II
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2417
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 3, 2014
Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Tester) 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 2014
.
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 heading,
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 adding 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 2015.
.
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.
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
.
