527 Reform Act of 2006

Bill: 109-s-2349
Sponsor: Sen. Lott, Trent [R-MS]
Introduced: 2006-03-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Congress
Subjects: Appropriations
Auditing
Authorization
Campaign funds
Conflict of interests
Congressional Record
Congressional committees (Senate)
Congressional conference committees
Congressional elections
Congressional employees
Congressional ethics
Congressional information resources
Congressional investigations
Congressional officers
Congressional privileges and immunities
Congressional reorganization
Congressional salaries
Congressional travel
Congressional voting
Cost of living adjustments
Data banks
Economics and Public Finance
Electronic data interchange
Employee selection
Employee training
Ex-Members of Congress
Families
Federal aid programs
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Financial disclosure
Foreign agents
Gifts
Government Operations and Politics
Government lending
Government paperwork
Government publicity
House of Representatives
International Affairs
Internet
Judicial officers
Labor and Employment
Law
Legislation
Legislative amendments
Lobbying
Members of Congress
Political parties
Politicians' families
Private aviation
Professional fees
Science, Technology, Communications
Senate
Senate Ethics
Senate rules and procedure
Tax expenditures
Taxation
Transportation and Public Works
Travel costs
Web sites

Summary:
action_date: 2006-03-01
text: 
Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 - Authorizes a point of order by any Senator against consideration of a conference report that includes any matter not committed to the conferees by either chamber.
 
Adds rule XLIV (Earmarks) to the Standing Rules of the Senate to make it out of order to consider any Senate bill, amendment, or conference report, unless a list of all its earmarks, the identity of the Member or Members proposing the earmarks, and an explanation of their essential governmental purpose, along with any associated joint statement of managers, is made available to all Members, and to the general public on the Internet, for at least 24 hours before its consideration.
 
Amends Rule XXVIII (Conference Committee; Reports; Open Meetings) to make it out of order to consider a conference report unless it is available to all Members and the general public on the Internet for at least 24 hours before its consideration.
 
Amends Rule XXIII (Privilege of the Floor) to deny floor privileges (except for ceremonial functions and events) to former Senators and Senators elect, Secretaries, Sergeants at Arms of the Senate, and Speakers of the House of Representatives if they: (1) are registered lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal; or (2) are in the employ of or represent any party or organization for the purpose of influencing, directly, or indirectly, the passage, defeat, or amendment of any legislative proposal.
 
Amends Rule XXXV (Gifts) to exclude gifts from lobbyists from the gift ban exceptions. Allows a Member, officer, or employee to accept a meal or refreshment, however, from a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal, subject to specified monetary limits and disclosure requirements.
 
Requires a Member, officer, or employee, before accepting otherwise permissible transportation or lodging from any person other than a governmental entity, to obtain a written certification from such person (copy to the Select Committee on Ethics) that: (1) the trip was not financed by a registered lobbyist or foreign agent; and (2) the person offering the transportation or lodging did not accept, directly or indirectly, funds from a registered lobbyist or foreign agent specifically earmarked to finance the travel expenses. Prescribes additional disclosure requirements, including certain information regarding noncommercial air travel.
 
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require a publicly available report, in the case of a principal campaign committee of a federal candidate (other than one for President or Vice President), of any flight taken by the candidate on an aircraft not licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate for compensation or hire.
 
Amends Rule XXXVII (Conflict of Interest) to impose a one-year lobbying moratorium, upon leaving such position, on any employee on the staff of a Member or on the staff of a committee meeting specified rate of pay and congressional employment criteria.
 
Prohibits a Senator from directly negotiating or having any arrangement concerning prospective private employment until after the election for his or her successor has been held, unless public disclosure of such employment negotiations and arrangements is provided.
 
Requires a Member to prohibit all of his or her staff from having any official contact with the Member's spouse or immediate family member if such individual is a registered lobbyist or is employed or retained by a registered lobbyist to influence legislation.
 
Amends Rule XLIII (Representation by Members) to prohibit a Member, with the intent to influence on the basis of partisan political affiliation an employment decision or employment practice of any private entity, from: (1) taking or withholding, or offering or threatening to take or withhold, an official act; or (2) influencing, or offering or threatening to influence, the official act of another.
 
