Project Curia

← All seven reforms

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.

5 of 536 members/1% of Congress documented as supporting this reform

Breakdown/2 D·3 R

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. Member scoring on this reform draws on cosponsorship of prior-Congress bills that did match the criterion.

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.

Also crediting cosponsors of prior versions

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.

How members will be scored

Recorded as supporting if they are a cosponsor of the Fighting Foreign Influence Act or an equivalent bill that covers all foreign governments (not just the five adversary nations).

Where Congress stands.

5 of 536 members of Congress have a recorded position supporting this reform (cosponsorship or sponsorship of one of the listed bills).

Delaware

District of Columbia

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