paign Act of 1971.’’. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub22 section (a) shall apply with respect to solicitations or trans23 fers made on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
77 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 SEC. 108. GAO STUDY OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS OF 

2 LOBBYISTS. 

3 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

4 conduct a study of employment contracts of lobbyists in 

5 order to determine the extent of contingent fee agreements, 

6 and shall report the findings of the study to the Committee 

7 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. 

8 TITLE II—SLOWING THE 

9 REVOLVING DOOR 

10 SEC. 201. NOTIFICATION OF POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRIC11 TIONS. 

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

13 amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(8) NOTIFICATION OF POST-EMPLOYMENT RE15 STRICTIONS.—After a Member of the House of Rep16 resentatives or an elected officer of the House of Rep17 resentatives leaves office, or after the termination of 

18 employment with the House of Representatives of an 

19 employee of the House of Representatives covered 

20 under paragraph (2), (3), or (4), the Clerk of the 

21 House of Representatives, after consultation with the 

22 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, shall in23 form the Member, officer, or employee of the beginning 

24 and ending date of the prohibitions that apply to the 

25 Member, officer, or employee under this subsection, 

26 and also inform each office of the House of RepresentVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
78 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 atives with respect to which such prohibitions apply 

2 of those dates.’’. 

3 SEC. 202. DISCLOSURE BY MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF 

4 REPRESENTATIVES OF EMPLOYMENT NEGO5 TIATIONS. 

6 The Code of Official Conduct set forth in rule XXIII 

7 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 

8 redesignating clause 14 as clause 15 and by inserting after 

9 clause 13 the following new clause: 

10 ‘‘14. (a) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commis11 sioner shall file with the Committee on Standards of Offi12 cial Conduct a statement that he or she is negotiating com13 pensation for prospective employment or has any arrange14 ment concerning prospective employment if a conflict of in15 terest or the appearance of a conflict of interest may exist. 

16 Such statement shall be made within 5 days (other than 

17 Saturdays, Sundays, or public holidays) after commencing 

18 the negotiation for compensation or entering into the ar19 rangement. 

20 ‘‘(b) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 

21 should refrain from voting on any legislative measure pend22 ing before the House or any committee thereof if the negotia23 tion described in subparagraph (a) may create a conflict 

24 of interest.’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
79 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 SEC. 203. WRONGFULLY INFLUENCING, ON A PARTISAN 

2 BASIS, AN ENTITY’S EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS 

3 OR PRACTICES. 

4 The Code of Official Conduct set forth in rule XXIII 

5 of the Rules of the House of Representatives (as amended 

6 by section 202) is further amended by redesignating clause 

7 15 as clause 16 and by inserting after clause 14 the fol8 lowing new clause: 

9 ‘‘15. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, offi10 cer, or employee of the House may not, with the intent to 

11 influence on the basis of political party affiliation an em12 ployment decision or employment practice of any private 

13 or public entity (except for the Congress)— 

14 ‘‘(a) take or withhold, or offer or threaten to take 

15 or withhold, an official act; or 

16 ‘‘(b) influence, or offer or threaten to influence, 

17 the official act of another.’’. 

18 TITLE III—SUSPENSION OF PRI19 VATELY-FUNDED TRAVEL; 

20 CURBING LOBBYIST GIFTS 

21 SEC. 301. SUSPENSION OF PRIVATELY-FUNDED TRAVEL. 

22 Notwithstanding clause 5 of rule XXV of the Rules of 

23 the House of Representatives, no Member, Delegate, Resi24 dent Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may 

25 accept a gift of travel (including any transportation, lodg26 ing, and meals during such travel) from any private source. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
80 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 SEC. 302. RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE ON 

2 STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT ON 

3 GIFTS AND TRAVEL. 

4 Not later than December 15, 2006, the Committee on 

5 Standards of Official Conduct shall report its recommenda6 tions on changes to rule XXV of the Rules of the House of 

7 Representatives to the Committee on Rules. In developing 

8 such recommendations, the Committee on Standards of Offi9 cial Conduct shall consider the following: 

10 (1) The ability of the current provisions of rule 

11 XXV to protect the House, its Members, officers, and 

12 employees, from the appearance of impropriety. 

13 (2) With respect to the allowance for privately14 funded travel contained in clause 5(b) of rule XXV— 

15 (A) the degree to which privately-funded 

16 travel meets the representational needs of the 

17 House, its Members, officers, and employees; 

18 (B) whether certain entities should or 

19 should not be permitted to fund the travel of the 

20 Members, officers, and employees of the House, 

21 what sources of funding may be permissible, and 

22 what other individuals may participate in that 

23 travel; and 

24 (C) the adequacy of the current system of 

25 approval and disclosure of such travel. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
81 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (3) With respect to the exceptions to the limita2 tion on the acceptance of gifts contained in clause 

3 5(a)— 

4 (A) the degree to which those exceptions 

5 meet the representational and personal needs of 

6 the House, its Members, officers, and employees; 

7 (B) the clarity of the limitation and its ex8 ceptions; and 

9 (C) the suitability of the current dollar lim10 itations contained in clause 5(a)(1)(B) of such 

11 rule, including whether such limitations should 

12 be lowered. 