Expresses the sense of the Senate that any applicable restrictions on congressional branch employees in this Act should apply to the executive and judicial branches.

action_date: 2006-03-01
text: 

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

 
Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 - (Sec. 2) Authorizes a point of order by any Senator against consideration of a conference report that includes any matter not committed to the conferees by either chamber.
 
Sets forth procedures for consideration of such a point of order.
 
Requires: (1) an affirmative vote of three-fifths (60) of the Members of the Senate to waive or suspend this Act; and (2) the same three-fifths affirmative vote to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under it.
 
(Sec. 3) Adds rule XLIV (Earmarks) to the Standing Rules of the Senate to make it out of order to consider any Senate bill, amendment, or conference report, unless a list of all its earmarks, the identity of the Member or Members proposing the earmarks, and an explanation of their essential governmental purpose, along with any associated joint statement of managers, is made available to all Members, and to the general public on the Internet, for at least 24 hours before its consideration.
 
(Sec. 4) Amends Rule XXVIII (Conference Committee; Reports; Open Meetings) to make it out of order to consider a conference report unless it is available to all Members and the general public on the Internet for at least 24 hours before its consideration.
 
Requires the Secretary of the Senate to develop and establish a website capable of complying with the above requirement.
 
(Sec. 5) Amends Rule XXIII (Privilege of the Floor) to deny floor privileges to former Senators and Senators elect, Secretaries, Sergeants at Arms of the Senate, and Speakers of the House of Representatives if they: (1) are registered lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal; or (2) are in the employ of or represent any party or organization to influence, directly, or indirectly, the passage, defeat, or amendment of any legislative proposal.
 
Authorizes the Committee on Rules and Administration to promulgate regulations exempting ceremonial functions and events designated by the Majority and Minority Leaders from such prohibitions.
 
(Sec. 6) Amends Rule XXXV (Gifts) to exclude gifts from lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal from the gift ban exceptions. Allows a Member, officer, or employee to accept a meal or refreshment, however, from a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal, subject to specified monetary limits in such rule. Requires a Member to list on his or her official website the value of such meals or refreshments and the name of the person who paid for the items within 15 days after their receipt.
 
(Sec. 7) Requires a Member, officer, or employee, before accepting otherwise permissible transportation or lodging from any person other than a governmental entity, to obtain a written certification from such person (copy to the Select Committee on Ethics) that: (1) the trip was not financed by a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal; and (2) the person offering the transportation or lodging did not accept, directly or indirectly, funds from a registered lobbyist or a foreign agent specifically earmarked to finance the travel expenses.
 
Requires an employee also to: (1) provide the Committee with written certified information from his or her supervising Member or officer regarding such trip; and (2) obtain the Committee's prior approval.
 
Requires disclosure to the Committee and the Secretary of a description of meetings and events attended during such travel and the names of any registered lobbyist who accompanied the individual, except when its disclosure is deemed to jeopardize the safety of an individual or adversely affect national security. Requires posting of such information on the Member's official website within 30 days after the completion of the travel, with the same exception.
 
Requires a Member, officer, or employee of the Senate to: (1) disclose a flight on an aircraft that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate for compensation or hire, excluding a flight on an aircraft owned, operated, or leased by a governmental entity, taken in connection with the duties of the individuals as officeholders or Senate officers or employees; and (2) with respect to the flight, file a report with the Secretary, including the date, destination, and owner or lessee of the aircraft, the purpose of the trip, and the persons on the trip, except for any person flying the aircraft.
 
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require the mandatory report, in the case of a principal campaign committee of a federal candidate (other than one for President or Vice President), of any flight taken by the candidate on an aircraft not licensed by the (FAA) to operate for compensation or hire to include the: (1) date of the flight; (2) its designation; (3) the aircraft's owner or lessee; (4) flight's purpose; and (5) persons on such flight, except for the person flying the aircraft.
 
Amends rule XXXV (Gifts) to require the Secretary to make available to the public all disclosures filed pursuant to such travel restrictions under this Act as soon as possible upon their receipt. Requires the disclosures to be posted on the Member's official website within 30 days after the trip or flight.
 
