PAID OFF Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-434
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2023-02-15
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-02-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text: CR S427)

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-02-15
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Preventing Adversary Influence, Disinformation, and Obscured Foreign Financing Act of 2023 or the PAID OFF Act of 2023</b></p> <p>This bill requires certain persons to register as agents of a foreign principal if the foreign principal in question is China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, or Syria.</p> <p>Currently, the Foreign Agents Registration Act exempts certain agents from the act's registration requirements, including agents (1) engaged only in private and nonpolitical activities to advance a foreign principal's bona fide trade or commerce interests, or (2) engaged in certain lobbying activities and where the agent has registered as a lobbyist. Under this bill, these exemptions shall not apply if the foreign principal is one of the countries specified in this bill.</p> <p>The changes made by this bill shall expire on October 1, 2026.</p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 434 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 15, 2023 Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse , Mr. Grassley , Mr. Rubio , Mr. Hagerty , Mr. Risch , and Mrs. Fischer ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, to modify requirements under that Act relating to exemptions, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preventing Adversary Influence, Disinformation, and Obscured Foreign Financing Act of 2023 or the PAID OFF Act of 2023 . 2. Treatment of exemptions under FARA (a) Definition Section 1 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended ( 22 U.S.C. 611 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (q) The term country of concern means— (1) the People's Republic of China; (2) the Russian Federation; (3) the Islamic Republic of Iran; (4) the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; (5) the Republic of Cuba; and (6) the Syrian Arab Republic. . (b) Exemptions Section 3 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended ( 22 U.S.C. 613 ), is amended, in the matter preceding subsection (a), by inserting , except that the exemptions under subsections (d)(1) and (h) shall not apply to any agent of a foreign principal that is a country of concern before the colon. (c) Sunset The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall terminate on October 1, 2026.