13 SEC. 303. PROHIBITING REGISTERED LOBBYISTS ON COR14 PORATE FLIGHTS. 

15 The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 is amended by 

16 inserting after section 5 the following new section: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 5A. PROHIBITING REGISTERED LOBBYISTS ON COR18 PORATE FLIGHTS. 

19 ‘‘If a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com20 missioner to, the Congress, or an officer or employee of the 

21 House of Representatives, is a passenger or crew member 

22 on a flight of an aircraft that is not licensed by the Federal 

23 Aviation Administration to operate for compensation or 

24 hire and that is owned or operated by a person who is the 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
82 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 client of a lobbyist or a lobbying firm, then such lobbyist 

2 may not be a passenger or crew member on that flight.’’. 

3 SEC. 304. VALUATION OF TICKETS TO SPORTING AND EN4 TERTAINMENT EVENTS. 

5 Clause 5(a)(2)(A) of rule XXV of the Rules of the 

6 House of Representatives is amended by— 

7 (1) inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(A)’’; and 

8 (2) adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(ii) A gift of a ticket to a sporting or entertainment 

10 event shall be valued at the face value of the ticket, provided 

11 that in the case of a ticket without a face value, the ticket 

12 shall be valued at the highest cost of a ticket with a face 

13 value for the event.’’. 

14 TITLE IV—OVERSIGHT OF 

15 LOBBYING AND ENFORCEMENT 

16 SEC. 401. AUDITS OF LOBBYING REPORTS BY HOUSE IN17 SPECTOR GENERAL. 

18 (a) ACCESS TO LOBBYING REPORTS.—The Office of 

19 Inspector General of the House of Representatives shall have 

20 access to all lobbyists’ disclosure information received by 

21 the Clerk of the House of Representatives under the Lob22 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 and shall conduct random au23 dits of lobbyists’ disclosure information as necessary to en24 sure compliance with that Act. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
83 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (b) REFERRAL AUTHORITY.—The Office of the Inspec2 tor General of the House of Representatives may refer po3 tential violations by lobbyists of the Lobbying Disclosure 

4 Act of 1995 to the Department of Justice for disciplinary 

5 action. 

6 SEC. 402. HOUSE INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW AND AN7 NUAL REPORTS. 

8 (a) ONGOING REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Inspector 

9 General of the House of Representatives shall review on an 

10 ongoing basis the activities carried out by the Clerk of the 

11 House of Representatives under section 6 of the Lobbying 

12 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605). The review shall 

13 emphasize— 

14 (1) the effectiveness of those activities in securing 

15 the compliance by lobbyists with the requirements of 

16 that Act; and 

17 (2) whether the Clerk has the resources and au18 thorities needed for effective oversight and enforcement 

19 of that Act. 

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than December 31 

21 of each year, the Inspector General of the House of Rep22 resentatives shall submit to the House of Representatives a 

23 report on the review required by subsection (a). The report 

24 shall include the Inspector General’s assessment of the matVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
84 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ters required to be emphasized by that subsection and any 

2 recommendations of the Inspector General to— 

3 (1) improve the compliance by lobbyists with the 

4 requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995; 

5 and 

6 (2) provide the Clerk of the House of Representa7 tives with the resources and authorities needed for ef8 fective oversight and enforcement of that Act. 

9 TITLE V—INSTITUTIONAL 

10 REFORMS 

11 SEC. 501. EARMARKING REFORM. 

12 (a) In the House of Representatives, it shall not be in 

13 order to consider— 

14 (1) a general appropriation bill reported by the 

15 Committee on Appropriations unless the report in16 cludes a list of earmarks in the bill or in the report 

17 (and the name of any Member who submitted a re18 quest to the Committee on Appropriations for an ear19 mark included in such list); or 

20 (2) a conference report to accompany a general 

21 appropriation bill unless the joint explanatory state22 ment prepared by the managers on the part of the 

23 House and the managers on the part of the Senate in24 cludes a list of earmarks in the conference report or 

25 joint statement (and the name of any Member who 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
85 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 submitted a request to the Committee on Appropria2 tions for an earmark included in such list) that 

3 were— 

4 (A) not committed to the conference com5 mittee by either House; 

6 (B) not in the report specified in paragraph 

7 (1); and 

8 (C) not in a report of a committee of the 

9 Senate on a companion measure. 

10 (b) In the House of Representatives, it shall not be in 

11 order to consider a rule or order that waives the application 

12 of subsection (a)(2). 

13 (c)(1) A point of order raised under subsection (a) may 

14 be based only on the failure of a report of the Committee 

15 on Appropriations or joint statement, as the case may be, 

16 to include the list required by subsection (a). 