(Sec. 8) Amends Rule XXXVII (Conflict of Interest) to impose a one-year lobbying moratorium, upon leaving such position, on any employee on the staff of a Member or on the staff of a committee whose rate of pay is equal to or greater than 75% of the rate of pay of a Member and is employed at such rate for more than 60 days in a calendar year.
 
 
(Sec. 9) Prohibits a Senator from directly negotiating or having any arrangement concerning prospective private employment until after the election for his or her successor has been held, unless such Member files a statement with the Secretary, for public disclosure, regarding such negotiations and arrangements within three business days after their commencement. Requires inclusion in such a statement: (1) the name of the private entity or entities involved in the negotiations or arrangements; (2) the negotiation or arrangement commencement date; and (3) the signature of the Member.
 
(Sec. 10) Requires a Member to prohibit all of his or her staff from having any official contact with the Member's spouse or immediate family member if such individual is a registered lobbyist or is employed or retained by a registered lobbyist to influence legislation.
 
(Sec. 11) Amends Rule XLIII (Representation by Members) to prohibit a Member, with the intent to influence on the basis of partisan political affiliation an employment decision or employment practice of any private entity, from: (1) taking or withholding, or offering or threatening to take or withhold, an official act; or (2) influencing, or offering or threatening to influence, the official act of another.
 
(Sec. 12) Expresses the sense of the Senate that any applicable restrictions on congressional branch employees in this Act should apply to the executive and judicial branches.
 

action_date: 2006-03-29
text: 

Title I: Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006
 - Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 - (Sec. 102) Authorizes a point of order by any Senator against consideration of a conference report that includes any matter not committed to the conferees by either chamber.
 
Sets forth procedures for consideration of such a point of order.
 
Requires: (1) an affirmative vote of three-fifths (60) of the Members of the Senate to waive or suspend this Act; and (2) the same three-fifths affirmative vote to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under it.
 
(Sec.103) Adds rule XLIV (Earmarks) to the Standing Rules of the Senate to make it out of order to consider any Senate bill, amendment, or conference report, unless a list of all its earmarks, the identity of the Member or Members proposing the earmarks, and an explanation of their essential governmental purpose, along with any associated joint statement of managers, is made available to all Members, and to the general public on the Internet, for at least 24 hours before its consideration.
 
(Sec. 104) Amends Rule XXVIII (Conference Committee; Reports; Open Meetings) to make it out of order to consider a conference report unless it is available to all Members and the general public on the Internet for at least 24 hours before its consideration.
 
Requires the Secretary of the Senate to develop and establish a website capable of complying with this requirement.
 
(Sec. 105) Amends Rule XXIII (Privilege of the Floor) to deny floor privileges to former Senators and Senators elect, Secretaries, Sergeants at Arms of the Senate, and Speakers of the House of Representatives if they: (1) are registered lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal; or (2) are in the employ of or represent any party or organization to influence, directly, or indirectly, the passage, defeat, or amendment of any legislative proposal.
 
Authorizes the Committee on Rules and Administration to promulgate regulations exempting from such prohibitions any ceremonial functions and events designated by the Majority and Minority Leaders.
 
(Sec. 106) Amends Rule XXXV (Gifts) to exclude gifts from lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal from the gift ban exceptions.
 
(Sec. 107) Requires a Member, officer, or employee, before accepting otherwise permissible transportation or lodging from any person other than a governmental entity, to obtain a written certification from such person (copy to the Select Committee on Ethics) that: (1) the trip was not financed by a registered lobbyist or foreign agent; (2) the person offering the transportation or lodging did not accept, directly or indirectly, funds from a registered lobbyist or a foreign agent specifically earmarked to finance the travel expenses; (3) the trip was not planned, organized, or arranged by or at the request of a registered lobbyist or foreign agent; and (4) registered lobbyists will not participate in or attend the trip.
 
Requires an employee also to: (1) provide the Committee with written certified information from his or her supervising Member or officer regarding such trip; and (2) obtain the Committee's prior approval.
 
