117 HR 7264 IH: Countering Russian Influence in our Politics Act of 2022
U.S. House of Representatives
2022-03-29
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I
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7264
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 29, 2022
Mr. Budd (for himself, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Perry, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, Mrs. Boebert, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Clyde, Mr. Babin, Mr. Roy, and Mr. Tiffany) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to treat certain tax-exempt organizations receiving funding from Russian foreign principals as agents of a foreign principal under such Act, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Countering Russian Influence in our Politics Act of 2022”.
2.

Coverage of certain tax-exempt organizations receiving funding from Russian foreign principals under Foreign Agents Registration Act
(a)

Coverage
The Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating sections 12, 13, and 14 as sections 13, 14, and 15, respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after section 11 the following:
“12.

Applicability to certain tax-exempt organizations receiving funding from Russian foreign principals
(a)

Applicability
(1)

In general
Subject to the provisions of this section, for the purposes of this Act an organization described in subsection (b) is an agent of a foreign principal.
(2)

Exceptions
(A)

Nonapplication of waiver for entities filing reports under Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
Section 3(h) shall not apply to an organization described in subsection (b)(1) and (b)(2).
(B)

Waiver for organizations soliciting funds outside United States for humanitarian assistance
Section 3(d)(3) shall apply to an organization described in subsection (b) notwithstanding that the organization solicits and collects funds and contributions outside of the United States.
(b)

Description
An organization is described in this subsection if—
(1)
the organization is a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or any other combination of individuals described in section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under such Code;
(2)
the organization receives income, money, or any other thing of value from a Russian foreign principal; and
(3)
the organization is not otherwise considered an agent of a foreign principal under section 1.
(c)

Definitions
As used in this section—
(1)
The term Russian foreign principal includes—
(A)
the government of the Russian Federation;
(B)
a political party of the Russian Federation;
(C)
a national of the Russian Federation;
(D)
a partnership, association, corporation, organization or other combination of persons organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in the Russian Federation; or
(E)
a partnership, association, corporation, organization or other combination of persons organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign country other than the Russian Federation that receives more than half of its funding from an entity described in subparagraphs (A) through (D).
(2)
The term government of the Russian Federation includes any person or group of persons exercising sovereign de facto or de jure political jurisdiction over the Russian Federation, or over any part of such country, and includes any subdivision of any such group and any group or agency to which such sovereign de facto or de jure authority or functions are directly or indirectly delegated. Such term shall include any faction or body of insurgents within such country, or a faction or body of insurgents recognized by the Russian Federation that are in another country assuming to exercise governmental authority whether such faction or body of insurgents has or has not been recognized by the United States.
(3)
The term political party of the Russian Federation includes any organization or any other combination of individuals in the Russian Federation, or any unit or branch thereof, having for an aim or purpose, or which is engaged in any activity devoted in whole or in part to, the establishment, administration, control, or acquisition of administration or control of the government of the Russian Federation or subdivision thereof, or the furtherance or influencing of the political or public interests, policies, or relations of a government of the Russian Federation or a subdivision thereof.”.
(b)

Modification of contents of reports
Section 2(a) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 612(a)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (4)—
(A)
by striking “Copies” and inserting “(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), copies”; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following:
“(B)
In the case of an organization described in section 12(b), a statement that the registrant is an agent of a foreign principal pursuant to section 12(a), copies of each written agreement, and the terms and conditions of each oral agreement, including all modifications of such agreements, or, where no contract exists, a full statement of the existing and proposed activity or activities engaged in or to be engaged in by the registrant as a direct or indirect result of receiving income, money, or any other thing of value from a Russian foreign principal (as defined in section 12(c)(1)), including a detailed statement of any such activity which is a political activity.”; and
(2)
in paragraph (9)—
(A)
by striking “Copies” and inserting “(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), copies”; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following:
“(B)
In the case of an organization described in section 12(b), a statement that the registrant is an agent of a foreign principal pursuant to section 12(a), copies of each written agreement and the terms and conditions of each oral agreement, including all modifications of such agreements, or, where no contract exists, a full statement of the existing and proposed activity or activities engaged in or to be engaged in by the registrant as a direct or indirect result of receiving income, money, or any other thing of value from a Russian foreign principal (as defined in section 12(c)(1)) or for any person other than a foreign principal any activities which require his registration hereunder.”.
(c)

Effective date
The amendments made by this section shall take effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
3.

