To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit former Members of Congress from engaging in lobbying contacts.
Bill: H.R.4947 | Sponsor: Rep. Cicilline, David N. (D-RI)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
This bill revises post-employment lobbying restrictions on former Members of Congress.
Specifically, it makes permanent the post-employment lobbying ban on a former Member of the Senate (currently, two years) or a former Member of the House of Representatives (currently, one year).

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit former Members of 
              Congress from engaging in lobbying contacts.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON LOBBYING CONTACTS BY FORMER MEMBERS OF 
              CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Section 207(e) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended as follows:
            (1) Paragraph (1) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) Members of congress.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any person who is a Senator or a 
                Member of the House of Representatives and who, after 
                that person leaves office, knowingly makes any lobbying 
                contact to a covered executive branch official, or to 
                any Member, officer, or employee of either House of 
                Congress, shall be punished as provided in section 216 
                of this title.
                    ``(B) Definitions.--In this paragraph, the terms 
                `lobbying contact' and `covered executive branch 
                official' have the meanings given those terms in 
                section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 
                U.S.C. 1602).''.
            (2) Paragraph (2) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``(2) Any person'' and inserting 
                the following:
            ``(2) Officers and certain staff.--
                    ``(A) Officers and staff of the senate.--Any 
                person''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Officers of the house of representatives.--
                (i) Any person who is an elected officer of the House 
                of Representatives and who, within 1 year after that 
                person leaves office, knowingly makes, with the intent 
                to influence, any communication to or appearance before 
                any of the persons described in clause (ii), on behalf 
                of any other person (except the United States) in 
                connection with any matter on which such elected 
                officer 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.
                    ``(ii) The persons referred to in clause (i) with 
                respect to appearances or communications by a former 
                elected officer are any Member, officer, or employee of 
                the House of Representatives.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to individuals who leave office or employment to which such 
amendments apply on or after the date of adjournment of the second 
session of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress sine die or December 
31, 2021, whichever date is earlier.
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