Requires disclosure to the Committee and the Secretary of a description of meetings and events attended during such travel and the names of any registered lobbyist who accompanied the individual, except when its disclosure is deemed to jeopardize the safety of an individual or adversely affect national security. Requires posting of such information on the Member's official website within 30 days after the completion of the travel, with the same exception.
 
Requires a Member, officer, or employee of the Senate to: (1) disclose a flight taken in connection with official duties on an aircraft that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate for compensation or hire, excluding a flight on an aircraft owned, operated, or leased by a governmental entity; and (2) report to the Secretary specified information about the trip, including its purpose and the persons on the trip (except the pilot).
 
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require the same kind of report on such a flight by a principal campaign committee of a federal candidate (other than one for President or Vice President).
 
Amends Rule XXXV (Gifts) to require the Secretary to make available to the public all disclosures filed pursuant to such travel restrictions under this Act as soon as possible upon their receipt. Requires the disclosures to be posted on the Member's official website within 30 days after the trip or flight.
 
(Sec. 108) Amends Rule XXXVII (Conflict of Interest) to impose a one-year lobbying moratorium, upon leaving such position, on any employee on the staff of a Member or on the staff of a committee whose rate of pay is equal to or greater than 75% of a Member's pay rate, and is employed at such rate for more than 60 days in a calendar year.
 
(Sec. 109) Prohibits a Senator from directly negotiating or having any arrangement concerning prospective private employment until after the election for his or her successor has been held, unless such Member files a statement with the Secretary, for public disclosure, regarding such negotiations and arrangements within three business days after their commencement. Requires inclusion in such a statement of: (1) the name of the private entity or entities involved in the negotiations or arrangements; (2) the commencement date; and (3) the Member's signature.
 
(Sec. 110) Requires a Member to prohibit all of his or her staff from having any official contact with the Member's spouse or immediate family member if such individual is a registered lobbyist or is employed or retained by a registered lobbyist to influence legislation.
 
(Sec. 111) Amends Rule XLIII (Representation by Members) to prohibit a Member, with the intent to influence on the basis of partisan political affiliation an employment decision or employment practice of any private entity, from: (1) taking or withholding, or offering or threatening to take or withhold, an official act; or (2) influencing, or offering or threatening to influence, the official act of another.
 
(Sec. 112) Expresses the sense of the Senate that any applicable restrictions on congressional branch employees in this Act should apply to the executive and judicial branches.
 
(Sec. 113) Prohibits cost-of-living (COLA) adjustments for Members of Congress from being paid to a Member who voted for any amendment (or against its tabling) that provided that such adjustment would not be made.
 
Requires such unpaid amount to be transmitted to the Treasury for deposit in the appropriations account under the subheading &quot;Medical Services&quot; under the heading &quot;Veterans Health Administation.&quot; 
 
Deems: (1) the salary of any Member of Congress to whom this section applies to be the salary in effect after such application; and (2) except for purposes of determining any benefit (including any retirement or insurance benefit), the salary of such Member to be the salary he or she would have received, but for this prohibition.
 
(Sec. 114) Allows the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate or their designees to recognize a notice of intent of a Senator who is a member of their caucus to object to proceeding to a measure or matter only if the Senator: (1) submits such notice in writing to the appropriate leader (or designee); and (2) within three session days afterwards submits a similar notice for inclusion in the Congressional Record and in the applicable calendar.
 
Requires the Secretary of the Senate to establish, for both the Senate Calendar of Business and the Senate Executive Calendar, a separate section entitled &quot;Notices of Intent to Object to Proceeding,&quot; containing the name of each Senator filing the notice, the measure or matter the Senator objects to, and the date the objection was filed. Authorizes a Senator to have such an item removed from a calendar upon submitting to the Congressional Record a statement of non-objection to the proceeding.
 

Title II: Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006
 - Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 - 
Subtitle A: Enhancing Lobbying Disclosure
 - (Sec. 211) Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) to require: (1) quarterly instead of semiannual filing of lobbying disclosure reports; (2) an annual report on registered lobbyists' federal election-related political contributions; (3) maintenance of certain lobbying disclosure information in an electronic database, available to the public free of charge over the Internet; (4) disclosure by registered lobbyists of all past executive and congressional employment; and (5) disclosure of registered lobbyists' payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses of covered legislative and executive branch officials.
 
