[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2316 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2316

 To provide more rigorous requirements with respect to disclosure and 
 enforcement of lobbying laws and regulations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2007

Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Hall of New 
York, Mr. Kagen, and Mr. Sherman) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
   Committees on Rules and House Administration, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide more rigorous requirements with respect to disclosure and 
 enforcement of lobbying laws and regulations, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Honest Leadership 
and Open Government Act of 2007''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
                  TITLE I--CLOSING THE REVOLVING DOOR

Sec. 101. Lobbying ban for former Members and employees of Congress and 
                            executive branch official.
Sec. 102. Disclosure by Members and staff of employment negotiations.
Sec. 103. Wrongfully influencing a private entity's employment 
                            decisions or practices.
Sec. 104. Effective date.
              TITLE II--FULL PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING

Sec. 201. Quarterly filing of lobbying disclosure reports.
Sec. 202. Electronic filing of lobbying disclosure reports.
Sec. 203. Additional lobbying disclosure requirements.
Sec. 204. Quarterly reports on other contributions.
Sec. 205. Prohibition on provision of gifts or travel by registered 
                            lobbyists to Members of Congress and to 
                            congressional employees.
Sec. 206. Disclosure of lobbying activities by certain coalitions and 
                            association.
Sec. 207. Disclosure by registered lobbyists of past executive branch 
                            and congressional employment.
Sec. 208. Public database of lobbying disclosure information; 
                            maintenance of information.
Sec. 209. Inapplicability to certain political committees.
Sec. 210. Effective date.
            TITLE III--ENFORCEMENT OF LOBBYING RESTRICTIONS

Sec. 301. Increased civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply 
                            with lobbying disclosure requirements.
                     TITLE IV--INCREASED DISCLOSURE

Sec. 401. Prohibition on official contact with spouse of Member who is 
                            a registered lobbyist.
Sec. 402. Posting of travel and financial disclosure reports on public 
                            website of Clerk of the House of 
                            Representatives.

                  TITLE I--CLOSING THE REVOLVING DOOR

SEC. 101. LOBBYING BAN FOR FORMER MEMBERS AND EMPLOYEES OF CONGRESS AND 
              EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIALS.

    Section 207 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``One-
                Year'' and inserting ``Two-Year'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``1 year'' and 
                inserting ``2 years'' each place it appears; and
                    (C) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``1-year 
                period'' and inserting ``2-year period''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``1 year'' and 
                inserting ``2 years''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``1 year'' and 
                inserting ``2 years''.
            (3) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``1 year'' and 
                inserting ``2 years'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``1 year'' and 
                inserting ``2 years'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``1 year'' and 
                inserting ``2 years'';
                    (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ``1 year'' and 
                inserting ``2 years'';
                    (E) in paragraph (5)(A), by striking ``1 year'' and 
                inserting ``2 years''; and
                    (F) in paragraph (6), by striking ``1-year period'' 
                and inserting ``2-year period'' each place it appears; 
                and
            (4) in subsection (f), by striking ``1 year'' and inserting 
        ``2 years''.

SEC. 102. DISCLOSURE BY MEMBERS AND STAFF OF EMPLOYMENT NEGOTIATIONS.

    The Rules of the House of Representatives are amended by 
redesignating rules XXVII and XXVIII as rules XXVIII and XXIX, 
respectively, and by inserting after rule XXVI the following new rule:

                              ``RULE XXVII

      ``Disclosure by Members and Staff of Employment Negotiations

    ``1. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner shall not 
directly negotiate or have any agreement of future employment or 
compensation until after his or her successor has been elected, unless 
such Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, within 3 business days 
after the commencement of such negotiation or agreement of future 
employment or compensation, files with the Clerk a statement, which 
must be signed by the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, for 
public disclosure regarding such negotiations or agreement, including 
the name of the private entity or entities involved in such 
negotiations or agreement, and the date such negotiations or agreement 
commenced.
    ``2. An officer or an employee of the House earning in excess of 75 
percent of the salary paid to a Member shall notify the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct that he or she is negotiating or has any 
agreement of future employment or compensation.
    ``3. The disclosure and notification under this clause shall be 
made within 3 business days after the commencement of such negotiation 
or agreement of future employment or compensation.
    ``4. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, and an officer 
or employee to whom this clause applies, shall recuse himself or 
herself from any matter in which there is a conflict of interest or an 
appearance of a conflict for that Member, Delegate, Resident 
Commissioner, officer, or employee under this rule and shall notify the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of such recusal.''.

