[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2417 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2417
To provide greater controls and restrictions on revolving door
lobbying.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 3, 2014
Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide greater controls and restrictions on revolving door
lobbying.
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 ``Close the Revolving Door Act of
2014''.
SEC. 2. LIFETIME BAN ON MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FROM LOBBYING.
(a) In General.--Section 207(e)(1) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
``(1) Members of congress.--Any person who is a Senator, a
Member of the House of Representatives or an elected officer of
the Senate or the House of Representatives and who after that
person leaves office, knowingly makes, with the intent to
influence, any communication to or appearance before any
Member, officer, or employee of either House of Congress or any
employee of any other legislative office of the Congress, on
behalf of any other person (except the United States) in
connection with any matter on which such former Senator,
Member, or elected official 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) Conforming Amendment.--Section 207(e)(2) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in the heading, by striking ``Officers and staff'' and
inserting ``Staff''; and
(2) by striking ``an elected officer of the Senate, or''.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL STAFF.
Paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5)(A), and (6)(A) of section 207(e) of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``1 year'' and
inserting ``6 years''.
SEC. 4. IMPROVED REPORTING OF LOBBYISTS' ACTIVITIES.
Section 6 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Joint Web Site.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Senate and the
Clerk of the House of Representatives shall maintain a joint
lobbyist disclosure Internet database for information required
to be publicly disclosed under this Act which shall be an
easily searchable Web site called lobbyists.gov with a stated
goal of simplicity of usage.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection
$100,000 for fiscal year 2015.''.
SEC. 5. LOBBYIST REVOLVING DOOR TO CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--Any person who is a registered lobbyist or an
agent of a foreign principal may not within 6 years after that person
leaves such position be hired by a Member or committee of either House
of Congress with whom the registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign
principal has had substantial lobbying contact.
(b) Waiver.--This section may be waived in the Senate or the House
of Representatives by the Committee on Ethics or the Committee on
Standards of Official Conduct based on a compelling national need.
(c) Substantial Lobbying Contact.--For purposes of this section, in
determining whether a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign
principal has had substantial lobbying contact within the applicable
period of time, the Member or committee of either House of Congress
shall take into consideration whether the individual's lobbying
contacts have pertained to pending legislative business, or related to
solicitation of an earmark or other Federal funding, particularly if
such contacts included the coordination of meetings with the Member or
staff, involved presentations to staff, or participation in fundraising
exceeding the mere giving of a personal contribution. Simple social
contacts with the Member or committee of either House of Congress and
staff, shall not by themselves constitute substantial lobbying
contacts.
SEC. 6. REPORTING BY SUBSTANTIAL LOBBYING ENTITIES.
The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is
amended by inserting after section 6 the following:
``SEC. 6A. REPORTING BY SUBSTANTIAL LOBBYING ENTITIES.
``(a) In General.--A substantial lobbying entity shall file on an
annual basis with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the
Secretary of the United States Senate a list of any employee,
individual under contract, or individual who provides paid consulting
services who is--
``(1) a former United States Senator or a former Member of
the United States House of Representatives; or
``(2) a former congressional staff person who--
``(A) made at least $100,000 in any 1 year as a
congressional staff person;
``(B) worked for a total of 4 years or more as a
congressional staff person; or
``(C) had a job title at any time while employed as
a congressional staff person that contained any of the
following terms: `Chief of Staff', `Legislative
Director', `Staff Director', `Counsel', `Professional
Staff Member', `Communications Director', or `Press
Secretary'.
``(b) Contents of Filing.--The filing required by this section
shall contain a brief job description of each such employee, individual
under contract, or individual who provides paid consulting services,
and an explanation of their work experience under subsection (a) that
requires this filing.
``(c) Improved Reporting of Substantial Lobbying Entities.--The
Joint Web site being maintained by the Secretary of the Senate and the
Clerk of the House of Representatives, known as lobbyists.gov, shall
include an easily searchable database entitled `Substantial Lobbying
Entities' that includes qualifying employees, individuals under
contract, or individuals who provide paid consulting services, under
subsection (a).
``(d) Law Enforcement Oversight.--The Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall provide a copy of
the filings of substantial lobbying entities to the District of
Columbia United States Attorney, to allow the District of Columbia
United States Attorney to determine whether any such entities are
underreporting the Federal lobbying activities of its employees,
individuals under contract, or individuals who provide paid consulting
services.
``(e) Substantial Lobbying Entity.--In this section, the term
`substantial lobbying entity' means an incorporated entity that employs
more than 3 federally registered lobbyists during a filing period.''.
SEC. 7. ENHANCED PENALTIES.
Section 7(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.
1606(a)) is amended by striking ``$200,000'' and inserting
``$500,000''.
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