(Sec. 216) Increases from $50,000 to $100,000 the penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements.
 
(Sec. 217) Revises requirements for the contents of lobbyist registrations, particularly disclosure of the identity of any organization, other than the client, that contributes over $10,000 toward the registrant's lobbying activities in a semiannual period, and participates in a substantial way (currently, in whole or in major part) in the planning, supervision, or control of such lobbying activities. Waives such disclosure if it is publicly available knowledge that the organization is affiliated with the client, or has been publicly disclosed to have provided funding to the client, unless the organization in whole or in major part plans, supervises or controls such lobbying activities.
 
Provides that nothing in such disclosure requirement shall be construed to require disclosure of any information about individuals who are members of, or donors to, an entity treated as a client or its identified organization.
 
(Sec. 218) Requires the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives to provide, semiannually, to specified congressional committees the aggregate number of lobbyists and lobbying firms, separately accounted, referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for LDA noncompliance.
 
Requires the U.S. Attorney to report, semiannually, to such committees on the aggregate number of enforcement actions taken by the Attorney's office under the LDA and the amount of fines, if any, by case, but not the names of individuals or personally identifiable information.
 
(Sec. 219) Requires mandatory lobbyist reports to be filed electronically, in addition to any other form required. Requires the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House to use the same electronic software for receipt amd recording of such filings.
 
(Sec. 220) Includes among lobbying activities any paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying, but excludes grassroots lobbying itself.
 
Defines &quot;grassroots lobbying&quot; as the voluntary efforts of members of the general public to communicate their own views on an issue to federal officials or to encourage other members of the general public to do the same.
 
Defines &quot;grassroots lobbying firm&quot; as a person or entity that: (1) is retained by one or more clients to engage in paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying on behalf of such clients; (2) directs such paid efforts at 500 or more members of the general public; and (3) receives income of, or spends or agrees to spend, an aggregate of $25,000 or more for such efforts in any quarterly period.
 
Excludes paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying from the exemption from the registration requirement (thus, requiring LDA registration for such activities, regardless of low income or expenses).
 
Requires registration of a grassroots lobbying firm within 45 days after it is first retained by a client to engage in paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying.
 
Modifies requirements for the contents of reports by a registered lobbying firm or individual to require a separate good faith estimate of total income or expenses relating to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying (including advertising).
 
Exempts reports relating to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying activities from LDA requirements for: (1) a statement about the chambers of Congress and federal agencies contacted by lobbyists employed by the registrant on behalf of the client; and (2) a list of the registrant's employees who acted as lobbyists on behalf of the client.
 
Modifies requirements for the estimate of income or expenses of registered lobbyists to specify different requirements for estimates relating to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying.
 
Revises requirements for such estimates based on the tax reporting system with respect to such paid efforts.
 
(Sec. 221) Amends the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to require mandatory registration statements or updates to be filed electronically, in addition to any other form that may be required by the Attorney General.
 
Requires the Attorney General to maintain an electronic database, available to the public free of charge over the Internet, that: (1) includes the information contained in registration statements and updates filed under FARA; (2) directly links such information to the information disclosed in reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC); and (3) is searchable and sortable, at a minimum, by each of the categories described in the registration statements.
 
Requires electronic statements and updates to be made available for public inspection over the Internet within 48 hours after such information is filed.
 

Subtitle B: Oversight of Ethics and Lobbying
 - (Sec. 231) Requires the Comptroller General to audit and report to Congress annually on lobbying registration and reports for LDA compliance or noncompliance by lobbyists and their clients.
 
(Sec. 232) Requires the Select Committee on Ethics to conduct ongoing ethics training and awareness programs for Members of the Senate and Senate staff.
 
(Sec. 233) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the lobbying community should develop proposals for multiple self-regulatory organizations which could provide for: (1) creation of standards for the organizations appropriate to the type of lobbying and individuals to be served; (2) training for the lobbying community on law, ethics, reporting requirements, and disclosure requirements; (3) development of educational materials for the public on how to hire a lobbyist or lobby firm responsibly; (4) standards regarding reasonable fees to clients; (5) creation of a third-party certification program that includes ethics training; and (6) disclosure of requirements to clients regarding fee schedules and conflict of interest rules.
 
