I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4696 
To make certain reforms in lobbying, ethics, and campaign finance laws, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 1, 2006 
Mr. ROGERS of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on 
Government Reform, House Administration, Rules, and Resources, 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 make certain reforms in lobbying, ethics, and campaign 
finance laws, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Restoring Trust in Government Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—LOBBYING REFORM
Sec. 101. Independent commission on lobbying and ethics. 
Sec. 102. Lobbying disclosure reports to be made monthly and online. 
Sec. 103. Criminal penalties for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure re-
quirements. 
Sec. 104. Suspension of floor privileges for former Members and officers who 
are registered lobbyists. 
Sec. 105. Expansion of one-year prohibition on lobbying by senior congressional 
staff to cover lobbying any Member or committee. 
Sec. 106. Four-year prohibition on Federal employees lobbying Congress for 
foreign governments. 
TITLE II—ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS 
Sec. 201. Random audits of Members’ annual financial disclosure statements. 
Sec. 202. Criminal penalties for intentionally misrepresenting facts on financial 
disclosure statement. 
Sec. 203. Independent commission required to affirmatively approve all pri-
vately funded travel by Members and staff. 
Sec. 204. Federal pension revoked if Member or staff is convicted of any Fed-
eral offense related to bribery. 
TITLE III—INDIAN GAMBLING REFORM 
Sec. 301. Indian gambling reform. 
TITLE IV—CLOSING LOOPHOLES IN CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW 
Sec. 401. Treatment of Indian tribes as corporations for purposes of regulation 
of campaign spending. 
Sec. 402. Prohibiting section 527 organizations from disbursing funds for elec-
tioneering communications. 
TITLE I—LOBBYING REFORM 
SEC. 101. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON LOBBYING AND 
ETHICS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established in 
the legislative branch a commission on lobbying and eth-
ics. 
(b) DUTIES.—The duties of the commission shall be 
to carry out this Act and any other duties assigned to the 
commission under law. 
(c) MEMBERS.—The commission shall be composed 
of 4 members appointed as follows:
(1) 1 member appointed by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives. 
(2) 1 member appointed by the minority leader 
of the House of Representatives. 
(3) 1 member appointed by the majority leader 
of the Senate. 
(4) 1 member appointed by the minority leader 
of the Senate. 
(d) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for a 
term of 2 years. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy 
occurring before the expiration of the term for which the 
member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 
only for the remainder of that term. A member may serve 
after the expiration of that member’s term until a suc-
cessor has taken office. A vacancy in the commission shall 
be filled in the manner in which the original appointment 
was made. 
(e) BASIC PAY.—Members shall each be paid no more 
than the maximum annual rate of pay for any employee 
of the House of Representatives whose pay is disbursed 
by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Rep-
resentatives, as set forth under an order of the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives pursuant to the authority 
vested in the Speaker under section 311(a) of the Legisla-
tive Branch Appropriations Act, 1988 (2 U.S.C. 60a–2a).
(f) QUORUM.—3 members of the commission shall 
constitute a quorum but a lesser number may hold hear-
ings. 
(g) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the commis-
sion shall be designated by the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives. 
(h) FEE-BASED FUNDING.—The commission shall, 
under such regulations as the commission may prescribe, 
charge and collect, from persons required to register under 
the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, reasonable fees to 
cover the estimated cost to the commission incident to the 
performance of its duties. The fees authorized by this sub-
section shall, as nearly as practicable, cover the costs of 
the commission incident to its performance of its duties. 
Such fees shall be deposited into a fund which shall be 
available without fiscal year limitation for the expenses of 
the commission incident to performing its duties. 
SEC. 102. LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REPORTS TO BE MADE 
MONTHLY AND ONLINE TO COMMISSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other report 
required by section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604), each registrant under that Act 
shall file a monthly report with the commission established 
under section 101. The report shall cover the lobbying ac-
tivities that relate to Congress. A separate report shall be 
filed for each client of the registrant. 
(b) MANNER OF FILING.—Each report required by 
subsection (a) shall cover a calendar month. It shall be 
filed in electronic form immediately after the end of that 
month. 
(c) CONTENTS.—Each such report shall include all 
the matters specified in section 5(b) of the Lobbying Dis-
closure Act of 1995, except that the report shall cover— 
(1) only the calendar month; and 
(2) only activities that relate to Congress. 
(d) PUBLICATION ONLINE.—Upon receiving a report 
under this section, the commission shall immediately make 
that report available to the public on the Internet. 
SEC. 103. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 
WITH 
LOBBYING 
DISCLOSURE 
REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
Section 7 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 
U.S.C. 1606) is amended by striking ‘‘shall, upon proof’’ 
and inserting ‘‘shall— 
‘‘(A) be fined under title 18, United States 
Code, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both; 
and 
‘‘(B) upon proof’’.
SEC. 
104. 
SUSPENSION 
OF 
FLOOR 
PRIVILEGES 
FOR 
FORMER MEMBERS AND OFFICERS WHO ARE 
REGISTERED LOBBYISTS. 
Clause 4(a) of rule IV of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is amended by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after 
‘‘(1)’’, by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(B)’’, by striking 
the period at the end thereof and inserting ‘‘; or’’, and 
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(2) they are not lobbyists registered under the 
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 or any successor 
statute or lobbyists who, as employees of an organi-
zation, are covered by the registration of any such 
organization under that Act or any successor law.’’. 
SEC. 105. EXPANSION OF ONE-YEAR PROHIBITION ON LOB-
BYING BY SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL STAFF 
TO COVER LOBBYING ANY MEMBER OR COM-
MITTEE. 
Section 207(e) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘or (C)’’; 
(2) by striking paragraph (1)(C); 
(3) in paragaph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘are the fol-
lowing:’’ and all that follows through the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘are any Member, officer, or 
employee of either House of Congress, and any em-