SEC. 103. WRONGFULLY INFLUENCING A PRIVATE ENTITY'S EMPLOYMENT 
              DECISIONS OR PRACTICES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 227. Wrongfully influencing a private entity's employment 
              decisions by a Member of Congress
    ``Whoever, being a Senator or Representative in, or a Delegate or 
Resident Commissioner to, the Congress or an employee of either House 
of Congress, with the intent to influence on the basis of partisan 
political affiliation an employment decision or employment practice of 
any private entity--
            ``(1) takes or withholds, or offers or threatens to take or 
        withhold, an official act; or
            ``(2) influences, or offers or threatens to influence, the 
        official act of another,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 15 
years, or both, and may be disqualified from holding any office of 
honor, trust, or profit under the United States.''.
    (b) No Inference.--Nothing in section 227 of title 18, United 
States Code, as added by this section, shall be construed to create any 
inference with respect to whether the activity described in section 227 
of title 18, United States Code, was a criminal or civil offense before 
the enactment of this Act, including under section 201(b), 201(c), or 
any of sections 203 through 209, of title 18, United States Code.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 11 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``227. Wrongfully influencing a private entity's employment decisions 
                            by a Member of Congress.''.

SEC. 104. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) Section 101.--The amendments made by section 101 shall apply to 
any individual who leaves office or employment (to which the 
restrictions in section 207 of title 18, United States apply) more than 
120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Section 102.--The amendment made by section 102 shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to 
negotiations commenced, and agreements entered into, on or after that 
date.
    (c) Section 103.--The amendments made by section 103 shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

              TITLE II--FULL PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING

SEC. 201. QUARTERLY FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REPORTS.

    (a) Quarterly Filing Required.--Section 5 of the Lobbying 
Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``Semiannual'' and inserting 
                ``Quarterly'';
                    (B) by striking ``the semiannual period'' and all 
                that follows through ``July of each year'' and insert 
                ``the quarterly period beginning on the first day of 
                January, April, July, and October of each year''; and
                    (C) by striking ``such semiannual period'' and 
                inserting ``such quarterly period''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``semiannual report'' and inserting 
                ``quarterly report'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``semiannual 
                filing period'' and inserting ``quarterly period'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``semiannual 
                period'' and inserting ``quarterly period''; and
                    (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ``semiannual 
                filing period'' and inserting ``quarterly period''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Definition.--Section 3(10) of the Lobbying Disclosure 
        Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended by striking ``six month 
        period'' and inserting ``3-month period''.
            (2) Registration.--Section 4 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
        of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(3)(A), by striking 
                ``semiannual period'' and inserting ``quarterly 
                period''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by striking 
                ``semiannual period'' and inserting ``quarterly 
                period''.
            (3) Enforcement.--Section 6 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
        of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is amended in paragraph (6) by striking 
        ``semiannual period'' and inserting ``quarterly period''.
            (4) Estimates.--Section 15 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
        of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1610) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``semiannual 
                period'' and inserting ``quarterly period''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``semiannual 
                period'' and inserting ``quarterly period''.
            (5) Dollar amounts.--Section 4 of the Lobbying Disclosure 
        Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603) is further amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), by striking 
                ``$5,000'' and inserting ``$2,500'';
                    (B) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii), by striking 
                ``$20,000'' and inserting ``$10,000'';
                    (C) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by striking 
                ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$5,000''; and
                    (D) in subsection (b)(4), by striking ``$10,000'' 
                and inserting ``$5,000''.

SEC. 202. ELECTRONIC FILING OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 
(2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Electronic Filing Required.--A report required to be filed 
under this section shall be filed in electronic form, in addition to 
any other form that may be required by the Secretary of the Senate or 
the Clerk of the House of Representatives.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The requirement in section 5(d) of the 
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as added by subsection (a) of this 
section, that reports be filed electronically shall take effect on the 
day after the end of the first calendar quarter that begins after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 203. ADDITIONAL LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 5(b) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1604(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (4) by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) a certification that the lobbying firm, or 
        registrant, and each employee listed as a lobbyist under 
        section 4(b)(6) or paragraph (2)(C) of this subsection for that 
        lobbying firm or registrant, has not provided, requested, or 
        directed a gift, including travel, to a Member of Congress or 
        an officer or employee of either House of Congress in violation 
        rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate or rule XXV of 
        the Rules of the House of Representatives.''.

SEC. 204. QUARTERLY REPORTS ON OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS.