(Sec. 234) Requires the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics each to report annually on alleged ethics violations and complaints.
 

Subtitle C: Slowing the Revolving Door
 - (Sec. 241) Amends the federal criminal code to extend from one to two years the ban on lobbying contacts by former very senior executive personnel, former Members of Congress, and officers of the legislative branch with any Member, officer, or employee of the entity in which such person served before his or her tenure terminated.
 
Prohibits former employees of either chamber of Congress, within one year after leaving office, from making lobbying contacts with a Member, officer, or employee of either chamber. Exempts contacts with staff of the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House regarding compliance with LDA lobbying disclosure requirements.
 

Subtitle D: Ban on Provision of Gifts or Travel by Lobbyists in Violation of the Rules of Congress
 - (Sec. 251) Amends the LDA to prohibit a registered lobbyist from knowingly making a gift or providing travel to a Member, officer, or employee of Congress, unless the gift or travel may be accepted under the rules of the House or the Senate.
 
Subjects lobbyists to LDA penalties for violating this ban.
 

Subtitle E: Commission to Strengthen Confidence in Congress Act of 2006
 - Commission to Strengthen Confidence in Congress Act of 2006 - (Sec. 262) Establishes in the legislative branch the Commission to Strengthen Confidence in Congress to evaluate and report to Congress on congressional ethics requirements and to recommend improvements to ethical safeguards.
 
(Sec. 270) Authorizes appropriations.

action_date: 2006-05-23
text: 
Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 - 527 Reform Act of 2006 - 
Title I: Enhancing Lobbying Disclosure
 - (Sec. 101) Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) to require: (1) quarterly instead of semiannual filing of lobbying disclosures reports; (2) electronic filing; and (3) maintenance of certain lobbying disclosure information in an electronic data base, available to the public free of charge over the Internet.
 
(Sec. 104) Extends from two years to seven years before the first date of acting as a lobbyist the look-back period for mandatory registration disclosure by a registered lobbyist of service by any of its employees as a covered executive or legislative branch official.
 
(Sec. 105) Requires registered lobbyists to include in their mandatory semiannual reports specified information about any contributions to federal candidates or related committees, gifts to covered legislative branch officials, and funds contributed to an entity named for, established, financed, maintained, or controlled by a covered legislative branch official. Exempts from this reporting requirement any payments or reimbursements made from funds already required to be reported under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971(FECA).
 
(Sec. 106) Increases from $50,000 to $100,000 the civil penalty for knowing failure to remedy a defective lobbyist filing or comply with any LDA requirement.
 
Amends the federal criminal code to establish criminal penalties of fines or imprisonment for up to: (1) three years for knowing and willful failure to comply with LDA requirements; or (2) five years for knowing, willful, and corrupt failure to do so.
 
(Sec. 107) Subjects registered lobbyists, employees, and clients to civil penalties of up to $50,000 for offering gifts to a covered legislative branch official of the House in knowing violation of House rules.
 

Title II: Slowing the Revolving Door
 - (Sec. 201) Amends the federal criminal code to require former Members of the House, officers, or employees to be notified of certain post-employment restrictions.
 
(Sec. 202) Amends the Code of Official Conduct to require public disclosure by Members of the House of employment negotiations. Urges them to refrain from voting on any pending legislative measure if such negotiation creates a conflict of interest.
 
(Sec. 203) Amends the Code to prohibit a Member, officer, or employee of the House from wrongfully influencing, on a partisan basis, an entity's employment decisions or practices.
 

Title III: Suspension of Privately-Funded Travel; Curbing Lobbyists Gifts
 - (Sec. 301) Prohibits Members, officers or employees of the House from accepting a gift of travel (including any transportation, lodging, and meals during such travel) from any private source unless the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Committee) pre-certifies in writing that such travel complies with House rules and standards of conduct.
 
(Sec. 302) Requires the Committee to report its recommendations to the House Committee on Rules on changes to Rule XXV (Limitations on Outside Earned Income and Acceptance of Gifts) of the Rules of the House regarding exceptions to such Rule.
 
