II
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3272
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 28, 2010
Mr. Bennet introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
A BILL
To provide greater controls and restrictions on revolving door lobbying.
Short title
This Act may be cited as
the Close the Revolving Door Act of
2010
.
Lifetime ban on Members of Congress from lobbying
In general
Section 207(e)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
Members of Congress
Any person who is a Senator, a Member of the House of Representatives or an elected officer of the Senate or the House of Representatives and who after that person leaves office, knowingly makes, with the intent to influence, any communication to or appearance before any Member, officer, or employee of either House of Congress or any employee of any other legislative office of the Congress, on behalf of any other person (except the United States) in connection with any matter on which such former Senator, Member, or elected official seeks action by a Member, officer, or employee of either House of Congress, in his or her official capacity, shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this title.
.
Conforming amendment
Section 207(e)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
in the caption,
by striking Officers and staff
and inserting
Staff
; and
by striking
an elected officer of the Senate, or
.
Congressional staff
Paragraphs (2), (3),
(4), (5)(A), and (6)(A) of section 207(e) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by striking 1 year
and inserting 6
years
.
Improved reporting of lobbyists activities
Section 6 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is amended by inserting at the end the following:
Joint web site
In general
The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall maintain a joint lobbyist disclosure Internet database for information required to be publicly disclosed under this Act which shall be an easily searchable Web site called lobbyists.gov with a stated goal of simplicity of usage.
Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $100,000 for fiscal year 2011.
.
Lobbyist revolving door to Congress
In general
Any person who is a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal may not within 6 years after that person leaves such position be hired by a Member or committee of either House of Congress with whom the registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal has had substantial lobbying contact.
Waiver
This section may be waived in the Senate or the House of Representatives by the Committee on Ethics or the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct based on a compelling national need.
Substantial lobbying contact
For purposes of this section, in determining whether a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal has had substantial lobbying contact within the applicable period of time, the Member or committee of either House of Congress shall take into consideration whether the individual's lobbying contacts have pertained to pending legislative business, or related to solicitation of an earmark or other Federal funding, particularly if such contacts included the coordination of meetings with the Member or staff, involved presentations to staff, or participation in fundraising exceeding the mere giving of a personal contribution. Simple social contacts with the Member or committee of either House of Congress and staff, shall not by themselves constitute substantial lobbying contacts.
Payment for charter flights by campaign funds and disclosure of certain air travel with a lobbyist by a Senator
Clarification of rules on use of campaign funds for flights on commercial aircraft
In general
Paragraph (1) of section 313(c) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 439a(c)) is amended—
by striking
a candidate for election for Federal office (other than a candidate who
is subject to paragraph (2)), or any authorized committee of such a candidate,
may not make any expenditure for a flight on an aircraft
in the matter
preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting in the case of a candidate for
election to Federal office (other than a candidate who is subject to paragraph
(2)), no political committee may make any expenditure for travel by such a
candidate, or for travel on behalf of such a candidate, by means of a flight on
an aircraft (regardless of whether such travel is in connection with an
election for Federal office)
, and
by striking
candidate, the authorized committee, or other
in subparagraph
(B).
Effective date
The amendment made by this subsection shall apply to flights taken on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Disclosure
Paragraph 2(e)(1) of rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended—
in subclause (C), by striking
and
after the semicolon;
by inserting after subclause (D) the following:
the source will submit a list of the names of any registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal on the trip not later than 30 days after the trip; and
.
Ban on lobbyists making cash campaign contributions
Section 321 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441g) is amended by—
by striking No person
and
inserting the following:
In general
Except as provided in subsection (b), no person
; and
inserting at the end the following:
Lobbyist
Total ban
If the person described in subsection (a) is a lobbyist, the amount referred to in subsection (a) shall be zero.
Lobbyist
In
this subsection, the term lobbyist
shall have the same meaning
given such term in section 3(10) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of
1995.
.
Reporting by substantial lobbying entities
The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 6 the following:
Reporting by substantial lobbying entities
In general
A substantial lobbying entity shall file on an annual basis with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the United States Senate a list of any employee, individual under contract, or individual who provides paid consulting services who is—
a former United States Senator or a former Member of the United States House of Representatives; or
a former congressional staff person who—
made at least $100,000 in any 1 year as a congressional staff person;
worked for a total of 4 years or more as a congressional staff person; or
had a job title
at any time while employed as a congressional staff person that contained any
of the following terms: Chief of Staff
, Legislative
Director
, Staff Director
, Counsel
,
Professional Staff Member
, Communications
Director
, or Press Secretary
.
Contents of filing
The filing required by this section shall contain a brief job description of each such employee, individual under contract, or individual who provides paid consulting services, and an explanation of their work experience under subsection (a) that requires this filing.
Improved reporting of substantial lobbying entities
The Joint Web site
being maintained by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives, known as lobbyists.gov, shall include an easily searchable
database entitled Substantial Lobbying Entities
that includes
qualifying employees, individuals under contract, or individuals who provide
paid consulting services, under subsection (a).
Law enforcement oversight
The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall provide a copy of the filings of substantial lobbying entities to the District of Columbia United States Attorney, to allow the District of Columbia United States Attorney to determine whether any such entities are underreporting the Federal lobbying activities of its employees, individuals under contract, or individuals who provide paid consulting services.
Substantial lobbying entity
In this section, the term substantial lobbying entity means an incorporated entity that employs more than 3 federally registered lobbyists during a filing period.
.
Enhanced penalties
Section 7(a) of the
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1606(a)) is amended by striking
$200,000
and inserting $500,000
.