Disclosure of receipts and activities by certain organizations since the Russian Federation’s invasion of Crimea
(a)

Applicability to prior receipts
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, a qualifying organization shall submit a statement to the Attorney General containing the following information:
(1)
The organization’s current name, principal business address, and all other business addresses in the United States or elsewhere.
(2)
If the organization is a partnership, the current name, residence addresses, and nationality of each partner and a true and complete copy of its articles of copartnership; if an association, corporation, organization, or any other combination of individuals, the current name, residence addresses, and nationality of each current director and officer and of each person performing the functions of a director or officer and a true and complete copy of its charter, articles of incorporation, association, constitution, and bylaws, and amendments thereto; a copy of every other instrument or document and a statement of the terms and conditions of every oral agreement relating to its organization, powers, and purposes; and a statement of its ownership and control.
(3)
Copies of each written agreement, and the terms and conditions of each oral agreement, including all modifications of such agreements, or, where no contract exists, a full statement of the activities engaged in by the organization as a direct or indirect result of receiving on or after February 1, 2014, income, money, or any other thing of value from a Russian foreign principal, including a detailed statement of any such activity which is a political activity.
(4)
A detailed statement of the money and other things of value spent or disposed of by the qualifying organization as a direct or indirect result of receiving on or after February 1, 2014, income, money, or any other thing of value from a Russian foreign principal, and a detailed statement of any independent expenditures, contributions of money, or other things of value (regardless of source) made on or after February 1, 2014, (other than contributions the making of which is prohibited under the terms of section 613 of title 18, United States Code) in connection with an election to any political office or in connection with any primary election, convention, or caucus held to select candidates for any political office.
(5)
Such other statements, information, or documents pertinent to the purposes of this Act as the Attorney General, having due regard for the national security and the public interests of the United States, may require.
(6)
Such further statements and such further copies of documents as are necessary to make the statement and supplements thereto, and the copies of documents furnished therewith, not misleading.
(b)

Exception for discontinued entities
Subsection (a) does not apply to a qualifying organization that has permanently ceased operations on or before the date of enactment of this Act.
(c)

Penalty
A qualifying organization that knowingly fails to submit the statement required under subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $10,000.
(d)

Clarifying registration requirement under FARA
Nothing in this section shall be construed—
(1)
to require a qualifying organization to register as an agent of a foreign principal under section 2 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 612) if the organization is not described in section 12(b) of such Act (as added by section 2(a)) on or after the effective date of section 12(b) of such Act; or
(2)
to waive the requirement of subsection (a) in the case of a qualifying organization which is described in section 12(b) of such Act (as added by section 2(a)) on or after the effective date of section 12(b) of such Act.
(e)

Definitions
As used in this section:
(1)
The term critical mineral means any mineral included on the list of critical minerals published in the notice of the Secretary of the Interior entitled “Final List of Critical Minerals 2018” (83 Fed. Reg. 23295 (May 18, 2018)).
(2)
The term political activities has the meaning given such term in section 1(o) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611(o)).
(3)
The term qualifying organization means an organization which meets each of the following:
(A)
The organization is a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or any other combination of individuals described in section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under such Code.
(B)
On or after February 1, 2014, the organization knowingly received income, money, or any other thing of value from a Russian foreign principal.
(C)
The organization has engaged in political activities to discourage producing oil, petroleum products, natural gas, or critical minerals in the United States.
(4)
The term Russian foreign principal has the meaning given such term in section 12(c)(1) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (as added by section 2(a)).