(Sec. 303) Prohibits registered lobbyists from traveling on flights as passengers or crew members of aircrafts not licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate for compensation or hire (corporate flights), if a Member, officer, or employee is a passenger or crew member on such flights.
 
(Sec. 304) Amends Rule XXV to declare that a gift of a ticket to a sporting or entertainment event shall be the face value of the ticket, or equivalent.
 

Title IV: Oversight of Lobbying and Enforcement
 - (Sec. 401) Requires the Office of Inspector General of the House (OIG) to: (1) have access to all lobbyists' disclosure information received by the Clerk of the House; and (2) randomly audit such information to ensure LDA compliance.
 
Authorizes the OIG to refer potential violations by lobbyists of LDA to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for disciplinary action.
 
(Sec. 402) Requires the Inspector General to review on an ongoing basis, and report annually to Congress about, the lobbyist registration and disclosure enforcement activities of the Clerk of the House.
 

Title V: Institutional Reforms
 - (Sec. 501) Makes it out of order to consider appropriations measures containing earmarks if the legislation, its accompanying reports, or managers' joint explanatory statements do not list such earmarks or name the requesting Members.
 
(Sec. 502) Amends Rule II (Other Officers and Officials) of the Rules of the House to prohibit the Chief Administrative Officer from paying compensation to House employees for any pay period during which the employee is not in compliance with the applicable requirements of regulations promulgated pursuant to Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business).
 
Amends such Rule XI to require the Committee to establish a program of regular ethics training for House employees and promulgate related regulations.
 
(Sec. 503) Requires the Committee to publish biennially an up-to-date ethics manual for Members, officers, and employees.
 

Title VI: Forfeiture of Retirement Benefits
 - (Sec. 601) Amends federal civil service law regarding the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) to exclude from retirement accounting any service as a Member of Congress of an individual finally convicted of a felony involving bribery of public officials and witnesses, conspiracy to commit an offense or to defraud the United States, or acting as an agent of a foreign principal. Entitles such individual, all the same, to so much of his or her lump-sum credit as is attributable to such service.
 

Title VII: Leadership PACS
 - (Sec. 701) Amends FECA to permit a leadership political action committee (PAC) to use its funds for: (1) otherwise authorized expenditures in connection with campaigns for election for federal office; (2) tax deductible charitable contributions; and (3) transfers to a national, state, or local committee of a political party (subject to applicable FECA limitations).
 
Defines leadership PAC as a political committee directly or indirectly established, maintained, or controlled by a candidate for federal office or an individual holding federal office, but which is not an authorized committee of the candidate or individual. Excludes from the meaning of leadership PAC, however, any political committee of a political party.
 

Title VIII: Ethics Training for Lobbyists
 - (Sec. 801) Requires the Committee, during each Congress, to provide an eight-hour ethics training course to registered lobbyists.
 
Subjects registered lobbyists who fail to complete such course at least once during each Congress to LDA penalties to the same extent as for LDA noncompliance.
 

Title IX: Miscellaneous Provisions
 - (Sec. 901) Amends the federal criminal code subjecting individuals to fines and penalties for bribery of public officials and witnesses to include as an &quot;official act&quot; (which might be influenced in violation of such law) any decision or action on an earmark.
 

Title X: 527 Reform Act of 2006
 - 527 Reform Act of 2006 - (Sec. 1002) Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to include in the definition of political committee any applicable 527 organization. (Thus subjects such organizations to the requirements of the Act. A 527 organization, as defined by section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, is an organization, not controlled by or involving a particular candidate for office, whose function is to influence or attempt to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to any federal, state, or local public office or office in a political organization, or the election of presidential or vice-presidential electors, whether or not such individual or electors are selected, nominated, elected, or appointed.) Requires the organization to give notice to the Secretary of the Treasury under section 527 that it is to be treated as an organization described in section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code.
 
