[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2864 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2864

 To provide for the disclosure of financial benefits by lobbyists, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 4, 1993

 Mr. Glickman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the disclosure of financial benefits by lobbyists, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Information on Financial Benefits 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL BENEFITS BY LOBBYISTS.

    (a) In General.--In addition to information required by law to be 
disclosed by registered lobbyists (herein known as ``registrants''), 
each registrant shall include in its semiannual reports under 
subsection (a) or in a separate report on financial benefits, subject 
to the same filing requirements, as set out in lobbying disclosure law, 
a list of each individual financial benefit provided directly or 
indirectly by a registrant (including a financial benefit provided by a 
lobbyist employed by or a lobbyist who is a member of a registrant) to 
a covered legislative branch official, to an entity that is 
established, maintained, controlled, or financed by a covered 
legislative branch official, or to any other person or entity on behalf 
of or in the name of a covered legislative branch official, 
disclosing--
            (1) with respect to each financial benefit other than one 
        described in subparagraph (B), (C), or (D)--
                    (A) the name and position of the covered 
                legislative branch official or other person or entity 
                to whom or which the financial benefit was provided;
                    (B) the nature of the financial benefit;
                    (C) the date on which the financial benefit was 
                provided; and
                    (D) the value of the financial benefit;
            (2) with respect to each financial benefit that is in the 
        form of a conference, retreat, or similar event for or on 
        behalf of covered legislative branch official that is sponsored 
        by or affiliated with an official congressional organization--
                    (A) the nature of the conference, retreat, or other 
                event;
                    (B) the date or dates on which the conference, 
                retreat, or other event occurred;
                    (C) the identity of the organization that sponsored 
                or is affiliated with the event; and
                    (D) a single aggregate figure for the expenses 
                incurred by the registrant in connection with the 
                conference, retreat, or similar event;
            (3) with respect to each financial benefit that is in the 
        form of an event that is hosted or cohosted with or in honor of 
        1 or more covered legislative branch officials--
                    (A) the name and position of each such covered 
                legislative branch official;
                    (B) the nature of the event;
                    (C) the date on which the event occurred; and
                    (D) the expenses incurred by the registrant in 
                connection with the event; and
            (4) with respect to each financial benefit that is in the 
        form of election campaign fundraising activity--
                    (A) the name and position of the covered 
                legislative branch official on behalf of whom the 
                fundraising activity was performed;
                    (B) the nature of the fundraising activity;
                    (C) the date or dates on which the fundraising 
                activity was performed;
                    (D) the expenses incurred by the registrant in 
                connection with the fundraising activity; and
                    (E) the number of contributions and the aggregate 
                amount of contributions known by the registrant to have 
                been made to the covered legislative branch official as 
                a result of the fundraising activity.
    (b) Exemption.--A list described in subsection (a) need not 
disclose financial benefits having a value of $20 or less to the extent 
that the aggregate value of such financial benefits that are provided 
to or on behalf of a covered legislative branch official or other 
person or entity during the calendar year in which the semiannual 
period covered by the report occurs has not exceeded $50.
    (c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``financial 
benefit''--
            (1) means anything of value given to, on behalf of, or for 
        the benefit of a covered legislative branch official, 
        including--
                    (A) a gift;
                    (B) payment for local or long distance 
                transportation, entertainment, food, or lodging, 
                whether provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, by 
                payment in advance or by reimbursement, or otherwise;
                    (C) a contribution or other payment made to a third 
                party in lieu of an honorarium on the basis of a 
                designation, recommendation, or other specification 
                made by the covered legislative branch official;
                    (D) reimbursement of an expense;
                    (E) a loan; and
                    (F) an expenditure made for a conference, retreat, 
                or other event benefiting a covered person, but
            (2) does not include--
                    (A) a contribution, as defined in the Federal 
                Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), 
                that is required to be reported under that Act, unless 
                the contribution is in the form of participation in a 
                fundraising activity on behalf of a covered legislative 
                branch official, including the solicitation of 
                contributions, hosting or cohosting of a fundraising 
                event, or service on a campaign steering committee or 
                its equivalent;
                    (B) a modest item of food or refreshments, such as 
                a soft drink, coffee, or doughnut, offered other than 
                as part of a meal;
                    (C) a greeting card or other item of little 
                intrinsic value, such as a plaque, certificate, or 
                trophy, that is intended solely for presentation;
                    (D) financial benefits given under circumstances 
                which make it clear that the benefits are motivated by 
                a family or personal relationship rather than the 
                position of the recipient;
                    (E) financial benefits which are not used and which 
                are promptly returned to the donor; or
                    (F) widely attended receptions to which covered 
                legislative branch officials are invited, other than 
                events described in subsection (a)(2).

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