II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2177 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES October 17, 2007 Mrs. McCaskill introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To prohibit the payment of individuals to reserve a place in line for a seat for a lobbyist at a congressional committee hearing or business meeting.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Get in Line Act.

2.

Prohibition on the payment of individuals to reserve a place in line for a lobbyist for a seat at a congressional committee hearing or business meeting

(a)

Prohibition

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

27.

Prohibition on the payment of individuals to reserve a place in line for a lobbyist for a seat at a congressional committee hearing or business meeting

(a)

Prohibition

Any person described in subsection (b) shall not make a payment to an individual to reserve a place in line for a seat for that person at a congressional committee hearing or business meeting. (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 retains or 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) or 5(b)(2)(C).

. (b)

Certification

Section 5(d)(1)(G) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(d)(1)(G)) is amended— (1)in clause (i), by striking and after the semicolon; (2)in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting ; and; and (3)by inserting at the end the following: (iii)has read and is familiar with section 27, relating to paying individuals to reserve seats at congressional committee hearings or business meetings, and has not violated that section. . (c)

Effective date

The amendment made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

3.

Committee hearing availability

A committee of the Senate that is unable to accommodate all persons wishing to sit in the hearing room for a committee hearing or business meeting shall— (1)make all reasonable accommodations for such overflow, including opening up an overflow room with a video monitor showing the hearing or meeting if possible; and (2)stream the hearing or meeting on the committee website to the extent practicable.