17 (2) As disposition of a point of order under this sec18 tion, the Chair shall put the question of consideration with 

19 respect to the proposition that is the subject of the point 

20 of order. 

21 (3) The question of consideration under this subsection 

22 shall be debatable for 10 minutes by the Member initiating 

23 the point of order and for 10 minutes by an opponent, but 

24 shall otherwise be decided without intervening motion ex25 cept one that the House adjourn. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
86 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (d)(1) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘earmark’’ 

2 means a provision in a bill, joint resolution, or conference 

3 report, or language in an accompanying committee report 

4 or joint statement of managers, providing a specific amount 

5 of discretionary budget authority to a non-Federal entity, 

6 if such entity is identified by name. 

7 (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), government-spon8 sored enterprises, Federal facilities, and Federal lands shall 

9 be considered Federal entities. 

10 (3) For purposes of subsection (a), to the extent that 

11 the non-Federal entity is a unit of State or local govern12 ment, an Indian tribe, or a foreign government, the provi13 sion or language shall not be considered an earmark unless 

14 the provision or language also specifies the specific purpose 

15 for which the designated budget authority is to be expended. 

16 SEC. 502. FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE ETHICS TRAIN17 ING. 

18 (a) ETHICS TRAINING.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee on Standards 

20 of Official Conduct shall provide ethics training once 

21 per Congress to each employee of the House of Rep22 resentatives, including training on the Code of Offi23 cial Conduct, related rules of the House of Represent24 atives, and applicable provisions of law. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
87 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (2) NEW EMPLOYEES.—A new employee of the 

2 House of Representatives shall receive training under 

3 this section not later than 30 days after beginning 

4 service to the House. 

5 (3) MEMBERS.—While the House of Representa6 tives recognizes that adding qualifications to service 

7 as a Member may be unconstitutional, it encourages 

8 Members to participate in ethics training. 

9 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Within 30 days of completing re10 quired ethics training, each employee of the House of Rep11 resentatives shall file a certification with the Committee on 

12 Standards of Official Conduct that the employee has com13 pleted such training and is familiar with the contents of 

14 any pertinent publications that are so designated by the 

15 committee. 

16 SEC. 503. BIENNIAL PUBLICATION OF ETHICS MANUAL. 

17 Within 120 days after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act and during each Congress thereafter, the Committee on 

19 Standards of Official Conduct shall publish an up-to-date 

20 ethics manual for Members, officers, and employees of the 

21 House of Representatives and make such manual available 

22 to all such individuals. The committee has a duty to keep 

23 all Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, officers, 

24 and employees of the House of Representatives apprised of 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
88 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 current rulings or advisory opinions when potentially con2 stituting changes to or interpretations of existing policies. 

3 TITLE VI—REFORM OF SECTION 

4 527 ORGANIZATIONS 

5 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘527 Reform Act of 

7 2006’’. 

8 SEC. 602. TREATMENT OF SECTION 527 ORGANIZATIONS. 

9 (a) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL COMMITTEE.—Section 

10 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 

11 U.S.C. 431(4)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking the period at the end of subpara13 graph (C) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(D) any applicable 527 organization.’’. 

16 (b) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE 527 ORGANIZA17 TION.—Section 301 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431) is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(27) APPLICABLE 527 ORGANIZATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para21 graph (4)(D), the term ‘applicable 527 organiza22 tion’ means a committee, club, association, or 

23 group of persons that— 

24 ‘‘(i) has given notice to the Secretary 

25 of the Treasury under section 527(i) of the 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
89 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that it is to 

2 be treated as an organization described in 

3 section 527 of such Code; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) is not described in subparagraph 

5 (B). 

6 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTED ORGANIZATIONS.—A com7 mittee, club, association, or other group of per8 sons described in this subparagraph is— 

9 ‘‘(i) an organization described in sec10 tion 527(i)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code 

11 of 1986; 

12 ‘‘(ii) an organization which is a com13 mittee, club, association or other group of 

14 persons that is organized, operated, and 

15 makes disbursements exclusively for paying 

16 expenses described in the last sentence of 

17 section 527(e)(2) of the Internal Revenue 

18 Code of 1986 or expenses of a newsletter 

19 fund described in section 527(g) of such 

20 Code; 

21 ‘‘(iii) an organization which is a com22 mittee, club, association, or other group that 

23 consists solely of candidates for State or 

24 local office, individuals holding State or 

25 local office, or any combination of either, 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
90 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 but only if the organization refers only to 

2 one or more non-Federal candidates or ap3 plicable State or local issues in all of its 

4 voter drive activities and does not refer to 

5 a Federal candidate or a political party in 

6 any of its voter drive activities; or 

7 ‘‘(iv) an organization described in sub8 paragraph (C). 

