[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4667-S4668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2333. Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. Manchin) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     Subtitle ___--Protecting Our Courts From Foreign Manipulation

     SEC. ___01. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Protecting Our Courts 
     from Foreign Manipulation Act of 2024''.

     SEC. ___02. TRANSPARENCY AND LIMITATIONS ON FOREIGN THIRD-
                   PARTY LITIGATION FUNDING.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

[[Page S4668]]

  


     ``Sec. 1660. Transparency and limitations on foreign third-
       party litigation funding

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
       ``(1) the term `foreign person'--
       ``(A) means any person or entity that is not a United 
     States person, as defined in section 101 of the Foreign 
     Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801); and
       ``(B) does not include a foreign state or a sovereign 
     wealth fund;
       ``(2) the term `foreign state' has the meaning given that 
     term in section 1603; and
       ``(3) the term `sovereign wealth fund' means an investment 
     fund owned or controlled by a foreign state, an agency or 
     instrumentality of a foreign state (as defined in section 
     1603), or an agent of a foreign principal (as defined in 
     section 1 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as 
     amended (22 U.S.C. 611)).
       ``(b) Disclosure of Third-Party Litigation Funding and 
     Foreign Source Certification by Foreign Persons, Foreign 
     States, and Sovereign Wealth Funds.--
       ``(1) In general.--In any civil action, each party or the 
     counsel of record for the party shall--
       ``(A) disclose in writing to the court, to all other named 
     parties to the civil action, to the Attorney General, and to 
     the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National 
     Security--
       ``(i) the name, the address, and, if applicable, the 
     citizenship or the country of incorporation or registration 
     of any foreign person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth 
     fund, other than the named parties or counsel of record, that 
     has a right to receive any payment that is contingent in any 
     respect on the outcome of the civil action by settlement, 
     judgment, or otherwise;
       ``(ii) the name, the address, and, if applicable, the 
     citizenship or the country of incorporation or registration 
     of any foreign person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth 
     fund, other than the named parties or counsel of record, that 
     has a right to receive any payment that is contingent in any 
     respect on the outcome of any matter within a portfolio that 
     includes the civil action and involves the same counsel of 
     record or affiliated counsel; and
       ``(iii) if the party or the counsel of record for the party 
     submits a certification described in subparagraph (C)(i), the 
     name, the address, and, if applicable, the citizenship or the 
     country of incorporation or registration of the foreign 
     person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth fund that is the 
     source of the money;
       ``(B) produce to the court, to all other named parties to 
     the civil action, to the Attorney General, and to the 
     Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National 
     Security, except as otherwise stipulated or ordered by the 
     court, a copy of any agreement creating a contingent right 
     described in subparagraph (A); and
       ``(C) for a civil action involving an agreement creating a 
     right to receive any payment by anyone, other than the named 
     parties or counsel of record, that is contingent in any 
     respect on the outcome of the civil action by settlement, 
     judgment, or otherwise, or on the outcome of any matter 
     within a portfolio that includes the civil action and 
     involves the same counsel or affiliated counsel, submit to 
     the court a certification that--
       ``(i) the money that has been or will be used to satisfy 
     any term of the agreement has been or will be directly or 
     indirectly sourced, in whole or in part, from a foreign 
     person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth fund, including 
     the monetary amounts that have been or will be used to 
     satisfy the agreement; or
       ``(ii) that the disclosure and certification criteria set 
     forth in subparagraph (A)(iii) and clause (i) of this 
     subparagraph do not apply to the civil action.
       ``(2) Timing.--
       ``(A) In general.--The disclosure and certification 
     required by paragraph (1) shall be made not later than the 
     later of--
       ``(i) 30 days after execution of any agreement described in 
     paragraph (1); or
       ``(ii) the date on which the civil action is filed.
       ``(B) Parties served or joined later.--A party that enters 
     into an agreement described in paragraph (1) that is first 
     served or joined after the date on which the civil action is 
     filed shall make the disclosure and certification required by 
     paragraph (1) not later than 30 days after being served or 
     joined, unless a different time is set by stipulation or 
     court order.
       ``(3) Foreign source disclosure and certification format.--
       ``(A) In general.--A disclosure required under paragraph 
     (1)(A) and a certification required under paragraph (1)(C) 
     shall--
       ``(i) be made in the form of a declaration under penalty of 
     perjury pursuant to section 1746 and shall be made to the 
     best knowledge, information, and belief of the declarant 
     formed after reasonable inquiry; and
       ``(ii) be provided to all other named parties to the civil 
     action, to the Attorney General, and to the Principal Deputy 
     Assistant Attorney General for National Security by the party 
     or counsel of record for the party making the disclosure and 
     certification, except as otherwise stipulated or ordered by 
     the court.
       ``(B) Supplementation and correction.--Not later than 30 
     days after the date on which a party or counsel of record for 
     the party knew or should have known that the disclosure 
     required under paragraph (1)(A) or a certification required 
     under paragraph (1)(C) is incomplete or inaccurate in any 
     material respect, the party or counsel of record shall 
     supplement or correct the disclosure or certification.
       ``(c) Prohibition on Third-Party Funding Litigation by 
     Foreign States and Sovereign Wealth Funds.--
       ``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any party to or 
     counsel of record for a civil action to enter into an 
     agreement creating a right for anyone, other than the named 
     parties or counsel of record, to receive any payment that is 
     contingent in any respect on the outcome of a civil action or 
     any matter within a portfolio that includes the civil action 
     and involves the same counsel of record or affiliated 
     counsel, the terms of which are to be satisfied by money that 
     has been or will be directly or indirectly sourced, in whole 
     or in part, from a foreign state or a sovereign wealth fund.
       ``(2) Enforcement.--Any agreement entered in violation of 
     paragraph (1) shall be null and void.
       ``(d) Failure To Disclose, To Supplement; Sanctions.--A 
     disclosure, production, or certification under subsection (b) 
     is deemed to be information required by rule 26(a) of the 
     Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and subject to the sanctions 
     provisions of rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
     Procedure.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``1660. Transparency and limitations on foreign third-party litigation 
              funding.''.

     SEC. ___03. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall 
     submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 
     the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives a report on the activities involving foreign 
     third-party litigation funding in Federal courts, including, 
     if applicable--
       (1) the identities of foreign third-party litigation 
     funders in Federal courts, including names, addresses, and 
     citizenship or country of incorporation or registration;
       (2) the identities of foreign persons, foreign states, or 
     sovereign wealth funds (as such terms are defined in section 
     1660 of title 28, United States Code, as added by section 
     ___02 of this subtitle) that have been the sources of money 
     for third-party litigation funding in Federal courts;
       (3) the judicial districts in which foreign third-party 
     litigation funding has occurred;
       (4) an estimate of the total amount of foreign-sourced 
     money used for third-party litigation funding in Federal 
     courts, including an estimate of the amount of such money 
     sourced from each country; and
       (5) a summary of the subject matters of the civil actions 
     in Federal courts for which foreign sourced money has been 
     used for third-party litigation funding.

     SEC. ___04. APPLICABILITY.

       The amendments made by this subtitle shall apply to any 
     civil action pending on or commenced on or after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
                                 ______