I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2101 

To provide for restrictions on recently appointed Federal employees and 

recently separated Federal employees with respect to lobbying activities, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 4, 2019 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for restrictions on recently appointed Federal 

employees and recently separated Federal employees 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. EXTENSION OF POST-EMPLOYMENT BAN ON 

4 LOBBYING FOR CERTAIN FORMER GOVERN5 MENT EMPLOYEES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 207 of title 18, United 

7 States Code, is amended in subsection (c)— 

8 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 

9 ‘‘ONE-YEAR’’ and inserting ‘‘TWO-YEAR’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘within 1 year after’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘within 2 years after’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘within 1 year before such 

5 termination’’; and 

6 (3) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(D) Not later than 30 days after a waiver is 

9 granted under subparagraph (C), the waiver shall be 

10 published in the Federal Register and accompanied 

11 by a signed statement by the Director of the Office 

12 of Government Ethics describing in detail the rea13 sons for providing such waiver unless such a descrip14 tion would compromise national security.’’. 

15 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub16 section (a) shall apply to any individual appointed to a 

17 position described in paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of 

18 section 207 of title 18, United States Code, (as amended 

19 by such subsection) after the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act. 

21 SEC. 2. FIVE-YEAR LOBBYING BAN FOR CERTAIN POLIT22 ICAL APPOINTEES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 207 of title 18, United 

24 States Code, as amended by section 1, is further amended 

25 in subsection (d)— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter following 

2 subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘within 2 years’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘within 5 years’’; and 

4 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘in such 

5 position’’ and all that follows through ‘‘terminated’’. 

6 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub7 section (a) shall apply to any individual appointed to a 

8 position described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of sub9 section (d)(1) of section 207 of title 18, United States 

10 Code, (as amended by such subsection) after the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 3. LIFETIME BAN ON REPRESENTATION OF FOREIGN 

13 ENTITIES FOR CERTAIN HIGH-LEVEL 

14 FORMER EMPLOYEES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 207 of title 18, United 

16 States Code, as amended by sections 1 and 2, is further 

17 amended in subsection (f)— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(or, in the 

19 case of an individual described in paragraph (2), at 

20 any time)’’ after ‘‘within 1 year’’; 

21 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

22 (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’; 

23 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

24 paragraphs (3) and (4); and 


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1 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(2) DESCRIPTION OF INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT

4 TO LIFETIME BAN.—An individual described in this 

5 paragraph is any individual who was— 

6 ‘‘(A) employed in a position described 

7 under sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5, 

8 United States Code (relating to the Executive 

9 Schedule); 

10 ‘‘(B) a limited term appointee, limited 

11 emergency appointee, or noncareer appointee in 

12 the Senior Executive Service, as defined under 

13 paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively, of 

14 section 3132(a) of title 5, United States Code; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(C) employed in a position of a confiden17 tial or policy-determining character under 

18 schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5 

19 of the Code of Federal Regulations.’’. 

20 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub21 section (a) shall apply to any individual appointed to a 

22 position described in paragraph (2) of section 207 of title 

23 18, United States Code, (as added by such subsection) 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PARTICIPATION IN MATTER RE2 LATING TO PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 219 the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘§ 220. Prohibition on participation in matter relat7 ing to previous employment 

8 ‘‘(a) During the 2-year period beginning on the date 

9 an individual is appointed to a covered position at an agen10 cy, any such individual who has not received a waiver 

11 under subsection (b)— 

12 ‘‘(1) who participates in any particular matter 

13 involving specific parties that is directly and sub14 stantially related to the individual’s former employer 

15 or former clients, or 

16 ‘‘(2) with respect to any such individual who 

17 was a registered lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclo18 sure Act of 1995, or who was not a registered lob19 byist under such Act but who engaged in lobbying 

20 activity as defined in subsection (c), during the 2- 

21 year period preceding the date of such appointment, 

22 who— 

23 ‘‘(A) participates in any particular matter 

24 on which the individual made a lobbying contact 

25 (in the case of a registered lobbyist under such 


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1 Act), or engaged in such activity, during such 

2 2-year period, 

3 ‘‘(B) participates in the specific issue area 

4 in which such particular matter falls, or 

5 ‘‘(C) seeks or accepts employment with any 

6 agency with respect to which the individual 

7 made a lobbying contact (in the case of a reg8 istered lobbyist under such Act), or engaged in 

9 such activity, during such 2-year period, 

10 shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this 

11 title. 

12 ‘‘(b)(1) The Director of the Office of Management 

13 and Budget, in consultation with the Counsel to the Presi14 dent, may waive the requirements of subsection (a) with 

15 respect to any individual covered by such subsection if the 

16 Director certifies, in writing, to the Committee on Over17 sight and Reform of the House of Representatives, the 

18 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af19 fairs of the Senate, and the appropriate congressional 

20 committees of jurisdiction, that it is in the public interest 

21 to grant the waiver. 

22 ‘‘(2) For purposes of carrying out paragraph (1)— 

23 ‘‘(A) the public interest includes exigent cir24 cumstances relating to public health, public safety, 

25 or national security; 


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1 ‘‘(B) de minimis contact with an agency shall 

2 be cause for a waiver of subsection (a)(2); and 

3 ‘‘(C) any waiver shall take effect when the cer4 tification is published in the Federal Register, ac5 companied by a signed statement by the Director de6 scribing in detail the reasons for providing the waiv7 er unless such a description would compromise na8 tional security. 

