Lobbying Disclosure Improvement push to increase foreign influence scrutiny advanced by Senate

The Lobbying Disclosure Improvement Act (S.B. 4893), introduced by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), passed through the Senate by unanimous vote last week, bolstering efforts to increase oversight of foreign lobbying to the House.

“Foreign influence in our nation’s political process presents a serious national security threat,” Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said. “This bipartisan bill will shine a light on nefarious foreign lobbying practices and ensure that the government is working in the best interest of Americans and Michiganders – not our foreign adversaries.”

The bipartisan authors cited China and Russia in particular as targets, but overall, the legislation would increase scrutiny of all lobbyists working for foreign governments and political parties from exploiting Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) provisions. Under that existing law, the Lobbying Disclosure Act registrants working for foreign people or organizations are exempt from registering under FARA.

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant when it comes to the people’s business,” Grassley said. “We ought to always push for the greatest transparency possible, especially when it involves those trying to influence policy in our country on behalf of a foreign power. This bipartisan bill addresses a loophole that some people lobbying on behalf of a foreign interest have used to avoid registering as a foreign agent.”

Under the new bill, all Lobbying Disclosure Act registrants would have to indicate if they were taking advantage of the FARA exemption and be punishable for lies. This would allow the Department of Justice to concentrate its efforts on finding potential violations and avoid additional burdens for the majority of registrants.