[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2233 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2233

  To reform and improve the regulation of lobbying and congressional 
                                ethics.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 1, 2006

Mrs. Feinstein introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reform and improve the regulation of lobbying and congressional 
                                ethics.

    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 ``Lobbyist Reform Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. TWO-YEAR TOTAL BAN ON LOBBYING BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND 
              EMPLOYEES OF CONGRESS.

    Subsection (e) of section 207 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) Restrictions on Members of Congress and Officers and 
Employees of the Legislative Branch.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Prohibition.--Any person who is a Member of 
                Congress, an elected officer of either House of 
                Congress, or an employee of a House of Congress and 
                who, within 2 years after that person leaves office, 
                knowingly makes, with the intent to influence, any 
                communication to or appearance before any of the 
                persons described in subparagraph (B), on behalf of any 
                other person (except the United States) in connection 
                with any matter on which such former Member of Congress 
                or elected officer 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.
                    ``(B) Contact persons covered.--The persons 
                referred to in subparagraph (A) with respect to 
                appearances or communications are any Member, officer, 
                or employee of either House of Congress, and any 
                employee of any other legislative office of Congress.
            ``(2) Definitions.--As used in this subsection--
                    ``(A) a person is an employee of a House of 
                Congress if that person is an employee of the Senate or 
                an employee of the House of Representatives;
                    ``(B) the term `employee of the House of 
                Representatives' means an employee of a Member of the 
                House of Representatives, an employee of a committee of 
                the House of Representatives, an employee of a joint 
                committee of Congress whose pay is disbursed by the 
                Clerk of the House of Representatives, and an employee 
                on the leadership staff of the House of 
                Representatives;
                    ``(C) the term `employee of the Senate' means an 
                employee of a Senator, an employee of a committee of 
                the Senate, an employee of a joint committee of 
                Congress whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the 
                Senate, and an employee on the leadership staff of the 
                Senate;
                    ``(D) the term `Member of Congress' means a Senator 
                or a Member of the House of Representatives; and
                    ``(E) the term `Member of the House of 
                Representatives' means a Representative in, or a 
                Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, Congress.''.

SEC. 3. BAN ON GIFTS FROM LOBBYISTS.

    Paragraph 1(a)(2) of rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate 
is amended by adding at the end the following: ``This clause shall not 
apply to a gift from a lobbyist.''.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PRIVATELY FUNDED TRAVEL.

    Paragraph 2(a)(1) of rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate 
is amended by striking ``an individual'' and inserting ``an 
organization recognized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 that is not affiliated with any group that lobbies before 
Congress''.

SEC. 5. REGISTERED LOBBYISTS PROHIBITED FROM SERVING ON AUTHORIZED 
              POLITICAL COMMITTEES.

    Subsection (d) of section 302 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph:
    ``(6) No political committee may be designated as an authorized 
committee if a person registered as a lobbyist under section 4 of the 
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 is formally affiliated with such 
committee.''.
                                 <all>