Reform No. 07
Stop Lobbying for Foreign Governments
Bar former members of Congress, senior executive officials, and retired flag officers from registering as agents of foreign governments.
of sitting members with prior-Congress cosponsorship on record
5 of 539 members
All 5 records are cosponsorships of prior-Congress bills. This reform is not in the six-reform tally.
Voter figures: U. of Maryland PPC, June 2022. A dash means the survey did not break out that group.
No current vehicle in the 119th Congress
No bill currently before the 119th Congress carries the full reform as written. Bills exist that touch the same problem area, and those are listed below under Related bills not counted with the reason each one falls short. Matching prior-Congress cosponsorship remains visible as historical evidence, but this reform is not included in the six-reform member tally.
Related bills not counted
CLEAR Path Act
Senate ·S 2132
Narrow by design: it covers former senior executive officials only (no former members of Congress, no retired flag officers) and only bars lobbying for five adversary nations (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba). The reform asks for a bar covering all three classes of officials and all foreign governments.
Think Tank and Nonprofit Foreign Influence Disclosure Act
House ·HR 3966
Requires think tanks to disclose foreign-government donations but does not bar any former official from registering as a foreign agent. Addresses one piece of the broader Fighting Foreign Influence Act without the registration bar itself.
What it does
The Fighting Foreign Influence Act would bar former members of Congress, senior executive-branch officials, and retired generals and admirals from ever registering as agents of any foreign government, and require American think tanks to disclose large gifts from foreign governments.
The narrower CLEAR Path Act (Cornyn / Welch) covers only China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba, leaving out the two governments that have hired the most former American lawmakers, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The prior-Congress record.
Select a state on the map, or search for your representative, to see each member’s prior record.