9 ‘‘(C) APPLICABLE ORGANIZATION.—For 

10 purposes of subparagraph (B)(iv), an organiza11 tion described in this subparagraph is a com12 mittee, club, association, or other group of per13 sons whose election or nomination activities re14 late exclusively to— 

15 ‘‘(i) elections where no candidate for 

16 Federal office appears on the ballot; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) one or more of the following pur18 poses: 

19 ‘‘(I) Influencing the selection, 

20 nomination, election, or appointment 

21 of one or more candidates to non-Fed22 eral offices. 

23 ‘‘(II) Influencing one or more ap24 plicable State or local issues. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
91 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(III) Influencing the selection, 

2 appointment, nomination, or con3 firmation of one or more individuals to 

4 non-elected offices. 

5 ‘‘(D) EXCLUSIVITY TEST.—A committee, 

6 club, association, or other group of persons shall 

7 not be treated as meeting the exclusivity require8 ment of subparagraph (C) if it makes disburse9 ments aggregating more than $1,000 for any of 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) A public communication that pro12 motes, supports, attacks, or opposes a clear13 ly identified candidate for Federal office 

14 during the 1-year period ending on the date 

15 of the general election for the office sought 

16 by the clearly identified candidate (or, if a 

17 runoff election is held with respect to such 

18 general election, on the date of the runoff 

19 election). 

20 ‘‘(ii) Any voter drive activity during a 

21 calendar year, except that no disbursements 

22 for any voter drive activity shall be taken 

23 into account under this subparagraph if the 

24 committee, club, association, or other group 

25 of persons during such calendar year— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
92 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(I) makes disbursements for voter 

2 drive activities with respect to elections 

3 in only 1 State and complies with all 

4 applicable election laws of that State, 

5 including laws related to registration 

6 and reporting requirements and con7 tribution limitations; 

8 ‘‘(II) refers to one or more non9 Federal candidates or applicable State 

10 or local issues in all of its voter drive 

11 activities and does not refer to any 

12 Federal candidate or any political 

13 party in any of its voter drive activi14 ties; 

15 ‘‘(III) does not have a candidate 

16 for Federal office, an individual who 

17 holds any Federal office, a national po18 litical party, or an agent of any of the 

19 foregoing, control or materially par20 ticipate in the direction of the organi21 zation, solicit contributions to the or22 ganization (other than funds which are 

23 described under clauses (i) and (ii) of 

24 section 323(e)(1)(B)), or direct disVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
93 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 bursements, in whole or in part, by the 

2 organization; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) makes no contributions to 

4 Federal candidates. 

5 ‘‘(E) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO FEDERAL

6 CANDIDATES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For 

7 purposes of subparagraphs (B)(iii) and 

8 (D)(ii)(II), a voter drive activity shall not be 

9 treated as referring to a clearly identified Fed10 eral candidate if the only reference to the can11 didate in the activity is— 

12 ‘‘(i) a reference in connection with an 

13 election for a non-Federal office in which 

14 such Federal candidate is also a candidate 

15 for such non-Federal office; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) a reference to the fact that the 

17 candidate has endorsed a non-Federal can18 didate or has taken a position on an appli19 cable State or local issue, including a ref20 erence that constitutes the endorsement or 

21 position itself. 

22 ‘‘(F) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO POLITICAL

23 PARTIES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For pur24 poses of subparagraphs (B)(iii) and (D)(ii)(II), 

25 a voter drive activity shall not be treated as reVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
94 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ferring to a political party if the only reference 

2 to the party in the activity is— 

3 ‘‘(i) a reference for the purpose of iden4 tifying a non-Federal candidate; 

5 ‘‘(ii) a reference for the purpose of 

6 identifying the entity making the public 

7 communication or carrying out the voter 

8 drive activity; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) a reference in a manner or con10 text that does not reflect support for or op11 position to a Federal candidate or can12 didates and does reflect support for or oppo13 sition to a State or local candidate or can14 didates or an applicable State or local 

15 issue. 

16 ‘‘(G) APPLICABLE STATE OR LOCAL

17 ISSUE.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 

18 term ‘applicable State or local issue’ means any 

19 State or local ballot initiative, State or local ref20 erendum, State or local constitutional amend21 ment, State or local bond issue, or other State or 

22 local ballot issue.’’. 

23 (c) DEFINITION OF VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—Section 

24 301 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 431), as amended by subsection 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
95 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (b), is further amended by adding at the end the following 

2 new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(28) VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘voter 

4 drive activity’ means any of the following activities 

5 conducted in connection with an election in which a 

6 candidate for Federal office appears on the ballot (re7 gardless of whether a candidate for State or local of8 fice also appears on the ballot): 

9 ‘‘(A) Voter registration activity. 

10 ‘‘(B) Voter identification. 

11 ‘‘(C) Get-out-the-vote activity. 

12 ‘‘(D) Generic campaign activity. 

13 ‘‘(E) Any public communication related to 

14 activities described in subparagraphs (A) 

15 through (D). 

16 Such term shall not include any activity described in 

17 subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 316(b)(2).’’. 

