I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3554 
To provide greater controls and restrictions on revolving door lobbying. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 21, 2025 
Mr. NEGUSE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide greater controls and restrictions on revolving door 
lobbying. 
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 ‘‘Close the Revolving 
Door Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. LIFETIME BAN ON MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FROM 
LOBBYING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 207(e)(1) of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) MEMBERS
OF
CONGRESS.—Any person 
who is a Senator, a Member of the House of Rep-
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resentatives, or an elected officer of the Senate or 
the House of Representatives and who, after that 
person leaves office, knowingly makes, with the in-
tent to influence, any communication to or appear-
ance before any Member, officer, or employee of ei-
ther House of Congress or any employee of any 
other legislative office of the Congress, on behalf of 
any other person (except the United States) in con-
nection with any matter on which such former Sen-
ator, Member, or elected official seeks action by a 
Member, officer, or employee of either House of 
Congress, in his or her official capacity, shall be 
punished as provided in section 216 of this title.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 207(e)(2) 
of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OFFICERS AND 
STAFF’’ and inserting ‘‘STAFF’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘an elected officer of the Senate, 
or’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘leaves office or employment’’ 
and inserting ‘‘leaves employment’’; and 
(4) by striking ‘‘former elected officer or’’. 
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SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL STAFF. 
Paragraphs (2), (3)(A), (4), (5)(A), and (6)(A) of 
section 207(e) of title 18, United States Code, are each 
amended by striking ‘‘1 year’’ and inserting ‘‘6 years’’. 
SEC. 4. IMPROVED REPORTING OF LOBBYISTS’ ACTIVITIES. 
Section 6 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 
U.S.C. 1605) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) JOINT WEBSITE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Sen-
ate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives 
shall maintain a joint lobbyist disclosure internet 
database for information required to be publicly dis-
closed under this Act which shall be an easily 
searchable website called lobbyists.gov with a stated 
goal of simplicity of usage. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this subsection $100,000 for fiscal year 2026.’’. 
SEC. 5. LOBBYIST REVOLVING DOOR TO CONGRESS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘foreign principal’’ has the mean-
ing given that term under section 1(b) of the For-
eign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended 
(22 U.S.C. 611(b)); 
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(2) the terms ‘‘lobbyist’’ and ‘‘lobbying contact’’ 
have the meanings given such terms under section 3 
of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1602); and 
(3) the term ‘‘registered lobbyist’’ means a lob-
byist registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 
(b) PROHIBITION.—Any person who is a registered 
lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal may not, within 
6 years after that person leaves such position, be hired 
by a Member or committee of either House of Congress 
with whom the registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign 
principal has had substantial lobbying contact. 
(c) WAIVER.—This section may be waived in the Sen-
ate or the House of Representatives by the Select Com-
mittee on Ethics of the Senate or the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representa-
tives, respectively, based on a compelling national need. 
(d) SUBSTANTIAL LOBBYING CONTACT.—For pur-
poses of this section, in determining whether a registered 
lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal has had substantial 
lobbying contact within the applicable period of time, a 
Member or committee of either House of Congress shall 
take into consideration whether the individual’s lobbying 
contacts have pertained to pending legislative business, or 
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related to solicitation of an earmark or other Federal 
funding, particularly if such contacts included the coordi-
nation of meetings with the Member or committee, in-
volved presentations to employees of the Member or com-
mittee, or participation in fundraising (except for the mere 
giving of a personal contribution). Simple social contacts 
with the Member or committee of either House of Con-
gress and staff, shall not by themselves constitute substan-
tial lobbying contacts. 
SEC. 6. REPORTING BY SUBSTANTIAL LOBBYING ENTITIES. 
The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 6 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 6A. REPORTING BY SUBSTANTIAL LOBBYING ENTI-
TIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A substantial lobbying entity 
shall file on an annual basis with the Clerk of the House 
of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate a list 
of each employee of, individual under contract with, or in-
dividual who provides paid consulting services to the sub-
stantial lobbying entity who is— 
‘‘(1) a former Senator or a former Member of 
the House of Representatives; or 
‘‘(2) another covered legislative branch official 
who— 
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‘‘(A) was paid not less than $100,000 in 
any 1 year as a covered legislative branch offi-
cial; 
‘‘(B) worked for a total of not less than 4 
years as a covered legislative branch official; or 
‘‘(C) had a job title at any time while em-
ployed as a covered legislative branch official 
that contained any of the following terms: 
‘Chief of Staff’, ‘Legislative Director’, ‘Staff 
Director’, ‘Counsel’, ‘Professional Staff Mem-
ber’, ‘Communications Director’, or ‘Press Sec-
retary’. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS
OF FILING.—The filing required 
under this section shall contain a brief job description of 
each individual described in subsection (a) and an expla-
nation of their work experience under subsection (a) that 
requires this filing. 
‘‘(c) IMPROVED REPORTING OF SUBSTANTIAL LOB-
BYING ENTITIES.—The joint website being maintained by 
the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 
of Representatives, known as lobbyists.gov, shall include 
an easily searchable, sortable, and downloadable database 
with an Application Programming Interface (API) or simi-
lar feature entitled ‘Substantial Lobbying Entities’ that 
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includes information on all individuals described in sub-
section (a). 
‘‘(d) LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT.—The Clerk 
of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the 
Senate shall provide a copy of each filing under subsection 
(a) to the United States Attorney for the District of Co-
lumbia, to allow the United States Attorney for the Dis-
trict of Columbia to determine whether a substantial lob-
bying entity is underreporting the lobbying activities of its 
employees, individuals under contract, or individuals who 
provide paid consulting services. 
‘‘(e) SUBSTANTIAL LOBBYING ENTITY.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘substantial lobbying entity’ means an incor-
porated entity that employs more than 3 registered lobby-
ists during a filing period.’’. 
SEC. 7. ENHANCED PENALTIES. 
Section 7(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 
(2 U.S.C. 1606(a)) is amended, in the matter following 
paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$200,000’’ and inserting 
‘‘$500,000’’. 
Æ 
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