WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of senators led
by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reintroduced legislation aimed at cracking down
on foreign adversaries’ efforts to secretly influence U.S. policy. The Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act
closes a loophole, frequently exploited by the Chinese Communist Party, which
allows some entities to conceal their role in lobbying efforts.
The
bill is cosponsored by Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, John Cornyn (R-Texas), Dick
Durbin, (D-Ill.) Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.),
Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
“If
a foreign government or political party is trying to sway American policy, we
ought to know about it. We’ve learned that the Chinese Communist Party has used
other organizations as proxies to secretly push their agenda in the United
States. This bill builds on existing lobbying and foreign agent laws to shine a
light on that behavior so we know exactly where influence campaigns are coming
from to ensure policy decisions are in the best interest of the American
people,” Grassley said.
“Adversaries
could take advantage of loopholes in current lobbying regulations to advance
agendas that are not in the best interest of Michiganders and the American
people,” said Peters. “This bipartisan bill will close these
loopholes, increase transparency in foreign lobbying practices, and strengthen
national security by blocking efforts by foreign adversaries to influence our
political process.”
“It’s
no secret that China will try anything to tilt American foreign policy in its
favor, including surreptitiously using proxies to lobby the U.S. government.
This bill would help ensure China can’t slip through the cracks of our foreign
agent registration requirements and allow us to track their attempts at
influencing policies that could negatively affect the Chinese Communist Party,”
Cornyn said.
“In
the United States, Americans are and must be the main purveyors of American
policy. We cannot allow undisclosed foreign influence to overtake the voices of
American voters,” said Durbin. “This
bipartisan bill reminds those seeking to influence our government that we
legislate on the needs of our constituents, not foreign lobbyists.”
"We
must close any loopholes that China, Russia, or other countries can use to
weaken our democracy. I’m glad to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
in introducing this bill to increase transparency in foreign lobbying
activities,” Hassan said.
“Our
commonsense, bipartisan bill will keep America safe and secure by closing
loopholes used by foreign adversaries like China and Russia to attempt to
influence American policy,” Sinema said.
Federal
lobbying law requires both lobbyists and the organizations that retain them to
register their activities with the government to provide transparency in policy
influence efforts. However, think tanks and law enforcement agencies have
identified
schemes
in which the Chinese Communist Party has used closely-connected organizations
and businesses to push their interests when lobbying the U.S. government. The
company, which may be registered under the law, effectively becomes a proxy for
the government or political party, which is not registered. The
Disclosing
Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act makes clear that foreign governments and
political parties that participate in the planning, supervision, direction or
control of a lobbying effort must disclose their activity, regardless of any
financial contribution to the lobbying effort.
Grassley
has long advocated for improved transparency in foreign influence campaigns,
and has led
legislative
proposals and oversight efforts to improve enforcement of and compliance
with the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Identical legislation received broad
bipartisan support during the 116th Congress, but was eventually
blocked
on the Senate floor.
Text
of the
Disclosing Foreign Influence in
Lobbying Act is available
HERE.
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