18 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Federal Election Commission 

19 shall promulgate regulations to implement this section not 

20 later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

22 section shall take effect on the date which is 60 days after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
96 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 SEC. 603. RULES FOR ALLOCATION OF EXPENSES BETWEEN 

2 FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL ACTIVITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 

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

5 by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 325. ALLOCATION AND FUNDING RULES FOR CERTAIN 

7 EXPENSES RELATING TO FEDERAL AND NON8 FEDERAL ACTIVITIES. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any disbursements 

10 by any political committee that is a separate segregated 

11 fund or nonconnected committee for which allocation rules 

12 are provided under subsection (b)— 

13 ‘‘(1) the disbursements shall be allocated between 

14 Federal and non-Federal accounts in accordance with 

15 this section and regulations prescribed by the Com16 mission; and 

17 ‘‘(2) in the case of disbursements allocated to 

18 non-Federal accounts, may be paid only from a quali19 fied non-Federal account. 

20 ‘‘(b) COSTS TO BE ALLOCATED AND ALLOCATION

21 RULES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Disbursements by any sepa23 rate segregated fund or nonconnected committee, other 

24 than an organization described in section 323(b)(1), 

25 for any of the following categories of activity shall be 

26 allocated as follows: 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
97 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) 100 percent of the expenses for public 

2 communications or voter drive activities that 

3 refer to one or more clearly identified Federal 

4 candidates, but do not refer to any clearly iden5 tified non-Federal candidates, shall be paid with 

6 funds from a Federal account, without regard to 

7 whether the communication refers to a political 

8 party. 

9 ‘‘(B) At least 50 percent, or a greater per10 centage if the Commission so determines by regu11 lation, of the expenses for public communications 

12 and voter drive activities that refer to one or 

13 more clearly identified candidates for Federal of14 fice and one or more clearly identified non-Fed15 eral candidates shall be paid with funds from a 

16 Federal account, without regard to whether the 

17 communication refers to a political party. 

18 ‘‘(C) At least 50 percent, or a greater per19 centage if the Commission so determines by regu20 lation, of the expenses for public communications 

21 or voter drive activities that refer to a political 

22 party, but do not refer to any clearly identified 

23 Federal or non-Federal candidate, shall be paid 

24 with funds from a Federal account, except that 

25 this paragraph shall not apply to communicaVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00097 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
98 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 tions or activities that relate exclusively to elec2 tions where no candidate for Federal office ap3 pears on the ballot. 

4 ‘‘(D) At least 50 percent, or a greater per5 centage if the Commission so determines by regu6 lation, of the expenses for public communications 

7 or voter drive activities that refer to a political 

8 party and refer to one or more clearly identified 

9 non-Federal candidates, but do not refer to any 

10 clearly identified Federal candidates, shall be 

11 paid with funds from a Federal account, except 

12 that this paragraph shall not apply to commu13 nications or activities that relate exclusively to 

14 elections where no candidate for Federal office 

15 appears on the ballot. 

16 ‘‘(E) Unless otherwise determined by the 

17 Commission in its regulations, at least 50 per18 cent of any administrative expenses, including 

19 rent, utilities, office supplies, and salaries not 

20 attributable to a clearly identified candidate, 

21 shall be paid with funds from a Federal account, 

22 except that for a separate segregated fund such 

23 expenses may be paid instead by its connected 

24 organization. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
99 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(F) At least 50 percent, or a greater per2 centage if the Commission so determines by regu3 lation, of the direct costs of a fundraising pro4 gram or event, including disbursements for solic5 itation of funds and for planning and adminis6 tration of actual fundraising events, where Fed7 eral and non-Federal funds are collected through 

8 such program or event shall be paid with funds 

9 from a Federal account, except that for a sepa10 rate segregated fund such costs may be paid in11 stead by its connected organization. This para12 graph shall not apply to any fundraising solici13 tations or any other activity that constitutes a 

14 public communication. 

15 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO FEDERAL CAN16 DIDATES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes of 

17 paragraph (1), a public communication or voter drive 

18 activity shall not be treated as referring to a clearly 

19 identified Federal candidate if the only reference to 

20 the candidate in the communication or activity is— 

21 ‘‘(A) a reference in connection with an elec22 tion for a non-Federal office in which such Fed23 eral candidate is also a candidate for such non24 Federal office; or 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
100 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(B) a reference to the fact that the can2 didate has endorsed a non-Federal candidate or 

3 has taken a position on an applicable State or 

4 local issue (as defined in section 301(27)(G)), in5 cluding a reference that constitutes the endorse6 ment or position itself. 

7 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN REFERENCES TO POLITICAL PAR8 TIES NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—For purposes of 

9 paragraph (1), a public communication or voter drive 

10 activity shall not be treated as referring to a political 

11 party if the only reference to the party in the commu12 nication or activity is— 

13 ‘‘(A) a reference for the purpose of identi14 fying a non-Federal candidate; 

15 ‘‘(B) a reference for the purpose of identi16 fying the entity making the public communica17 tion or carrying out the voter drive activity; or 

18 ‘‘(C) a reference in a manner or context 

19 that does not reflect support for or opposition to 

20 a Federal candidate or candidates and does re21 flect support for or opposition to a State or local 

22 candidate or candidates or an applicable State 

23 or local issue. 

