Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to require a witness who appears before any committee of the House of Representatives in a nongovernmental capacity to disclose certain amounts received from the Federal Government or a foreign government or certain foreign entities, and for other purposes.

1. Requirement for a witness to disclose certain amounts received (a) In general Clause 2(g)(5)(B) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended to read as follows: (B) In the case of a witness appearing in a nongovernmental capacity, a written statement of proposed testimony shall include— (i) a curriculum vitae; (ii) a disclosure of any Federal grants or contracts received during the past 36 months by the witness, an entity represented by the witness, or an entity with respect to which the witness is employed or under contract; (iii) a disclosure of any contracts, grants, or payments, including payments in kind, originating with a foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign state-owned enterprise (or any subsidiary, agent, or instrumentality of a foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign-state owned enterprise) received during the past 36 months by the witness, an entity represented by the witness, an entity with respect to which the witness is employed, or an entity the witness is under contract with if the witness received aggregate payments under such contract in an amount greater than $5,000 in the last 12 months; (iv) a disclosure of whether the witness is a fiduciary (including, but not limited to, a director, officer, advisor, resident agent, or fellow) of any entity which has received payments originating with a foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign state-owned enterprise (or any subsidiary, agent, or instrumentality of a foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign-state owned enterprise) during the past 36 months; (v) a disclosure of any contracts with a foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign state-owned enterprise (or any subsidiary, agent, or instrumentality of a foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign-state owned enterprise) that the witness, an entity represented by the witness, or an entity with respect to which the witness is employed or under contract applied for in the past 12 months but under which no payments have been received; (vi) a disclosure of any contracts with a foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign state-owned enterprise (or any subsidiary, agent, or instrumentality of a foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign-state owned enterprise) that is in effect on the date the witness submits the written statement of proposed testimony under which the foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign state-owned enterprise agrees to provide the witness, or a business owned by the witness, with payment for the provision of advisory, consulting, or other services to advance the interests of such foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign state-owned enterprise; and (vii) a disclosure of any contracts with a foreign person subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the government of the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, or the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that is in effect on the date the witness submits the written statement of proposed testimony under which the foreign person agrees to provide the witness with payment for the provision of advisory, consulting, or other services to advance the interests of a foreign government described in this item. . (b) Content of disclosure Clause 2(g)(5)(C) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended— (1) by striking disclosure disclosures (2) by inserting , subdivision (B)(iii), subdivision (B)(v), subdivision (B)(vi), and subdivision (B)(vii) subdivision (B)(ii) (3) in item (i), by striking related to the subject matter of the hearing (4) in item (ii)— (A) by striking related to the subject matter of the hearing (B) by inserting , foreign political party, or foreign state-owned enterprise (or any subsidiary, agent, or instrumentality of a foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign-state owned enterprise) foreign government (c) Penalty for knowing and willful noncompliance Clause 2(g) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended— (1) by redesignating subparagraph (7) as subparagraph (8); and (2) by inserting after subparagraph (6) the following new subparagraph: (7) With respect to a witness described in subparagraph (5)(B), if the committee before which the witness appears determines at any time that the witness knowingly and willfully failed to truthfully comply with the disclosure requirements under subparagraph (5), such witness shall not be allowed to appear before such committee to provide testimony for a period of 3 years beginning on the date such determination is made. . (d) Effective date This section and the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to any witness who appears before any committee of the House of Representatives in a nongovernmental capacity on or after the date of enactment of this resolution.

Summary: This resolution modifies requirements for written statements required of nongovernmental witnesses who appear before standing committees of the House of Representatives. Specifically, the resolution eliminates a requirement that a witness disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an organization or entity that has an interest in the subject matter of the hearing, in favor of a requirement that they disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an entity that has received payments from a specified foreign entity. The resolution also requires nongovernmental witnesses to disclose in their written statement certain contracts with specified foreign persons or entities. If the committee determines that a witness knowingly and willfully failed to truthfully comply with such disclosure requirements, the witness is prohibited from testifying before the committee for three years.