    Section 5 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604) is further amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(e) Quarterly Reports on Other Contributions.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the end of 
        the quarterly period beginning on the first day of January, 
        April, July, and October of each year, or on the first business 
        day after the first day of such month if that day is not a 
        business day, each person who is registered or is required to 
        register under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 4(a), and each 
        employee who is or is required to be listed as a lobbyist under 
        section 4(b)(6) or subsection (b) of this section, shall file a 
        report with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the 
        House of Representatives containing--
                    ``(A) the name of the person;
                    ``(B) in the case of an employee, his or her the 
                employer;
                    ``(C) the names of all political committees 
                established or administered by the person;
                    ``(D) the name of each Federal candidate or 
                officeholder, leadership PAC, or political party 
                committee, to whom aggregate contributions equal to or 
                exceeding $200 were made by the person or a political 
                committee established or administered by the person 
                within the calendar year, and the date and amount of 
                each contribution made within the quarterly period;
                    ``(E) the date, recipient, and amount of funds 
                contributed, disbursed, or arranged (or a good faith 
                estimate thereof) by the person or a political 
                committee established or administered by the person 
                during the quarterly period--
                            ``(i) to pay the cost of an event to honor 
                        or recognize a covered legislative branch 
                        official or covered executive branch official;
                            ``(ii) to, or on behalf of, an entity that 
                        is named for a covered legislative branch 
                        official, or to a person or entity in 
                        recognition of such official;
                            ``(iii) to an entity established, financed, 
                        maintained, or controlled by a covered 
                        legislative branch official or covered 
                        executive branch official, or an entity 
                        designated by such official; or
                            ``(iv) to pay the costs of a meeting, 
                        retreat, conference, or other similar event 
                        held by, or for the benefit of, 1 or more 
                        covered legislative branch officials or covered 
                        executive branch officials; and
                    ``(F) any information reported to the Federal 
                Election Commission under the second sentence of 
                section 315(a)(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
                of 1971 (relating to reports by intermediaries and 
                conduits of the original source and the intended 
                recipient of contributions under such Act) during the 
                quarterly period by the person or a political committee 
                established or administered by the person.
            ``(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `leadership 
        PAC' means, with respect to an individual holding Federal 
        office, an unauthorized political committee that is associated 
        with an individual holding Federal office, except that such 
        term shall not apply in the case of a political committee of a 
        political party.''.

SEC. 205. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF GIFTS OR TRAVEL BY REGISTERED 
              LOBBYISTS TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND TO CONGRESSIONAL 
              EMPLOYEES.

    (a) Prohibition.--The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 25. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF GIFTS OR TRAVEL BY REGISTERED 
              LOBBYISTS TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND TO CONGRESSIONAL 
              EMPLOYEES.

    ``(a) Prohibition.--Any person described in subsection (b) may not 
make a gift or provide travel to a Member, officer, or employee of 
Congress, if the person has knowledge that the gift or travel may not 
be accepted under the rules of the House of Representatives or the 
Senate.
    ``(b) Persons Subject to Prohibition.--The persons subject to the 
prohibition under subsection (a) are any lobbyist that is registered or 
is required to register under section 4(a)(1), any organization that 
employs 1 or more lobbyists and is registered or is required to 
register under section 4(a)(2), and any employee listed or required to 
be listed as a lobbyist by a registrant under section 4(b)(6).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 206. DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES BY CERTAIN COALITIONS AND 
              ASSOCIATION.

    Paragraph (2) of section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 
(2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Client.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `client' means any 
                person or entity that employs or retains another person 
                for financial or other compensation to conduct lobbying 
                activities on behalf of that person or entity. A person 
                or entity whose employees act as lobbyists on its own 
                behalf is both a client and an employer of such 
                employees.
                    ``(B) Treatment of coalitions and associations.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clauses (ii) and (iii), in the case of a 
                        coalition or association that employs or 
                        retains other persons to conduct lobbying 
                        activities, each of the individual members of 
                        the coalition or association (and not the 
                        coalition or association) is the client. For 
                        purposes of section 4(a)(3), the preceding 
                        sentence shall not apply, and the coalition or 
                        association shall be treated as the client.
                            ``(ii) Exception for certain tax-exempt 
                        associations.--In the case of an association 
                        that is described in paragraph (3) of section 
                        501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
                        exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such 
                        Code, the association (and not its members) 
                        shall be treated as the client.
                            ``(iii) Exception for certain members.--
                        Information on a member of a coalition or 
                        association need not be included in any 
                        registration under section 4 if the amount 
                        reasonably expected to be contributed by such 
                        member toward the activities of the coalition 
                        or association of influencing legislation is 
                        less than $500 during the quarterly period 
                        during which the registration would be made.''.

SEC. 207. DISCLOSURE BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS OF PAST EXECUTIVE BRANCH 
              AND CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT.