24 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNT.— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
101 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 

2 the term ‘qualified non-Federal account’ means an ac3 count which consists solely of amounts— 

4 ‘‘(A) that, subject to the limitations of para5 graphs (2) and (3), are raised by the separate 

6 segregated fund or nonconnected committee only 

7 from individuals, and 

8 ‘‘(B) with respect to which all requirements 

9 of Federal, State, or local law (including any 

10 law relating to contribution limits) are met. 

11 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A separate segregated 

13 fund or nonconnected committee may not accept 

14 more than $25,000 in funds for its qualified 

15 non-Federal account from any one individual in 

16 any calendar year. 

17 ‘‘(B) AFFILIATION.—For purposes of this 

18 paragraph, all qualified non-Federal accounts of 

19 separate segregated funds or nonconnected com20 mittees which are directly or indirectly estab21 lished, financed, maintained, or controlled by the 

22 same person or persons shall be treated as one 

23 account. 

24 ‘‘(3) FUNDRAISING LIMITATION.— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
102 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No donation to a quali2 fied non-Federal account may be solicited, re3 ceived, directed, transferred, or spent by or in the 

4 name of any person described in subsection (a) 

5 or (e) of section 323. 

6 ‘‘(B) FUNDS NOT TREATED AS SUBJECT TO

7 ACT.—Except as provided in subsection (a)(2) 

8 and this subsection, any funds raised for a 

9 qualified non-Federal account in accordance 

10 with the requirements of this section shall not be 

11 considered funds subject to the limitations, pro12 hibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act 

13 for any purpose (including for purposes of sub14 section (a) or (e) of section 323 or subsection 

15 (d)(1) of this section). 

16 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL ACCOUNT.—The term ‘Federal ac18 count’ means an account which consists solely of con19 tributions subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and 

20 reporting requirements of this Act. Nothing in this 

21 section or in section 323(b)(2)(B)(iii) shall be con22 strued to infer that a limit other than the limit under 

23 section 315(a)(1)(C) applies to contributions to the 

24 account. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
103 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(2) NONCONNECTED COMMITTEE.—The term 

2 ‘nonconnected committee’ shall not include a political 

3 committee of a political party. 

4 ‘‘(3) VOTER DRIVE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘voter 

5 drive activity’ has the meaning given such term in 

6 section 301(28).’’. 

7 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304(e) of 

8 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 

9 434(e)) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

11 paragraphs (4) and (5); and 

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

14 ‘‘(3) RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FROM

15 QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL ACCOUNTS.—In addition to 

16 any other reporting requirement applicable under this 

17 Act, a political committee to which section 325(a) ap18 plies shall report all receipts and disbursements from 

19 a qualified non-Federal account (as defined in section 

20 325(c)).’’. 

21 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Federal Election Commission 

22 shall promulgate regulations to implement the amendments 

23 made by this section not later than 180 days after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
104 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

2 section shall take effect on the date which is 180 days after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 604. REPEAL OF LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF PARTY EXPEND5 ITURES ON BEHALF OF CANDIDATES IN GEN6 ERAL ELECTIONS. 

7 (a) REPEAL OF LIMIT.—Section 315(d) of the Federal 

8 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any 

12 other provision of law with respect to limitations 

13 on expenditures or limitations on contributions, 

14 the national committee’’ and inserting ‘‘Notwith15 standing any other provision of law with respect 

16 to limitations on amounts of expenditures or 

17 contributions, a national committee’’, 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘the general’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘any’’, and 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘Federal office, subject to 

21 the limitations contained in paragraphs (2), (3), 

22 and (4) of this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘Fed23 eral office in any amount’’; and 

24 (2) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4). 

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
105 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (1) INDEXING.—Section 315(c) of such Act (2 

2 U.S.C. 441a(c)) is amended— 

3 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 

4 ‘‘(d),’’; and 

5 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking 

6 ‘‘subsections (b) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub7 section (b)’’. 

8 (2) INCREASE IN LIMITS FOR SENATE CAN9 DIDATES FACING WEALTHY OPPONENTS.—Section 

10 315(i) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a(i)(1)) is amend11 ed— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)(C)(iii)— 

13 (i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub14 clause (I), 

15 (ii) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘; 

16 and’’ and inserting a period, and 

17 (iii) by striking subclause (III); 

18 (B) in paragraph (2)(A) in the matter pre19 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and a party 

20 committee shall not make any expenditure,’’; 

21 (C) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), by striking 

22 ‘‘and party expenditures previously made’’; and 

23 (D) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘and 

24 a party shall not make any expenditure’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
106 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (3) INCREASE IN LIMITS FOR HOUSE CAN2 DIDATES FACING WEALTHY OPPONENTS.—Section 

3 315A(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 441a—1(a)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub7 paragraph (A), 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

9 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period, and 

10 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

11 (B) in paragraph (3)(A) in the matter pre12 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and a party 

13 committee shall not make any expenditure,’’; 

14 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), by striking 

15 ‘‘and party expenditures previously made’’; and 

16 (D) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘and 

17 a party shall not make any expenditure’’. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

19 section shall take effect January 1, 2006. 

