I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 610
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit contribu-
tions and expenditures by multicandidate political committees controlled
by foreign-owned corporations, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 5, 1997
Ms. KAPTUR (for herself, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, and Ms. SLAUGHTER)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
House Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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 com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to
prohibit contributions and expenditures by multican-
didate political committees controlled by foreign-owned
corporations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ethics in Foreign Lob-
bying Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDI-
TURES 
BY 
MULTICANDIDATE 
POLITICAL
COMMITTEES OR SEPARATE SEGREGATED
FUNDS 
SPONSORED 
BY 
FOREIGN-CON-
TROLLED 
CORPORATIONS 
AND 
ASSOCIA-
TIONS.
Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of
1971 (2 U.S.C. 441 et seq.) is amended by adding at the
end the following new section:
‘‘PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES
BY MULTICANDIDATE POLITICAL COMMITTEES SPON-
SORED
BY
FOREIGN-CONTROLLED
CORPORATIONS
AND ASSOCIATIONS
‘‘SEC. 324. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision
of law—
‘‘(1) no multicandidate political committee or
separate segregated fund of a foreign-controlled cor-
poration may make any contribution or expenditure
with respect to an election for Federal office; and
‘‘(2) no multicandidate political committee or
separate segregated fund of a trade organization,
membership organization, cooperative, or corporation
without capital stock may make any contribution or
expenditure with respect to an election for Federal
office if 50 percent or more of the operating fund of
the trade organization, membership organization, co-
operative, or corporation without capital stock is
supplied by foreign-controlled corporations or foreign
nationals.
‘‘(b) The Commission shall—
‘‘(1) require each multicandidate political com-
mittee or separate segregated fund of a corporation
to include in the statement of organization of the
multicandidate political committee or separate seg-
regated fund a statement (to be updated annually
and at any time when the percentage goes above or
below 50 percent) of the percentage of ownership in-
terest in the corporation that is controlled by per-
sons other than citizens or nationals of the United
States;
‘‘(2) require each trade association, membership
organization, cooperative, or corporation without
capital stock to include in its statement of organiza-
tion of the multicandidate political committee or sep-
arate segregated fund (and update annually) the
percentage of its operating fund that is derived from
foreign-owned corporations and foreign nationals;
and
‘‘(3) take such action as may be necessary to
enforce subsection (a).
‘‘(c) The Commission shall maintain a list of the
identity of the multicandidate political committees or sepa-
rate segregated funds that file reports under subsection
(b), including a statement of the amounts and percentage
reported by such multicandidate political committees or
separate segregated funds.
‘‘(d) As used in this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘foreign-owned corporation’
means a corporation at least 50 percent of the own-
ership interest of which is controlled by persons
other than citizens or nationals of the United States;
‘‘(2) the term ‘multicandidate political commit-
tee’ has the meaning given that term in section
315(a)(4);
‘‘(3) the term ‘separate segregated fund’ means
a separate segregated fund referred to in section
316(b)(2)(C); and
‘‘(4) the term ‘foreign national’ has the mean-
ing given that term in section 319.’’.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN ELECTION-RELATED
ACTIVITIES OF FOREIGN NATIONALS.
Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441e) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
(22 U.S.C. 611 and following), during the preceding
5-year period.
(3) The listings of public hearings, hearing wit-
nesses, and witness affiliations printed in the Con-
gressional Record during the preceding 5-year pe-
riod.
(4) Public information disclosed pursuant to the
rules of the Senate or the House of Representatives
regarding honoraria, the receipt of gifts, travel, and
earned and unearned income.
(5) All reports filed pursuant to title I of the
Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)
during the preceding 5-year period.
(6) All public information filed with the Federal
Election Commission pursuant to the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 and fol-
lowing) during the preceding 5-year period.
(b) DISCLOSURE OF OTHER INFORMATION PROHIB-
ITED.—The disclosure by the clearinghouse, or any officer
or employee thereof, of any information other than that
set forth in subsection (a) is prohibited, except as other-
wise provided by law.
(c) DIRECTOR OF CLEARINGHOUSE.—(1) The clear-
inghouse shall have a Director, who shall administer and
manage the responsibilities and all activities of the clear-
inghouse.
(2) The Director shall be appointed by the Federal
Election Commission.
(3) The Director shall serve a single term of a period
of time determined by the Commission, but not to exceed
5 years.
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to conduct the activities of the clearinghouse.
SEC. 5. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR
OF THE CLEARINGHOUSE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of the Direc-
tor of the clearinghouse established under section 4—
(1) to develop a filing, coding, and cross-index-
ing system to carry out the purposes of this Act
(which shall include an index of all persons identi-
fied in the reports, registrations, and other informa-
tion comprising the clearinghouse);
(2) notwithstanding any other provision of law,
to make copies of registrations, reports, and other
information comprising the clearinghouse available
for public inspection and copying, beginning not
later than 30 days after the information is first
available to the public, and to permit copying of any
such registration, report, or other information by
hand or by copying machine or, at the request of
any person, to furnish a copy of any such registra-
tion, report, or other information upon payment of
the cost of making and furnishing such copy, except
that no information contained in such registration or
report and no such other information shall be sold
or used by any person for the purpose of soliciting
contributions or for any profit-making purpose;
(3) to compile and summarize, for each cal-
endar quarter, the information contained in such
registrations, reports, and other information com-
prising the clearinghouse in a manner which facili-
tates the disclosure of political activities, including,
but not limited to, information on—
(A) political activities pertaining to issues
before the Congress and issues before the exec-
utive branch; and
(B) the political activities of individuals,
organizations, foreign principals, and agents of
foreign principals who share an economic, busi-
ness, or other common interest;
(4) to make the information compiled and sum-
marized under paragraph (3) available to the public
within 30 days after the close of each calendar quar-
ter, and to publish such information in the Federal
Register at the earliest practicable opportunity;
(5) not later than 150 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act and at any time there-
after, to prescribe, in consultation with the Comp-
troller General of the United States, such rules, reg-
ulations, and forms, in conformity with the provi-
sions of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, as
are necessary to carry out the provisions of section
4 and this section in the most effective and efficient
manner; and
(6) at the request of any Member of the Senate
or the House of Representatives, to prepare and
submit to such Member a study or report relating to
the political activities of any person and consisting
only of the information in the registrations, reports,
and other information comprising the clearinghouse.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—
(1) the terms ‘‘foreign principal’’ and ‘‘agent of
a foreign principal’’ have the meanings given those
terms in section 1 of the Foreign Agents Registra-
tion Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611);
(2) the term ‘‘issue before the Congress’’ means
the total of all matters, both substantive and proce-
dural, relating to—
(A) any pending or proposed bill, resolu-
tion, report, nomination, treaty, hearing, inves-
tigation, or other similar matter in either the
Senate or the House of Representatives or any
committee or office of the Congress; or
(B) any pending action by a Member, offi-
cer, or employee of the Congress to affect, or
attempt to affect, any action or proposed action
by any officer or employee of the executive
branch; and
(3) the term ‘‘issue before the executive
branch’’ means the total of all matters, both sub-
stantive and procedural, relating to any pending ac-
tion by any executive agency, or by any officer or
employee of the executive branch, concerning—
(A) any pending or proposed rule, rule of
practice, adjudication, regulation, determina-
tion, hearing, investigation, contract, grant, li-
cense, negotiation, or the appointment of offi-
cers and employees, other than appointments in
the competitive service; or
(B) any issue before the Congress.