WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of senators is today reintroducing legislative reforms that will shine a light on efforts by foreign interests to influence American policy and public opinion. The Foreign Agents Disclosure and Registration Enhancement Act adds teeth to existing law aimed at ensuring public awareness of lobbying campaigns pushed by foreign powers. The bill is sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
“If lobbyists or public relations firms are peddling policy preferences at the behest of foreign powers, we ought to know about it. Unfortunately, we’ve seen uneven application of laws designed to shine a light on foreign lobbying. This bill gives the Justice Department new tools to detect and deter secret foreign lobbying and ensures policymakers and the American public know when influence campaigns are being pushed by foreign interests. The bill is the product of years of negotiations and congressional oversight, and it’s time we get it on the books,” Grassley said.
“America is engaged in a clash of civilizations with international kleptocrats and criminals who use secret channels of influence to put their thumb on the scale of American policy,” said Whitehouse. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant, which is why this bipartisan effort to modernize FARA and improve its enforcement is so important. The Foreign Agents Disclosure and Registration Enhancement Act will shine the light of transparency on foreign lobbying campaigns and help safeguard our democracy.”
“This bill would help protect our nation from hostile foreign interference and influence campaigns. Our adversaries are targeting universities, state, local, and federal governments, as well as private sector corporations. The American people deserve to know when lobbyists represent the interests of a foreign government. I remain committed to holding accountable those individuals and foreign governments who attempt to obscure their efforts to influence our government,” Rubio said.
“Foreign governments seeking to influence American institutions sometimes attempt to evade these important transparency requirements. This legislation would give the Department of Justice more resources to investigate actions by foreign powers and put into place enforcement mechanisms to ensure those who do not comply face consequences,” Cornyn said.
Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in 1938 to identify Nazi propaganda and other foreign efforts to influence U.S. policy. The content-neutral law requires anyone working on behalf of a foreign government, political party or entity to influence U.S. policy or public opinion to register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent. However, since it was updated in 1966, FARA has been used sparingly in criminal prosecutions, and enforcement has been inconsistent. The Foreign Agents Disclosure and Registration Enhancement Act strengthens FARA by providing the Justice Department with more tools to investigate possible violations and increasing penalties for failure to properly register as a foreign agent. The bill also provides important oversight checks on the use of those new tools, improves FARA advisory opinion transparency and requires the Government Accountability Office to study whether and to what extent the Lobbying Disclosure Act exemption is being abused to conceal foreign lobbying activity.
This bill is identical to bipartisan legislation first introduced in 2019 after years of congressional oversight and input from federal agencies and U.S.-based stakeholders. It earned bipartisan support from leaders on the Senate Judiciary, Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees.
Full legislative text of the Foreign Agents Disclosure and Registration Enhancement Act can be found HERE.
Grassley is also a cosponsor of the Lobbying Disclosure Improvement Act, which would require Lobbying Disclosure Act registrants to indicate whether they are taking advantage of the FARA exemption to avoid disclosing their work on behalf of a foreign entity.
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