20 SEC. 605. CONSTRUCTION. 

21 No provision of this title, or amendment made by this 

22 title, shall be construed— 

23 (1) as approving, ratifying, or endorsing a regu24 lation promulgated by the Federal Election Commis25 sion; 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
107 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 (2) as establishing, modifying, or otherwise af2 fecting the definition of political organization for 

3 purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

4 (3) as affecting the determination of whether a 

5 group organized under section 501(c) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is a political committee under 

7 section 301(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

8 of 1971. 

9 SEC. 606. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

10 (a) SPECIAL RULES FOR ACTIONS BROUGHT ON CON11 STITUTIONAL GROUNDS.—If any action is brought for de12 claratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu13 tionality of any provision of this title or any amendment 

14 made by this title, the following rules shall apply: 

15 (1) The action shall be filed in the United States 

16 District Court for the District of Columbia and shall 

17 be heard by a 3-judge court convened pursuant to sec18 tion 2284 of title 28, United States Code. 

19 (2) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered 

20 promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Secretary of the Senate. 

22 (3) A final decision in the action shall be review23 able only by appeal directly to the Supreme Court of 

24 the United States. Such appeal shall be taken by the 

25 filing of a notice of appeal within 10 days, and the 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
108 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 filing of a jurisdictional statement within 30 days, of 

2 the entry of the final decision. 

3 (4) It shall be the duty of the United States Dis4 trict Court for the District of Columbia and the Su5 preme Court of the United States to advance on the 

6 docket and to expedite to the greatest possible extent 

7 the disposition of the action and appeal. 

8 (b) INTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—In 

9 any action in which the constitutionality of any provision 

10 of this title or any amendment made by this title is raised 

11 (including but not limited to an action described in sub12 section (a)), any Member of the House of Representatives 

13 (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Con14 gress) or Senate shall have the right to intervene either in 

15 support of or opposition to the position of a party to the 

16 case regarding the constitutionality of the provision or 

17 amendment. To avoid duplication of efforts and reduce the 

18 burdens placed on the parties to the action, the court in 

19 any such action may make such orders as it considers nec20 essary, including orders to require intervenors taking simi21 lar positions to file joint papers or to be represented by a 

22 single attorney at oral argument. 

23 (c) CHALLENGE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Any 

24 Member of Congress may bring an action, subject to the spe25 cial rules described in subsection (a), for declaratory or inVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4975.RH H4975

cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
109 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 junctive relief to challenge the constitutionality of any pro2 vision of this title or any amendment made by this title. 

3 (d) APPLICABILITY.— 

4 (1) INITIAL CLAIMS.—With respect to any action 

5 initially filed on or before December 31, 2008, the 

6 provisions of subsection (a) shall apply with respect 

7 to each action described in such subsection. 

8 (2) SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS.—With respect to any 

9 action initially filed after December 31, 2008, the 

10 provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to any ac11 tion described in such subsection unless the person fil12 ing such action elects such provisions to apply to the 

13 action. 

14 SEC. 607. SEVERABILITY. 

15 If any provision of this title or any amendment made 

16 by this title, or the application of a provision or amend17 ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconsti18 tutional, the remainder of this title and the amendments 

19 made by this title, and the application of the provisions 

20 and amendments to any person or circumstance, shall not 

21 be affected by the holding. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
110 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 TITLE VII—FORFEITURE OF 

2 RETIREMENT BENEFITS 

3 SEC. 701. LOSS OF PENSIONS ACCRUED DURING SERVICE 

4 AS A MEMBER OF CONGRESS FOR ABUSING 

5 THE PUBLIC TRUST. 

6 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—Section 

7 8332 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

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

10 subchapter, the service of an individual finally convicted 

11 of an offense described in paragraph (2) shall not be taken 

12 into account for purposes of this subchapter, except that this 

13 sentence applies only to service rendered as a Member (irre14 spective of when rendered). Any such individual (or other 

15 person determined under section 8342(c), if applicable) 

16 shall be entitled to be paid so much of such individual’s 

17 lump-sum credit as is attributable to service to which the 

18 preceding sentence applies. 

19 ‘‘(2)(A) An offense described in this paragraph is any 

20 offense described in subparagraph (B) for which the fol21 lowing apply: 

22 ‘‘(i) Every act or omission of the individual (re23 ferred to in paragraph (1)) that is needed to satisfy 

24 the elements of the offense occurs while the individual 

25 is a Member. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
111 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(ii) Every act or omission of the individual 

2 that is needed to satisfy the elements of the offense di3 rectly relates to the performance of the individual’s of4 ficial duties as a Member. 

