I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2412 

To provide more rigorous requirements with respect to ethics and lobbying. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 17, 2005 

Mr. MEEHAN (for himself, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. BAIRD, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. 

BERRY, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BROWN of 

Ohio, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CASE, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, 

Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COOPER, Mr. COSTA, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS

of Tennessee, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. 

DOGGETT, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FORD, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, 

Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HOLT, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KIND, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. 

LANGEVIN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of 

California, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY, 

Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

MCNULTY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. 

MOORE of Kansas, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. PELOSI, 

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. ROSS, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. 

STARK, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi, Mr. THOMPSON of 

California, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATSON, Ms. WOOLSEY, and Mr. EVANS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Standards of Official 

Conduct and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide more rigorous requirements with respect to ethics 

and lobbying. 
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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 ‘‘Special Interest Lobbying and Ethics Accountability Act 

6 of 2005’’. 

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 disclosure reports. 

Sec. 103. Public database of lobbying disclosure information. 

Sec. 104. Identification of officials with whom lobbying contacts are made. 

Sec. 105. Disclosure by registered lobbyists of all past executive and congressional employment. 

Sec. 106. Disclosure of grassroots activities by paid lobbyists. 

Sec. 107. Disclosure of lobbying activities by certain coalitions and associations. 

TITLE II—SLOWING THE REVOLVING DOOR 

Sec. 201. Extension from 1 to 2 years of ban on attempting to influence by 

senior executive personnel, former Members of Congress, and 

officers and employees of the legislative branch. 

Sec. 202. Reform of waiver process for acts affecting a personal financial interest. 

Sec. 203. Public disclosure by Members of Congress of employment negotiations. 

Sec. 204. Wrongfully influencing, on a partisan basis, an entity’s employment 

decisions or practices. 

Sec. 205. Amendment to Code of Official Conduct to prohibit favoritism. 

TITLE III—CURBING EXCESSES IN PRIVATELY FUNDED TRAVEL 

Sec. 301. Required certification that congressional travel meets certain conditions. 

Sec. 302. False certification in connection with congressional travel. 

Sec. 303. Increased disclosure of travel by Members. 

Sec. 304. Guidelines respecting travel expenses. 

TITLE IV—STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF 

ETHICS AND LOBBYING 

Sec. 401. Comptroller General review and semiannual report on activities carried out by Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate 

under Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. 
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Sec. 402. Increased penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. 

Sec. 403. Hearings, recommendations, and report regarding activities of lobbyists. 

Sec. 404. Ethics task force. 

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 (2 U.S.C. 1604) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘Semiannual’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘Quarterly’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘the semiannual period’’ 

12 and all that follows through ‘‘July of each 

13 year’’ and insert ‘‘the quarterly period begin14 ning on the first days of January, April, July, 

15 and October of each year’’; and 

16 (C) by striking ‘‘such semiannual period’’ 

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

18 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

20 by striking ‘‘semiannual report’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘quarterly report’’; 
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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘semi2 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

3 period’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘semi5 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe6 riod’’; and 

7 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘semi8 annual filing period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

9 period’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

11 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 3 of such Act (2 

12 U.S.C. 1602) is amended in paragraph (10) by 

13 striking ‘‘six month period’’ and inserting ‘‘three14 month period’’. 

15 (2) REGISTRATION.—Section 4 of such Act (2 

16 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

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

18 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

19 period’’; and 

20 (B) in subsection (b)(3)(A) by striking 

21 ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

22 period’’. 

23 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 6 of such Act (2 

24 U.S.C. 1605) is amended in paragraph (6) by strik-
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1 ing ‘‘semiannual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly 

2 period’’. 

3 (4) ESTIMATES.—Section 15 of such Act (2 

4 U.S.C. 1610) is amended— 

5 (A) in subsection (a)(1) by striking ‘‘semi6 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe7 riod’’; and 

8 (B) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘semi9 annual period’’ and inserting ‘‘quarterly pe10 riod’’. 

11 (5) DOLLAR AMOUNTS.— 

12 (A) Section 4 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1603) 

13 is further amended— 

14 (i) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), by strik15 ing ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500’’; 

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

17 striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘$10,000’’; 

19 (iii) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by strik20 ing ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; 

21 and 

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

23 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

24 (B) Section 5 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1604) 

25 is further amended— 
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1 (i) in subsection (c)(1), by striking 

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

3 ‘‘$5,000’’ and ‘‘$10,000’’, respectively; and 

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

5 ‘‘$10,000’’ both places such term appears 

6 and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

7 SEC. 102. ELECTRONIC FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

8 REPORTS. 

9 Section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

10 U.S.C. 1604) is further amended by adding at the end 

11 the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIRED.—A report re13 quired to be filed under this section shall be filed in elec14 tronic form, in addition to any other form that may be 

15 required by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of 

16 the House of Representatives.’’. 

17 SEC. 103. PUBLIC DATABASE OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE IN18 FORMATION. 

19 (a) DATABASE REQUIRED.—Section 6 of the Lob20 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is further 

21 amended— 

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

23 end; 

24 (2) in paragraph (8) by striking the period at 

25 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
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1 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraph: 

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

4 over the Internet, without a fee or other access 

5 charge, in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable 

6 manner, an electronic database that— 

7 ‘‘(A) includes the information contained in 

8 registrations and reports filed under this Act; 

9 ‘‘(B) directly links the information it con10 tains to the information disclosed in reports 

11 filed with the Federal Election Commission 

12 under section 304 of the Federal Election Cam13 paign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434); and 

14 ‘‘(C) is searchable and sortable to the max15 imum extent practicable, including searchable 

16 and sortable by each of the categories of infor17 mation described in section 4(b) or 5(b).’’. 

18 (b) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Section 6 of such 

19 Act is further amended in paragraph (4) by inserting be20 fore the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘and, in the 

21 case of a report filed in electronic form pursuant to section 

22 5(d), shall make such report available for public inspection 

23 over the Internet not more than 48 hours after the report 

24 is so filed’’. 
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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

3 necessary to carry out paragraph (9) of section 6 of such 

4 Act, as added by subsection (a). 

5 SEC. 104. IDENTIFICATION OF OFFICIALS WITH WHOM LOB6 BYING CONTACTS ARE MADE. 

7 Section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

8 U.S.C. 1604) is further amended in subsection (b)(2)— 

9 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

10 through (D) as subparagraphs (C) through (E), re11 spectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol13 lowing new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(B) for each specific issue listed pursuant 

15 to subparagraph (A), a list identifying each cov16 ered executive branch official and each Member 

17 of Congress with whom a lobbyist employed by 

18 the registrant engaged in a lobbying contact 

19 with respect to that issue;’’. 

20 SEC. 105. DISCLOSURE BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS OF ALL 

21 PAST EXECUTIVE AND CONGRESSIONAL EM22 PLOYMENT. 

23 Section 4 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

24 U.S.C. 1603) is further amended in subsection (b)(6) by 

25 striking ‘‘or a covered legislative branch official’’ and all 
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1 that follows through ‘‘as a lobbyist on behalf of the client,’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘or a covered legislative branch official,’’. 

3 SEC. 106. DISCLOSURE OF GRASSROOTS ACTIVITIES BY 

4 PAID LOBBYISTS. 

5 (a) DISCLOSURE OF GRASSROOTS ACTIVITIES.—Sec6 tion 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

7 1602) is further amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(17) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING COMMUNICA10 TION.—The term ‘grassroots lobbying communica11 tion’ means an attempt to influence legislation or ex12 ecutive action through the use of mass communica13 tions directed to the general public and designed to 

14 encourage recipients to take specific action with re15 spect to legislation or executive action, except that 

16 such term does not include any communications by 

17 an entity directed to its members, employees, offi18 cers, or shareholders. For purposes of this para19 graph, a communication is designed to encourage a 

20 recipient if any of the following applies: 

21 ‘‘(A) The communication states that the 

22 recipient should contact a legislator, or should 

23 contact an officer or employee of an executive 

24 agency. 
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1 ‘‘(B) The communication provides the ad2 dress, phone number, and contact information 

3 of a legislator or of an officer or employee of 

4 an executive agency. 

5 ‘‘(C) The communication provides a peti6 tion, tear-off postcard, or similar material for 

7 the recipient to send to a legislator or to an of8 ficer or employee of an executive agency. 

9 ‘‘(D)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the commu10 nication specifically identifies an individual 

11 who— 

12 ‘‘(I) is in a position to consider or 

13 vote on the legislation; 

14 ‘‘(II) represents the recipient in Con15 gress; or 

16 ‘‘(III) is an officer or employee of the 

17 executive agency to which the legislation or 

18 executive action relates. 

19 ‘‘(ii) A communication described in clause 

20 (i) is a grassroots lobbying communication only 

21 if it is a communication that cannot meet the 

22 ‘full and fair exposition’ test as nonpartisan 

23 analysis, study, or research.’’. 

24 (b) SEPARATE ITEMIZATION OF GRASSROOTS EX25 PENSES.—Section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
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1 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604) is further amended in subsection 

2 (b)— 

3 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting after ‘‘total 

4 amount of all income’’ the following: ‘‘(including an 

5 itemization of the total amount relating specifically 

6 to grassroots lobbying communications and, within 

7 that amount, an itemization of the total amount spe8 cifically relating to broadcast media grassroots lob9 bying communications)’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting after ‘‘total 

11 expenses’’ the following: ‘‘(including an itemization 

12 of the total amount relating specifically to grassroots 

13 lobbying communications and, within that total 

14 amount, an itemization of the total amount specifi15 cally relating to broadcast media grassroots lobbying 

16 communications)’’. 

17 SEC. 107. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES BY CER18 TAIN COALITIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 3 of the 

20 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602) is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(2) CLIENT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘client’ 

24 means any person or entity that employs or re25 tains another person for financial or other com-
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1 pensation to conduct lobbying activities on be2 half of that person or entity. A person or entity 

3 whose employees act as lobbyists on its own be4 half is both a client and an employer of such 

5 employees. 

6 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF COALITIONS AND AS7 SOCIATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro9 vided in clauses (ii) and (iii), in the case 

10 of a coalition or association that employs 

11 or retains other persons to conduct lob12 bying activities, each of the individual 

13 members of the coalition or association 

14 (and not the coalition or association) is the 

15 client. For purposes of section 4(a)(3), the 

16 preceding sentence shall not apply, and the 

17 coalition or association shall be treated as 

18 the client. 

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TAX20 EXEMPT ASSOCIATIONS.—In case of an as21 sociation— 

22 ‘‘(I) which is described in para23 graph (3) of section 501(c) of the In24 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 and ex-
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1 empt from tax under section 501(a) of 

2 such Code, or 

3 ‘‘(II) which is described in any 

4 other paragraph of section 501(c) of 

5 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

6 and exempt from tax under section 

7 501(a) of such Code and which has 

8 substantial exempt activities other 

9 than lobbying with respect to the spe10 cific issue for which it engaged the 

11 person filing the registration state12 ment under section 4, 

13 the association (and not its members) shall 

14 be treated as the client. 

15 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN MEM16 BERS.— 

17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Information 

18 on a member of a coalition or associa19 tion need not be included in any reg20 istration under section 4 if the 

21 amount reasonably expected to be con22 tributed by such member toward the 

23 activities of the coalition or associa24 tion of influencing legislation is less 

25 than $500 per any quarterly period. 
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1 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—Subclause (I) 

2 shall not apply with respect to any 

3 member who unexpectedly makes ag4 gregate contributions of more than 

5 $500 in any quarterly period, and the 

6 date the aggregate of such contribu7 tions first exceeds $500 in such period 

8 shall be treated as the date of first 

9 employment or retention to make a 

10 lobbying contact for purposes of sec11 tion 4. 

12 ‘‘(iv) LOOK-THRU RULES.—In the 

13 case of a coalition or association which is 

14 treated as a client under the first sentence 

15 of clause (i)— 

16 ‘‘(I) such coalition or association 

17 shall be treated as employing or re18 taining other persons to conduct lob19 bying activities for purposes of deter20 mining whether any individual mem21 ber thereof is treated as a client under 

22 clause (i), and 

23 ‘‘(II) information on such coali24 tion or association need not be in25 cluded in any registration under sec-
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1 tion 4 of the coalition or association 

2 with respect to which it is treated as 

3 a client under clause (i).’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall apply to— 

7 (A) coalitions and associations listed on 

8 registration statements filed under section 4 of 

9 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

10 1603) after the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act, and 

12 (B) coalitions and associations for whom 

13 any lobbying contact is made after the date of 

14 the enactment of this Act. 

15 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of any coali16 tion or association to which the amendments made 

17 by this Act apply by reason of paragraph (1)(B), the 

18 person required by such section 4 to file a registra19 tion statement with respect to such coalition or asso20 ciation shall file a new registration statement within 

21 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 TITLE II—SLOWING THE 

2 REVOLVING DOOR 

3 SEC. 201. EXTENSION FROM 1 TO 2 YEARS OF BAN ON AT4 TEMPTING TO INFLUENCE BY SENIOR EXECU5 TIVE PERSONNEL, FORMER MEMBERS OF 

6 CONGRESS, AND OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES 

7 OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH. 

8 (a) SENIOR AND VERY SENIOR EXECUTIVE PER9 SONNEL.—Section 207 of title 18, United States Code, is 

10 amended in each of subsections (c)(1) and (d)(1) by strik11 ing ‘‘within 1 year after’’ and inserting ‘‘within 2 years 

12 after’’. 

13 (b) FORMER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND OFFICERS

14 AND EMPLOYEES OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.—Sec15 tion 207(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

16 in each of paragraphs (1)(A), (2)(A), (3), (4)(A), and 

17 (5)(A) by striking ‘‘within 1 year’’ and inserting ‘‘within 

18 2 years’’. 

19 SEC. 202. REFORM OF WAIVER PROCESS FOR ACTS AFFECT20 ING A PERSONAL FINANCIAL INTEREST. 

21 Section 208 of title 18, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 

24 (A) by inserting after ‘‘the Government of25 ficial responsible for appointment to his or her 
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1 position’’ the following: ‘‘and the Office of Gov2 ernment Ethics’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘a written determination 

4 made by such official’’ and inserting ‘‘a written 

5 determination made by the Office of Govern6 ment Ethics, after consultation with such offi7 cial,’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘the official 

9 responsible for the employee’s appointment, after re10 view of’’ and inserting ‘‘the Office of Government 

11 Ethics, after consultation with the official respon12 sible for the employee’s appointment and after re13 view of’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (d)(1)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘Upon request’’ and all 

16 that follows through ‘‘Ethics in Government Act 

17 of 1978.’’ and inserting ‘‘In each case in which 

18 the Office of Government Ethics makes a deter19 mination granting an exemption under sub20 section (b)(1) or (b)(3) to a person, the Office 

21 shall, not later than 3 business days after mak22 ing such determination, make available to the 

23 public pursuant to the procedures set forth in 

24 section 105 of the Ethics in Government Act of 

25 1978, and publish in the Federal Register, such 
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1 determination and the materials submitted by 

2 such person in requesting such exemption.’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) strike ‘‘the agency may withhold’’ and 

5 insert ‘‘the Office of Government Ethics may 

6 withhold’’. 

7 SEC. 203. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 

8 OF EMPLOYMENT NEGOTIATIONS. 

9 (a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The Code of Of10 ficial Conduct set forth in rule XXIII of the Rules of the 

11 House of Representatives is amended by redesignating 

12 clause 14 as clause 15 and by inserting after clause 13 

13 the following new clause: 

14 ‘‘14. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commis15 sioner shall publicly disclose the fact that he or she 

16 is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning 

17 prospective employment if a conflict of interest or 

18 the appearance of a conflict of interest may exist. 

19 Such disclosure shall be made within 3 days after 

20 the commencement of such negotiation or arrange21 ment.’’. 

22 (b) SENATE.—[Text to be supplied by the Senate]. 
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1 SEC. 204. WRONGFULLY INFLUENCING, ON A PARTISAN 

2 BASIS, AN ENTITY’S EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS 

3 OR PRACTICES. 

4 Whoever, being a Senator or Representative in, or a 

5 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress or 

6 an employee of either House of Congress, with the intent 

7 to influence on the basis of political party affiliation an 

8 employment decision or employment practice of any pri9 vate or public entity (except for the Congress), directly 

10 or indirectly (including through an agent such as an agent 

11 of a national committee of a political party)— 

12 (1) takes or withholds, or offers or threatens to 

13 take or withhold, an official act; or 

14 (2) influences, or offers or threatens to influ15 ence, the official act of another; 

16 shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or im17 prisoned for not more than 15 years, or both, and may 

18 be disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or 

19 profit under the United States. 

20 SEC. 205. AMENDMENT TO CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT TO 

21 PROHIBIT FAVORITISM. 

22 (a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Rule XXIII of 

23 the Rules of the House of Representatives (known as the 

24 Code of Official Conduct) is amended by redesignating 

25 clause 14 as clause 15 and by inserting after clause 13 

26 the following new clause: 
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1 ‘‘14. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, 

2 officer, or employee of the House may not take or with3 hold, or threaten to take or withold, any official action 

4 on the basis of partisan affiliation (except as permitted 

5 by clause 9) or the campaign contributions or support of 

6 any person or the prospect of personal gain either for one7 self or any other person.’’. 

8 (b) SENATE.—[Text to be supplied by the Senate.] 

9 TITLE III—CURBING EXCESSES 

10 IN PRIVATELY FUNDED TRAVEL 

11 SEC. 301. REQUIRED CERTIFICATION THAT CONGRES12 SIONAL TRAVEL MEETS CERTAIN CONDI13 TIONS. 

14 (a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Clause 5 of rule 

15 XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives is 

16 amended by redesignating paragraphs (e) and (f) as para17 graphs (f) and (g), respectively, and by inserting after 

18 paragraph (d) the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(e)(1) Except as provided by subparagraph (2), be20 fore a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, 

21 or employee of the House may accept a gift of transpor22 tation or lodging otherwise permissible under this clause 

23 from any person, such Member, Delegate, Resident Com24 missioner, officer, or employee of the House, as applicable, 
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1 shall obtain a written certification from such person (and 

2 provide a copy of such certification to the Clerk) that— 

3 ‘‘(A) the trip was not planned, organized, ar4 ranged, or financed by a registered lobbyist or for5 eign agent and was not organized at the request of 

6 a registered lobbyist or foreign agent; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the person did not accept, from any 

8 source, funds specifically earmarked for the purpose 

9 of financing the travel expenses. 

10 The Clerk shall make public information received under 

11 this subparagraph as soon as possible after it is received. 

12 ‘‘(2) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 

13 is not required to obtain a written certification for a gift 

14 or transportation or lodging described in subdivision (A), 

15 (B), (C), (D), (F), or (G) of paragraph (a)(1).’’. 

16 (b) SENATE.—[Text to be supplied by the Senate]. 

17 SEC. 302. FALSE CERTIFICATION IN CONNECTION WITH 

18 CONGRESSIONAL TRAVEL. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever makes a false certifi20 cation in connection with the travel of a Member, officer, 

21 or employee of either House of Congress (within the mean22 ing given those terms in section 207 of title 18, United 

23 States Code) shall, upon proof of such offense by a pre24 ponderance of the evidence, be subject to a civil fine de25 pending on the extent and gravity of the violation. 
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1 (b) MAXIMUM FINE.—The maximum fine per offense 

2 under this section depends on the number of separate trips 

3 in connection with which the person committed an offense 

4 under this section, as follows: 

5 (1) FIRST TRIP.—For each offense committed 

6 in connection with the first such trip, the amount of 

7 the fine shall be not more than $100,000 per of8 fense. 

9 (2) SECOND TRIP.—For each offense committed 

10 in connection with the second such trip, the amount 

11 of the fine shall be not more than $300,000 per of12 fense. 

13 (3) ANY OTHER TRIPS.—For each offense com14 mitted in connection with any such trip after the 

15 second, the amount of the fine shall be not more 

16 than $500,000 per offense. 

17 SEC. 303. INCREASED DISCLOSURE OF TRAVEL BY MEM18 BERS. 

19 (a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Clause 

20 5(b)(1)(A)(ii) of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of 

21 Representatives is amended by— 

22 (1) inserting ‘‘a detailed description of each of’’ 

23 before ‘‘the expenses’’; and 
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1 (2) inserting ‘‘, including a description of all 

2 meetings, tours, events, and outings during such 

3 travel’’ before the period at the end thereof. 

4 (b) SENATE.—[Text to be supplied by the Senate.] 

5 SEC. 304. GUIDELINES RESPECTING TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

6 (a) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Clause 5(f) of 

7 rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives 

8 is amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(f)’’ and by adding 

9 at the end the following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(2) Within 90 days after the date of adoption of this 

11 subparagraph and at annual intervals thereafter, the Com12 mittee on Standards of official Conduct shall develop and 

13 revise, as necessary, guidelines on what constitutes ‘rea14 sonable expenses’ or ‘reasonable expenditures’ for pur15 poses of paragraph (b)(4). In developing and revising the 

16 guidelines, the committee shall take into account the max17 imum per diem rates for official Government travel pub18 lished annually by the General Services Administration, 

19 the Department of State, and the Department of De20 fense.’’. 

21 (b) SENATE.—[Text to be supplied by the Senate.] 
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1 TITLE IV—STRENGTHENING EN2 FORCEMENT AND OVERSIGHT 

3 OF ETHICS AND LOBBYING 

4 SEC. 401. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW AND SEMI5 ANNUAL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES CARRIED 

6 OUT BY CLERK OF THE HOUSE AND SEC7 RETARY OF THE SENATE UNDER LOBBYING 

8 DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1995. 

9 (a) ONGOING REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Comptroller 

10 General shall review on an ongoing basis the activities car11 ried out by the Clerk of the House of Representatives and 

12 the Secretary of the Senate under section 6 of the Lob13 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605). The review 

14 shall emphasize— 

15 (1) the effectiveness of those activities in secur16 ing the compliance by lobbyists with the require17 ments of that Act; and 

18 (2) whether the Clerk and the Secretary have 

19 the resources and authorities needed for effective 

20 oversight and enforcement of that Act. 

21 (b) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—Twice yearly, not later 

22 than January 1 and not later than July 1 of each year, 

23 the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report 

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

25 include the Comptroller General’s assessment of the mat-
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1 ters required to be emphasized by that subsection and any 

2 recommendations of the Comptroller General to— 

3 (1) improve the compliance by lobbyists with 

4 the requirements of that Act; and 

5 (2) provide the Clerk and the Secretary with 

6 the resources and authorities needed for effective 

7 oversight and enforcement of that Act. 

8 SEC. 402. INCREASED PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 

9 WITH LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIRE10 MENTS. 

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

12 U.S.C. 1606) is amended by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and in13 serting ‘‘$100,000’’. 

14 SEC. 403. HEARINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND REPORT 

15 REGARDING ACTIVITIES OF LOBBYISTS. 

16 The Committee on House Administration and the 

17 Committee on the Judiciary are each authorized and di18 rected to conduct hearings on each semiannual report sub19 mitted by the Comptroller General pursuant to section 

20 401(b) and to report, as soon as practicable, the results 

21 of such hearings and any legislative recommendations to 

22 address the issues raised by such semiannual report. 

23 SEC. 404. ETHICS TASK FORCE. 

24 (a) APPOINTMENT OF ETHICS TASK FORCE.—Within 

25 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Speak-
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1 er and the minority leader shall each appoint 5 Members 

2 to a bipartisan ethics task force with equal representation 

3 of the majority and minority parties to make recommenda4 tions— 

5 (1) on strengthening ethics oversight and en6 forcement in the House of Representatives; and 

7 (2) on providing the resources necessary to ac8 complish this goal. 

9 (b) CONSULTATION AND FINAL REPORT.—The ethics 

10 task force shall consult outside experts in its work and 

11 report its findings and recommendations to the House of 

12 Representatives not later than 60 days after it is estab13 lished. 

Æ