9 ‘‘(c)(1) In this section, the term ‘lobbying activity’ 

10 means, with respect to an individual, knowingly making, 

11 with the intent to influence, any communication to or ap12 pearance before any officer or employee of the Federal 

13 Government on behalf of another person as an employee 

14 of a lobbying firm or lobbying organization, in connection 

15 with any matter on which such person seeks official action 

16 by such officer or employee of the Federal Government. 

17 The previous sentence applies only with respect to an indi18 vidual who spends greater than 20 percent of the individ19 ual’s time as an employee of a lobbying firm or lobbying 

20 organization engaged in such lobbying activity. 

21 ‘‘(2) In paragraph (1), the term ‘lobbying firm’ 

22 means any firm, corporation, or limited liability company 

23 in which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) employees of the firm in the aggregate 

2 make 2 or more lobbying contacts at any time on be3 half of a particular client; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the firm receives or expects to receive 

5 from a particular client for matters related to lob6 bying activities at least the amount specified in sec7 tion 4(a)(3)(A) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

8 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)(3)(A)) in the quarterly pe9 riod during which registration would be made under 

10 such Act. 

11 ‘‘(3) In paragraph (1), the term ‘lobbying organiza12 tion’ includes any organization in which— 

13 ‘‘(A) employees of the firm in the aggregate 

14 make 2 or more lobbying contacts at any time on its 

15 behalf; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the organization expends in connection 

17 with lobbying activities at least the amount specified 

18 in section 4(a)(3)(B) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act 

19 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)(3)(A)) in the quarterly 

20 period during which registration would be made 

21 under such Act. 

22 ‘‘(4) In this subsection, the term ‘employee’ has the 

23 meaning given such term in section 3(5) of the Lobbying 

24 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(5)). 

25 ‘‘(d) In this section, the following definitions apply: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘agency’ means an ‘Executive 

2 agency’ (as that term is defined in section 105 of 

3 title 5), the Executive Office of the President, the 

4 United States Postal Service, and the Postal Regu5 latory Commission, but does not include the Govern6 ment Accountability Office. 

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered position’— 

8 ‘‘(A) means any— 

9 ‘‘(i) full-time, non-career position 

10 which requires appointment by the Presi11 dent or Vice President; 

12 ‘‘(ii) non-career position within the 

13 Senior Executive Service or other SES14 type system; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) position that has been excepted 

16 from the competitive service by reason of 

17 being of a confidential or policymaking 

18 character, including positions under sched19 ule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5 

20 of the Code of Federal Regulations; and 

21 ‘‘(B) does not include any individual ap22 pointed as a member of the Senior Foreign 

23 Service or solely as a uniformed service commis24 sioned officer. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘directly and substantially re2 lated to former employer or former clients’ means 

3 matters in which the individual’s former employer or 

4 a former client is a party or represents a party. 

5 ‘‘(4) The term ‘former client’ means any person 

6 for whom the individual served personally as agent, 

7 attorney, or consultant, but does include instances 

8 where the service provided was limited to a speech 

9 or similar appearance or clients of the individual’s 

10 former employer to whom the individual did not per11 sonally provide services. 

12 ‘‘(5) The term ‘former employer’ means any 

13 person for whom the individual has within the 2 

14 years prior to the date of appointment served as an 

15 employee, officer, director, trustee, or general part16 ner, but does not include any agency or other entity 

17 of the Federal Government, Native American tribe, 

18 or any United States territory or possession. 

19 ‘‘(6) The term ‘lobbying contact’ has the mean20 ing given such term in section 3(8) of the Lobbying 

21 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(8)). 

22 ‘‘(7) The term ‘particular matter’ has the 

23 meaning given that term in section 207 and section 

24 2635.402(b)(3) of title 5, Code of Federal Regula25 tions, or any successor regulation. 


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1 ‘‘(8) The term ‘participate’ means to participate 

2 personally and substantially. 

3 ‘‘(9) The term ‘particular matter involving spe4 cific parties’ has the meaning as set forth in section 

5 2641.201(h) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, 

6 or any successor regulation, except that it shall also 

7 include any meeting or other communication relating 

8 to the performance of an individual’s official duties 

9 with a former employer or former client, unless the 

10 communication applies to a particular matter of gen11 eral applicability and participation in the meeting or 

12 other event is open to all interested parties.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 of chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

15 by inserting after the item relating to section 219 the fol16 lowing new item: 

‘‘220. Prohibition on participation in matter relating to previous employment.’’. 

17 (c) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by sub18 section (a) shall apply to any individual appointed to a 

19 covered position (as that term is defined in section 

20 220(d)(2) of title 18, United States Code, as added by 

21 such subsection) after the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. REQUIRING LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REPORTS TO 

2 INCLUDE NAMES OF OFFICIALS CONTACTED. 

3 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 5(b)(2) of the Lobbying 

4 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)(2)) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara7 graph (C); 

8 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara9 graph (D); and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(E) a list of each covered executive 

13 branch official with respect to whom the lob14 byist made a lobbying contact;’’. 

15 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub16 section (a) shall apply with respect to reports filed under 

17 section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

18 U.S.C. 1604) for quarters beginning on or after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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