Excepts from the definition of 527 organization under FECA a committee, club, association, or other group of persons (organization) which: (1) is a 527 organization under the Internal Revenue Code; (2) is organized, operated, and makes disbursements exclusively for paying certain tax-deductible business expenses or expenses of a certain kind of political newsletter fund; (3) consists solely of candidates for or individuals holding state or local office, but only if the organization refers only to one or more nonfederal candidates or applicable state or local issues in all of its voter drive activities, without reference to any federal candidate; or (4) whose election or nomination activities relate exclusively to elections where no candidate for federal office appears on the ballot, or to influencing the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of one or more candidates to nonfederal offices or individuals to non-elected offices, or influencing one or more applicable state or local issues.
 
Denies the treatment of any such organization as meeting such exclusivity requirement if it makes disbursements aggregating more than $1,000 for: (1) a public communication that promotes, supports, attacks, or opposes a clearly identified candidate for federal office during the one year period ending on the date of the general election for the office sought by the candidate (or if a runoff election is held with respect to such general election, on the date of the runoff election); and (2) any voter drive activity during a calendar year, except a drive in only one state with no reference to federal office candidates.
 
(Sec. 1003) Sets forth rules for allocation and funding for certain expenses relating to federal and nonfederal activities, including payments of 100% or 50% from a federal account in several specified circumstances. Limits individual donations to a political committee that is a separate segregated fund or nonconnected committee to an annual aggregate of $25,000 for its qualified nonfederal account.
 
(Sec. 1004) Repeals the limit on the amount of party expenditures on behalf of candidates in general elections. Raises the limits for House and Senate candidates facing wealthy opponents.
 
(Sec. 1006) Prescribes special rules for actions brought for declaratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitutionality of any provision of this Act. Requires such an action to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and to be heard by a three-judge panel. Makes any final decision by the panel reviewable only by the U.S. Supreme Court. Authorizes Members of Congress to: (1) bring an action challenging the constitutionality of this Act; and (2) intervene in any action in which the constitutionality of any provision of this Act is raised. Applies such special rules only to actions brought on or before December 31, 2008.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: Senate disagreed to House amendments, requested a conference, and appointed conferees. Lott; Stevens; McConnell; Dodd; Inouye. (consideration: CR S5027)
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House amendments to Senate bill.
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: A similar measure H.R. 4975 was laid on the table without objection.
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: On passage Passed without objection. (text: CR H3033-3038)
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed without objection.(text: CR H3033-3038)
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: The House struck all after the enacting clause and inserted in lieu thereof the provisions of a similar measure H.R. 4975. Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: Considered by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR H3032-3039)
action_date: 2006-05-23
text: Mr. Hastings (WA) asked unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table and consider.
action_date: 2006-03-30
text: Held at the desk.
action_date: 2006-03-30
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2006-03-30
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2006-03-29
text: Passed Senate with amendments by Yea-Nay Vote. 90 - 8. Record Vote Number: 82.
action_date: 2006-03-29
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with amendments by Yea-Nay Vote. 90 - 8. Record Vote Number: 82.
action_date: 2006-03-29
text: Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S2490-2511)
action_date: 2006-03-28
text: Upon reconsideration, cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 81 - 16. Record Vote Number: 79. (consideration: CR S2460; text: CR S2460)
action_date: 2006-03-28
text: Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S2439-2440, S2441-2460)
action_date: 2006-03-09
text: Motion by Senator Frist to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked [Record Vote Number 36] entered in Senate. (consideration: CR S1944)
action_date: 2006-03-09
text: Cloture on the bill not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 51 - 47. Record Vote Number: 36. (consideration: CR S1944)
action_date: 2006-03-09
text: Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S1944-1945)
action_date: 2006-03-08
text: Cloture motion on the bill presented in Senate. (consideration: CR S1881; text: CR S1881)
action_date: 2006-03-08
text: Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S1861-1881)
action_date: 2006-03-06
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S1762-1775, S1781)
action_date: 2006-03-01
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 367.
action_date: 2006-03-01
text: Committee on Rules and Administration. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Lott. Without written report.
action_date: 2006-03-01
text: Committee on Rules and Administration. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Lott. Without written report.
action_date: 2006-03-01
text: Introduced in Senate
action_date: 2006-02-28
text: Committee on Rules and Administration ordered to be reported an original measure.