5 ‘‘(iii) The offense is committed after the date of 

6 enactment of this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(B) An offense described in this subparagraph is only 

8 the following, and only to the extent that the offense is a 

9 felony under title 18: 

10 ‘‘(i) An offense under section 201 of title 18 

11 (bribery of public officials and witnesses). 

12 ‘‘(ii) An offense under section 219 of title 18 (of13 ficers and employees acting as agents of foreign prin14 cipals). 

15 ‘‘(iii) An offense under section 371 of title 18 

16 (conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United 

17 States) to the extent of any conspiracy to commit an 

18 act which constitutes an offense under clause (i) or 

19 (ii). 

20 ‘‘(3) An individual convicted of an offense described 

21 in paragraph (2) shall not, after the date of the final convic22 tion, be eligible to participate in the retirement system 

23 under this subchapter or chapter 84 while serving as a 

24 Member. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
112 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(4) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre2 scribe any regulations necessary to carry out this sub3 section. Such regulations shall include— 

4 ‘‘(A) provisions under which interest on any 

5 lump-sum payment under the second sentence of 

6 paragraph (1) shall be limited in a manner similar 

7 to that specified in the last sentence of section 

8 8316(b); and 

9 ‘‘(B) provisions under which the Office may pro10 vide for— 

11 ‘‘(i) the payment, to the spouse or children 

12 of any individual referred to in the first sentence 

13 of paragraph (1), of any amounts which (but for 

14 this clause) would otherwise have been nonpay15 able by reason of such first sentence, but only to 

16 the extent that the application of this clause is 

17 considered necessary given the totality of the cir18 cumstances; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) an appropriate adjustment in the 

20 amount of any lump-sum payment under the 

21 second sentence of paragraph (1) to reflect the 

22 application of clause (i). 

23 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
113 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) the term ‘Member’ has the meaning given 

2 such term by section 2106, notwithstanding section 

3 8331(2); and 

4 ‘‘(B) the term ‘child’ has the meaning given such 

5 term by section 8341.’’. 

6 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM.— 

7 Section 8411 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following: 

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

10 chapter, the service of an individual finally convicted of an 

11 offense described in paragraph (2) shall not be taken into 

12 account for purposes of this chapter, except that this sen13 tence applies only to service rendered as a Member (irre14 spective of when rendered). Any such individual (or other 

15 person determined under section 8424(d), if applicable) 

16 shall be entitled to be paid so much of such individual’s 

17 lump-sum credit as is attributable to service to which the 

18 preceding sentence applies. 

19 ‘‘(2) An offense described in this paragraph is any of20 fense described in section 8332(o)(2)(B) for which the fol21 lowing apply: 

22 ‘‘(A) Every act or omission of the individual (re23 ferred to in paragraph (1)) that is needed to satisfy 

24 the elements of the offense occurs while the individual 

25 is a Member. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
114 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 ‘‘(B) Every act or omission of the individual 

2 that is needed to satisfy the elements of the offense di3 rectly relates to the performance of the individual’s of4 ficial duties as a Member. 

5 ‘‘(C) The offense is committed after the date of 

6 enactment of this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(3) An individual finally convicted of an offense de8 scribed in paragraph (2) shall not, after the date of the con9 viction, be eligible to participate in the retirement system 

10 under this chapter while serving as a Member. 

11 ‘‘(4) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre12 scribe any regulations necessary to carry out this sub13 section. Such regulations shall include— 

14 ‘‘(A) provisions under which interest on any 

15 lump-sum payment under the second sentence of 

16 paragraph (1) shall be limited in a manner similar 

17 to that specified in the last sentence of section 

18 8316(b); and 

19 ‘‘(B) provisions under which the Office may pro20 vide for— 

21 ‘‘(i) the payment, to the spouse or children 

22 of any individual referred to in the first sentence 

23 of paragraph (1), of any amounts which (but for 

24 this clause) would otherwise have been nonpay25 able by reason of such first sentence, but only to 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
115 

•HR 4975 RH 

1 the extent that the application of this clause is 

2 considered necessary given the totality of the cir3 cumstances; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) an appropriate adjustment in the 

5 amount of any lump-sum payment under the 

6 second sentence of paragraph (1) to reflect the 

7 application of clause (i). 

8 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) the term ‘Member’ has the meaning given 

10 such term by section 2106, notwithstanding section 

11 8401(20); and 

12 ‘‘(B) the term ‘child’ has the meaning given such 

13 term by section 8341.’’. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 244 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4975 

[Report No. 109

–439, Parts I, II, III, and IV] 

A BILL 

To provide greater transparency with respect to 

lobbying activities, and for other reasons. 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

amendment 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Reported from the Committee on House Administration 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Reported from the Committee on Rules with amendments 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Reported from the Committee on Government Reform 

with amendments 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Committee on Standards of Official Conduct discharged; 

the State of the Union and ordered to be printed committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS