[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 88 (Thursday, May 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3196-S3197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION

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      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Young, 
        and Mr. Graham):
  S. 1724. A bill to amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 
to provide the Attorney General with greater authority to promote 
enforcement of disclosure requirements for agents of foreign 
principals, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the Foreign Agents Registration Act is a 
law that I have spoken about on this floor many times. At its core, the 
Foreign Agents Registration Act brings transparency and accountability 
to foreign influences in our politics.
  I want to make very clear, this act doesn't prohibit anybody from 
doing anything they want to do. It only requires those who lobby on 
behalf of foreign governments and their interests to register their 
affiliations and activities with the Justice Department. This fits in 
with a law that I tried to surely describe as bringing transparency, 
and when you bring transparency, you have accountability.
  While it requires lobbyists on K Street to disclose if they are 
lobbying on behalf of foreign governments and their interests, it lacks 
the teeth necessary to enforce the intent of the law and its other 
requirements. That is very much a weakness in a law that goes back to 
the 1930s, and it hasn't been updated in the last 55 years.
  Today, I seek to change, once again, that environment I just told you 
about by introducing the Foreign Agents Disclosure and Registration 
Enhancement Act. If enacted, this legislation would grant the Justice 
Department new investigative powers.
  The bill would increase criminal and civil penalties for violations. 
It does this in order to deter abuse of the law; in other words, people 
not registering when they should register.
  The bill appropriately limits who in the Justice Department can use 
this authority, and it provides essential due process protections. In 
fact, it is based on identical authorities in the False Claims Act, 
which for years has helped root out waste, fraud, and abuse.

  The bill tasks the Government Accountability Office with studying 
whether and to what extent the Lobbying Disclosure Act exemption to the 
Foreign Agents Registration Act is being abused.
  These reforms are the result of this Senator's oversight and policy 
work dating to 2015. These reforms are not in any way partisan, and 
last Congress this was very much a bipartisan bill.
  This Congress, it seems funny that not a single Democratic colleague 
would join me and my Republican colleagues in cosponsoring this 
legislation, even though the same people cosponsored it in the last 
Congress. I have to ask my Democratic colleagues: What is different now 
than at the tail end of the last Congress?
  In December of last year, I came to the floor for a live unanimous 
consent on this very same bill. At that time, I had the support of the 
chairs and senior Democratic Senators on both the Senate Judiciary 
Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee. What has changed 
between last December and right now, that these same Democrats who 
helped us aren't helping us on a bill that is the same? Are the 
compromises that we hashed out no longer relevant now that the 
Democrats control the U.S. Senate and, of course, the Presidency?
  Maybe I should put it a little more bluntly. Do my Democratic 
colleagues no longer care, now that the Trump administration isn't in 
power? During the Trump administration, I heard my Democratic 
colleagues speak loudly about the risks of foreign influence on the 
Trump administration. We all heard it: Trump, Russia. We heard it all 
day, every day.
  Well, I can ask embarrassing things on the other side. What about 
Biden and China? We all know about the links between the Biden family 
and Chinese foreign nationals connected to the communist regime, and 
those links are real and proven, unlike the links that supposedly 
existed between Trump and Russia that a whole 2 years of study proved 
were not true.
  If the Democrats want to be intellectually honest on the issue of 
foreign influence, they are going to have to face the music on both 
sides of the political spectrum.
  I have conducted oversight of the Foreign Agents Registration Act 
without regard to power, party, or privilege. That means I have done it 
both when we had Democratic Presidents and when we had Republican 
Presidents.
  Also, I raised concerns about the work for Ukrainians by Paul 
Manafort and the Podesta Group, also involved with the Foreign Agents 
Registration Act--or maybe they should have been involved with it--and 
violated it.
  I even raised concerns when the firm behind the discredited Steele 
dossier failed to register for its lobbying work to repeal U.S. 
sanctions against Russia.
  I subpoenaed Paul Manafort to testify at the Judiciary Committee 
hearing on lax Foreign Agent Registration Act enforcement.
  I praised Mueller for dusting off the law that had been ignored for 
so long.
  I want to remind my colleagues that we make laws to be equally 
enforced, no matter which party is in power. The Foreign Agents 
Registration Act isn't a right or left issue. It is about foreign 
influence, about foreign control, and the preservation of our 
sovereignty. Without our sovereignty, we fail to even exist as a 
nation.
  The last Congress--getting back at my attempt to make a unanimous 
consent request--at that time, Senator Menendez did what he had the 
authority to do and the right to do. He objected at that particular 
time, stating that it bothered him because the Foreign Agents 
Registration Act reform should move through regular order because that 
committee, under Republican leadership at that time, did not take up 
the bill.
  The chairman then gave his approval to it but obviously didn't get 
Menendez's approval to it. So Senator Menendez did what he thought a 
ranking member of the committee ought to do to protect his side of the 
aisle, and he objected. He wanted it to go through regular reform. So I 
am waiting for regular reform to happen.
  I look forward to working with Senator Menendez and the Foreign 
Relations Committee to move this bill any way they want to move it, 
through regular order or, like we did last time, by having the chairman 
and ranking member just approve moving it. In fact, some of your 
Members were previous cosponsors of this bill.
  So I am saying to Senator Menendez that members of his committee 
cosponsored this bill last time, and I don't understand why they aren't 
joining me in cosponsoring it this time. I would love to have them do 
that.
  The issues with foreign influence on our political system aren't 
going to go away. In fact, I think we can say they are primed to get 
even worse. In the meantime, while partisan politics play out, the 
Foreign Agents Registration Act stands without necessary reform.
  I strongly urge my Democratic colleagues to work with me and my 
Republican cosponsors to achieve a much needed, meaningful reform to a 
very important law that doesn't deprive anybody from making their 
living any way they want to. If they want to lobby and influence our 
government for a foreign country, we accept that. They can work in that 
if they want to, but we ought to know about it. That is what the 
Foreign Agents Registration Act is all about, to get this information 
out so it can be made public because, with transparency, there is 
accountability
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. SCHUMER:
  S. 1747. A bill to provide for an equitable management of summer 
flounder based on geographic, scientific, and economic data, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

[[Page S3197]]

  


                                S. 1747

       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 ``Fluke Fairness Act of 
     2021''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Summer flounder is an important economic fish stock for 
     commercial and recreational fishermen across the Northeast 
     and Mid-Atlantic United States.
       (2) The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
     Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) was reauthorized in 
     2006 and instituted annual catch limits and accountability 
     measures for important fish stocks.
       (3) That reauthorization prompted fishery managers to look 
     at alternate management schemes to rebuild depleted stocks 
     like summer flounder.
       (4) Summer flounder occur in both State and Federal waters 
     and are managed through a joint fishery management plan 
     between the Council and the Commission.
       (5) The Council and the Commission decided that each 
     State's recreational and commercial harvest limits for summer 
     flounder would be based upon landings in previous years.
       (6) These historical landings were based on flawed data 
     sets that no longer provide fairness or flexibility for 
     fisheries managers to allocate resources based on the best 
     science.
       (7) This allocation mechanism resulted in an uneven split 
     among the States along the East Coast which is problematic.
       (8) The fishery management plan for summer flounder does 
     not account for regional changes in the location of the fluke 
     stock even though the stock has moved further to the north 
     and changes in effort by anglers along the East Coast.
       (9) The States have been locked in a management system 
     based on data collected from 1981 to 1989, thus, the summer 
     flounder stock is not being managed using the best available 
     science and modern fishery management techniques.
       (10) It is in the interest of the Federal Government to 
     establish a new fishery management plan for summer flounder 
     that is based on current geographic, scientific, and economic 
     realities.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Atlantic 
     States Marine Fisheries Commission.
       (2) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Mid-Atlantic 
     Fishery Management Council established under section 302(a) 
     of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)).
       (3) National standards.--The term ``National Standards'' 
     means the national standards for fishery conservation and 
     management set out in section 301(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
     Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)).
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Commerce.
       (5) Summer flounder.--The term ``summer flounder'' means 
     the species Paralichthys dentatus.

     SEC. 4. SUMMER FLOUNDER MANAGEMENT REFORM.

       (a) Fishery Management Plan Modification.--Not later than 1 
     year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Council 
     shall submit to the Secretary, and the Secretary may approve, 
     a modified fishery management plan for the commercial 
     management of summer flounder under title III of the 
     Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
     U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) or an amendment to such plan that--
       (1) shall be based on the best scientific information 
     available;
       (2) establishes commercial quotas in direct proportion to 
     the distribution, abundance, and location of summer flounder 
     as reflected by fishery independent surveys conducted by the 
     National Marine Fisheries Service and State agencies;
       (3) considers regional, coastwide, or other management 
     measures for summer flounder that comply with the National 
     Standards; and
       (4) prohibits the establishment of commercial catch quotas 
     for summer flounder on a State-by-State basis using 
     historical landings data that does not reflect the status of 
     the summer flounder stock, based on the most recent 
     scientific information.
       (b) Consultation With the Commission.--In preparing the 
     modified fishery management plan or an amendment to such a 
     plan as described in subsection (a), the Council shall 
     consult with the Commission to ensure consistent management 
     throughout the range of the summer flounder.
       (c) Failure To Submit Plan.--If the Council fails to submit 
     a modified fishery management plan or an amendment to such a 
     plan as described in subsection (a) that may be approved by 
     the Secretary, the Secretary shall prepare and consider such 
     a modified plan or amendment.

     SEC. 5. REPORT.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of the approval under 
     section 4 of a modified fishery management plan for the 
     commercial management of summer flounder or an amendment to 
     such plan, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
     submit to Congress a report on the implementation of such 
     modified plan or amendment that includes an assessment of 
     whether such implementation complies with the National 
     Standards.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Padilla):
  S. 1769. A bill to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains 
National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to reintroduce the ``Rim 
of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act'' along with my California 
colleague Senator Padilla.
  This legislation, based on a Congressionally-authorized National Park 
Service study, would increase the size of the Santa Monica Recreation 
Area by 191,000 acres, accomplishing multiple goals of expanding access 
to green space for underserved communities and conserving and 
connecting wildlife habitat corridors, while maintaining private 
property rights and existing land-use authorities.
  In 2008, Congress passed the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act, 
which directed the National Park Service to study the area. The park 
expansion in our bill is based upon this six-year special resource 
study.
  This bill also takes into account more than 2,000 comments received 
by the public, elected officials, local organizations, and other 
stakeholders.
  The ``Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act'' would add 191,000 
acres to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area. This 
addition, known as the Rim of the Valley Unit, would provide improved 
recreational, educational, and outdoor opportunities to the local 
communities.
  The proposed expansion would also better protect natural resources 
and habitats, including valuable habitat for endangered wildlife, such 
as the California red-legged frog, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, 
badgers, coyotes, and deer.
  Notably, the ``Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act'' would 
only allow the Department of the Interior to acquire non-Federal land 
within the new boundaries through exchange, donation, or purchase from 
willing sellers.
  As I mentioned, this legislation will significantly expand outdoor 
recreational opportunities for residents of Los Angeles County, one of 
the most densely populated and park-poor areas in California. The 
impact of the coronavirus pandemic has only underscored the importance 
of having access to green spaces close to home.
  In fact, 47% of Californians--that's six percent of the total U.S. 
population--live within two hours of the proposed expansion area. 
Enlarging the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, at no 
cost to U.S. taxpayers, will provide these communities with increased 
access to public lands and boost the local economy.
  In light of President Biden's January 27, 2021 Executive Order on 
``Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad'' setting the goal of 
protecting ``30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030'', this 
legislation aligns with that goal and provides an opportunity to 
advance it based on federal agency recommendation and a robust public 
process.
  Last Congress, we successfully advanced this legislation out of the 
Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the Senate.
  My colleague, Representative Adam Schiff, reintroduced this 
legislation in the House, where it passed as part of a larger package 
in a bipartisan vote last February.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the ``Rim of the 
Valley Corridor Preservation Act'' out of the Senate as well.
  Thank you, Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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