    Section 4(b)(6) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1603(b)(6)) is amended by striking ``or a covered legislative branch 
official'' and all that follows through ``as a lobbyist on behalf of 
the client,'' and inserting ``or a covered legislative branch 
official,''.

SEC. 208. PUBLIC DATABASE OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE INFORMATION; 
              MAINTENANCE OF INFORMATION.

    (a) Database Required.--Section 6 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is further amended--
            (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(9) maintain, and make available to the public over the 
        Internet, without a fee or other access charge, in a 
        searchable, sortable, and downloadable manner, an electronic 
        database that--
                    ``(A) includes the information contained in 
                registrations and reports filed under this Act;
                    ``(B) directly links the information it contains to 
                the information disclosed in reports filed with the 
                Federal Election Commission under section 304 of the 
                Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434); 
                and
                    ``(C) is searchable and sortable to the maximum 
                extent practicable, including searchable and sortable 
                by each of the categories of information described in 
                section 4(b) or 5(b); and
            ``(10) retain the information contained in a registration 
        or report filed under this Act for a period of at least 6 years 
        after the registration or report (as the case may be) is 
        filed.''.
    (b) Availability of Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Section 6(4) of the Lobbying Disclosure 
        Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is amended by inserting before the 
        semicolon at the end the following: ``and, in the case of a 
        report filed in electronic form pursuant to section 5(d), make 
        such report available for public inspection over the Internet 
        not more than 48 hours after the report is so filed''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall take effect on the day after the end of the first 
        calendar quarter that begins after the date of the enactment of 
        this Act.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out paragraph (9) 
of section 6 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605), as 
added by subsection (a) of this section.

SEC. 209. INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN POLITICAL COMMITTEES.

    The amendments made by this title shall not apply to the activities 
of any political committee described in section 301(4) of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(4)).

SEC. 210. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made by this title 
shall apply with respect to any quarterly filing period under the 
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 that begins on or after January 1, 
2008.

            TITLE III--ENFORCEMENT OF LOBBYING RESTRICTIONS

SEC. 301. INCREASED CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 
              WITH LOBBYING DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 7 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1606) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``Whoever'' and inserting ``(a) Civil 
        Penalty.--Whoever'';
            (2) by striking ``$50,000'' and inserting ``$100,000''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Criminal Penalty.--Whoever knowingly and corruptly fails to 
comply with any provision of this Act shall be imprisoned for not more 
than 5 years or fined under title 18, United States Code, or both.''.

                     TITLE IV--INCREASED DISCLOSURE

SEC. 401. PROHIBITION ON OFFICIAL CONTACT WITH SPOUSE OF MEMBER WHO IS 
              A REGISTERED LOBBYIST.

    Rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 
adding at the end the following new clause:
            ``7. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner shall 
        prohibit all staff employed by that Member, Delegate, or 
        Resident Commissioner (including staff in personal, committee, 
        and leadership offices) from having any official contact with 
        that individual's spouse if that spouse is a lobbyist under the 
        Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 or is employed or retained by 
        such a lobbyist for the purpose of influencing legislation.''.

SEC. 402. POSTING OF TRAVEL AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS ON PUBLIC 
              WEBSITE OF CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

    (a) Requiring Posting on Internet.--The Clerk of the House of 
Representatives shall post on the public Internet site of the Office of 
the Clerk each of the following:
            (1) The advance authorizations, certifications, and 
        disclosures filed with respect to transportation, lodging, and 
        related expenses for travel under clause 5(b) of rule XXV of 
        the Rules of the House of Representatives by Members (including 
        Delegates and Resident Commissioners to the Congress), 
        officers, and employees of the House.
            (2) The reports filed under section 103(h)(1) of the Ethics 
        in Government Act of 1978 by Members of the House of 
        Representatives (including Delegates and Resident Commissioners 
        to the Congress).
    (b) Applicability and Timing.--
            (1) Applicability.--Subject to paragraph (2), subsection 
        (a) shall apply with respect to information received by the 
        Clerk of the House of Representatives on or after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Timing.--The Clerk of the House of Representatives 
        shall--
                    (A) not later than August 1, 2008, post the 
                information required by subsection (a) that the Clerk 
                receives by June 1, 2008; and
                    (B) not later than the end of each 45-day period 
                occurring after information is required to be posted 
                under subparagraph (A), post the information required 
                by subsection (a) that the Clerk has received since the 
                last posting under this subsection.
    (c) Retention.--The Clerk shall maintain the information posted on 
the public Internet site of the Office of the Clerk under this section 
for a period of at least 6 years after receiving the information.
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