I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1467 
To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to establish a separate 
unit within the Department of Justice for the investigation and enforce-
ment of such Act, to provide the Attorney General with the authority 
to impose civil money penalties for violations of such Act, and to require 
agents of foreign principals who are registered under such Act to disclose 
transactions involving things of financial value conferred on officeholders. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 28, 2019 
Ms. OMAR (for herself and Mr. SARBANES) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 
to establish a separate unit within the Department of 
Justice for the investigation and enforcement of such 
Act, to provide the Attorney General with the authority 
to impose civil money penalties for violations of such 
Act, and to require agents of foreign principals who 
are registered under such Act to disclose transactions 
involving things of financial value conferred on office-
holders. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Against Un-
lawful Lobbying (PAUL) Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF FARA INVESTIGATION AND EN-
FORCEMENT UNIT WITHIN DEPARTMENT OF 
JUSTICE. 
Section 8 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 
1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 618) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(i) DEDICATED ENFORCEMENT UNIT.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this subsection, 
the Attorney General shall establish a unit within 
the counterespionage section of the National Secu-
rity Division of the Department of Justice with re-
sponsibility for the enforcement of this Act. 
‘‘(2) POWERS.—The unit established under this 
subsection is authorized to— 
‘‘(A) take appropriate legal action against 
individuals suspected of violating this Act; and 
‘‘(B) coordinate any such legal action with 
the United States Attorney for the relevant ju-
risdiction. 
‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—In operating the unit es-
tablished under this subsection, the Attorney Gen-
eral shall, as appropriate, consult with the Director 
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of National Intelligence, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, and the Secretary of State. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
the activities of the unit established under this sub-
section $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 and each 
succeeding fiscal year.’’. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY.—Section 8 of the 
Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 
U.S.C. 618) is amended by inserting after subsection (c) 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(1) REGISTRATION
STATEMENTS.—Whoever 
fails to file timely or complete a registration state-
ment as provided under section 2(a) shall be subject 
to a civil money penalty of not more than $10,000 
per violation. 
‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENTS.—Whoever fails to file 
timely or complete supplements as provided under 
section 2(b) shall be subject to a civil money penalty 
of not more than $1,000 per violation. 
‘‘(3) OTHER VIOLATIONS.—Whoever knowingly 
fails to— 
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‘‘(A) remedy a defective filing within 60 
days after notice of such defect by the Attorney 
General; or 
‘‘(B) comply with any other provision of 
this Act, 
shall upon proof of such knowing violation by a pre-
ponderance of the evidence, be subject to a civil 
money penalty of not more than $200,000, depend-
ing on the extent and gravity of the violation. 
‘‘(4) NO
FINES
PAID
BY
FOREIGN
PRIN-
CIPALS.—A civil money penalty paid under para-
graph (1) may not be paid, directly or indirectly, by 
a foreign principal. 
‘‘(5) USE OF FINES.—All civil money penalties 
collected under this subsection shall be used to de-
fray the cost of the enforcement unit established 
under subsection (i).’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
SEC. 
4. 
DISCLOSURE 
OF 
TRANSACTIONS 
INVOLVING 
THINGS OF FINANCIAL VALUE CONFERRED 
ON OFFICEHOLDERS. 
(a) REQUIRING
AGENTS
TO
DISCLOSE
KNOWN 
TRANSACTIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(a) of the Foreign 
Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 
U.S.C. 612(a)) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (10) and 
(11) as paragraphs (11) and (12); and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (9) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(10) To the extent that the registrant has 
knowledge of any transaction which occurred in the 
preceding 60 days and in which the foreign principal 
for whom the registrant is acting as an agent con-
ferred on a Federal or State officeholder any thing 
of financial value, including a gift, profit, salary, fa-
vorable regulatory treatment, or any other direct or 
indirect economic or financial benefit, a detailed 
statement describing each such transaction.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to state-
ments filed on or after the expiration of the 90-day 
period which begins on the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
(b) SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE
FOR CURRENT 
REGISTRANTS.—Not later than the expiration of the 90- 
day period which begins on the date of the enactment of 
this Act, each registrant who (prior to the expiration of 
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